Today's Nevada Caucus: Rules Must ALWAYS Favor the Voters, Not Specific Candidates

With all the talk the last few days of how critical it was that Barack Obama "won" a ruling in Nevada that permits caucuses in the casino areas (now there's something our forefathers probably did not envision) so that workers, like the culinary workers union that threw its support behind Obama, can participate in the caucus process despite the fact the votes are held on a Saturday (today) which has to be a very busy workday on the strip, comes a point too often lost.

The point is this: voting rules and laws should always favor the best interests of all voters. For example, anything that can be done to make it easier - and yet still able to protect the integrity of the votes cast - for voters to cast their ballots can and should be done. Such rules should NOT be designed to favor one candidate or another. In fact, screw the candidates: it's the voter's interest that comes above all else.

The most egregious example we've ever seen - and I pray it will never be repeated - of the system being rigged for a specific candidate rather than the totality of the American voters came in the presidential election of 2000. And no, I'm not talking specifically about the Bush-Cheney subversion of the votes through outright thievery.

When Bush's people, led by constant Bushie savior James Baker III, raced to the U.S. Supreme Court to be sure that the recount of votes in Florida was stopped (lest it was proven that indeed Gore won), Baker took a law designed to protect the voter and turned it magically into an argument that one single voter and candidate, namely our current Moron in Chief, would be irrevocably harmed if the Florida recount was permitted to continue to its logical conclusion.

Somehow (magically, through a packed court roster - though hardly as weighted to the extreme Bushian mindset as it is today), the Supreme Court not only let them get away with a total perversion of the laws, they rewarded Baker and Bush and Grand Evil Emperor Cheney with the presidency in a decision that boils down to "we can't let Florida finish its recount because if it does, it's likely Bush will lose, and that will hurt poor Georgie's feelings and nobody ever says NO to Georgie and Dick(less)."

Thus, regardless of whether the court decision to allow Nevada voters to cast their caucus votes (and the caucus system is really a strange way to go, but that's a whine - without the cheese and crackers - for another day) in a more convenient arena like casinos favors Hillary, Barack, John or Dennis, or hell, even the (choke) McCain-Lieberman ticket, the important issue is not which candidate benefits or is hurt, but that voters get to vote. This is exactly as it should be.

Say No To Dirty Tricks, Voters Kept From Voting, And "Washington Business As Usual"

With many of the reports, including that provided at All Things Democrat last week by Ricky Shambles, about the dirty tricks that may have been played in the Iowa Caucuses to drive the anti-Hillary/anti-Clinton vote in favor of others, I can't say I'm surprised. But I'm far from happy.

This year, perhaps more than ANY other, we need to combine our commitment to be active, informed citizens who demand the best (and hold them to account when we get less) from our elected leaders at the same time we dearly need to elect a president honestly, fairly, and without any of the nasty stuff we've seen in previous elections, especially that of the Bush-Cheney/Republican-Win-At-Any-Cost Sleaze team (and I do not believe most normal Republicans like this kind of thing anymore than the rest of us) in 2000 and 2004.

From here on, we can't just sit back and let Washington work as it does, because we know that the way it works is pretty corrupt, pretty nasty, and pretty much slanted at billionaires and fatcat/corporate interests rather than in the "Mom and Dad America" politicians like to talk about at election time. So we're going to have to work a great deal harder to get Washington working right again and we have to be pretty damned selective about who we put there. No more "anybody but (this person)" mentality and no more dirty games.

Mind you, Democrats (and others) have pulled nasty tricks, too. But we don't want them from ANYONE. I want the people I elect (and those who help elect them) to operate better than that. You should, too.

Also, every American with the right to vote not only should vote, but should NEVER be kept from voting by dirty tricks like we saw in Florida in 2000 (and ever since) and in Ohio in 2004.

So I ask myself, as I ask you, to do your best to keep dirty tricks away from the process, even at our lowly voter level and, should you see someone kept from voting who has the right to vote, don't just shake your head and walk away. Stand up, speak out. We may not always be able to depend on Washington to behave itself so, until we can force them to do better, WE have to be the better people. It can start one American at a time. And it must.

I'm game. Will you join me?

Don't Let Another Presidential Election Be Stolen

As much as I try to pay attention to what all the 2008 presidential candidates are saying (and yes, even the truly ridiculous ones like Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani), I find I can't just assume that the best (Democrat) candidate will win Election 2008 in less than 11 months. And my fear isn't just vague and unfounded, not when I've watched the last two presidential elections, 2000 in Florida taken from Al Gore and 2004 in Ohio stolen from John Kerry. So have you, whether you accept this truth (as has been confirmed by many sources now) or not.

Nor did my fear lessen when even Democratic lawmakers agreed a few months ago to put back any real voting reform until 2012 - a DOZEN years past the first documented stolen vote.

It doesn't matter WHO the Democrats put up for president if the Republicans have a way to steal and otherwise invalidate winning vote counts. Nor can we wait until Election Day to not just voice our concern but to demand better.

Votes That Don't Count

If you think that just hoping the 2008 presidential election will bring about fair and accurate voting results - and the novelty that the person the actual majority of voters cast ballots for actually will become president, something we did not do in 2000 and 2004 which handed us the fascist regime of Bush & Cheney - you've been supplementing your diet with Konservative Koolaid. Stand up and reverse this foolish and felonious delay for verified voting reform!

And while you're at it, take a gander at this sickening development:

A federal court ruling in June that forces voters to register by party could return Mississippi to the days of racially polarized politics, as many white Democrats warn that thousands of white voters will now opt definitively for the Republican Party.

Republican-leaning voters in Mississippi have long been able to cross party lines in primaries, voting for centrist Democrats in state and local races while staying loyal to Republican candidates in national races. But political experts here say that by limiting these voters — almost all of whom are white — to Republican primaries, the ruling will push centrist Democratic candidates to the other party, simply in order to survive.

Republicans Find New Ways To Suppress The 2008 Presidential Vote

Color me pissy (is that a chartreuse or a golden ginger ale sort of tint?):

Well, having successful stolen the last two presidential elections, Karl Rove and the GOP have found a new way to keep America from voting: the "polling tax" of the first digital millenium, guaranteed to make it nearly impossible for some to vote. For example, forget your ID and you don't get in. BradBlog has the story of the voter suppression tuck-in to the immigration reform act to either kill immigration reform OR greater voter participation.

But there's a bigger issue here. Many people - including some very thoughtful and learned ones I've talked with - find that the use of a photo ID makes it potentially much easier for operatives in a polling place to determine how you (that's little ole you) cast your votes. Then, if your candidate doesn't get in, the opposing party that did could use that vote against you.

Neighbors: Join Journalist Greg Palast and Ben Cohen On Friday

I encourage everyone who can get to this to attend. And for those too far, please think of pulling together your own program. We NEED a fair and accurate count in November 2008 or we're going to get more of the terrible same! Hopefully, I'll see some of you there Friday night.

We know how much you love Ben Cohen (of Ben & Jerry's),
our founder and creative visionary. Well, Ben and Greg Palast, a
hero of the verified voter movement, will be together in Montpelier,
VT this Friday to talk about voting integrity and the work we have
left to do to secure our elections. And you are invited.

When: Friday, May 4th at 7:00pm
Where: Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 130 Main Street (at School
Street) (map)

Greg was a pioneer journalist who exposed the dirty secrets of
electronic voting, and Ben was the creative spark behind
TrueMajority's famous "Computer Ate My Vote" campaign -- which helped
eliminate paperless voting in states across the country. See them together at
Friday's event which is hosted by Vermont voting activist and WGDR's Jim Hogue.