Four More Years: Notes on a Landmark Election

Four More Years:
Notes on a Landmark Election

By Robeert E. Martin

"War is an option whose time has passed. Peace is the only option for the future. At present we occupy a treacherous no-man's land between peace & war, a time of growing fear that our military might has expanded beyond our capacity to control it and our political differences widened beyond our ability to bridge them. Short of changing human nature, the only way to achieve a practical, livable peace in a world of competing nations is to take the profit out of war."

- Richard M. Nixon, 'Real Peace' (1983)

If Richard Nixon had run against George W. Bush in the 2004 Election, undoubtedly he would have been labeled a flaming liberal by the right wing reactionary press corps that masquerades as journalists today for uttering such comments.

Ironically, it serves as a perfect example of how far to the extreme Right this country journeyed November 2nd when it fell prey to Karl Rove's campaign of fearful deception and decided to coronate King George with another four-year tenure.

The outcome of this election defies all logic. Exit polls point out that the key issue among voters this year was not the War in Iraq, the degradation of our environment, nor the sorry state of our economy, but rather 'moral values' and the desire to put an end to 'same sex' marriages.

Frankly, I have trouble resolving how the Religious Right can take comfort in a leader that violates fundamental Commandments of Christianity such as not killing, not stealing, and demonstrating charity towards those less fortunate, but such is the bizarre country we now find ourselves living in.

The truth about Iraq is that we were told there was a clear & present danger to our national security. In a time of crisis we were prepared to believe our President and his advisors, but then we found out none of what was said was true. We moved our target away from bin Laden and the Saudis and a majority of Americans bought into the deliberate untruths & deceptions of the President and his advisors. And in going to war for reasons that have been proved wrong, we have sanctioned torture as acceptable policy. Is this the Christian thing to do?

We have abrogated our Constitution for political purposes, abandoned medical research, and handed over more of our national wealth to the rich while taking it from the poor and the workingman. Is this the Christian thing to do?

What has happened to our moral compass? It has jeopardized our standing and respect internationally as a world leader (as the headline from the Daily Mirror attests) and called into question our ability to think rationally. Indeed, just recently Spain lost a pro-American President to his anti-war counterpart, so many of our time honored alliances are developing cracks and fractures. And for this we're supposed to feel more safe & secure?

Bush has delivered on almost every rollback and giveaway his wealthy supporters have asked for. Not once has he shown the courage or strength to stand up to special interest voting blocs, let alone for our 'common good'.

The list of George W. Bush's failures can go on and on, but at this junction in our history, it seems redundant to do so. And that is the scariest thought of all - the notion, as Dr. Hunter S. Thompson wrote prior to the election, that "The question is not whether President Bush is acting more and more like the head of a fascist government, but if the American people want it that way. That is what this election is all about."

On the Other Hand . . .

The picture is not so bleak that we should cave in to the newfound 'mandate' that Bush believes he has forged. Nor should you believe the 'talking heads' on Fox News trying to convince you that Bush's victory was a 'clear cut stamp of approval' by the American public.

Bush's victory was the narrowest win for a sitting president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916. There are nearly 300 million Americans, 200 million of them voting age, and Kerry only lost by three and a half million votes.

Moreover, in spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the country is headed in the wrong direction (56%), think the war isn't worth fighting (51%), and don't approve of the job Bush is doing (52%).

The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate, so if Democrats do their job, Bush won't be able to pack the Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues.

In Michigan, State House Democrats picked up a net of 5 seats; their largest gain since 1986, and will hold 52 seats in the 2005-06 Legislature. Six of eight statewide education board races were won by Democrats. In Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, and Saginaw County, Democrats control their County Commissions.

Besides, there is a very good chance that Bush will commit such a huge blunder over his next four years that even his own party will have to remove him from office.

Even though 150,000 Americans have applied for citizenship in Canada since the 2004 election, don't sell your house and give up hope yet - my prediction is that two years from now it won't be very difficult to harness the energy and frustration of the American people and focus it into a positive and hopeful future. Or as the old adage goes, 'if you give 'em enough rope, they'll eventually hang themselves.'

Election Fraud * Did Kerry Really Win?

