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than to lower our expectations--although the two are closely related, of course.
Bush/Cheney was an insult. McBush/Palin is even more of an insult.
If you are a far rightwing billionaire, like Howard Ahmanson, who wants the death penalty for homosexuals (gave one million dollars to a far rightwing religious group which does), and also the major financier of ES&S (brethren to Diebold--the two biggest election theft corporations), what better way to inflict your monstrous mind on the American people, than to rig the election for a moron, thus to spit on two hundred years of social progress, and everything we hold dear?
These fuckwads have the capability to do it. The EASY capability. (And our Democrats have been so lacking in vigilance over the voting system as to arouse strong suspicions that they are in on it). Our voting system is now entirely non-transparent, and in private, corporate, far rightwing control (via the 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY code in all the voting systems, with virtually no audit/recount controls).
So they CAN do it. Whether they will or not is kind of a crap shoot. I think it's possible they will let Obama win (with a fraudulently shaved mandate), and then really crash the economy, blame everything on him, and install Hitler II in 2012. Or some other scenario that involves continued massive looting of our federal and state treasuries, corporate resource wars, and further savaging of the Constitution and the rule of law.
They have the power. Why wouldn't they use it? But they might use it more subtly than in 2004--something more along the lines of 2006 (fool the people into believing that they are voting for a Congress that will end the war and hold the Bush-Cheney criminals accountable).
As long as the vote counting continues to take place out of the PUBLIC venue, we can't know-- we can only guess--how they are using their 'TRADE SECRET' code power.
We must change this. We must. It is our last chance at democracy, here. And it can be done. It is still possible at the state/local level, where power over the voting systems still resides, and where ordinary people still have some influence. But it will take a big, multi-front citizens movement. That could be another motive for the Corpos letting us win this one time--to prevent the massive dumping of these goddamn voting machines into 'Boston Harbor' (so to speak). Obama wins, the election reform activists get marginalized by the Corpo media even more than they are now (and the Democratic leadership puts an "Iron Curtain" over the subject, as they did in 2004), BOOM! Great Depression II! Or some other kind of BOOM. And our democracy is over, forever.
The key to restoring our democracy is not Obama's (s)election, but getting rid of the voting machines. As long as these fascist Corpos have the power to overturn our elections, we don't really have a democracy--whether they permit Obama to win, or not.
Rightwing fuckwad power over the vote count is paralleled by, and supported by, their control over the Corpo media, which pre-writes the narratives for the stolen elections (or just simply broadcasts and prints Rove's faxes and emails, verbatim). These 'narratives' are immensely insulting--not to mention de-moralizing. Just one example: In 2004, the grass roots Democrats blew the Bushites away in new voter registration, nearly 60/40. Then, after that (s)election, Rove (or maybe Cheney) was asked, what accounted for their win?, and he replied, "Our get out the vote campaign in the churches." There is no evidence for a successful Bushite GOTV "in the churches"--none! And the Corpo media didn't ask for any--and furthermore ignored all evidence to the contrary. Cuz that was the pre-written narrative. Facts don't matter.
We can't do anything about restoring PUBLIC control over our airwaves, or busting Corpo 'news' monopolies, until we have restored vote counting to the PUBLIC venue, and can begin electing real representatives of the people. No one--NO ONE!--neither Democrat nor Republican--currently holding public office can prove that he or she was actually elected. No one!
What I think happened, with the Obama campaign, is that they got an early edge against the Corpos' choice (Hillary) in the caucus states--which are NOT counted by Diebold & brethren, with the big support of anti-war volunteers (representing the SEVENTY PERCENT anti-Iraq War MAJORITY in the country); he then got vetted and approved by the Corpos, as a candidate (not yet as president), and they permitted him to win in some of the 'Diebold' primaries; he beat Clinton, moved to the right on nearly everything, got vetted again, and whether they permit him to win in November will depend on that final vetting (based on the Corpo/fascist long term plan, whatever it is).
Our votes, our volunteer energy and our donations can keep Obama viable, but we cannot put him in the White House without the Corpos' (rightwing fuckwads', war profiteers', global corporate predators') approval. No, I won't say "can't." There is an outside chance that we could outvote the machines, with a big enough turnout, and a lot of vigilance over the voting systems and the voting (--a deterrent). But understand that they did, in truth, steal a Democratic landslide in 2004 (combo of the 'TRADE SECRET' code and massive suppression of black and other Democratic votes), and they can do it again, easily. The risk of civil unrest is greater this time. And for that, they have the "Patriot Act," and all the police state fire power they've accumulated over the last eight years. They may want civil unrest. We don't know.
And this, my friends, is not democracy. We have remnants of democracy--the non-Diebold caucus voting, some freedom of speech (but not the right to be heard) (--and we should ask the gagged Librarians about the status of our freedom of speech!), some freedom of movement (and talk to those on the "no fly" list), some quite limited freedom of assembly, and so forth. And our right to transparent vote counting has been entirely lost. So, how much of a democracy is it? Damn little. And that isn't going to change until we restore transparent vote counting. It is the essential, bottom-line requirement of democracy.
Don't be scared, Ilsa! It's wasted energy. And don't be fooled that an Obama win is the be-all and end-all of restoring our democracy. It is not. It may help us, if we take advantage of the respite from outright fascism and massive looting, to restore transparent vote counting and strengthen other democratic institutions. But we can, and we must, do that, whoever the Corpos decide to (s)elect in November. If they steal it, don't riot--march down to your local registrar, with all your neighbors marching with you, and DEMAND transparent vote counting! If we do this in every county in the country, they don't have the troops to rescue all the corrupt registrars from a determined, outraged public. A focused but multi-front revolt. Peaceful, but very determined.
And if they don't steal it from him, we may actually have a more difficult problem: the citizenry going dormant again, trusting that Obama will fix everything. He can't. And, on private, rightwing Corpo SECRET vote counting, he hasn't said anything (that I know of) to indicate that he will even try. It's up to us.
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