BTCNews’ Weldon Berger makes a very astute observation in an article posted Monday suggesting “Republicans set to cry ‘Foul!’ in November elections.”
He contends (with a suggested measure of inside skinny) that the GOP will use the evidence and arguments of election integrity advocates, such as yours truly and others, in making their case that Electronic Voting Machine fraud may have occurred in certain close elections this November if needed.
Berger’s observations are well supported by both common sense and history of the GOP — who, unlike Dems, have proven themselves more than willing to pull out any and all stops to fight a close election and even go to court to throw out valid votes whenever necessary if that’s what they need to do to win. The GOP doesn’t have the same fear gene that curses Dems when it comes to standing up and fighting when they feel they’ve been robbed (or, perhaps more appropriately with the GOP, opportunistically announcing they’ve been robbed even when they haven’t been.)
Berger’s column ought to serve as a siren call for the DNC to wake the hell up about what’s going on here. Before it’s too late. If it isn’t already.
My only dispute with the otherwise dead-on article is this contention:
Right sentiment. Wrong plan. The fact of the matter is that by the time such elections have been completed, it will have been too late to do anything about it. Especially if it’s one of those sore-loser, tin-foil hat wearing Democrats making the charge (the same charge, made by a Republican, will be met with no such derision, of course — except perhaps via irony-drenched coverage here at The BRAD BLOG.)
If the DNC wishes to stave off the possibility of electronic voting fraud this November, when thousands of crucial elections will take place on the very same day around the country, the time to do so is now. Not in November. The DNC and DCCC ought to be out here and all over the illegally run Busby/Bilbray special U.S. House election from June 6th. NOW.
I can’t say it any clearer than that.
At least the DNC won’t be able to say, come the day after, November 8th, that they hadn’t been warned. Give Berger’s article a read.
The Dems should have a task force to try to anticipate even OTHER tactics the GOP will employ for 2006. This is only one. This is a good one, because it wasn’t used last time by the GOP. This guy is a genius, that the DNC should hire for this task force. We can pitch in too, by publicizing any tactics we can possibly think of.
I think this article should be circulated high and wide. For the G.O.P. to complain about e-vote fraud is a bit like Martha Stewart complaining about bad research at Wall Street firms.
I wouldn’t want to disagree with Weldon Berger. But which party is allied with voting machine companies? Who did Wally O’Dell promise to deliver the 2004 election to? Which party do Cruella Devil Harris and “Christian Ken” Blackwell belong to? My goodness, folks, Republicans would be making the biggest mistake of their lives to suggest e-fraud was possible by anyone. That’s like Al Capone saying the I.R.S. should crack down on tax cheats.
The DNC will do NOTHING. Where was the DNC with Kerry on Nov. 3? Where was the DNC on the Ohio recount? Where was the DNC in New Mexico? Where was the DNC in Colorado? Where was the DNC in Nevada? Where was the DNC with Hackett? Where is the DNC with Busby RIGHT NOW?
The DNC doesn’t CARE about this issue — they only care about a continuation of the money flow from corporations into their bank accounts.
To even DISCUSS the DNC doing anything is a waste of our breath.
The DNC believes that they will be allowed to run a DINO in 2008 and that perhaps that candidate will be allowed to win, assuring plenty of corporate money comes in to the DNC coffers. Beyond that, they have no interest in challenging the status quo.
It’s the Democrat National Committee, not the Democracy National Committee.
We will do it ourselves or we won’t do it at all.
Charlie L
Portland, OR
Robert, don’t forget, THE REPUBLICANS HAVE NO SENSE OF IRONY!
A draft-dodging Vice President and AWOL President accuse an honored Viet Vet of being a “traitor.”
A born-on-third-and-thinks-he-hit-a-triple, Yale grad who has been bailed out of every mistake he ever made by rich family or friends accuses his opponent of being an “elitist.”
These people (by which, I mean, Republicans) have absolutely NO shame.
After as many as 45,000 votes may have been stolen in Squohomish County in 2004 in the Governor’s race by the REPUBLICANS, they charged that the Democrat had stolen the election.
I’m telling you, what Berger says is EXACTLY what the Republicans will do, and the Republican-controlled corporate media will report the charges (over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again) without the slightest hint of irony, or even that much rebuttal from the opposition.
They have so many different strategies for stealing 2006 and 2008 that it isn’t even funny.
Perhaps we should be preparing for REVOLUTION rather than ELECTIONS.
