Ever wondered how to go about trying to rig an election in a country where it’s supposed to be impossible? Well, Allen Raymond’s new book, How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative might be worth a look if you have some downtime over the holidays…
“A former GOP political operative who ran an illegal election-day scheme to jam the phone lines of New Hampshire Democrats during the state’s tight 2002 U.S. Senate election said in a new book and an interview that he believes the scandal reaches higher into the Republican Party.
Allen Raymond of Bethesda, Md., whose book Simon & Schuster will publish next month, also accused the Republican Party of trying to hang all the blame for a scandal on him as part of an “old-school cover-up.”
Raymond’s book, “How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative,” offers a raw, inside glimpse of the phone scandal as it unraveled and of a ruthless world in which political operatives seek to win at all costs.
McClatchy obtained an advance copy of the book.The 2002 New Hampshire Senate race, in which GOP Rep. John Sununu edged Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen by 19,000 votes, was among several targeted by Republicans seeking to win control of the U.S. Senate.
Raymond said those who’ve tried to make him the fall guy for the New Hampshire scheme failed to recognize that e-mails, phone records and other evidence documented the complicity of a top state GOP official and the Republican National Committee’s northeast regional director.
Both men were later convicted of charges related to the phone harassment, along with Raymond and an Idaho phone bank operator. Defense lawyers have since won a retrial for James Tobin, the former regional director for both the RNC and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
A lawyer for Tobin didn’t respond to phone messages.
GOP committees have paid Washington law firms more than $6 million to defend Tobin and to fight a Democratic civil suit against the party. Raymond, himself a former RNC official, said in the book and an interview that he believes that the scandal reaches higher.”
Electioneering – it’s not just for friendly Banana Republics anymore.
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This reminds me of the Election of 2000 and the “hanging chads”….
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and here i thought all you needed was a pda, a magnet and some duct tape (http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/12/report-magnet-a.html)
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All these e-voting machines need a paper trail, I mean after dubbya got “re-elected” I had a feeling something was fishy. Just remember not to bring it up during a Q & A session - “don’t tase me bro”
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Quoting NathaN:
After Dubbya was elected the first time, I had a feeling something was fishy!!!!
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Yah, after he won the first time was a shock and a blatant crime the second time around. You need to get rid of all of those electronic voting machines and go back to paper. It’s all set up and has been for quite some time with those Diebold machines. Makes me sick that nobody knows what is going on or doesn’t do anything about it. Why couldn’t this Asshole have been impeached a long time ago. How the hell could they get rid of Clinton for a blowjob but the Democrats can’t get rid of Bush for all of the atrocities he continues to create around the world securing oil. The Republicans are ruthless and the Democrats are pussies, and they need to buck up and start taking Republican lessons on how to win a fight. Let’s face it, there really are diabolical, evil, greedy, murderous villains in this world(real hollywood movie shit!) and they seem to be the ones running the show. So get off your asses Democrats and start causing some shit down there and quit letting the evil, corporate murderers get away with making a mockery of “Democracy” in front of everyone! The whole world sees it and you need to pull the rug out from under that administration and execute them for treason. Woops, didn’t mean to rant… I’ll stop now!
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I don’t know why, and I probably don’t want to know why. But in my mind, just now, reading this post I saw a Disney movie made all about the Bush administration’s evil reign of terror.
The only problem, I can’t see anyone stepping forward to topple the evil empire.
Where’s Simba when you need him?
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Oh, I imagine both sides have their bag of tricks. They’re even using them on candidates in their own parties now.
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The more of this I read, I find it harder not to bring to mind “Kenny Vs. Spenny”… Sigh…
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Nobody “got rid” of Clinton; he served his full 2nd term. He was impeached in the House for perjury and obstruction of justice. He was acquited in the Senate. It had nothing whatsover to do with “that woman, that Lowensky.”
The Democrats have had 7 years to impeach Bush. They have elected to not do so. “Down here”, we have elections. Wheather you or anyone else wants to believe in the results is your business. But we’ll wait for the next election to make our changes. You’ll need to check your blood lust.
Quoting sneaky:
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Robert - Well put friend. regardless of all the conspiracy theories and whether or not you hate Bush or just dislike him, he won an honest election victory by a large margin in 2004. That’s democracy in action. Some times you get a statesman and sometimes you get a frat boy.
