Voter Polls and Perceptions.

I don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods, but around these parts people are kind of cynical. You see... despite poll numbers that favor the candidates they would vote for, they have little confidence that their desired outcome will be the result. They have seen poll numbers before, and have learned what they mean. They offer hope and deliver unfulfilled promise. I can't think of a single more effective way of disenfranchising people than to convince them that their vote will not count.

Statistically speaking, a double-digit lead should trump the margin of error of any well-executed poll. In Pennsylvania, where both Rendell and Casey enjoy significant leads, the level of confidence should be high. Yet that's not the case for many Democratic voters here in the Keystone State, and I would assume that similar figures across the country have done little to convince like-minded voters on the national scene. Somehow Republicans are convinced that they will beat the formidable point spread. They are making very public statements that the poll numbers mean nothing. In the past, their optimism in the face of overwhelming couunter-evidence would have been interpreted merely as an admirable but naive "never-say-die" attitude. But in the wake of recent historical precedence, such a position seems sinister.

Make no mistake... the 2000 presidential elections was a constitutional crisis. At first the popular vote seemed to find its proper expression in the electoral college, and the major television networks proclaimed Al Gore thewinner. Yet Bush and his cronies seemed unperturbed, and warned the public not to jump to any rash conclusions. The stage was set for a surreal drama in a state governed by Bush's little brother. Overwhelming evidence exists that the game was fixed in Florida. "Voter irregularities" was a very polite term to refer to the amount of flagrant mischief perpetuated by the GOP. A team of lawyers under the supervision of James Baker swept down on the state, and effectively obfuscated the wrongdoing of local party officials. For awhile Democrats fought back... but when the supreme court predictably came down in the favor of George W. Bush, many observers called for the nation to set aside its objections and get on with business-as-usual. While the Republican noise machine struck a chorus of "Get over it", the media began to lose interest in covering subsequent developments of the story. Al Gore and the Democratic party capitulated, and the illegal takeover of the US executive branch was completed. Subsequent investigations, which proved the accusations of voter tampering, were downplayed and we began our official entry into a national nightmare.

The events that followed... 9-11, a "War on Terror", and the invasion ofIraq... confirmed suspicions that the new presidential administration would exercise no restraint when it came to manipulating public perception. Led by men who openly expressed their affections for Machiavelli and Leo Strauss, George W. Bush exploited the nation's fears to advance an aggressive agenda that continued to divide the United States and the world. By the time the 2004 election came, GOP leaders had consolidated their complete dominance over the federal government, and were openly exhibiting their intoxication with power. Events surrounding the 2004 election seemed eerily familiar... as a close race was once again decided in a single state (Ohio), with the expected controversies regarding voter intimidation, new voter machines and other dirty political tricks. This surprised virtually nobody. Wally O'Dell, CEO of the company (Diebold) that manufactured the computerized voter machines, had promised to deliver Ohio for Bush*. Demonstrating an almost unbelievable hypocrisy, the GOP pointed to their victory in the nation's popular vote to quell protests. And so the country continued its slide from Democracy.

Here we are now in 2006, just days away from the midterm congressional elections. We live in a country radically altered by policies enacted by the GOP-run Congress and the president. As we watch our civil rights gradually erode, we find ourselves mired in an unwinnable war and a growing national debt. The strategies of the ruling party have proved to be characterized by scandal and abject failure. That the tide of opinion would turn against the Republicans is an eminently rational conclusion. Nationwide poll numbers suggest that the almost mystical mind control men like Rove and Cheney have exerted over the populace is waning. But despite signs of encouragement, American voters remain wary. People are understandably wondering whether or not the fix is once again in. Will the men who have held on so tightly to unchecked power allow the voters to take the necessary corrective action of expelling them from office?

My advice to people who have brought up this concern is to VOTE. It may well be that this election will also display signs of fraud. At this point we should almost expect that to happen. But refusing to vote is not a solution. We can't control whether or not men commit crimes to retain their power. But we can force their hand. The more the opposition votes, the greater the requirements will be to fix the election. The crimes of fraud will be more extensive and more blatant. And maybe this time, investigations will hold those guilty parties responsible.


*O'Dell later resigned amidst fraud litigation and internal woes... see link.