[Reader-list] Modern Babylon: America Votes 2008!!!

radhikarajen at vsnl.net radhikarajen at vsnl.net
Tue Jul 15 12:39:36 IST 2008


And America is on warpath to bring "democracy" in nations of its choice.?

----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Miller <anansi1 at earthlink.net>
Date: Monday, July 14, 2008 5:41 pm
Subject: [Reader-list] Modern Babylon: America Votes 2008!!!
To: Sarai Reader List <reader-list at sarai.net>

> I guess Mugabe in Zimbabwe has a few things to learn from the  
> Republicans.
> 
> Paul
> 
> > Voter Protection
> >
> > - The African World -
> > By Bill Fletcher, Jr. -
> > BlackCommentator.com Executive Editor
> > <http://blackcommentator.com/285/285_aw_voter_protection.html>
> >
> > I asked a good friend what I should write about for
> > BlackCommentator.com this week. Without missing a beat
> > she said: "Write about what I am working on!" I looked
> > at her and asked what that was. Her response: "Voter
> > protection."
> >
> > Elections in the USA have rarely been clean. Electoral
> > theft is not new. Infamous big city machines were known
> > for throwing elections one way or the other. The 1960
> > Presidential election has always been shrouded in some
> > degree of mystery, particularly with regard to the
> > voting results from Illinois. African Americans,
> > Chicanos and Asians have had plenty of experience with
> > electoral fraud, having been effectively denied the
> > right to vote for most of the period since the end of
> > Reconstruction (1877).
> >
> > Yet, in the period particularly since the passage of the
> > Voting Rights Act (1965) and the Watergate infamy
> > (1973-74), an assumption emerged in Mainstream America
> > that elections were, for the most part, honest and on
> > the up and up.
> >
> > Then came the November 2000 elections.
> >
> > There were several things that were striking about the
> > November 2000 elections. One was the audacity on the
> > part of the Bush forces, dramatized in the recent HBO
> > film, Recount. Their arrogance and boldness completely
> > took the Gore campaign, as well as many pro-democracy
> > groups, entirely off guard. While the Bush campaign was
> > prepared to agitate, including through demonstrations,
> > on behalf of their candidate, the Gore forces were
> > paralyzed. Staff and volunteers linked to organized
> > labor mobilized to go to Florida, but found themselves
> > doing little more than taking affidavits from
> > individuals who alleged that they had been deprived of
> > their democratic rights.
> >
> > The tactics that were used in both the 2000 and 2004
> > Presidential elections by Bush-aligned forces were quite
> > amazing. Black voters, for instance, found themselves
> > eliminated from the voting rolls. As reported by the
> > journalist Greg Palast, letters were sent to the home
> > addresses of Black active duty military service
> > personnel who, if they did not respond, had their votes
> > challenged. This last point is remarkable since it was
> > the votes of those who were literally in the line of
> > fire who were being denied their right to have their
> > votes counted.
> >
> > Added to this has been the introduction of computer
> > screen voting. Described as making the system more
> > efficient, the lack of hardcopy proof of voting along
> > with numerous examples of computer glitches (and
> > possible computer tampering) raises further questions as
> > to whether the right to vote is being eroded.
> >
> > Thus, the irony is that we have witnessed a Presidential
> > administration that has heralded the right to democratic
> > elections overseas (even if all they have been concerned
> > with is that there is more than one party in the race
> > rather than whether there has been genuine democracy),
> > yet tactics have been implemented which they have not
> > challenged (if not outright encouraged), that deprive
> > entire sections of the US population of their right to
> > vote.
> >
> > The awareness of the shenanigans of the 2000 and 2004
> > elections has led to a very broad-based mobilization
> > around what is being called "Voter Protection." Unions,
> > community-based organizations, and other non-profits
> > have enlisted in this battle, one which starts with
> > increasing public awareness of the dangers of voter
> > disenfranchisement. Further involvement in this work is
> > of great importance, and is often missed when the focus
> > of our electoral discussions are on the candidates
> > alone. The political Right, fearing a loss by McCain,
> > will do all that it can to suppress the Black vote, the
> > Latino vote (except among Cuban Americans), older
> > citizen vote and the youth vote. It will more than
> > likely do this through a shrewd combination of
> > propaganda aimed at defaming Senator Obama and
> > encouraging fear as to who he actually is (i.e., the
> > false allegations that he is a Muslim; does not do the
> > Pledge of Allegiance; is actually not a US citizen), as
> > well as through the tried and true tactics of the 2000
> > and 2004 elections. With regard to outright voter
> > suppression, for example, volunteers will be needed at
> > all poll sites to ensure that there is no voter
> > intimidation or misinformation. This is a lot more than
> > traditional voter registration/education and Get Out The
> > Vote (GOTV). It is really a democracy mobilization.
> >
> > In November 2000 I was deployed by the AFL-CIO to
> > Florida for several days following the election. I
> > watched and listened as reports came in regarding
> > spontaneous demonstrations taking place in various parts
> > of the state by disenfranchised voters; voters who
> > WANTED their votes counted. I watched and listened as
> > affidavits were completed. I watched and listened as the
> > Bush forces made it appear that they were the righteous
> > and that Gore was the spoiler. I watched and listened as
> > the Gore campaign and its allies completely caved in.
> >
> > I am not going through that again. We must provide the
> > support for voters to ensure that their votes are
> > counted, but if there is further theft it is not
> > permissible to accept that the election was stolen fair
> > and square. The tables will need to be turned.
> >
> > [For more information on voter protection, see:
> > www.vote411.org]
> >
> > BlackCommentator.com Executive Editor, Bill Fletcher,
> > Jr., is a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy
> > Studies, the immediate past president of TransAfrica
> > Forum and co-author of the just released book,
> > Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a
> > New Path toward Social Justice (University of California
> > Press), which examines the crisis of organized labor in
> > the USA.
> >
> > _____________________________________________
> 
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