Subverting, Not Preserving, Democracy

Liberals and preogressives who denouce those of us who know damn well the Rethugs have been using numerous startegies to steal elections are fools, period.

Subverting, Not Preserving, Democracy:

As the 2006 mid-term elections near, it is worth looking at the way the press handled the important claims of vote fraud in the last election. Extra! examined the 2004 post-election coverage of major news outlets, focusing on the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today, along with network TV news coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC.

Extra! looked at this coverage in light of allegations detailed in Rep. John Conyers' report, 'Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio.' On January 5, 2005, the Democratic staff of the House Judiciary Committee, led by Conyers of Michigan, issued a report on the 'irregularities reported in the Ohio presidential election.' The report detailed 'numerous, serious election irregularities . . . which resulted in a significant disenfranchisement of voters,' casting 'grave doubts regarding whether it can be said the Ohio electors selected [in the 2004 election] were chosen in a manner that conforms to Ohio law, let alone federal requirements and constitutional standards.'

The report, later published in book form by Academy Chicago Publishers, stands as an official record detailing the ways that the 2004 election, like 2000 before it, fell short of democratic standards. Yet the malfeasance the report details was conspicuously absent from the mainstream media discourse around the election. Instead of investigating the issues later outlined by Conyers, the press preferred to emphasize Bush's winning strategy (focused on social issues like same-sex marriage) and on what he would do with his 'mandate' and 'political capital' during his second term.