Reply #48: Read this for answers, by a repub: A Primer on the Conservative MInd,

[Amaryllis]

This has a lot of answers to the question you ask. Note that the focus is on the election, but the principles are far broader than that. This is well worth reading. Herrin is a computer security expert, republican, very concerned about the use of proprietary software in our elections:

http://www.chuckherrin.com/LiberalEmpathy.htm

Empathy Training for Liberals: A Primer on the Conservative Mind, From the Inside of One.

Chuck Herrin, CISSP, CISA, MCSE, CEH

American, Voter, Republican – In That Order

www.chuckherrin.com

Author's note: **As of right now, 11-23-2004, there is no conclusive evidence that massive voter fraud took place, but there is overwhelming evidence that the weaknesses in our voting system could have allowed it. I hope it didn't happen, but the simple fact is that whether it did or not, our election systems, particularly those using DREs, appear to have been designed specifically to allow fraud, rather than prevent it. Who put these systems in place, and what is the real current state of e-voting? Read on, gentle surfer, and I'll do my best to tell you.**

Back when I was in college, I joined a fraternity called Pi Kappa Phi. From the rumors circulating the campus to this day and the surveillance tapes probably still making the rounds on Kazaa, I’ve been told that I had a good time during my tenure there. Now, the reason that I mention Pi Kappa Phi is because it is unique among fraternities in that we have our own Philanthropy. Where most Greek organizations would raise money for the Red Cross or United Way, we had our own group called PUSHAmerica. PUSH stood for People Understanding the Severely Handicapped, and one thing that we used to do is build Handicapped-Accessible Playgrounds for kids, which was a lot of fun and very much appreciated by the community. Another thing we did was go through something called “Empathy Training”, which usually involved going completely blindfolded for a day, or taping several fingers together to simulate motor skills difficulty, or spending a weekend in a wheelchair. This was less fun than spending your Saturday outside building ramps, but for a young man it was a real eye-opener, trying to live “a day in the life”. As a result of this “Empathy Training”, all of a sudden those old Helen Keller jokes weren’t so funny anymore.

Without drawing the analogy that Conservatives are Severely Handicapped ( Hey! Remember, I’m one too :-) ), I would like to offer some insight into how the Conservative mind works for you Liberals out there, so that perhaps we can stop Demonizing each other (Nazi! Fag! Fascist! Pantywaist!) and open meaningful channels of communication. I think we’re more alike than most of us realize, and we have real problems that affect all of us, regardless of what party we decided to sign up with. Since I’ve been a conservative Republican for FAR longer than I’ve involved with electronic voting, let me try to answer one of the biggest questions that you liberals have been asking me since I posted the HackTheVote info. That question is:

“Why won’t the Conservatives admit that the 2004 Presidential election was stolen?”
’ll tell you why. There's no hard evidence that has been widely published that proves that it was. Most of them are not aware that a problem exists with our voting system, and for those that are, to admit that the Election was Stolen is to admit some very difficult things, which most Conservatives are not prepared to do. Here are my top seven reasons, in the order in which I thought of them. In order to admit that the election was stolen, we would have to admit:

7) That if a problem exists, and I benefited from it, that I might be part of the problem. Whether any particular Republican helped to steal the election or not, if we admit that fraud was committed, there is no question that the people that WE voted into power did it. Therefore, at some level, we are part of the problem. The VAST majority of Americans, both Republican and Democrat, are decent and honest people, and are loath to consider themselves a part of ANY problem, much less massive Election Fraud. If you only voted once and did so honestly, are you going to admit to helping to steal the election? No! Since the VAST majority of Republicans had nothing to do with it, they understandably don’t want to put themselves in that camp.

Go here for the whole thing:
http://www.chuckherrin.com/LiberalEmpathy.htm