Is Any Vote Valid?

The campaigning goes on . . . and on and on. Most of it is such stump schtick that it’s hard not to switch to something intellectually stimulating like Scooby Doo instead, but now and again it gets interesting – like when all the Republican candidates played monkey pile on Ron Paul –rudely cutting him off when he tried to talk about how senseless the war in Iraq is and has always been. I have seldom witnessed such rude behavior. It looked like Ron Paul and four Ws. The Republicans just can’t afford to have anyone talk about this war because it makes them all look bad.

Ron Paul is not the voice I would choose to represent me in Washington – unless, of course, I had to choose between him and anyone else on the stage with him that night – but he is a breath of fresh air from that side of the aisle. On the other hand, the Democrats wouldn’t even let their main dissenter, Dennis Kucinich, on the stage that night. Which is the worse case?

The debates themselves weren’t much to write home about what with all the Republicans except Paul sounding like they love war above all; the Democrats sniping at each other about whose experience counts the most; and nobody on either side putting forth any meaningful plans for recovery from the horrendous economic and international problems BushCo’s hostile policies have gotten us into. The only positive side is Obama’s and Edwards’ promise to reverse the loss of rights and freedoms installed by the Bushies, but neither of them is willing to be as clear and open about it as Kucinich is.

We hear a lot these days about election fraud and with good reason, but that fraud starts long before people enter the voting booth. The last two elections have been horrendous. Judging by the outcomes, it seems like the vote of the people doesn’t matter much. The big issue now is voting machines. No one should trust those produced by Diebolt as they are made by a strong Republican supporter whose motives are dubios, but those are the primary machines available. Missouri is fortunate to have the best electronic voting system available because it includes a verifiable paper ballot for recount purposes. Thank you Robin Carnahan.

To me, though, the most blatant fraud in American politics is the slight of hand that takes place during the campaign season. A primary case in point is the exclusion of Kucinich and Gravel from the Democratic debates and Paul from the Republican side (CNN). The same thing always happens to independent candidates – look back at the Anderson and Perot campaigns for example. They just aren’t given a legitimate place in the debate. (Not to mention that the debates aren’t debates at all, but showcase personality contests.)

The greatest illusion, though, is in the money. Supposedly you don’t have to be rich to launch a campaign, but no one is capable of raising start-up money unless he has some wealth to draw from, and certainly no one can remain in a race without raising huge sums of money to pay for it. So who has the best shot at doing that? It ain’t the poor, buddy, and it isn’t those unwilling to sell their votes and loyalties to the highest bidder, either.

As a result we live in an Aristomocracy – a society that purports to be a democracy but is actually a plutocracy (rule by the wealthy). If people felt that their votes really counted for something more than 10 or 15 percent of those eligible would vote. Will you?


Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi

Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR

The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle