"One man, one vote" is the foundation of our democracy. More than one-hundred million Americans cast their ballots in the 2000 U.S. presidential election, yet in the end the victory was won in Florida by a margin of approximately five hundred votes -- about 0.000005% of all votes cast. The integrity of voters' lists is, as Mark Steyn wrote, "a national security issue." Elections must be fair, and not fraudulent; it's not so much an issue of who holds power, it's more about the existence of democracy itself, which "turns on our ability to convince voters that regardless of the results, they are honest results."
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, aka ACORN, is a left of centre community organization that has been undertaking massive voter registration drives, primariliy in inner city and poor neighbourhoods. All efforts to get out the vote are a valuable contribution to democracy but ACORN, who have received $800,000 from Barrack Obama's campaign, and whose national political action committee has endorsed him has been engaging in what is undeniably voter fraud at the local level by "registering" large numbers of non-existent and dead voters, and by registering single voters multiple times, and, in some cases, by encouraging their employees to engage in such fraud.
ACORN has been particularly active in key battleground states with a eye to the upcoming election. Even if a only small portion of the ACORN's fraudulently-registered potential multiple-voters are activated, those votes would far exceed -- would dwarf -- the 500 vote margin of victory in the last election. In other words, we're not just talking about just particular neighbourhoods here. ACORN has scope. In Kansas City, four Acorn employees were indicted by a federal grand jury for submitting 15,000 fraudulent voter registration forms; in Lake County Indiana, a Republican state in the last election but now a battleground state, "ACORN turned in 5,000 new registrations. The authorities there started reviewing them, and quit after they found that the first 2,100 were all fraudulent." In Marion County, also in Indiana, there are 33,000 more registered voters than there are eligible voters. In Ohio -- and this can't be all attributed to ACORN -- there are 200,000 more registered voters than there are adult residents. In Cuyahoga County, an ACORN employee signed 73 voter registration cards, sometimes in exchange for cigarettes; an employee of an ACORN affiliate was given crack cocaine for fraudulent registration.
In Nevada, ACORN hired felons who'd been jailed for identity theft -- as John Fund quipped, "it looks as though ACORN is hiring specialists." -- and authorities there "seized records from ACORN after finding fraudulent registration forms that included the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 49 voter registration workers, "virtually all...employed by either the Voter's Project or by ACORN," were referred to the..district attorney's office for investigation.
In April, eight ACORN workers in St. Louis city and county pleaded guilty to federal election fraud. Elsewhere in Missouri officials are examining hundreds of fraudulent voter registration forms submitted by ACORN. In Michigan, "municipal clerks...are reporting fradulent and duplicate voter registration applications," the majority coming form ACORN. According to the spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State's Office, such behaviour "appears to be widespread."
The MSM has for the most part been appallingly silent, but elsewhere there is active opposition to such fraud. Last week the Pennsylvania GOP sued Acorn, charging that "allowing unqualified individuals to (vote) undermine(s) the voters' confidence in the electoral process." ACORN responded with an accusation of -- wait for it -- racism, and other Democrat supporters are also using that same red herring counterattack technique: "The shrill Republican witch-hunt to demonize ACORN signaled the launch of their insidious endgame strategy. The current charges against ACORN are frivolous distractions..." Say that in a Maoist accent if you can...
His claim that the mere act of calling out wholescale electoral fraud is insidious, racist behaviour is not atypical. The Huntington Post's Allison Kilkenny sees the victim gambit and raises casuist reasoning: "The accusation of 'voter fraud' is misleading because the fraudulent forms in question were submitted to the government by ACORN."
Chew on that for a while, and try to swallow it. It catches somewhere, doesn't it? It's not just her illogic - "the accusation of 'bank fraud' is misleading because the cheque was submitted to the bank" - it's the perceived, rumbling privilege to demand, in the name of a putative moral righteousness that feeds on the corporeal suffering of this world, that the morally and legally illegitimate actions of one particular political force are not to be questioned.
We've seen that political mindset play well out, in the last century and on other continents, but we may not be as immune to the long-term effects of rule-bending cultural redefinitions as we think. If particular views -- approaches -- acquire sufficient cultural capital as to be an entirely sufficient political/cultural defense of, oh, I don't know, say, voter fraud, we could be in for a long ride.
Whatever the results of the election on November 4th, let's just hope it's not close.
Posted by EBD at October 26, 2008 10:08 AM...tell them to move to Canada. We do it all the time up here. Remember Edmonton, a couple elections ago? Strip bars and empty parking lots were registered residents for the Liberals.
Posted by: tomax7 at October 26, 2008 10:18 AMI remember that well, Tomax7, and I remember how people who had some of their mail sent to their offices downtown would receive one registration for the downtown riding and one for their residence elsewhere.
Perhaps such details should not be so easily shrugged off, particularly in light of the MSM's in-the-tank-niosity for certain...political tribes.
It's amazing to me how the notion of having to show picture ID at a polling booth is treated as being somehow self-evidently anti-democratic -- "don't make it such a hassle, man -- by Elizabeth May, for example.
Posted by: EBD at October 26, 2008 10:43 AMJust wondering if other conservatives out there are finding it a little expensive to go to the national convention. Any solutions? Are you bunking down with Winnipeg conservatives? Are you hitchhiking in November to Winnipeg?
Posted by: Nicola Timmerman at October 26, 2008 10:47 AMAnd Acorn staffers are being criminaly charged with what exactly?
Posted by: Jose at October 26, 2008 11:25 AMAn excellent post, EBD. Most people are oblivious to the extent of voter fraud in the US election this year. Thanks in large part to the MSM for ignoring the issue, just as they have other issues relating to the Messiah. If this election is close; if any number of battleground states go to Obama by a slim margin, then there is a very distinct possibility that the election was stolen - deliberately stolen with the endorsement and funding of the Obama campaign. Welcome to the United Socialist States of America.
Posted by: A Dog Named Kyoto at October 26, 2008 11:27 AMWhy don't you just look it up, Jose?
Posted by: EBD at October 26, 2008 11:37 AMCue the whinging troll hordes, claiming no crime has been committed. Yet.
Dear trolls, do you really need to wait for the masked man to walk out with your television if you spot him wiggling a pry bar under your window at 2AM? If you call the cops on the guy and he turns out to be black does that make you a racist?
The trolls all say YES!!! That is because the trolls are dishonest. I'd like for you trolls to consider that word for a little while, think about what it means to wear that label.
You people are seriously in need of defeat. A real, massive, widespread trouncing that hurts all the way down to the nutroots. A thrashing so profound that afterward none of you will dare to be associated with the ideas you so stridently champion today.
I'm working on that. Just another anonymous elf contributing my little portion of payback to the can of nuclear whup-ass that's going to get cracked open on you friggin' liberals some day soon. Your just reward for the effort you've all put into corrupting this country over the years.
Be seeing you.
Posted by: The Phantom at October 26, 2008 12:01 PMThe Acorn approach about says it all, nothing is below the degenerate left to advance their cause. All I can say is there isn't a cliff high enough for these lemmings to conquer.
If you want to see how the subversive left(including Acorn) operate read this. It is frightening.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/barack_obama_and_the_strategy.html
Horny Toad
Let the blame begin.
If McCain loses, it is because of ACORN, and the MSM.
It has nothing to do with Sarah Palin and her lefty populist tactics. "I am here to protect the little guy from the evil powerful elites". Viva la revolucion.
Turns out the Palin and McCain camps are at war these days. McCain's aides are calling her a 'diva' and theres quite a list of recriminations. The basic gist is that she is setting herself up to be a Republican nominee in 2012 - and is pretty much ready to do so at McCains expense. I doubt he is happy about it.
Let see if it actually pans out like this. I wouldn't be surprised if it does. The hard right has made its disdain for McCain abundantly clear. Remember Coulter promising to vote for Shrillary if McCain won the Republican nomination? Yeah. Its a divided camp. Better start putting the blame where it is. It was coming all along - all the former defenders of Dubya ( he who could do no wrong till recently ) have conveniently forgotten the littany of accusations that Dubya had fired at McCain in 2000. Its all forgotten now. Or is it?
McCain has had arough deal. First he had to put up with a lot of abuse from the Bush camp in 2000. No one here uttered a word against it - in fact its conveniently 'forgotten'. Now he has to see his hopes shot in the foot by the person he chose as his running mate.
Posted by: Dim at October 26, 2008 12:28 PMI may be experiencing a touch of paranoic fever, but I have the sense that there isn't really much concern among "the authorities". Presumably this is because of Dem hegemony in the public sector and the judiciary. I find myself seeing The Democratic Party as just The Party.
Yeah, EBD, I too am amazed that the requirement for phone ID could be seen as a burden -- an effort by THE MAN to suppress the po' black folk vote.
If we can't restrict voting to actual taxpayers, surely we can at the very least require photo ID.
We can see clearly now that vis-a-vis those tags applied to Obama: post-racial, post-partisan, "post" means, not "beyond", but, "even more".
Finally, it's now official: as applied to Obama, the word "socialist" has been added to the ever-lenghtening list of code words for anti-black racism.
Anti-racism = the new communism.
Posted by: Me No Dhimmi at October 26, 2008 12:30 PMDim, baby! Right on cue!
This is not about McCain. This is about Obama keeping company with an outfit that is going flat-out to -corrupt- the electoral system in the USA.
Lemme say that again, corrupt the electoral system. Meaning no more democracy. Government by fiat not by election.
Is that ok with you, or no?
Posted by: The Phantom at October 26, 2008 12:35 PMNice to see the apply-named Dim is back. Always nice to have a standard to compare to.
The solution to ACORN is simple: Refuse the registrations until they can get their house in order, or, here's a novel thought: require individuals to register personally and individually at a state or municipal office at least 6 months before an election. If you don't, you don't vote.
Posted by: Skip at October 26, 2008 12:36 PMSchwerner, Goodman & Cheney: still not dead enough.
Posted by: Kathy Shaidle at October 26, 2008 12:51 PMNo,no,Phantom. You don't get it. To Dim and his socialist/commie buddies,the system is ALL READY corrupt.They are just trying to set us serfs straight. Mighty white..ooooppppsss...er..black of them.
Posted by: Justthinkin at October 26, 2008 1:04 PMAnd Skip. Your plan won't fly. What true leftie could take time off from screaming about the newest -ism,and sucking at the trough to actually register! Get your priorities straight,man.
Posted by: Justthinkin at October 26, 2008 1:06 PMDim: Try this piece from "deeply ashamed" ABC journo Michael S. Malone who has 30 years experience and who comes from a family with a long lineage in the business.
You will see that it's not just voter fraud but also the enabling MSM fraud.
You should also see that if Obama wins, these complaints can't be dismissed as sour grapes.
Posted by: Me No Dhimmi at October 26, 2008 1:07 PMKathy,
What about Election Canada people stuffing ballot boxes with votes for the Liberals after polls close? That is even worse than what ACORN does in US.
There is lot of electoral fraud going on in Canada that we are not talking about. Take a look at this latest "recount" Vancouver. I can assure you that this is just a tip of an iceberg.
Justthinkin - it will for conservatives... consider the possibilities...
Posted by: Skip at October 26, 2008 1:44 PMI read Conrad Black's biography of Nixon and was interested to find Black make the case that there is a far better case that JFK stole his election than can be made of Bush. How does the saying go... "thank goodness for a few good crooks"? Then again, Gore was counting spoiled ballots only in democratic leaning districts was he not? And that after the early call of Florida for Gore by the networks appeared to have depressed turnout in the republican leaning Panhandle by several thousand. This seems to be a theme.
All you have to do is consider the difference in the progressive perceptions of Pinochet and Castro - where one returned his country to democracy after 15 years and did far more in that time for the welfare of Chileans than Casto's socialist, 10% of the population killing, paradise has in several decades.
Democracy is not the first principle of some on the left.
Posted by: da wolfe at October 26, 2008 1:59 PMhollow
hol⋅low /ˈhɒloʊ/
adjective, -er, -est, noun, verb, adverb
–adjective
1. having a space or cavity inside; not solid; empty: a hollow sphere.
2. having a depression or concavity: a hollow surface.
3. protestations of voter fraud coming from a "neo-con".
Your fellow travellers were perfectly cool with voter fraud and defended it six ways for breakfast when it got your boy elected in 2000 and 2004. More importantly, "neo-conservatism" is unique among all ideologies in that deceit of the public and scamming elections - Straussian, they call it - is fundamental to the whole ideology. They're quite explicit about this point, and if these stories of ACORN are true then it goes a long way towards explaining why so many neo-cons are supporting Obama this election.
Thanks for the chuckle, EBD. It's a good post, you're just the wrong messenger.
Posted by: Legacy Moralist at October 26, 2008 2:03 PMThe Phantom, somebody had to :D. Its the newest story today, and there is no way it would have come onto this website without someone like myself throwing it out there. You know its true - nobody dareth speak a bad word about her godliness.
"Lemme say that again, corrupt the electoral system. Meaning no more democracy. Government by fiat not by election. Is that ok with you, or no?"
People are people. Some will always try to cheat. ACORN has been caught. I know a lotof the workers there support Obama. But I don't think Obama planned this out, or even endorses their methods. Its a red herring. Some of his supporters are doing kooky things. Is he guilty by association? If he was as neck deep as he is made out to be, he would have been finished by now. ACORN's getting caught is a sign that the 'system' is working correctly. It is catching the malpractices. To assume that they wouldn't exist is a bit farfethced. Coulter got caught for voter fraud in Florida a couple of years ago.
