Is The Stage Being Set To Steal The Leiberman/Lamont Election?.....

[global1]

I've heard a number of times today already that Lieberman is closing the gap on Lamont. I'm wondering if the MSM is setting us up to say tomorrow that the race is too close to call - so that when the election is stolen and Lieberman wins - they can say his last minute efforts over the past few days must have resonated with the voters and gave him the win.

Remember - they need a close election to minimize attention being drawn to the outcome when they steal it.

[Totally Committed]

1. Absolutely....

I think that's EXACTLY what's happening. But, it's only a guess on my part. And, I would put it past Joe to steal an election.

TC

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. Now, now, Joe would never steal an election

Not when there are perfectly good republicans around to steal it for him.

[MADem]

13. You would put it past him, or would not? NT

[Demobrat]

2. This is what worries me.

The set-up is already starting. Next thing we know we'll be hearing all kinds of wonderment over how the exit polls could be SO wrong .....

[butterfly77]

58. You can see that the republicons are almost in panic stage...

and they are really angry.

[Demobrat]

59. Well that's encouraging.

The madder they are the better.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. A little harder in CT ....... lever machines

[SaveElmer]

4. And exactly how will that be accomplished...

In a state with no electronic voting...

[Demobrat]

5. Well here in San Francisco

cartons of votes have been found mysteriously floating in the bay. Just sayin ....

[SaveElmer]

6. They use lever machines...

They don't float!

[ronnykmarshall]

14. or do they ...... ?????

:tinfoilhat:

[SaveElmer]

19. Sounds like a Mythbusters episode to me!!!...nt

[Atman]

26. They use lever machines. I was an Assistant Registrar of Voters in CT

Sorry, tin foil hatters. Susan Bycowicz, the SOS, cancelled the state's order of Diebold DRE's after she found glaring lies in the company's proposal, combined with the shenanigans going in on CA and OH. We have good old-fashioned 10,000-ton massive lever machines.

[MissWaverly]

45. Can she come down here to Maryland and help our SOS

Linda Lamone, who just loves Diebold, I just got a warm and fuzzy e-mail from a friend of mine
who works for the City of Baltimore, she is so pumped over Diebold, you would think that they
were gold plated. How dems can be taken in by these machines is more than I would know. Yes,
I tried talking to them, but it goes in 1 ear and out the other.

[Demobrat]

18. No they sink.

Even better!

[JimDandy]

38. Really? I need a link to that news story ASAP!!! n/t

[Demobrat]

41. Here's an older one

where only lids are mentioned. Still looking for a more recent one - where the ballots were found intact (well, water logged, but intact).

http://www.berkeleydaily.org/article.cfm?archiveDate=12-11-01&storyID=8869

[JimDandy]

51. Thanks so much!

I'll check back to see if you found the article about the more recent event.

[Demobrat]

56. Looks like the link

goes nowhere (page moved) - oh well, believe it or dont, but there's more than one way to sink an election!

[Totally Committed]

7. I dunno...

but, can you agree there's always a first time?

I have a very uneasy feeling about the "rah-rah" tone of the reports that Lieberman has "closed the gap". If he's at or near the MOE by tomorrow morning... you'll know there's something afoot. That's all I am saying.

TC

[SaveElmer]

16. Well I have to say...

That seems to be the dominant reaction here at DU whenever a preferred candidate loses...

Never that they were out-organized, or that their candidate simply was not the preferred one...

Always some external force...

Do you realize the coordination and planning that would need to happen to steal this election...?

Would require the cooperation of election officials at the local level, at the state level, and down to the technicians who would somehow have to rig the machines.

Really, it's just another hedge among some here not to have to look honestly at why the election was lost.

I have no idea who will win. A week ago I would have said Lamont by 7-10. Right now I think it will be a toss up with a slight advantage to Lieberman.

If I were a Connecticut resident I would vote for Lamont because of Lieberman's promise to go Indie if he loses...but if Lieberman does win, I will support him!

