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There are a lot of things blockading democratic change in our country, that have been building up for several decades, primarily the filth of our campaign contribution system and "military-industrial complex" lobbying, and the takeover of all our public airwaves by corporate news/entertainment monopolies that, through relentless, 24/7 fascist propaganda and war mongering, create a national narrative that demoralizes and disempowers the great progressive majority.
But this latest thing--instituted between 2002 and 2004 to keep Bush in office and keep the war going--elections tabulated electronically, in extremely insecure and insider hackable voting systems, run on "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled by rightwing Bushite corporations--is the coup de grace. It makes change IMPOSSIBLE.
The people have a fighting chance regarding the filthy money in campaigns--which we demonstrated in 2004, by matching the Bush-Cheney fatcat donations nearly dollar for dollar, by means of internet fundraising and many small donations. Not that we should have to do that, just to pour money into the pockets of war profiteering corporate news monopolies, for campaign TV ads--but, accepting that circumstance as a given, we did it. Similarly, we can overcome the war profiteering corporate news monopolies's disinformation by word of mouth and grass roots organization (and, of course, the internet--our new "Committees of Correspondence"). We showed that also in 2004, with people flocking to the Democratic Party to oust Bush--a nearly 60/40 blowout success over the Bushites in new voter registrations. (Where did all those voters go?)
"Trade secret" vote tabulation was fast-tracked across the country, paralleling the Iraq War (both acts by Congress in the same month--October 2002), with these powers of the people in mind: That we outnumber the fascists, that we can match their money and that--through word of mouth, and the internet and past successes of our educational system--the core values of the American people, peace and justice, have held fast in the teeth of intense, 24/7 warmongering.
I think they knew that 56% opposition to the war (Feb. '03) would grow to 70%, and that our democracy might well work sufficiently well enough to end the war and bring about reform, even with the handicaps of the campaign money system and no free press.
Thus the secret, privatized, rightwing corporate-controlled, non-transparent vote counting--with the Democratic Party leadership colluding with the Bushites to keep it under the radar of the American people.
I frankly blame our party leadership more for this--the "trade secret" vote counting--than I do for the war. It is so incredibly anti-democratic; such an "Iron Curtain" blockade to change; such a deep betrayal.
Be practical. Be strategic. Extrapolate backwards. We must first peel back the "trade secret" vote counting--state by state, county by county (the most viable venues for changing it)--and restore transparent elections before any other change is possible. WITH transparent vote counting, we will begin to elect true representatives of the people, and begin to solve the other problems--busting the corporate news monopolies, taking their license to use the public airwaves away, reinstituting the "Fairness Doctrine," campaign finance reform (publicly financed election campaigns), restoring Voting Rights Act enforcement, preventing Bushite "voter caging lists" and other illegalities, and eventually, busting the war budget, restoring accountability, etc.
Transparent vote counting is democracy's most fundamental requirement. Without it, we have a population that is 70% opposed to the war, and a Congress that will not end the war, no matter which party is in the majority, because they are virtually ALL (s)elected by Diebold/ES&S voting machines and their secret code, and not by us. They are not beholden to us any more. They are beholden to: a) big donors and "military-industrial complex" lobbyists; b) the corporate news monopolies (who shape the debate toward fascist views, and will defame and "swift-boat" them if they get out of line, no doubt aided by Bushite domestic spying and black ops); and c) --the coup de grace--Diebold/ES&S secret vote counting, which assures that no antiwar majority will ever take over Congress, and that no antiwar candidate will ever be elected President.
"Trade secret" vote counting COMBINES WITH other grave erosions of our sovereign power as a People, to PREVENT us from changing this nation's course. To stop us cold.
You only have to consider this "Democratic" Congress' inaction in the case of FL-13, and their failure to immediately reform the election system, to understand how collusive our leadership is in this war and other fascist policy. Diebold/ES&S secret vote tabulation is the MAIN prop-up of the war, in the face of overwhelming public opposition.
FL-13 was a case of egregious vote stealing by ES&S machines, which 'disappeared' 18,000 Democratic votes for Congress, in an election that was decided (for the Republican naturally--is it ever otherwise?) by some 350 votes! This matter languishes in Congress, which has the power to decide it--while Bushite courts in Florida are cementing into law Diebold/ES&S's assertion of the right to profit from our elections with "trade secret" code and to DENY the public ANY ACCESS to their code EVEN IN an egregiously miscounted election.
Congress is sitting on it! It's not that this one Democratic vote in Congress will change things. It's that they DON'T WANT TO CHALLENGE Diebold/ES&S's secret control over election results. And Congress has done nothing, and will do nothing, about this "trade secret" code. It has been locked in by both parties--a "Stalinist" vote counting system!
Well, we've got to UN-lock. That's where we've got to start. Nothing is going to change until we do.
Our election system is very complex, with many factors contributing to an un-democratic Congress and a tyrant in the White House. Be practical. Be strategic. Kick this pillar of fascism in first. "Trade secret" vote counting. And all the other pillars will start to fall. Believe me.
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