The degree to which Obama is guilty depends on how you spin this story. And its being spun a lot. I don't think he intended to get elected through voter fraud - he would have gotten caught sooner or later - the American system works.
For all its tomfoolery, ACORN is not going to affect the outcome of this election. You know that.I know that. And yet we beat a dead horse.
"To Dim and his socialist/commie buddies,the system is ALL READY corrupt."
No darling, to Palin and her populist buddies, the system is ALL READY corrupt. Shes going to take power away from the "elites" and give it to "Joe Six pack". I think the system works fine. People try to commit fraud. And they get caught.
"You should also see that if Obama wins, these complaints can't be dismissed as sour grapes."
I somehow doubt fraud will be as widespread as you make it out to be. They've been caught. The Republicans in the states are going over voter lists. These things usually fix themselves. I doubt the Republicans are going to stand idly by and let it all pass. Of more concern to you is the apparent belief that Obama might win. You have to blame that on something. ACORN will do. It cannot possibly be Palin's intentions, or Bush's smear campaign in 2000 that has left many of the more rigid rightists in the anti-McCain camp. For the Dems, 2000 was about Florida, not Gore.
Party hacks are all the same. And so passe.
It's amazing to me how the notion of having to show picture ID at a polling booth is treated as being somehow self-evidently anti-democratic -- "don't make it such a hassle, man -- by Elizabeth May, for example.
Posted by: EBD at October 26, 2008 10:43 AM
Agreed. Picture I.D. and proof of address, in our political system, should be the absolute baseline for determining eligibility at the ballot box. We live in a civilized nation where obtaining such documentation cannot reasonably be considered a hardship.
"neo-conservatism" is unique among all ideologies in that deceit of the public and scamming elections...is fundamental to the whole ideology.
Posted by: Legacy Moralist at October 26, 2008 2:03 PM
What an absurd statement. But, maybe you have a point. I guess all those one-party elections in Cuba weren't technically scams. I mean, hey, they would have been multi-party elections if the opposition members hadn't inconveniently gotten shot or jailed.
I don't think that an Obama win is the end of reasonably fair elections, a la Chavez. I think that if his presidency turns out as badly as I think it will, based on my experience with his policies in the '70s, that he will no longer have the army of followers knocking on doors, etc. Also, it is much harder to fraud Congress, since, for the real fraud, you need one party districts. Congress's election is spread over 435 districts, and to pick up the close ones, you won't be able to sit in a room alone at nigh manufacturing votes at the precint the "Chicago way."
Absent the financial crisis, I think McCain would likely be the favorite right now.
The real thing we need to fix is our primary system so that we can get a nominee that we are willing to go to the mattresses for, not some middle of the road old man the Democrats picked for us in crossover primaries.
Posted by: Tim in Vermont at October 26, 2008 2:51 PMThumbprint scanners would be nice, but then the guy who stole your TV would be afraid to vote, so we can't have that.
Posted by: Tim in Vermont at October 26, 2008 3:05 PMDim
""""" But I don't think Obama planned this out, or even endorses their methods"""""
================================================
you don' THINK, and quite obviously you don't do any research
hussein was a mentor to many who "work" at acorn
his buddy ayers, is a Alinsky disciple, pretty scare that
and why would he (the O) state that Ayers just lived on the same street, when they had infact "worked" together at acorn and were still buddies
and try reading up on Khalidi, another one of the O's buddies
"hussein was a mentor to many who "work" at acorn"
Hussein, eh? Let me guess - that is your little way of saying he is Arab and therefore cannot be trusted? Or do you call Palin, McCain and Biden by their middle names, too? I suspect not, which suggests that you buy whatever crock the hard right sells you. And yet you criticize my failure to do research. Ironic.
Obama mentored them. Fine. Did he tell them to commit voter fraud? There are two possible answers- 'Yes' or 'No'. If yes, he should be booted immediately. So far there is no evidence that he did. If 'No', move along.
"his buddy ayers, is a Alinsky disciple, pretty scare that"
Yes, yes. And is Ayers going to get a cabinet position? No. Did McCain call him a washed up terrorist? Yes. Ayers represents a desperate "guilty by association" tactic. What does it mean for Obama? That he is going to oppose the Vietnam war (its over already), or that hes going to engage in domestic terrorism? Doubt it. Its a dead issue. You can bleat on about it, but frankly, apart from republican party hacks, very few, if any, people care.
