Of all the shameful behavior by the Republicans during this last election cycle, the National Republican Senatorial Conspiratorial Committee’s continuing baseless charges that Al Franken and the Democrats are trying to “steal” the U.S. Senate election in Minnesota has to be near the top of a difficult list to top! If only because that rejected sort of politics continues despite the thorough spanking their party took in an election which would seem to have been a rejection of such tactics.
Even Minnesota’s own governor, Tim Pawlenty, has now reversed his previous conspiratorial tone to declare on yesterday’s Fox “News” Sunday that there is “no actual evidence of wrongdoing or fraud in the process.” He was referring to the currently reported election results — where Franken trails the incumbent Sen. Norm Colman by just over 200 voters — and in the upcoming manual recount plans.
None of that has kept the RNSC from keeping up their shameful “Minnesota Recount” conspiracy theory website with postings that declare Franken “lost the election, so he is pulling an Al Gore, with his supporters manufacturing postelection votes by the hundreds” and shoveling, without correction, the now wholly debunked theory that “his supporters discover mislaid ballots in places like the trunks of their cars. By a mysterious coincidence, none of these includes votes for Franken’s rival Norm Coleman.”
Though the last post on their conspiracy website was made on Friday — so perhaps that signals they’re getting the message — all of it still remains there, as unretracted garbage, even after Pawlenty himself has now acknowledged it as such. But the RNSC isn’t the only bad actor here. So are the networks, cable channels and even the New York Times…
RAW STORY’s David Edwards notes Pawlenty’s reversal from his previous stand on the phony “ballots in car” conspiracy of the GOP tinfoil-hatters. (See video at right, with the shameful Fred Barnes still echoing the already-discredited nonsense on Fox “News” over the weekend, along with Pawlenty’s disavowal.)
And Media Matters’ Jamison Foster took the corporate media to task late last week for their irresponsible job in echoing the GOP whack-jobs and their evidence-free conspiracy theories, with little regard for the damage that such behavior does in baselessly undermining confidence in integral elements of our electoral system…
Naturally, conservative radio hosts are working themselves into a lather, baselessly accusing Democrats of trying to “steal” the election. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. But NBC and The New York Times have also pushed the dubious notion that the Minnesota recount has been plagued by chaos and impropriety.
Foster goes on to detail the outrageous (and lazy) way that NBC, the Times and others have been misreporting the story, before concluding:
But recounts needn’t be like the “debacle” of 2000; in fact, they rarely are. They are far more frequently the best way to ensure that errors in counting do not result in the candidate who received fewer votes taking office. (Indeed, in 2004, a manual recount in the Washington governor’s race reversed the results of the initial Election Day tabulations and machine recount.) Sensational and baseless reporting like that produced this week by NBC and The New York Times runs the risk of undermining public confidence in an essential part of the democratic process.
We concur. And we’ll go even farther. Given that almost every state, including Minnesota, tabulates its ballots (fortunately, all paper in MN’s case) on flawed, highly error-prone and easily manipulated electronic voting systems, these “recounts” aren’t actually recounts. Rather, they are counts as they amount to the first time most of these ballots will ever be counted by any actual human beings. The U.S. needs far more manual counting, not less. The GOP’s continuing efforts to discredit such processes do little more than discredit democracy and the GOP.
Good reporting, thank you. I have noticed a trend in the election fraud/voter fraud war. The Republicans are the only ones pushing voter fraud. While they are doing that, I am wondering if they, or at least operatives favoring the Republicans, are not up to their eyeballs in election fraud.
An aside, in King County Washington State, the 2008 election went smoothly. One difference was Dean Logan now works for LA County, CA. As The Brad Blog reported in late, October: “And out here in Los Angeles, the world’s largest voting jurisdiction, with just one, single early voting location.” He bears further investigation.
WE HAVE MORE TO DO:
Democrat Jim Martin is in a runoff against Bush Republican Saxby Chambliss for the Senate seat from Georgia. Bush’s Saxby Chambliss voted against spending a few measly dollars to provide health care coverage for Georgia, and Americas needy children. But he supported wasting hundreds of billions of your dollars, and the life BLOOD of Americas finest on an unnecessary war in Iraq.
At a time when 47 million of you have no health insurance coverage, and over 100 million of you with insurance are just one major illness away from complete financial destruction. Bush and Saxby Chambliss voted to make the heart break of bankruptcy relief even harder for all of you to use.
You see, Bush and Saxby Chambliss, and his family don’t have to worry about their health care coverage. They have the finest health care coverage your tax money can buy for them. Courtesy of you. The American Tax payer. In fact, no one but the super rich can afford the health care coverage you the tax payer provide for Saxby Chambliss, and his family for FREE! with your tax dollars.
He supposedly works for you. But he doesn’t think you and your family should have access to the type of taxpayer supported FREE health care that you provide for him, and his loved ones for FREE!. Doesn’t that just make you BURRING MAD!
Vote for JIM MARTIN for US senator from Georgia. Vote for JIM Martin who will be on your side. Vote for JIM MARTIN who will work with President Obama and a majority congress for you. Vote for JIM MARTIN most of all for your-self, your family’s, friends, and loved ones. Vote for JIM MARTIN for a better America, and a better World.
Don’t let Saxby Chambliss make a chump out of you by tricking you into voting against your own best interest. Saxby chambliss is NOT! on your side. He’s not one of you. He is on George Bush’s side. And we all know what a catastrophe the Bush Chambliss administration has been the past 8 years.
Contact all your family and friends and do every thing you can to see to it that JIM MARTIN and GEORGIANS! take that senate seat back for Georgia, and America. No matter where you live in America. This is important to you. President Obama will need all the help, and power you can give him to try and fix this catastrophic mess that the Corrupt Bush Chambliss administration has created.
As I said before you will have to vote in overwhelming numbers to overcome the Bush Chambliss “Let Them Eat Cake” vote fraud machine. Vote early if you can. Then help everyone you can get to the polls and vote for JIM MARTIN. You and your loved ones don’t have to be Saxby Chambliss’s victims anymore.
I know you will get it done. Just like you did for President Obama.
God bless all of you
jacksmith – WORKING CLASS… 🙂
funny — someone named “jacksmith-working class” was posting anti-Obama messages on blogs just a month ago.
The prep stuff for the kickoff of Tuesday’s Minnesota recount, including the links for the SOS proposed rules & schedule for all the audits, check it out: http://tinyurl.com/5ktsur