Help me break down this postponement maneuver.

[dbt]

My Dear and Evil DUers,

Most of the time, one can see through any move the White House makes, but this postponement-of-elections product rollout has me baffled. I would welcome your assistance in deconstructing it!

At its core, Postponement is a distraction, a misdirection. It is clearly intended to keep a lot of people from talking about how deep the doo-doo is piling up around bu$h--and how well the Kerry/Edwards ticket is going to do this November! The first question is the trusty old "What are we NOT supposed to notice while this is going on?"

Postponement must also be taken as a Trial Balloon, from a White House that has been filling the air with them since day one. Is it being floated this early (accompanied by carefully-scripted Whore Media "skepticism") so that it may be written off in time for a Terra Attack to be permitted to happen and thus leaving the Regime with a chance to say "we warned you?"

Talk of the elections being postponed in the aftermath of a Terra Attack is tantamount to inviting one. It is also WAY out of character from a junta whose best advice about coping with Terra has been go shopping." How MANY times have we all heard, "If we give in, the Terra-ists win?" But suddenly, the oh-so-macho White House is considering giving in. This is at least a 180, no?

Back in May, there was an unnamed (of course) White House official who stated that the Regime was expecting (planning for) a Terra Attack aimed at disrupting the election. Now comes talk of Postponement and the fog lifts a little.

If an attack does come, which Terra-ists will mount it? Will they be Muslim from overseas or Fundamentalist Christians from over here?

If we have threat serious enough to float the Postponement balloon, why hasn't Ridgeback raised the Terra Lert level?

Is KKKarl Rove enough of an evil jenyus to send the nation the unspoken message, "Vote for bu$h or get bombed again," while wrapping it in what appears to be a valiant attempt to protect the public? (Are things REALLY that far gone? Do I even need to ASK?)

My best guess is that the Regime knows its days are numbered, that it's going to be dragged out into the streets and pelted with garbage. Postponement is just a way to cover its scaly ass for the attack that could well come. Said attack would be MIHOP, big-time. It would be the last, Scorched-Earth hurrah of the bu$h regime: "If we can't have America, NOBODY can!"

Yeah, this topic has been beaten to death, but it's starting to beat on me now. I can't see through this one, so I need some more eyes! This would be where you come in. PLEASE?

:freak:
dbt

[cthrumatrix]

1. a couple of reasons.... it NOW becomes an election issue to "cloud"

critical thinking , voter turnout, any issues of relevance.

And the ulitimate "trump card" if you are down by many points vs Kerry/Edwards.

AWOL cannot run on his record....period. It HAS to be something else.

[unblock]

2. of course, they couldn't have imagined this any earlier

why does this issue have to pop just a few months prior to a very critical election?

if doomsday scenarios around election day were actually a legitimate security concern for our supposed democracy, why couldn't they have imagined this in early 2003? or late 2001? or just after the 2002 elections? or even, just after the 2004 elections?

no, interestingly, this issue is raised by an administration running on security and fear.

interesting.

[sandraj]

10. Exactly

The admin has absolutely nothing of merit to run on, so they campaign on fear. It is easy to believe they have no one's best interests in mind here except their own.

I think they're investigating legal language or rules that would permit them to postpone the elections even if nothing actually happens (i.e., a supposed "credible" threat).

They should be challenged on this until they drop it. Not one terrorist alert in three years has borne out. At least two of them were based on completely false information.

[LibertyorDeath]

3. I think they will do it. Their back is to the Wall

They are about to lose Power they know it We know it, the entire Worlds knows it. They are the most corrupt group of individuals ever to hold the reins of power in the USA.
This is their last card will they play it.

Watch them.

Whats America going to do?
What will all the Brain washed flag waving Faux viewers do?
What will the 50% who don't vote in the first place do.
What will those that think CNN can be trusted as a News source do.
What will the Far Right do.
What will the scared & Frightened do.

They are Done as a Goverment so what do they have to lose.
They will use the Third Arm of this Administration
the Corporate Media in all it's form to sell this.
To accomplish this.

The attack when it comes will be Spectacular

Those that can see the writing on the Wall must Stand & stop this now.


What had been merely a rumor has now become fact.

The Bush administration has asked for legislation enabling it to postpone the November election as a result of a terror attack. While worded very carefully to suggest that an attack must take place for such a move; I do not see either of the below stories unequivocally state that, if granted, these powers might not also permit elections to be “postponed” on merely a well-publicized threat. Don’t believe the press stories. Read the legislation when it is introduced to see what it says there. If that discretion is included then we are at the edge of an abyss more dangerous than anything we have ever faced.

These powers, if enacted, will go to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS would also be the entity to decide when, or if, postponed elections would be held.

Allowing suspension of the elections on just the threat of a terror attack would create a hole in the legislation big enough to drive an oil tanker, or an open dictatorship, through. Since the legislation has not been seen yet we do not know what it will say. Once introduced, the bill would then go into Senate and House Committees (Republican controlled) where the language could easily be modified to give discretionary power to the Administration. At that moment the Constitution would overtly cease to have any operational meaning at all. The separation of powers would vanish.

