Howard Dean on Election Fraud, Reform and the Iraq War!

[Dancing_Dave]

"HD: Right. I think one the things we can all agree on is election fraud is a huge issue for us and we should move on that. I think the war is an incredibly foolish undertaking as you’re well aware. I think that we’re going to have to choose what our issues are going to be. It’s very hard to focus the attention of the country on maybe two or three issues at once. I think the war is a really important issue but I think that as time goes on particularly after the President’s inauguration, there will be more and more focus on the war, But right now, the election is fresh on our mind, and I really do think we should focus on the questionable results of the election in some of the states such as Ohio."

Getting down to election reform tactics:

"HD: I think we need to focus on election officials. County Clerks, Secretaries of State in particular, because the Republicans have been so partisan in exercising their responsibility to help people vote, they‘ve in fact tried to suppress turnout instead of encourage it. Secondly, we, I think we need to try to get laws passed, by referendum if necessary, that says that no voting machines in a particular state or jurisdiction may be used unless they can be recounted by hand. Oregon has such a statute because Bill Bradbury (Oregon’s Secretary of State) got one passed in 2001. We should try to state by state overhaul the election process both by referendum and by electing where possible Democratic Secretaries of State and County Clerks."

Read the rest at http://www.peopleforchange.net /

Dean always was ahead of the curve on recognizing election fraud as a real and present danger. His locally based reform strategy is right on, and indeed the only way of cleaning up elections available to us now that all three branches of the Federal Government are under Republican control. Of course, we also need the movement charisma of people like Martin Luther King or Jesse Jackson, a whole Woodstock's worth of powerful groovy counter-culture and so on. The movement needs to be part of a global movement, but with local political tactics. It needs to bring young people who are part of a globalized Internet culture into local activism.

[madfloridian]

1. "State by state overhaul" good idea.

Targeting Secretaries of State and county clerks.

[Dancing_Dave]

4. Over in the "Election 2004" forum folks are still dreaming about Kerry

winning due to some sudden and unprecedented outbreak of truth and justice in Washington DC. Martin Luther King was much more realistic about the kind of deep and sustained movement needed to achieve any progress toward truth and justice!

Which also brings us around to Dean's realistic ideas one-state-at-a-time tactics for election reform. Of course, states can learn from each other, and we should look what's been done in some states such as Oregon, New Jersey, and California where there's been some progress on e-voting issues.

[Left coast liberal]

2. This is exactly why Dean should be the new DNC chair!

He's got it figured!

Cheers!

:hi:

[Raiden]

6. Right on!

Dean is the man!

[janx]

3. This is one of the most candid interviews I've ever read.

And this part is important, because it answers the one question many people ask:

HD: Well, DFA will continue to exist , (our) grassroots support , we’re far ahead of where DNC could be,, even in two or three years, and we need DFA very much to continue to exist, BUT …if we can reform politics in this country, reforming it through the major party is worth a try. If we can’t do it, then we can’t do it, but I think it’s worth doing. I think the Democratic Party will be, can be a vehicle for real reform, it has in the past .and I think that’s what the public wants. I think the common agenda that we have for the American People is reform. DFA is made up of all kinds of people from the progressive end of the spectrum to the moderate Republican end of the spectrum, and what we all have in common is we want progressive reform.

[madfloridian]

5. It is a very important interview.

SNIP..."BUT …if we can reform politics in this country, reforming it through the major party is worth a try. If we can’t do it, then we can’t do it, but I think it’s worth doing. I think the Democratic Party will be, can be a vehicle for real reform, it has in the past .and I think that’s what the public wants...."

Major interview.

[Disturbed]

7. If Dean is not the next DNC person...

I feel that the Dem party will be in the toilet ready to be flushed down.