Charlie L
Portland, OR
Right on to what you wrote, Brad! There are good many Dems who seem to be passively corrupt to me – like the boxer who is bribed or threatened to throw the fight by the mafioso in order to win their bet. The correspondence/comparison of the GOP to the mafia is deliberate, BTW. For instance, why is not Busby herself fighting the election? I haven’t heard a peep from her. Why the hell not? Was she set up to loose, with her permission and acceptance? What is really going on here? Why is Brad Friedman needing to fight her fight for her?
Perhaps we are in need of a good hacker who can hack the vote to ensure there is a virtually 100% elimination of ALL incumbents in the November election in favor of third party alternatives from the Green Party, Communist Party, Libertarian, or elsewhere. That will wake up the remaining crooked politicians in the Senate whose elections are 2 to 4 years off!
#5 Ewastud, of course we don’t want anyone to do anything illegal, like purposely hack the vote. just because other people are criminals, it doesn’t mean the rest of us should also resort to crime to stop them.
although havng Mickey Mouse win the elections all over the country in 2006 (when he isn’t even running – doh!) might be the only thing that would get their attention!
if only Mickey Mouse could save us.
or, for that matter, if only gay sex caused election malfunction. read this: on-target LA Times op/ed from yesterday, about how to get more attention on global warming, since repugs can’t quite get it into their heads that it is an important, long term threat. too slow-moving for them, not as ‘sexy’ i guess. but they are only threatened by gay people. and demonstrators with really scary Bic lighters holding Chinese-made American flags.
According to Orrin Hatch, those are the most important issues facing our country today.
This is a good thing. As a front line election reform advocate I find it endlessly frustrating to deal with the perceptual partisanship the voting machine reform brings out in our legilators. Republicans have just as much, if not more, to fear from rigged elections than democrats. In either case, in order to govenr with a mandate, the winner needs to be able to convince every one he/she won fairly when there is a suprising outcome. And surprising outcomes do happen, otherwise elections are an unneccessary expense and could be replaced by polls.
Thus anything that puts the fear of machine glitches in the hearts of republicans, and puts the democrats in a position of trying to prove the elections were fair is a good thing even. It’s a shame it has to happen for the wrong reasons and it’s a shame it’s being used as a tactical tool and not sincereley. But by changing the tone of the debate it will have far reaching consequences for the good.
So bring it on.
so, let me guess which states will be receiving the most challenges by the honorable majority (GOP)
party:
Diebold states – Right? After all, the full details of
how to hack Diebold machines have just been released.
And the first place besides black box voting to post the details publicly is a forum for Democrats called Democratic Underground.
Hmmm… me thinks that Dems will be blamed for hacking
Diebold machines….. and these states will go to
GOP, since GOP controls everything….
Uh oh, how do we un screw this up?
Ha, just caught wind of this via MCM’s e-mail group ..funny stuff! My first reaction is that it’s likely yet another attempt for the right wing/corporate Amurika to feign concern over the possibility of a dem “take over,” LOL
Naturally it makes perfect sense for them to play this card even though they’re not the least bit worried about either the 06′ or 08′ turn out. With as much affluence and power that is on the line, the Powers That Be will get whatever they want, consequences be damned. Such people don’t just sit back and allow for democratic interference to potentially thwart imperial plans, defense contracts and the like. Just doesn’t work that way.
Personally I still think that a DINO/”Moderate” will be placed into the presidential Illuminati puppet role in order to put a friendlier face on the fascism. And as usual, the suckers will buy it, hook, line and sinker. “…kinder, gentler machine gun hand,” and so on.
I love the name “Sunshine Greeny”. It reminds me of “Blossom Dearie”. 🙂
Diane Rehm show (NPR) did an hour on electronic voting reform, and the last guest they talked to was a Virginia Republican, Thomas Davis III, who is sponsoring a paper-trail bill. Avi Rubin and Lawrence Norden were also on. Worth a listen if you have broadband.
I’m unaware of Blossom Dearie, but thanks anyway 🙂
Sunshine Greeny has that good hippie vibe going for it…very anti-status quo. Or in today’s Orwellian parallel reality, that would make me “double plus ungood.” Carry on…
The GOP has already tried that stunt, and they labeled it Voter Fraud, and used it as a ruse to push the Real ID bills. Good heads-up though!!
I cannot believe that the GOP-Mafia is effectively manipulating international elections, as well?!
Impeach the whole bunch of thugs!!
Sunshine Greeny
ITMFA!
Charlie L #4
You’ve reminded me of:
“…and you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.”
Eave of Destruction (Windows Media Player)
What if, in addition to crying election fraud, Republicans accuse Brad of being a traitor for disseminating information? Like they are trying with the New York Times and L.A. Times.
