"The Nation" zeroes in on Delay's most odious act. GREAT!

[montieg]

Here is a really fine post mortem of Delay's legacy by John Nichols. He "hammers" Delay's single most cruical act: (forgive the long quote--it's all just beautiful!)
"On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2000, when the eyes of the nation were fixed on the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in downtown Miami, where a Dade County canvassing board was reviewing 10,750 uncounted ballots in Florida's disputed presidential contest between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush, a riot orchestrated by DeLay's top aides and allies and carried out by Republican operatives flown in from Washington stopped the count. In so doing, DeLay's Izod-clad minions assured that the Bush campaign's Florida co-chair, Katherine Harris, would, in her capacity as secretary of state, be able to certify a 537-vote "win" for the Republican when the recount deadline arrived...

DeLay's role in the recount, though little reported and even now little understood outside the inner circles of the Republican and Democratic parties, was definitional....

Leading the "rioters" in chants of "Stop the Count" was Tom Pyle, a policy analyst in DeLay's office. This "vigorous challenge" to the count proved successful. The three-judge panel of canvassers--who after going through only a handful of the disputed ballots had already identified more than 150 additional votes for Gore--was shaken. After a team of sheriff's deputies restored order, the judges asked for a police escort to return them to the recounting room. There, they voted unanimously to stop the count. The additional votes for Gore that had already been discovered were discarded....

David Leahy, the supervisor of elections for the country, admitted that the riot "weighed heavy on our minds" as the decision to stop the recount was made. US Representative Carrie Meeks, a Democrat in Miami, was blunter. "The canvassing board bowed under pressure," she said.

That pressure was applied by DeLay, who would say after the US Supreme Court locked in the results for Bush: "This is something I've been working on for twenty-two years. I mean, we got it."

For once, DeLay was being modest. While Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris and Antonin Scalia all played their parts, it was DeLay who brought down the hammer that stopped the recount process at its most critical point."

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=74062

[Jeffersons Ghost]

1. kick

:kick:

[sandnsea]

2. Marianas was his most odious act

The one thing they aren't really being held accountable for. If people understood the immigration policy in the Marianas and what it did there, they'd demand tough laws here that protect those who come into this country to work.

[montieg]

4. I stand corrected.

You're right. That was his WORST. He saddled us with Bush--that's bad. He saddled those laborers--including children--with years--maybe decades of what amounts to forced labor.

[sandnsea]

6. Well, there's so many to choose from!

I just wanted to add that because I still don't think the Marianas has gotten enough attention.

[montieg]

8. Agreed. And I think, if it were

given the old 'investigation' thing, lots more Repub pols would be in deep doggy doo-doo. it's truly sickening and depraved-- lacking any Christianity whatsoever.

[Canuckistanian]

38. I agree - i just read that excerpt from "The Hammer" a few days ago

Delay was such a slimeball, even way back in the Clinton days. The Marianas affair showed America at it's worst - sweatshop labor, indentured servitude, unbridled greed, outrageous power grabs, and astounding and depraved indifference to suffering.

And there was Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff running the whole sleazy show.

[boobooday]

3. Hammer: so useful in the hands of a carpenter

So destructive in the hands of a thug.

The crushing of the bug man brings hope to a hopeless world!

[Catfight]

5. So, in other words, Delay is as guilty as bush for being apart of a great

scheme to fool the American people and the rest of the world to get as many children killed as possible for their funny little prank to WIN at all cost? YUP...sounds about right, the party of no morals.

[AtomicKitten]

7. What a #*&^%$#@ legacy! K&R

The only thing I will miss about that peckerhead will be beating his ass at the polls this November.

Edited for the crime photo:



That prevented the REAL president below from taking office.

[IndyOp]

15. How could I have been so stupid...

As to have seen those people on TV chanting, "Stop the Count" and to not have recognized a theft in progress? And not done anything?

I should've flown to FLA immediately. There should've been 10,000's of supporters of Democracy in the streets.

:puke:

[montieg]

17. Having been in the streets in '68 and '69

I feel as if I should have been in Fla and should be now. Pack your bags folks--we're goin on a guilt trip!

[blondeatlast]

18. Don't kick yourself. It was orchestrated well before it occurred.

I suggest that you read David Brock's "The Republican Noise Machine," where he discusses what happened in some detail.

Don't kick yourself--in fact--dance!

DELAY IS DEFEATED.

[muse]

28. I don't feel like he will be totally defeated unless we win TX-22 in Nov.

Help us do that! I'm in TX-22 and I'm a Lampson volunteer. We still have work to do. DeLay says he resigned in order to be sure my district goes Republican this November. We can't let that happen! Lampson is terrific and he can win. We already have an organized volunteer effort on the groung.

