'Suppress the vote: By any means necessary'

[Clinton Crusader]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/comment/story/0,14259,1329925,00.html

Gary Younge: 'Suppress the vote: By any means necessary'
Date: Tuesday, October 19

There is nothing George Bush likes more than extolling the virtues of democracy in faraway places. On October 8, during the second presidential debate, he promised: "Freedom is on the march. Tomorrow, Afghanistan will be voting for a president." Apparently some Afghans enjoyed their new freedoms so much, they voted for the US surrogate, Hamid Karzai, several times over, after the ink used to mark voters' thumbs wore off. By the middle of the day, all 15 of Karzai's challengers had withdrawn. Freedom was not even limping let alone marching.

"Today's election is not a legitimate election," said Abdul Satar Sirat, after he and the other disgruntled candidates had met in his house. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, knew better. "This election is going to be judged legitimate," she said. "I'm just certain of it." When it comes to fixing elections, the Bush administration has a way of making the lame walk.

By Monday an exit poll funded by the US government and conducted by the International Republican Institute, which has links to the Republican party, revealed Karzai as a comfortable winner. After diplomatic arm-twisting by the US ambassador, the 15 challengers withdrew their withdrawals. It was a miracle. A few days later, in the final presidential debate, Bush would literally claim divine intervention. "In Afghanistan, I believe that the freedom there is a gift from the Almighty."

Back in the US, however, the Almighty seems far less generous. Bush's enthusiasm to export democracy is not matched by his desire to defend it at home. With just a fortnight to go to the presidential election, efforts to obstruct and deny the vote, particularly to black and Latino voters, are intensifying. Forty years after the civil rights act enshrined the franchise in the constitution for African-Americans, freedom is being crippled.
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[blondeatlast]

1. 1-866-OUR-VOTE

Know it.

Burn it into your brain.

Google it*

SPREAD IT FAR AND WIDE.

*actually it's People for the American Way+; collectively the Election Protection Coalition.

THEY WILL NOT STEAL THIS ELECTION AS LONG AS I HAVE BREATH IN MY BODY.