[halobeam]

28. I really can't believe you are saying this.

You are saying too many people would have to be involved, so our elections are valid? Oh My God. Sometimes, I just shake my head in disbelief. Did you read Kennedy's article in Rolling Stone? Are you not well read on the issues of the vulnerabilities of OUR VOTE? YOUR vote? Please read more before you say EXACTLY what the Republicans are saying. They look foolish saying it, and actually so do you.

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to sound angry... I'm giving you a friendly shaking by the shoulders, sayin' Wake up man, do you HEAR what you just said?.....

[SaveElmer]

30. We are discussing Connecticut...

And the accusations of cheating come out on here EVERY time the Democratic candidate loses...

I do not dispute there have been instances of stolen elections...most prominently in 2000...however...it cheapens the cause when every election we lose is attributed to fraud...

[Totally Committed]

37. Okay, let me just say this:

I believe there are people who, if they want a candidate to win (and I think Joe is the poster-child candidate for these people), they win. Maybe it's $$$, maybe it's finessing, maybe it's cheating... like I said, I dunno. I just think elections really AREN'T our decision any longer... or worse, they never were and we're just finding it out.

WHatever. I think we are watching a set-up. If Joe is at or near the MOE by tomorrow morning, however this election was stolen... it WAS stolen. Count on it.

I just don't think the "powers that be" can allow us to win this round. We are going to have our faces rubbed in it, I think.

If I'm wrong, there will be NO ONE happier about it than me!

TC

[screembloodymurder]

43. Right. All these voters changed their minds because

"Libermon" decided to stay and fight. Give me a break. The man nearly conceded the election two days ago and now, miraculously, he's closing the gap like gangbusters. It's just a coincidence that MSM networks (run by our government) are stumping for his campaign. Bullshit!!!!!!! BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!

[SaveElmer]

49. You are basing ALL of this...

On poll numbers...

Show me a credible way in which this primary is being stolen...

Keeping in mind no electronic voting, using lever machines which weigh about 2 tons each...

That the Secretary of State is highly regarded, and rejected electronic voting machines because she was lied to by the manufacturers.

Also keeping in mind registration changes had to be completed in May when Lieberman was still comfortably ahead in the polls.

[Bill McBlueState]

8. it doesn't matter!

This is DU; most of us believe whatever makes us feel better, facts be damned. Surely you understand this after four years here!

[RobertSeattle]

20. No kidding

Whenever a (D) wins it is the voice of the people!
Whenever a (R) wins it is a vast voting conspiracy!

Are all voting officals perfect? Nope.
All all (R) voting offical corropt? Nope.

[Common Sense Party]

60. Exactly. Never let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy.

It's never our candidate that messes up, or runs a bad campaign. It's never that the voters decide they like the other guy better. We never lose fair and square.

If we lose, it was stolen. It's a conspiracy. It's that damned Rove!!!

[elehhhhna]

12. Reeps reg'd as DEms, that's how.

[SaveElmer]

22. Hardly stolen...

Connecticut has open primaries...

I've seen no evidence that there is a surgeof Republicans registering...perhaps Independents who are turned off by the Lieberman bashing...

btw: I would vote for Lamont were I in Connecticut.

[calico1]

35. They would have had to switch by

May 8. And remember that on May 8th Lieberman wasn't worrying and neither were his followers. So I do not think very many Republicans switched to Dem to vote for him.

[MADem]

17. They'll do it the old fashioned way; people will rise up from the dead

and vote for him; or people will find sacks of what looks suspiciously like ballots, shredded, at the dump....

[SaveElmer]

25. They use lever machines...

Is my understanding...hard to dispose of eh?

[MADem]

29. Some bastard will just cull out the "bad" votes

Shred them and drop them at the landfill. If the difference is within the margin of error, HolyJoe wins.

It's how they do things...