As far as “rigging” elections goes, it has nothing to do with party and everything to do with power. Those who have the resources and the connections to turn the tide in there favor will whether its Bush or Clinton, Romney or Ted Kennedy. That’s politics, if you folks are that pissed off about it why don’t you throw your hat in the ring and do something about it, or work your as your ass off for candidate you believe in, or go walk into your legislators office tell him what you think his problem is and organize alot of people to do the same. “Congress doesn’t care waht I think” You’re right . No congressman gives a shit about what a blogger is whining about. But if a few hundred constintuents actually show up at his office with some reasonable ideas/demands something might get done.
Everyone is quick to say how broken and corrupt the system. The system is fine. What’s broken is that good people with good ideas are content to bitch on blogs while assholes are gearing up to go conquer.
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Quoting Robert R:
As far as I can see, he was impeached because of his situation with Ms. Lewinsky and aquitted of anything other than that scandal. So as far as I can see, he was impeached for a blowjob!
“Upon the passage of H. Res. 611, Clinton was impeached on December 19, 1998, by the House of Representatives on grounds of perjury to a grand jury (by a 228-206 vote) and obstruction of justice (by a 221-212 vote). Two other articles of impeachment failed — a second count of perjury in the Jones case (by a 205-229 vote) and one accusing Clinton of abuse of power (by a 148-285 vote). “
The reason for his impeachment as quoted from CNN is “WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, December 19) — A deeply divided House of Representatives impeached President Bill Clinton Saturday on charges of lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice in the Monica Lewinsky affair.”
And the reason he finished his full term is because although the impeachment process succeeded at the level of the House of Representatives, without the Senate’s confirming action in this matter, no further action was taken.
And as far as elections go… Yeah, let’s not impeach a president that is quite blatantly a villain in this whole world scenario, which is easily proven by the fact that he has the lowest approval rating of any president in history by his own people and quite obviously on a world scale(of course I don’t have a world approval rating poll to back that up, but I’m pretty sure I’m right on that one!) So, let’s wait for the next election so that the next one can be rigged too and the whole bloody mess can continue to perpetuate itself!
He should have been impeached a long time ago and the US needs to get rid of e-voting and back to paper voting to help turn it around beacuse e-voting is a faulty and a corrupt system.
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this is an interesting doc…
http://www.unprecedented.org/
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Sneaky: so you’re sticking with your story? Does that include murdering Bush and Cheny?
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Elections in the US should now be monitored by the United Nations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dV67u370Pg
http://www.blackboxvoting.org
http://www.bradblog.com
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No one kill bush or cheney! Look at JFK, he really wasn’t that great of a president (great public and motivational speaker) but after he gets assasinated … you know the rest. I do think bush and dick should experience waterboarding kinda like cops test tasers and pepper spay on themselves to know what it’s like, maybe film it and then destroy the tapes.
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I don’t know Robert. You tell me what the penalty is in the US for treason, and then I guess whatever that is will have to be the punishment. This is just one of probably thousands of articles which could explain some of the reasons why, maybe I should just link because it’s so long, but not sure…
The Bush Group: Guilty of Treason?
George W. Bush: Not a Bad President
By Chris Rowthorn
The Smirking Chimp, Nov 15, 2006
Straight to the Source
Traitor: One who violates his allegiance and betrays his country; one guilty of treason.
Treason: The offense of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance. — Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. — Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution
It is clear that George W. Bush is a bad president. He may have allowed 9-11 to happen because he ignored clear and repeated warnings about terrorist plans. He invaded Iraq based on outright lies, causing the death of over 2800 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. He gave no-bid Iraq reconstruction contracts to his cronies, thereby robbing the American public of billions of dollars. He has presided over a regime in which enemies are tortured and citizens are spied on. Thus, it is clear that Mr. Bush is a bad president — probably the worst president in American history.
But to call George W. Bush merely a bad president is to miss the point entirely. For George W. Bush is far more than just a bad president. George W. Bush’s misdeeds go far beyond mere inept statesmanship or run-of-the-mill political corruption. If one looks carefully at the means by which Bush took office, the way he has governed since taking office, and the clearly stated beliefs and aims of his administration, one cannot help but conclude that George W. Bush is guilty of a crime against his country. And that crime is treason.
George W. Bush is a traitor to the United States of America.
Please read the definition of traitor at the start of this article one more time. A traitor is someone who betrays his country, or someone who is guilty of treason, the offense of attempting to overthrow the government. This is precisely the crime that George W. Bush is guilty of. For George W. Bush is the representative of a small group of people and corporations who have made a very public attempt to overthrow the United States government.
The exact nature and membership of this group is debatable and partially hidden from public view, but its existence is beyond dispute and its aims are clear. For the sake of brevity, I will refer to this group as the Bush Group. George W. Bush is the representative and figurehead of this group, but he is by no means its leader.