Go to www.lampson.com to see what is going on.

[AtomicKitten]

23. Reliving this travesty

makes me cry to this day. I'll meet you next time and we'll make ourselves heard. I'd love to knock some GOP heads together.

NEVER AGAIN.

[blondeatlast]

26. Just remember--they orchestrated the "riot" ahead of time.

Please, please, don't blame yourselves.

[IndyOp]

32. They orchestrated the 'riot' ahead of time - okay

AND we can't keep reacting in 'hindsight.' All they have to do is keep changing tactics, and we study what they have done in the past, and prepare for the next time - but we've lost this time, again. After 2000 - there was HAVA, which was intended to prevent the problems of 2000 from ever happening again. After 2004 there was a blue ribbon commission with Carter (and Baker :puke: ) and it was intended to prevent the problems of 2004.

We can't keep fixing the problems after having conceded the elections - we MUST stand poised to CONTEST the results of every election.

:grr:

[motocicleta]

41. At least I can say this:

I was not prepared to do what was necessary in 2000. Now I am.

Sign me up, atomickitten

[calmblueocean]

48. None of us knew the stakes were this high.

We should have. We didn't.

[Catrina]

29. It was a coup d'etat ~ and Delay was their hit man ~ how did they get

away with it? :cry:

[blondeatlast]

34. You can find an excellent analysis of how it all went down in

"The Republican Noise Machine" by David Brock.

I cannot recommend that book enough. It also deconstructs Bug Bomb Tom in some detail.

Informative and a great read.

[blondeatlast]

9. Bug-Bomb Tom halted democracy in its tracks. What a legacy.

Is it any wonder I'm cheering his DEFEAT like crazy? Recounting his "resignation" to any one who'll give me a moment, be they politically savvy or not?

Join me--surely there is just this one thing DU can agree on.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2551493&mesg_id=2551493

[montieg]

11. DANCE ON, BLONDEATLAST!

I give you my best--one double Black Jack and water---ummmm, so fine!

[glitch]

39. Here's another thing to smile about: his troubles are just beginning.

And that goes for the whole cabal, too.

[blondeatlast]

10. This has got to get on the home page. K&R. nt

[Old and In the Way]

12. Delay, the anti-democrat.

Tom "I am the Federal Government" DeLay. Now, he can be Tom "I am the Federal Prison System" DeLay.

[Jack Rabbit]

13. Thank you for bringing this up

Everybody knows about what Paul Gigot of The Wall Street Journal infamously called the "bourgeois riot." However, many still believe that it was a spontaneous event with no idea that most of the "rioters" were Congressional aides, many of them working for DeLay.

Tom DeLay played a big part in the coup d'etat of 2000. This is another matter that, although years later, should be the subject of a criminal investigation.

As far as I am concerned, the next President of the United States should go into the books as the 43rd. The present occupant of the White House is a fraud and a squatter.

[blondeatlast]

16. I would think that what he did (orchestrating the "riot") could be

considered treasonous, actually.

It still shocks me that people are unaware that the riot wasn't a spontaneous thing at all.

God, I'm just so damn glad he's defeated--and I refuse to call it anything else but defeated.

If he thought he had a snowball's chance he would have run, not run away with his tail between his legs.

[Jack Rabbit]

19. Treason is a little strong

EDITED for typing

On the other hand, they might be able to charge him with a violation of the voting rights act at a federal level or election fraud in Florida. If they do, that will mean they're finally getting around to charging Cruella and the Jebster, too.

[blondeatlast]

20. He does spread the stink around him, doesn't he?

I'd like to think the taint will stick to Jebbie enough to keep him from having a chance.

I think Katharine and the twins' are doomed already. I can dream, anyway.

[Jack Rabbit]

24. I would like to think the taint will stick on the Jebster enough

. . . so that he can be the Nammer's cellmate.

[montieg]

14. Just caught this pearl over at TPM

"the Hammer goes to the Slammer". Woo Hoo!! Priceless!

[Maat]

21. And wasn't DeLay Abramhoff's partner in a gambling venture?

The boat on the lake? The episode in which one of the partners was found pumped full of lead? Looking for a link.

[MissWaverly]

22. You are right this is what he will be remember for

so much suffering on the entire planet can be traced back to the fixing of the 2000 election. What if Al Gore had been allowed to become the president after winning
the majority of the votes and had read the PDB that said Bin Laden determined to strike...
and had actually done something, what if he had added the last bit of funding that
Clinton started to shore up the levees in New Orleans, what if he had questioned
the Niger documents. What if...

[blondeatlast]

25. Sadly, unless we keep this in the spotlight, he won't be remembered

for his affront to true democracy.

Never forget--and never, ever, stop talking about it.