I would think if you challenged the results of a specific type of machine in any one area of the nation, it would translate to a challenge of all votes cast on that type machine nationwide. How do the Republicans keep from destroying all confidence in the vote count in races they are not contesting? Or will they just vote themselves incumbents for life? President for Life Bush?a0414
Interesting ploy the Republicans are planning. I hope that no one has tried to “help” them win the election before they cry foul. I wonder if the right hand will know what the left hand is doing? Or could this plan actually work to have a fair election?
Its another one of hundreds of plans them bungholes have up their sleeves, but it might be a feign for something even more nafarious…I guess we will see how many directions they come at us from
Good one Brad, I love it that your reporting on the “tricks” again, along with the evms, thanks
Everybody just watch Mexico, its pretty much the same bag as here, except here they can get their nose right up the ass of the election supes
re: #7 Al Gore:
Your name rings a bell but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Did we go to high school together or something?
I guess I’m thinking they’re going to take a hit for the team one last time, by taking the fight to court and losing, letting the Dems in one more time and proving in court that these hack boxes are solid, I don’t know, just throwing it out there
Charlie L: Wanna hear some more rightwing irony? Troops are now returning their medals to protest the Iraq War…so now the TROOPS are against the TROOPS??? They’ll keep quiet on that one, they won’t apply their formula to that one…their “selective” formula that works on hicks and idiots…
Now I can go and read the article to see if that speculation matches any in it
ONLY Republican voters can live in the illogical world they live in . This double-talk, double-speak, illogic ONLY works on Republican voters…but it works, and Karl Rove knows it. You can point out all their contradictions like Charlie L did, right to their face, and they don’t get it. It’s because they’re stupid and/or dangerous kook-aid drinkers. Both bad.
Floridiot
The last figure I saw in the Mexican election had 57% of the votes counted and the leftist candidate was ahead by 2% – the opposite of the preliminary results last Sunday.
A while back, I hit the “K” by accident for “Kook-Aid” drinkers. Now I do it on purpose. Anyone using “kook-aid”, must send me $1…I take PayPal…
big dan #23
It’s because they’re MORANS!
Well well BB2, I am really glad to hear that… like I said above they can only get in so close on the foreign elections, then they have to back off or risk being busted, here they can be in control if need be
Ain’t he cute BB2 26, Cute enough to SLAP UPSIDE THE HEAD
My personal experience on this front is not reassuring.
On September 14, 2004 in Houston, I told the candidate’s brother Cam Kerry (co-director of Lawyers for Kerry-Edwards) in person, face to face, in front of a room of witnesses, to be ready for voting machine fraud and get some technology experts and people familiar with this onboard. He had been bragging about the hundreds of attorneys ready and waiting to investigate or intervene for Kerry on Election Day this time. I said that was fine, but you need to get ready for electronic fraud. I then spoke to him one-on-one and gave him a copy of The Nation cover story by Ronnie Dugger, with my contact info. He seemed polite at best, and not at all curious.
(The article is worth a read if you’ve missed it: “How They Could Steal the Election This Time,” by RONNIE DUGGER, The Nation, Cover Story — August 16, 2004 issue http://www.thenation.com/doc.mh...&s=dugger )
After the election, in January 2005, when activists forced a contest of the Ohio electors, John Kerry was overseas for that vote. Cam Kerry wrote an amazingly lame op-ed for the Boston Globe (“Counting every vote,” January 6, 2005) and again mentioned all the lawyers they had ready — this time, the number was “17,000 Kerry-Edwards lawyers nationwide.”
However, a nationally-known computer expert who had investigated electronic voting machines had contacted the campaign before the election. Left his phone number. They never called, at least up until that point, he told me.
So, one can guess the tally of help at the ready was
LAWYERS: 17,000
COMPUTER EXPERTS: 0
And, of course,
CONSECUTIVE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS STOLEN = 2
#29, that is a Great article, we were just talking about it not too long ago
Did you see this one, the same Ronnie Dugger circa 1988
ANNALS OF DEMOCRACY
Is maybe going on their sites a way to check out their evil plans to disenfranchise voters??? I shudder at the thought, but shouldn’t the DNC have people doing this? I’m sure it’s on the internet somewhere, their plans to disenfranchise voters. Do you really think it isn’t??? They probably have forums and threads on it, on their rightwing sites. Talking freely, about how they are going to do it.
Call yourself “Justice For All”, or something like that…and go on their sites and see what they are planning…
We just need one person from the Leadership Institute/IRI
to come over from the Dark Side, not?