I know about Khalidi. He was a PLO spokesman. And now he is a professor at Columbia. Let me guess - this shows that 'Hussein' is actually an Arab terrorist dressed up as a half-Nigerian, half-Swiss man? I watched a pretty lame Fox News attempt to stir up the Khalidi issue - even their guests couldn't care less.
If you have issue with Khalidi, take it up with the US govenrment for letting him in, or Columbia, for hiring him. Ditto Ayers. If they are in America as free citizens, then other Americans associations with them are not worth harping on about. If they were threats to the US, they would be in jail. Or long gone.
Typical soundbites from another Republican Party hack.
Posted by: Dim at October 26, 2008 4:19 PMIf Obama wins, he's going to wear the current and deepening crisis largely created by his party's socialist policies. Owning both houses and the executive branch, means no wiggle room and no blame.
His total lack of experience, voting record, socialist political ideology, connections and associations aren't getting the type of media attention deserved right now. But when he fails, based on his socialist schemes, the public will connect the dots.
Both houses controlled by the Democrats are at their lowest public opinion ratings already, worse than Bush. And it'll only get worse, with Obama as CEO. Probably a blip up tick in the beginning. But all downhill from there.
Who knows? The next four years may prove to be the end of the Democrat party. They may win the battle, but they'll lose the war. Socialism has never worked.
Posted by: irwin daisy at October 26, 2008 5:01 PMIndirectly, one man one vote is not entirely accurate. In the electoral college each vote of the winning party is expanded (in many cases practically doubled) based on the population of the state, which makes vote stealing even more troublesome. If vote 50 + 1 is stolen than 100% of the votes could be stolen from the other party, hypothetically.
Posted by: Derek at October 26, 2008 5:37 PMSorry Irwin but you are wrong. It will be all Bush's fault. Everything that will go wrong (and that will be a lot) will be blamed on W.
Terrorist attack - simply payback caused by Bush's policies.
Economy tanks - W caused it. When 'The One' gets in and can't fix it the reason is Bush hid how bad things really are.
Medicare doesn't fly - Bush left the country in so bad shape they had to put it off.
Race relations - Bush (and partly McCain) caused the divide to deepen.
Hurricanes, Tornados, Plagues of Locusts - Bush caused climate change.
Ingrown Toenails - Bush left the country in such bad shape people can't afford properly fitting shoes.
Hemmoroids - Bush policies caused the unemployment that makes people sit on their butts all day.
The major press will give him 8 free years to change the rules that will allow him only 2 terms. By that time most of the population will rely on the Government for daily food rations and have no choice but to keep Dear Leader in power.
Posted by: mrtisaduffer at October 26, 2008 7:25 PMVoter fraud strikes at the very heart of democracy. If people are not convinced that elections are essentially fair, then they have the excuse they need to seize power by shear, brute force.
Posted by: rabbit at October 26, 2008 8:12 PMAyers represents a desperate "guilty by association" tactic.
No Dim. No. Guilty by association is a false claim to a connection based on a guy being sighted in the presence of another guy.
Ayers and Obama had a multi-year business relationship. Annenberg. Woods Foundation. Grace Foundation. Obama funneled approx $2 million to Ayer's radical anti-american projects. Ayers is Obama's mentor.
And that business is: destroying America, or if you'd like it put more delicately: transforming America into a socialist paradise. USSA.
Obama is a black whitey-hating racist. Ayers new book is about America as a white supremacist country.
You should read Stanley Kurtz's excellent research on Obama-Ayers-Annenberg.
Posted by: Me No Dhimmi at October 26, 2008 8:40 PMSo simple to cut out voter fraud, it's called dye, that won't come off for days.
Posted by: Western Canadian at October 26, 2008 10:29 PMA short video primer on the U.S. Electoral system:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok_VQ8I7g6I
I think the Canadian system is better and harder to game.
Lest Canadians think their electoral system is perfect: I voted by simply showing my Driver's License. Last time I checked it didn't say if I was a citizen or not, just that I was allowed to drive. No swearing on a stack of bibles that I was indeed a citizen or nothing. Heck, at Elections Canada the instructions for how to vote are printed in 26 "Heritage" languages and 6 aboriginal ones. btw, where in our "heritage past" did we speak Urdu or Gujarati? My high school had English, French and Latin.
Posted by: Texas Canuck at October 27, 2008 9:08 AMACORN has registered 1.5 million "new" voters.
To make a Canadian equivalent you'd have to come up with 150,000 new drivers licences, slightly harder in my opinion, especially if they were Alberta style drivers licences.
But then, there are American Democrats that want to give drivers licences to illegal aliens.
(color me shocked)