ELECTION FRAUD?

I was going to write my "I Told You So" column, about how I went to the Kerry campaign and explained to them how they needed to energize their base, including the progressive vote, who might be tempted to go for Nader, and they scoffed at me.

They told me to go away. They were particularly offended I suggested that Kerry was in danger of appearing like a "Bush lite" (all that "I'm tougher than you are" talk) if he didn't map out a progressive platform that would ring true with Democrats and maybe even inspire the mushy middle by showing them he stood for something.

I was going to say I told you so, because after the election pundits and Democratic leaders were falling all over themselves criticizing Kerry for not doing just that. The words "Bush lite" were even uttered post-Nov. 2.

I was going to write my "I Told You So" column. But I'm not going to. Instead, I'm going to write my "Count Every Vote" column.

After listening to Air America all week (960 on your AM dial in the San Francisco Bay region - www.airamericaradio.com if you're somewhere else) and reading emails by the score documenting voter anomolies, phantom voters, faulty polls, and so on, I've decided to join the chorus of people calling for recounts or even redos of the election, at least in Ohio and Florida.

Randi Rhodes of Air America asked U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) who is investigating the vote why they couldn't simply interview all the voters in at least some of the smaller counties where the votes were "flipped" that is you had 70% registered democrats, but 70% vote for Bush. This was repeated all over Florida. Some say Democrats in these counties always vote for Republican presidential candidates. But in exact proportion to the registration numbers, only backwards?

"Yes, Yes," I yelled at my radio, as Nadler said a cautious "well I don't know what the law is."
Never mind the law. Get the facts. Sign me up; I'll fly to Florida myself and interview voters myself. America wants to know.

That's my column. Go to www.Blackboxvoting.org to check for the latest updates.

I'll save the "I Told You So" column for after the recount.

Helpful Links

Okay Green Dogs,

By popular demand, here are some helpful links to take action, on the vote, on next steps, on taking action:

http://www.moveon.org The oh so wonderful Move On!

www.pdamerica.org Progressive Democrats of America

http://bernie.house.gov/pc/ Progressive Congressional Caucus

www.democracyforamerica.com/ Democracy for America (previously Dean - Hey, he's for us Progressive Democrats, Yay!)

http://adbusters.org Ad Busters. This is fun and really edgy

More to come.

Thanks Dogs!

Dotty

Post Election Blahs

I know we are all experiencing the post-election blahs or worse, but I am excited about the formation of Democratic Progressive Caucuses in many states and I am hopeful the investigation into the election vote grabbing machines will pay off.

even if not, we must persevere. Yesterday I had lunch with a changing group of women, meaning the group kept changing as new ones arrived and old ones left; and all the women in the group were changing before our eyes from depressed Democrats to activists seeking activation.

"Why aren't we out in the streets?" asked one. Another said, "I really need to find something to get invovled in to take back the country." We drank red wine and ate happy hour food at our favorite bar. Men who sat at the bar in groups of two or three for once weren't playing Liar's Dice but talking about the election too.

No one seemed to know quite what to do, but energy was in the air as if new activist molecules were replacing old wishful thinking molecules.

Let's sieze the moment and make sure we don't fall back into the doldrums of routine and waiting for someone to come along and save us.

......

I'm not religious, but if I were, I'd be afraid; I'd be very afraid, because my religion would be of the "liberation theology" type we saw in a few decades back, especially in Latin American countries dealing with dictators and death squads.

I'd be afraid that if Christ were to ome back today, George Bush would have him crucified all over again; after a secret tribunal at Guantanamo.

So much for moral values.