[MissWaverly]

49. I think much will be "discovered" now

why polls should encourage people to stand up; I don't know, but it does

[BeFree]

27. He went on to a more odious venture

Encouraged by the outcome of 2000, Delay masterminded HAVA. HAVA created a federal slush fund for the black box voting machines. The ensuing use of the machines set the stage for the 2004 election victory of *, and Delay hardly had to raise a finger then.

We call HAVA the Hack America's Vote Act. It is singularly responsible for the proliferation of black box voting machines in this country - HAVA paid for nearly all the machines. Billions and billions of federal dollars have gone into buying the black boxes since 2001.

[montieg]

50. And that whole deal SUX!!!

I am a Dem Party County Chairman in a tiny county in west Texas. We have NEVER had a problem with paper ballots but we were FORCED to use those effin boxes this primary go around. You cant imagine the money flowing from every source--including tax money--into the pockets of the suppliers of the machines. More than just buying the machines-- we had to pay for learning to use them, the programming--that does NOT become ours (it's proprietary) etc,etc. And across the state, there were plenty of glitches. We didnt use the touch-screens but the scan-counters. No glitches, but plenty of gritching from voters. What a freakin boondoggle!

[BeFree]

51. That's another drawback

The voter gritching.

The long waits a problem? Or the layout of the ballot?

If I read you right, not only are the vendors dipping into a pot of gold, they also get to nickle and dime all the little counties?

Check out the DU Election Reform Forum, it may be a good idea to post your county's story over there. Good, inside, personal info is usually welcome info.

[montieg]

52. MMy total turnout was 595 voters in the primary--

12% of the total number of registered voters. Cost of the box,etc--not including the paper ballots-- to the Dem Party? $880!!! You do the math-- $1.50 per voter. If it was comparable across Texas--- sheeeit!
And of course--being as we got Gov Goodhair trying to balance his tax GUT budget anywhere he can--I only get 75% of my estimate of the cost of the primary. So I get to BORROW money to pay the effin voting machine Repub bastards. Yeah, yeah, I'll get it at the end of the last primary--except for the interest. That has to come from somewhere else.

[BeFree]

54. Did you know

Paper ballots, hand counted, are still allowed by HAVA?

How much would paper ballots have cost you per voter?

[montieg]

55. Yes--we also

had paper--and the machines scanned them for the count (good for my paranoia). They are way cheaper, but we are required to have the machines, so we get double-whammy.

[BeFree]

58. Who required? The state?

If so, there should be a backlash against the state.

Did you know op-scans can easily be hacked? Ever heard of the "Hursti Hack" in Leon County Fla.?

Did you also have DREs?

[KharmaTrain]

30. Well Here Are Your Suspects...You Decide...

1. Tom Pyle, policy analyst, office of House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).
2. Garry Malphrus, majority chief counsel and staff director, House Judiciary subcommittee on criminal justice.
3. Rory Cooper, political division staff member at the National Republican Congressional Committee.
4. Kevin Smith, former House Republican conference analyst and more recently of Voter.com.
5. Steven Brophy, former aide to Sen. Fred D. Thompson (R-Tenn.), now working at the consulting firm KPMG.
6. Matt Schlapp, former chief of staff for Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), now on the Bush campaign staff in Austin.
7. Roger Morse, aide to Rep. Van Hilleary (R-Tenn.).
8. Duane Gibson, aide to Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) of the House Resources Committee.
9. Chuck Royal, legislative assistant to Rep. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
10. Layna McConkey, former legislative assistant to former Rep. Jim Ross Lightfoot (R-Iowa),
now at Steelman Health Strategies.

[blondeatlast]

33. The GOP--proudly demonstrating AGAINST democracy and

the Constitution and the will of the people.

Who's crying now, losers?

[JPZenger]

37. My favorite - a chief counsel for the Judiciary Committee

Who better to try to defeat a democratic process than a chief counsel of the Judiciary Committee.

[CottonBear]

42. Do you think these people could ever be charged with treason

or, at the very least, with election tampering?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2551743&mesg_id=2552535

[klook]

45. Thanks - I was just about to post this.

See http://www.bushwatch.com/bushdec2.htm for the photo and IDs.

edited to fix link

[The Backlash Cometh]

31. I hate the man more now, than I did before.

If that's at all possible.

So, when are we going to get to read this in a MSM newspaper?

[mrgorth]

35. Something I don't understand about this

These people are counting AND REALIZE THAT GORE IS GOING TO WIN and they let these people shout them down? I mean the cops got involved. What did they think the crowd was going to do beat them up with the cops there? I think this board my bear a little brunt of the blame.

[JPZenger]

36. They should have been arrested

Disrupting any election process is a serious crime. They should have been arrested.

[Sapere aude]

40. Hopefully, the country having gone through all off this will have learned

a lesson.