It’ll probably be called “Now Signing Up Disenfranchizement Volunteers On Free Republic Site.”
The only way to beat these bastards is to do exactly what they have done – hack the vote. If the votes can be flipped to elect Mickey Mouse (as mentioned before in comment #6)or for that matter, “EVERY” Democrat running for office by a landslide, then the Repubs will demand an investigation and a recount. Only then can there be any real open investigation of these corrupt machines and their removal. How ironic, Repubs demanding a recount on the same machines that they hack! It’s going to take an underhanded approach to this situation to succeed and it’s definately going to take some left-wing hackers. The legal approach will never work in Ohio with Blackwell controlling the machines or any other state with a Republican SOS, for that matter.
You know there are Fascist-Repug websites you can sign up for. They send you Daily (morning) e-mails,.. it
gives you insight/heads up on the daily talking points of Rush,.. O’Lie,.. and MSM thug robots.
{[( Boy,.. their communications skills far exceed those of the Democtartic Party.)]}
Like counter-intel,.. if I was in a place like Ohio
I would volunteer to work the 2006 re-election office of Dewine,.. to really get a front row seat to the
game plan of the opposition. If infiltration to the repug camp was done on a national basis,.. it would not hurt. I am sure the Re-Thug team has infiltrated the Demos.
Get a clipboard,.. volunteer to work for the,..
Republican Election Integrity Division.
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Ewastud, Des #5, #6
If a good hacker has been involved said hacker was good enough not to get caught. Which is the sign of a good hacker.
We may see the war of the hackers, because now the focus is getting away from the machines, and into the notion of Mickey Mouse winning every seat in congress.
That would wake up everyone except the kool aid drinking tin hat crowd, who would claim “Mickey is a republican”.
The electronic voting machines are so lame no respectable hacker would claim any fame for hacking them, but might want the fame for electing Mickey Mouse right under the noses of the election war lords.
If that is what it takes to wake every fool up, then I say “Mickey Mouse for Congress”.
But remember this, the election war lords (Secretary of State or the equivalent) have the last and final pass at the machines. The final say.
So I predict that the winner of any such hacker contest will be the hacker which the election war lord supports.
And speaking of hacking, the FBI system is easily hacked. Notice:
(link here, bold added).
Remember that the FBI classified computer system is designed to be difficult to hack, and that the electronic election machines are not designed to be difficult to hack.
So, Mr. Chief Justice, get ready to swear in Mickey Mouse to every seat in Congress. Say cheese.
The only antidote is hand counts of paper ballots.
Al Gore, #7:
What’s a “legilator?”
Is that really Al Gore? I hate when people pretend to be others. Actual comment from him on this subject would be appreciated by all.
I would swoon, faint dead away, from the sheer joy of hearing from Al Gore on this blog. It would mean America is coming back. So. I’m with you Chris.
Pokey – Great comment. Smartly writ. Thanks!
Uh, I thought Mickey Mouse already had Congress. Did you guys read John Dean’s piece in FindLaw about Graham and Kyl LYING to the Supreme Court in an effort to get them to kick Hamdan for lack of jurisdiction? This is ALL the way out of hand.
Also, there is another John Dean, whose name really (also) IS John Dean, who has a web site called “bozosrnot4bush”. It is a sarcastic moniker for his page, which is about seriously good stuff, and I highly recommend it. I had to get over my shivers about the naming thing, but I was glad I did.
Personally, IMHO, Al Gore would be the most qualified, most intelligent, most effective president we could hope for. Watching that SNL opening with him always makes me cringe. Just how *would* we be doing if he was on his second term? Damn.
The simple solution is a single response: “Sure, let’s count all of the votes by hand.” Problem solved!
It’s too bad that a hand count isn’t the default everywhere. Quick results aren’t worth the risk.
Robert: I’ve been saying that. Hack into the machines and make someone ludicrous win, like Sadaam Hussein, or someone like that. If that happened, e-vote machines would be out the next day. Or Ken Lay, or someone like that. Although Ken Lay is actually alive on some island somewhere, and can actually fulfill his duty, if voted in.
…or have Tom Feeney defeat Casey and Santorum in Pa….he’d be spending 24×7 explaining how that happened. Put a guy in the spotlight, who really is behind vote hacking.
I think the Mickey Mouse idea is wonderful. Let’s make sure he carries Florida in 2008. The danger, though, is that Florida is so accustomed to rigged elections that they might not get it.