A split of about 136,000 votes separated George Bush from John Kerry in Ohio. About 70% of ballots cast in Ohio used the same punch cards that led to the Florida recount. The other 30% used new Diebold Touchscreen computer machines that leave no paper trail.

Research on Ohio election results by DemocraticUnderground.com puts up some fascinating numbers showing that a mysterious 5% advantage went to Bush only in those states using electronic voting machines.

Or, put another way, all the exit polls showed Kerry winning, and the exit polls asked people whom they voted for. But strangely, the 'official' count appears to have been boosted in favor of Bush.

In the wake of the 2000 Florida Election debacle, $3.9 billion was showered on Diebold and other companies, along with states to buy the machines, and buy them fast.

The technology involved had a trial run during the 2002 mid-term elections. Georgia had Diebold machines in every precinct. As a result, a popular Democratic governor and senator were both unseated in what the media called an "amazing" 16 percent swing.

Here's a bit of background on the two principle players that make 'black-box' voting systems.

* Diebold-Global: Corporate chief, Wally O'Dell, a top Bush fundraiser, publicly committed himself to "delivering" his home state's votes to Bush. The election division is run by Bob Urosevich. Bob was the co-founder of American Information Systems which became ES&S.

* Election Systems and Software (ES&S): ES&S claims to have counted 56% of the vote in the last four presidential elections. Was formed as a result of the merger of AIS and Business Records Corporation. Bob and Todd Urosevich founded its predecessor AIS in the 1980's. Bob is now president of Diebold-Global, while brother Todd is a vice president at ES&S. Business Records Corp. which was merged with AIS to become ES&S, was partially owned by Cronus, a company that seems to have a lot of connections to the infamous Hunt brothers from Texas, as well as other individuals and entities, including Rothschild, Inc.

Right wing Republicans Howard Ahmanson (who financed AIS) and Nelson Bunker Hunt have both heavily contributed to The Chalcedon Institute, an organization that mandates Christian "dominion" over the world. Ahmanson is also one of the bagmen behind the extremist "Christian Reconstructionist" movement, which openly advocates a theocratic takeover of American democracy, placing the entire society under the "dominion" of "Christ the King."

This "dominion" includes the death penalty for homosexuals, exclusion of citizenship for non-Christians, stoning of sinners and -- we kid you not -- slavery, "one of the most beneficent of Biblical laws."

This "dominion" includes the death penalty for homosexuals, exclusion of citizenship for non-Christians, stoning of sinners and -- we kid you not -- slavery, "one of the most beneficent of Biblical laws."

If Election 2004 was such a record turnout, with long lines all over the country, where did all the votes go? Vote totals don't show much of a difference from the 2000 election, indicated a few million votes simply vanished.

This is buttressed by the following documented and immensely disconcerting reports, which I urge you to research further online. A simple search on Google under Election Fraud will spin up haunting discrepancies.

* According to the official election results posted on the Palm Beach County election website, 542,835 ballots were cast for a presidential candidate while only 454,427 voters turned out for the election (including absentee). This leaves a discrepancy of 88,408 votes cast for the presidential candidates.

* There was an average of 27% increase of expected votes for both candidates in counties that did NOT use optical scan and a completely disparate result in counties that did use optical scan.

* In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the county's website shows that out of 29 precincts, there were 93,000 more votes than actual voters. Talk about successful get-out-the-vote campaigns!

* What a triumph for democracy in Fairview Park, twelve miles west of downtown Cleveland. Only 13,342 registered voters there, but they cast 18,472 votes.

Specific evidence of miscounting has been uncovered. And, despite the national media's near-blackout of the issue, local reporting has documented some of the problems.

In fact, although you won't learn it from the corporate media, three members of Congress have asked the General Accounting Office to investigate irregularities with voting machines in the November 2 election. The Congress Members, John Conyers, Jerrold Nadler, and Robert Wexler, cited a few of the problems that have already arisen, including a machine in a single Ohio precinct awarding Bush an extra 3,893 votes, machines in North Carolina losing 4,500 votes, and voters in both Florida & Ohio reporting touchscreen machines registering votes for Bush that were intended for Kerry.

No President has ever been elected without winning Ohio. So the question remains, even though Kerry conceded, is it in the best interest of the country to do so? Is the 2004 election merely a repeat of the 2000 election only expanded into other states?

The Review will report more on this scandal as it unfolds.