The truth about the last five years is getting out and I am beginning to thinkthe people are hurting enough to want a change. And the change may last another 20 years or more. Here's hoping. We need a Dem Congress so that investigations will take place during Bush's last two years. That will put an indelible mark on history and make Bush legacy one of disgrace like Nixon's.

[gasperc]

43. and SOMEONE helped stuff the ballot box in Seminole county

guarding Bush's lead during the recount.

Seminole county was the last to report. I did a review of the ballots cast versus the ballots recounted in Seminole county. What I found was that the votes counted in several precincts surged between the counts.

In precinct 28, votes cast during the orginal count was documented at 1015, after the recount, 1444 votes were counted as cast, a 429 vote surge, a 50% error!!!!!!!!!!!! Precinct 36 saw a 78 vote jump, and precinct 98 saw a 43 vote jump. In total, I counted 620 additional votes shown to be added to the total vote cast after the first re-count, most precincts varied by one or two votes.

The final tally in Seminole county was 384 additional votes for Bush, and 286 additional votes for Gore. At that time, Bush led by only 229 votes in Florida. After, Seminole was added Bush's total increased to +327 Seminole county added the most votes for Bush, by far, than any other county in Florida second only to Polk county at +198 votes for Bush.
Unfortunately, I didn't discover this "anomoly" until June 2003. I wrote to several news organizations about it but all treated it with a deaf ear, except Greg Palast who replied back with "your right".
KOS found it interesting and replied with "I'll do what I can" but obviously, the issue went nowhere.

HAD BUSH NOT HAD THESE 384 VOTES ADDED TO HIS TOTAL, GORE WOULD HAVE BEEN LEADING AT THE END OF THE FIRST RECOUNT BY 57 VOTES. That would have given our forces a huge pyschological boost!!!!! and aided the efforts in the re-counts in Miami-Dade and elsewhere.

From the Orlando Sentinel, 11/10/2000, "Seminole's lenghty recount differed from most of the state's other counties" A news poster named Linda made the following obServation "Naturally in a county Bush carried almost 2-1 this resulted in a net increase of Bush votes. Now in the republican Seminole county, under the leadership of congressman Dan(sic)(John) Mica(R-FL) acting on the behalf of Bush. The rejected votes were examined and added to the official totals"

There are a total of 133 precints, what are the chances that over 50% of the additional votes would come from one precinct? And one precinct would have a 50% error rate? very, very low. Also note that in Duval county where Bush crushed Gore by an even wider margin gained only +16 votes to Gore's +184votes, hmmmm. And in Ecambia county where Bush won 73,017 to Gore's 40943, Bush lost a net -12 votes after the re-count. I cherried picked two counties here, but trust me, you won't find another county that Bush beat Gore big and picked up as many votes as he did IN THE LAST COUNTY TO REPORT, SEMINOLE.

John Mica is currently running unopposed in Florida, this needs to be challenged, this is A MUST challenge seat.

In November 2001, 45 countries were named on the US Al Queda watch list, NOT ONE OF THEM WAS NAMED IRAQ

[Ignis]

44. K&R. Many thanks to The Nation for this article! (nt)

[myrna minx]

46. The truth eventually comes out. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

47. These are about the ugliest people, I have ever seen,

I guess evil does that to you.

[KansDem]

53. I never could figure out why this recount was stopped...

...a riot orchestrated by DeLay's top aides and allies and carried out by Republican operatives flown in from Washington stopped the count.

I wouldn've loved to have been there, to assure the count continued...:grr:

Scraping and bruising knuckles in the name of democracy!

[montieg]

56. Maybe it's just me, but a Kansas Dem

and a west Texas Dem.............. Notice in that picture they all look purty soft..............
To quote Atrios, "Heh, Indeedy".

[KansDem]

60. Yeah, I think we could've taken them on...

I thought it odd that no police were on hand to quell the riot--that it was allowed to go on. I suppose then I should have realized the election was fixed. I think a couple of guys, hellbent on letting the count go on, would've stopped their "riot."

It would have been 2 Dems against 10 Repubs, not exactly the best odds, but a chance they would've had to take! }(

[rockymountaindem]

57. Embarassing admission time

I had no idea that stupid mini-riot stopped the recount, nor that Gore was making so much progress in that recount.

I'm speechless.

[Time for change]

59. What was just as bad was

that they were allowed to get away with that.

[CBHagman]

61. Possibly the most long-term damage.

It's hard to rank DeLay's separate incidents of wrongdoing in a neat way, but it's true that the country will be paying an awful price for the Bush presidency for many years to come.

And add to that the sheer attempt to crush democracy and rule by select mob and it's even more horrifying.

Then again, DeLay's threats against judges are also rather odious, too.