Strong Christian faith and action will be needed when Bush & Co. attempt to tamper with this 2006 election

We are at a critical time in our country's fledgling attempts at democracy. For the first time in a long time in the history of this country, progressives will play the major role in determining the direction of this country. Rising to take on Republican establishment felons and Democratic establishment enablers (like Joe Lieberman), progressive candidates from a wide range of beliefs and backgrounds (liberal, conservative, and independent), have agreed that this country deserves a new direction and deserves to have its people's welfare and pluralist values respected. Even taking into account other progressive eras and leaders-- Teddy Roosevelt, Bob LaFollette, etc.-- this election promises to be a potential breakthrough for populist, democratic leadership.

And that is why the current administration will do anything to stop it, including tampering with the tabulation of votes.

Before I start, I want to assure readers that your vote matters MORE when election tampering happens. The more people who go out and vote for progressive candidates and the more actual results depart from exit polls, the greater chance there is for media to investigate, for criminal investigations to be pursued, and for people to march in the streets and demand a real vote with a real paper record and redundant checks to accuracy.

But let us look at the evidence and modus operandi in the past few elections. Groups like Election Protection have documented discrimination, abuse, and restricted access in huge numbers primarily against Black voters, elderly, and the poor. Of the thousands of "mistakes" in polling places in the last 3 elections (2000, 2002, 2004), nearly every single one of them favored this radical administration and its allies. Sound statistical studies by Steve Freeman of the University of Pennsylvania (http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1970/) and probably the most comprehensive article to date on the matter by Robert Kennedy, Jr. (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_st...) show a consistent pattern of outright and bald manipulation of results. Computer programmer, Clinton Eugene Curtis, testified under oath that he had written a vote-rigging program for Tom Feeney (R-Fl) (http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/40755). So why didn't anything come of it? Even supposedly liberal publications like Salon, Nation, and Mother Jones served as apologists, perhaps afraid to be seen as conspiracy theorists.

But this is not a conspiracy theory, it is a business plan, cold, clinical, and criminal. People might choose to call vote-rigging "unthinkable" to avoid the trauma of acknowledging such an outrageous assault on democracy, but it is extraordinarily simple and logical. This administration has motive, means, and opportunity, and most importantly, it has never had to experience consequences for having tampered with the last three elections, due to a one-party rule and control over law enforcement at the federal level (with loyal cronies in the Justice Department and Elections Commission). Question is, "Why wouldn't they rig an election?" Well, they just wouldn't do that? To this I say, "Oh, come on now"... You have an administration that makes signing statements to subvert legislation, that legalizes torture, that taps phones against the very mandates of Constitution, all covertly, and when discovered, arrogantly proclaims it is proud of breaking the law, and congresspeople and the media simply cover for them. Vote-rigging is mild by comparison.

This administration is the most anti-Christian, anti-democratic, anti-populist, power-mad, and corrupt group of politicos in my lifetime. Of course they will use any MEANS at their disposal to get what they want. Their MOTIVES are very plain. They have engaged in such wholesale criminality and cover-up, if the House of Representatives switched hands, and subpoenas were issued, they would be forced to speak under oath and provide records of their deeds. They are not going to jail or giving up power without a fight. The OPPORTUNITY is so baldly apparent that it should be a no-brainer. Votes are counted by electronic machines with no paper verification and no auditing and this administration has access to at least one program that could simply tabulate the vote any way desired, run by "proprietary code" (meaning no one is allowed to look at it), owned by companies, like Diebold, whose president is on record saying he is "dedicated to delivering Ohio to President Bush." As of now, even if wholesale irregularities forced a show-down after another stolen election, Bush and Co. could simply say, it was a machine malfunction and no one is to blame and we have to go with the results.

More likely they will say, it was their superior get-out-the-vote effort, their record on "keeping the country safe", their ability to mobilize evangelicals, and, of course, and they'll hit this one big, the fact that there were no real alternatives, since Democrats are demonstrated losers and don't stand for anything, and if Democrats can't win this one with all the public discontent they might as well just give it up, period. This administration will take these dubious results and act as if they had a mandate, like they have always done, keeping on the offensive to keep others on the defensive.

This is where faith, REAL faith, as a Christian, and as a citizen comes in. If this vote manipulation comes to pass, and I am praying very much that it will not and that the rising tide of contested races will be just too much to coordinate, we have a tremendous responsibility, to continue to act in a faith which supercedes our vote, to act in spiritual and practical courage to recover our democracy. When despots lie, they lie big, and it has always worked for them in the past. People don't want to confront a big lie, because it places a whole lot of pressure and responsibility on the confronter. But if we confront this together as progressives and as faithful people, We will be able to create common cause with all citizens across party lines, and we will be able to repel this party of rulers and get responsible vote tabulation back in our lives, and perhaps begin a golden era of citizen participation, leadership, and responsibility. May a pluralist democracy be our reward for accepting nothing less than full justice and participation for a whole country and a whole world.

Citizen Zeus