If the Democrats take control of just one house of Congress in 2006, they will gain the powers of Congressional investigation – the right to issue subpoenas to witnesses and for essential documents, and the right to require witnesses to testify under oath, which carries with it the threat of criminal conviction for perjury. And be assured, that should the Democrats take charge of congressional investigations, chaired by such prosecutorial hawks as Henry Waxman, John Conyers and Patrick Leahy, the worm-cans would be opened.
To be sure, Congressional Democrats have recently held unofficial hearings on the 2004 voting irregularities in Ohio, on The Downing Street Memos, on media reform, and on the Plame-Wilson-CIA scandal. But these have all been rather toothless affairs, boycotted by the Republicans, with all testimony volunteered and none under oath. Official Congressional investigations would be a whole ‘nother story.
For there is good reason to suspect that the Bush Administration is less a government than it is a crime syndicate, which, thanks to a compliant Congress and Justice Department, has to date done its dirty work without fear of investigation or prosecution. Among the possible crimes that are crying for investigation: war profiteering, Congressional bribery and corruption, election fraud, war crimes, and of course the “outing” of a covert CIA operation -- and act which Bush's own father described as treasonous.
Accordingly, the loss of either house of Congress would not merely send the Busheviks back into private life: it might send many of them straight to federal prison. And the prospects for the GOP malefactors would be still worse if the Democrats reclaimed the White House in 2008, and with it the criminal investigation and prosecution powers of the Justice Department.
Nor is the threat of criminal prosecution the only concern. In addition, with a Democratic victory, the GOP oligarchs would have to give back the keys to the federal candy store. With a return to fiscal sanity, the super-wealthy might once again be required to pay a fair share of federal taxes. Legislation might be passed to cut back on corporate welfare, to further reform campaign financing, and to reduce the influence of the lobbyists. Furthermore, the corporate foxes would be chased out of the regulatory hen-houses – the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, etc.-- thus restoring to these agencies their intended function of protecting the public interest.
In sum, from the point of view of the Republicans, continuing control of the Congress in 2006 and of the White House in 2008 is not simply “desirable” – it is absolutely mandatory.
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From the article:http://www.crisispapers.org/essays-p/certainwin.htm
From the DU link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1961221More in the article
What you can do:
If you live in a state or a district that uses paperless voting machines, and if there is statistical or other evidence of voting fraud, contact your state Attorney General or your local District Attorney and demand a criminal investigation.
As the 2006 election approaches, join the determined effort to abolish e-voting and to use paper ballots instead. Failing that, demand paper receipts from the e-voting machines. If, as is likely, e-voting and computer compilation remains in place, it is still possible to institute safeguards – e.g., double-balloting, random inspection of touch-screen machines, and parallel compilation of regional votes. (For more details, see my "What Can We The People Do About Election Fraud?).
Insist on exit polling. If the RNC tries to put the exit polling companies out of business, set up alternative exit polls. Same with pre-election polls. It is not unlikely that established organizations such as Gallup will be corrupted and will put out fake figures. In that case, support and publicize the remaining honest polling organizations such as (presumably) Zogby.
A simple majority may not suffice in your district or state. Work relentlessly for a super-majority. If sufficiently large, the “fixers” might not dare to steal the election. Suppose, for example, that the imminently defeatable Rick Santorum were behind in the late polls by 65% to 35%. How would a “surprise” Santorum victory go down? Add this to several more “surprises,” resulting in continuing GOP control of Congress. Might it finally dawn on the US public that their trips to the polls are a waste of time, and that the election results are simply what the GOP want them to be? And might that public finally begin to see the 2002 and 2004 elections in a new light?
In general: Be on the alert for the aforementioned “dramatic disruption of events” and be prepared to exploit it quickly, decisively and intelligently. Better still, work to create that “dramatic disruption.”
Above all, remember: if things continue as they are, we’re cooked. The GOP will not be stopped. They count the votes. Simple as that.
We must see to it that things don’t continue as they are.
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