[leesa]

9. I think so. If anything his behavior over the last couple of weeks would

have turned voters away not towards him. I think the media is scamming it and then the GOP will do their traditional thieving. I am quite sure that many of them made that May deadline and many ballots will 'get lost' or 'appear' as needed.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

11. When I heard that Jomentum had rebounded.......

in such a drastic fashion, my spidey sense went off. Something doesn't smell right here.

:tinfoilhat:

[Zensea]

15. It may be but you're kind of assuming that Lamont would win

if the election was legitimate.

The only lead Lamont has had has been in the polls & that is a fairly recent development.

If Lieberman wins, it does not necessarily mean the election has been stolen, although of course it could mean it has been.

I'm no fan of Lieberman at all either. I guess it's that I'm cynical about not just the folk who steal elections and have the methods or means to do so, but also about the electorate in general.

It doesn't take a stolen election for American voters to elect people whose policies I deplore.

[Flirtus]

21. AOL is floating a story that Joe is distancing from Bush

sounds like politics to me.

[movonne]

33. Until after the election and then back to bush kissing...how can

people be so stupid...if you want change why would you vote for Joe?? and this also goes for CA. it looks like Arnold will win and just a few months ago he was lower than bush...something wrong here..When the polls start changing for these underdogs I really think either people are so stupid or these polls run by repugs are asking questions that make you favor one over the other..just by the way the question is asked..

[goclark]

23. Absolutely stage is set

There is no way that if I hated Joey yesterday I would decide to vote for him today.

He has the kind of personality and deeds that you HATE!

[WildEyedLiberal]

24. Are we now reduced to accusing everyone we don't like of cheating?

This is a very dangerous trend and one which trivializes the importance of election fraud. It seems that DU is incapable of accepting that someone it doesn't like might win an election legitimately - every single close election has been accused of being "stolen" since 2004. Hackett was robbed. Busby was robbed. Now, even though the election hasn't even happened yet, people are claiming that Lamont will be robbed.

This is the problem with a lot of discussion about election fraud on DU and elsewhere in the blogworld. It's emotional and relies more on suspicion and dislike than on actual facts. Two years later, there's still no conclusive proof that 2004 was stolen - RFK Jr's article comes closest but he acknowledges that there is not sufficient evidence to bring forth a case in the courts - but you wouldn't know that if you read DU.

This whole kneejerk reaction does nothing to advance awareness of election integrity. If you cry "thief" after every election which doesn't turn out the way you want it to, people are going to stop listening altogether. And just like the little boy that cried wolf, if it DOES happen, no one will listen to you because you have effectively killed your credibility.

I hope Lamont wins, but if he doesn't there at least ought to be verifiable proof of fradulent practices or disenfranchisement before people on DU start screaming that Lieberman stole it.

[MADem]

31. I think people are justifiably paranoid

It always does seem that the media poses a construct, and VOILA! It comes to pass.

Even when events on the ground aren't read the same way as they are looking down from those rarified media lairs...

Your point is valid, though. It's important to simply keep a close eye on those managing the elections, and gripe about any and every irregularity.

[halobeam]

32. Right, but as I understand,

the poster you responded to, said we yell at every election. Guess we shouldn't until we have proof. Which takes investigation. Which by the way WILL NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT THE YELLING. Oh My God. (I wasn't directing my caps at you btw... it was in response to the same person you responded to)

[WildEyedLiberal]

50. You don't say "it was stolen" until you have proof, no

That should be obvious. You don't assert something to be true if you cannot prove it.

I never said don't investigate irregularites SHOULD THEY APPEAR. Crying "stolen election" after every close election with no proof is a great way to destroy your credibility and look like a sore loser, however.