More

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/061204_electi...

[ClintonTyree]

7. I doubt................

the attack will be spectacular. The attack will be more localized. One swing state.......say Pennsylvania or Ohio, where Bush will stand to lose if it swings to Kerry. A simple Anthrax scare at a few polling places, real or imagined, will be enough to keep voters home and not going to the polls. Lets say Philladelphia. Without Philadelphia's votes the state probably goes to Bush. Viola! Coup completed......again!
This is the scenario that keeps me awake at night and it can happen without anyone ever getting hurt or even anyone breaking the law. Just a "leak" to the corporate media and the coup is complete.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Politics of fear

Shrub is recalling his popularity after 911, and hopes that it will turn into votes if he postpones the election because of a terrorist attack. As for who does it-fundamentalist crazies of any religious stripe could be the culprits, as deep down they worship the same values-fear, hatred, and intolerance.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

5. There is a well known manipulation tactic called "Gradualisation"

The idea is when you want to do something that very few people will agree with, you can't just DO IT, as there will be an immediate backlash.

What you have to do is condition the target audience to "accept the inevitable". You do this with "gradualisation". Here is how (using canceling the elections as an example):

Admin: Announce that the elections may be canceled if...

Public: Bad reaction people demanding to know why the government would even consider this...

Admin: Announce that the original announcement has been taken out of context. Say that they never intend on canceling the election, but were interested in developing ideas as to whether such a thing should happen in a worst case scenario and what would need to be done.

Public: Relief ensues - many blame the media or opposition for blowing it out of proportion, and then agree that it should be studied.

- A delay of weeks or months...

Admin: Announce that study is complete, and a process has been worked out on how to delay an election in "the worst case scenario".

Public: Those who agreed at the last stage still support, others unsure whether to be outraged because the government did exactly what it said by only determining a process to be used "in the worst case scenario". A few realise that "worst case scenario" has itself not been defined and protest.

(by this stage a majority of the public already accepts that a cancellation may be necessary in the "worst case scenario")

- Delay of weeks or months...

Admin: By now, most people accept that elections may need to be canceled, all that needs to happen is a triggering event. The admin announces that a significant enough threat that would cause enough people to not vote and thus possibly change the outcome would be considered a "worse case scenario".

Public: The people who protested last time protest again, but the majority now see their protests as endangering the electoral process by supporting the enemy. Some just get sick of the whole uproar about something that may not even happen and begin to resent those who keep trying to warn the public.

- Just before the election...

Admin: Announce a significant threat has appeared, involving the spreading of a biological weapon at polling places (such as smallpox or some other highly contagious disease), but announce that the elections will go ahead.

Public: Hardline admin supporters now stir up the rest of the public by saying they refuse to vote in unsecured polling places, and demanding that the "worst case scenario" preparations be put into effect. The media helps extend this demand into the mainstream. Soon only the hardcore anti-admin protesters are not demanding that the elections be canceled. They are again demonised by the media.

In the end, the admin can say "We did not want to do it, but the public demanded that we secure their democracy by postponing elections. As soon as the threat has been neutralised, we will hold elections." Anyone who disagrees is seen as trying to help Americans be killed and is labeled a traitor by the media.

This is what I see happening, a process of gradualisation. They make an announcement knowing it will create an uproar, not as a trial balloon. They KNOW people will be outraged, but what they are doing is trying to expend that outrage BEFORE they actually do anything.

By the time they do it, the outrage has been so blunted that they can pull it off with a minimum of resistance.

[kayell]

6. Exactly - Also known as "how to boil a frog"

You can't just throw a frog in a pot of boiling water because it will leap out. But if you place said frog in a pot of cold water, and then gradually turn up the heat, it will happily sit there until it's rights are boiled away.

Edit: Actually gradualization is a more involved and subtle way to boil the frog, likely to put even more people off guard. We've been seeing classic frog boiling ever since 9/11. Very nice analysis of what is likely to happen.

[DemonFighterLives]

8. Nice job

Makes sense out of the rethugs crazy policies. We need them out at the regularly scheduled time. I'm not waiting around to see what other games and MIHOPs they have. At least I hope not.

[dbt]

9. Thank you ALL (I think...)

You are helping me realize that things really are this Far Gone.

:wow:
dbt

[jukes]

11. Hopefully

it's merely intended to increase the fear level, & produce a voter turn out in support of the "war president" that prevented yet another terrorist tragedy, when no attack materializes & elections go on as usual. a staged or allowed attack wd be detrimental to that marketing spin and won't happen.

if we see a major "capture" dramatized 2 weex to 1 month before the election, it *IS* all a marketing ploy; there'll be no attack.

that's what i believe this is all about, just a matter of "product placement" while staging the scene of current events.

if an attack occurs & the elections are postponed/canceled, it'll mean they think they've lost.