The Bush Group consists of highly placed figures in the oil industries and related industries, most notably companies like Halliburton and Bechtel, as well as figures in the Carlyle Group, a Washington-based private equity firm. Of course, these are only the most visible and most powerful members of the Bush Group. Other members can be identified by looking at a list of major Bush campaign contributors and recipients of large government contracts since Bush took office.
The companies and individuals who make up the Bush Group used their vast political influence and capital to place George W. Bush in power. They did this for one reason only: to use the apparatus of the government of the United States to channel money into their pockets.
Of course, this would merely be politics as usual if it weren’t for the fact that the Bush Group originally took power illegally and has sought to maintain and increase its power by non-democratic means. The Bush Group, acting through the Republican National Committee, local Republican organizations, and various allied groups, used a variety illegal means to insure a Bush victory in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. Those who doubt this are urged to read Mark Crispin Miller’s book “Fooled Again” or Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s article “Was the 2004 Election Stolen?”
After placing George W. Bush in office through illegal means, the Bush Group sought to cement its grip on power by rewriting and reinterpreting American law to make the executive branch of government supreme above the judicial and legislative branches. That is, to make the president the supreme power in the land, unanswerable to Congress, the courts and, ultimately, the people of the United States. Needless to say, this is a stunning violation of both the letter and the intent of the Constitution, and a direct breach of the Oath of the Office of the President, in which the president swears to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”.
What is most remarkable about the Bush Group’s power grab is their brazen frankness about their intents and their beliefs. The Bush Group has declared that they are guided by the “unitary executive theory.” This term describes a government in which one man, the president, holds supreme power in the land, or, to use Bush’s formulation, “I am the decider and I decide.” Even the briefest reflection on the term “unitary executive” leads to one simple conclusion: “unitary executive” is a euphemism for dictator.
According to the “unitary executive theory,” the executive, or president, has power over the other two branches of government. The most famous example of Bush exercising the power of the unitary executive is in the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens, in direct violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) passed by Congress in 1978.
A clearer insight into the Bush Group’s practical application of the “unitary executive theory” can be found in Bush’s use of the “signing statements” which Bush routinely appends to laws passed by Congress. Bush’s signing statements challenge the validity of the laws in question and declare that the president can either interpret the laws as he wishes or ignore them completely.
At last count, Bush had signed 139 signing statements, containing challenges to over 750 individual laws. These signing statements amount to 139 written declarations that George W. Bush and the Bush Group consider themselves to be unconstrained by the laws of the land, the Congress of the United States and the will of the people. Or, to quote Mr. Bush: “(The Constitution) is just a goddamned piece of paper!”
The Founding Fathers took great pains to frame a Constitution that would prevent one individual or one branch of government from taking power over the other branches. In the words of James Madison, “the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” Having lived under a king, they created a sacred document that was intended to prevent a king from taking power in their new country.
What the Bush Group has tried to do is install a new king over the United States. They took control of the government of the United States by illegal means and then announced that their man, George W. Bush, is no longer bound by the Constitution. This is not politics as usual. This is a takeover of the government of the United States. This is treason.
Remember that article II, section 4 of the United States’ Constitution states that, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
Of course, treason usually involves betraying one’s country to a foreign power. But, there is nothing inherent in the definition or legal interpretation of treason that limits the crime to this. In the present case, George W. Bush, acting on behalf of the Bush Group, has tried to wrest control of the United States from the people of the United States and deliver it into the hands of a small group of extremely powerful domestic business interests. Their motivation, of course, is the same as in any normal takeover of a country: to steal the wealth of that country. The fact that the plotters are working from within the country in no way exonerates them from the charge of treason: an overthrow is an overthrow, whether it comes from within or without.
All of Bush’s crimes are secondary to this one. And Congress must look beyond craven political calculation to do what is right to answer this fundamental challenge to American Democracy. Now is not the time to think only of maintaining a Congressional majority in 2008. Now is the time to do the will of the Founding Fathers and strike down this vulgar would-be king and the people he represents. Now is the time to try George W. Bush for treason in the United States Congress. Our very Democracy is at stake.
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About author: Chris Rowthorn is an American journalist based in Kyoto, Japan. He has written for the Japan Times and Kansai Time Out.
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I didn’t even get into the war crimes aspect of his administration, but that’s a whole other can of worms… I mean this shit could just go on and on forever and frankly who has the time or constitution to withstand the depression of it all.
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Sneaky:……So, because you think that the US Government has been taken over by the “Bush Group”, this gives you the right to violently overthrow the US Government? And execute Bush and Cheney? You don’t see anything amiss in your logic?