[Telly Savalas]

64. Not to mention crying "stolen election" before every close election.

[AtomicKitten]

34. that's the problem with breaching the trust

we may never trust the voting process again

[Bluzmann57]

44. Great post

This is why EVERY conspiracy theory should be viewed with at least a little bit of suspicion. In nearly every conspiracy theory, there is some circumstantial evidence, but little concrete evidence. And that is not admissible in a court of law, and it should not be taken as fact by the theorists either.
Now as a non Connecticut resident, I hope Lamont pulls it off, but if he doesn't, then Lieberman will likely keep his seat in the Senate and will be at least a nominal Democrat. And if Lieberman does win, I believe that this could shake him up enough to make him realize his erroneous ways and become more in line with what the people in Connecticut are thinking.

[calico1]

52. I have lived in CT for over 20 years.

I have never heard claims of any election being rigged. No rumors, no one complaining, nothing. The elections here far as I know, are clean. We use lever machines. If Lieberman pulls it off its because he convinced enough people to go out for him. I will not be happy but I won't be crying foul.

[Atman]

53. I'm with you; I can't stand Joe, but I'll defer if he wins.

I've worked elections here too many times, and I've seen the insides of the lever machines and how they function. I cannot fathom a way to rig those machines. There are redundant counters and key locks, and every vote is recorded on a piano-roll type paper for counting and archiving. It would be monumentally complicated to pull off a Bush style fraud at the machine level. I simply cannot speak for the counting of the votes; that's something I've never been involved in. But if Joe wins, I've seen enough from the inside to say "Okay, Joe, you pulled it off." I wouldn't be so generous in a Diebold state.

[Common Sense Party]

61. Sorry. You get a yellow card and a 15-yard penalty for making

too darn much common sense.

[AtomicKitten]

27. yes, just like Santorum is "closing" on on Casey in PA

But the GOP hardly needs a close margin to steal an election as was demonstrated in 2002 in many Senate races where there were mysterious and magical (aarrggh) double-digit overnight swings in the polls.

[oasis]

36. Joe's getting a freebie interview on MSNBC's "Hardball" today.

:wtf:

[Critters2]

39. And Tweety will be broadcasting from CT tomorrow

Wants to be there for Joe's victory party, I guess.

[oasis]

46. Tweety just announced that Joe ducked out of the interview.

:wow:

[Stinky The Clown]

47. To be fair and honest .......

Tweety said both Lamont and Lieberman were invited and both cancelled.

[oasis]

54. This a.m.'s Hardball promotion stated that Joe would appear. They said

nothing about Lamont.

[Bluzmann57]

40. Here's another thought

Maybe Democrats in Connecticut are now leaning toward Lieberman and intend to vote for him tomorrow. I don't live there and really don't know, I'm just sayin'.

[mtnsnake]

42. Good gawd, the excuses are starting to roll in already.

[AtomicKitten]

55. Can't blame people for not trusting anything that goes down

with regard to elections; it's the consequence of breeching the trust and it may never be regained.

[HockeyMom]

48. Get enough people depressed,

so they stay home and don't vote? Could that be it?

[Telly Savalas]

66. No.

Under which scenario would a Lamont supporter stay home and not vote:

1.Lieberman is closing the gap and threatening to win the election, or
2.Lamont is sitting comfortably on a 15 point lead?

[Sapere aude]

57. Compare exit polls with the published polls with the election results.

I'll bet dollars to donuts that the exit polls show Lamont is favored. The last published polls show the race too close to call and Lieberman gets the most counted votes.

Common show me your donuts!

[tom22]

62. Connecticut elections are relatively honest.

You can't do much with the machines. The traditional way to fix a Connecticut vote is through phony absentee ballots. which don't get counted unless the election is close.

[tom22]

63. PS If Lieberman does win the difference

will have been Bill Clinton's endorsement.

[Skittles]

65. you know what global?

I had that EXACT same thought when I heard "the gap is closing" - I started wondering if I was becoming a consipiracy theorist, then I decided it is truly said that we simply don't trust the elections process any more - and with damn good reason

[LoZoccolo]

67. If they could manipulate the polls...

...why didn't they start doing it months ago when Lieberman was way ahead?