I don’t know where Mickey is registered to vote, but it must be somewhere around Orlando (maybe in Tom Feeney’s district?). But Ann Coulter has already proven that it doesn’t matter whether you vote where you live or not. Mickey has no official birth record, so someone might challenge him on the basis that he’s not a naturalized U.S. citizen; but his father was Walt Disney, who was a citizen, so he should be O.K.
One problem, though. Mickey and Minnie went through a contentious divorce a few years ago, which the Disney people kept out of the papers. It seems Minnie’s lawyer told the court that Mickey had accused her of being insane, but Mickey responded, “I never said she was nuts. I said she was fucking Goofy.”
RLM #47 Read through the thread and was into some heavy thinking and digesting…and then you end with that joke and broke my concentration 🙂
Very funny, Mr. Mills!
If the Repubs are revealing their strategy this early on how they will handle this November’s elections, you can bet they have the voter fraud, recounts, challenges, EVM and possible court battles issues already solved. Revealing that they aware of voter fraud and EVM tampering is part of the plan and just the first step in their strategy. They are more concerned with the ’08 election at this point which will be here in just a little over 2 short years.
Gambling…in this casino? I’m shocked, I tell you, SHOCKED!
If this is their strategy, don’t expect the MSM to point out the hypocrisy of them calling us “tin foil hat”, nor the fact that e-vote machines are made by GOP donor companies. The MSM will call it “legitimate concerns”, not “tin foil hat”…
My by now extremely anti-climactic Fourth banner:
link
Oh shoot…I’m not even on the right thread *sigh*
Who’s to say the Repubs won’t hack a couple of races in favor of Dems, blow the whisle and frame some poor Dem computer geek patsy? I can see Repubs then taking the lead on the issue as if they were the champions of Democracy. They will emerge as the hero, advocate for a better voting system, take the credit and all in time for the ’08 race. I can also see the young fresh moderate Repub, who takes the lead and cleans up voter reform issues to emerge as the serious fronter in ’08. He will distance himself from the current admin to get the stink off’em, but his VP will be a covert leftover.
Joan, I absolutely LOVE it! Did you get any feedback from the neighborhood? You did a great job!
Thanks, Laura! No, not a peep from my neighbors so far. It’s still up.
I apologize for AGAIN (or still) being off-topic, but if anyone of you computer-savvy people out there can tell me how to post a picture here, I’d appreciate it! I tried using a hosting site…none of their options worked for me, though they did using the old system.
Joan: I think I remember Brad saying something about posting pictures taking up too much bandwidth. It’s probably a secret, how to do it on the new software. If this is as great a picture as it sounds like, I think you should email it to Brad… see if he’ll post it for you. –99
Joan #53
ITMFA is not off topic on any thread!
I got a flagpole, but the crane to stand it up was busy hoisting that cross raising Statue of Liberty.
Message to Sean Handjobbitty and his Devo-haircut: He asks, “Why do liberal hate America?” Here’s the answer Sean: We love America, WE HATE YOU…and your Kook-Aid listeners. YOU and your kooky listeners ARE NOT America. YOU and your listeners hate America, and love the Republican government. “Our Country” and “Our Government” are 2 separate things, that is what you and your kooky listeners do not “get”… WE love America, WE hate YOU and the Republican government. There is also a difference between dying for your country, and dying for your government. That is why soldiers are returning their medals, Mr. Handjobbity.
Sean Handjobbity and his Kook-Aid listeners HATE OUR COUNTRY, and love our government.
WE love our country, and hate YOU, Mr. Handjobbity…
Are we getting Brad’s version of those 2 town hall meetings?
#58 Agent99,
I guess you may be right about the bandwidth question, although I know others have posted pix (like that memorable one of our friend ms. coulter) so I dunno.
Anyway this is not all that great a picture, as you can see by clicking on the link in #52! It is just my humble little ‘eff you’ to tyranny, is all.
#59 Bluebear2,
Yes, I guess ITMFA IS relevant no matter what thread it’s on! I was obliged to climb up onto my rickety aluminum ladder farther than was comfortable to get it onto my flagpole (my crane was in the shop)…and then the darn thing just didn’t ‘wave in the wind’ like it shoulda. So I opted for the awning. It’s holding up well, under torrents of rain at the moment!
#6 Des,
Your link to the LA Times op-ed piece goes to a page titled “HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol”
{ED NOTE: Link at #6 is now fixed. –99}
Joan re #62: I think you should leave it there (at least until your crane comes back from the shop, maybe even longer) … just as ITMFA is not OT on any thread, it surely isn’t out-of-season now that the fireworks are over.
WP,
Yes, I think I’ll leave it up till it just disintegrates or blows away, or until they all get their comeuppance! Not holding my breath on that one, though.