I know that many of my fellow progressives think the official margin of victory for Bush in Ohio, well over 100,000 votes, is too large a margin to be entirely reversed by proof of fraud or malfeasance.
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What I can say is what the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff said best in the Conyers report: "We have found numerous, serious election irregularities in the Ohio presidential election, which resulted in a significant disenfranchisement of voters. Cumulatively, these irregularities, which affected hundreds of thousand of votes and voters in Ohio, raise grave doubts regarding whether it can be said the Ohio electors selected on December 13, 2004, were chosen in a manner that conforms to Ohio law, let alone federal requirements and constitutional standards."
Is there an exact number? No. Was it potentially a net loss of more than 100,000 Democratic votes? I think so."Our current political leaders would suffer greatly if either house of Congress changed hands in 2006, or if the presidency changed hands in 2008. The lids would come off all the simmering scandals, from the selling of the Iraq war to profiteering by politically connected companies. The Republicans will be strongly tempted to make sure that they win those elections by any means necessary. And everything we've seen suggests that they will give in to that temptation."
Republicans find themselves with plunging poll numbers and an uncertain electoral landscape in 2006. Failure for them in their drive to keep control of the House of Representatives, and one party rule in Washington, means that, if reelected, I will become Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Henry Waxman will become Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, Louise Slaughter will become Chair of the Rules Committee, Charlie Rangel will Chair the Ways and Means Committee, and Nancy Pelosi will be the first woman to be Speaker of the House. That means accountability for this Administration with a stiff dose of the truth.
Make no mistake about it. Desperate times will lead to desperate tactics and partisans supporting Republican candidates will pull out every dirty trick in the book to stop us from bringing checks and balances back to the federal government. What do we do about it?First, we must be vigilant and we must use every legal means at our disposal to stop the pre and post election manipulations.
Second, we must push for legislation at the state and federal level to reform our elections, including providing a voter verified paper ballot.
More immediately, however, we must work harder to take back the House and to do so by a large enough margin so that the malfeasance and fraud makes no difference. I want you to start today (the election is just a little more than 14 months away) because they are. Start organizing in your neighborhood and precinct. Join your local democratic party if you haven't already. Talk to your relatives and friends about how much is at stake in 2006. Support progressive and alternative media that help get our message out by spreading the word about your favorite progressive talk radio hosts and stations, and the blogs you read. Support the candidates of your choice by signing up to be a volunteer for their campaigns, for the DCCC, or by making a financial contribution. Write letters to the editor about the lack of accountability in our government for the bad decisions made by this Congress and this Administration.
In sum, I have a small request: do everything you did for the 2006 election that you did last year in a close Presidential election marred by malfeasance and fraud, and then do more. It is never too soon to start.Scroll down to "What Happened Last Fall? Paul Krugman Does It Again"
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