Dean wants GOP to affirm ballot security.

[mother earth]

Developing at RawStory.com....major kudos to Dean! It's about time!!!

We need to get in their faces. What has taken so long?

Go Dean!!!!

[Totallybushed]

1. What does that mean,

though? How do they do it? How is it enforced? Suppose they don't?


Words mean nothing without action to back them up!

[mother earth]

3. True...but it's about time that fraud is becoming central to

everyone's thoughts & actions! We'll have to stay tuned to see exactly how Dean is addressing this, but let's face it this should have been dealt with before now. Everyone should be screaming angry & DEMANDING election reform.

[MGKrebs]

5. Words can mean a lot.

What's Mehlman going to do, NOT agree? He has to agree, and that puts pressure on people to not do things like the phone jamming and vote challenges he has done in the past, as mentioned in the story.

Also, if Mehlman agrees and plans to ignore his agreement, then he has to lie to anybody who he talks to about vote suppression programs, or tell them that he was lying when he made the agreement. He loses credibility and it's more motivation for his successor to stay clean.

Your question "how is it enforced" implies an immediate consequence to violation of the agreement, but things don't always work that way. It may be next cycle before a violation comes home to roost (or a new grand jury session!).

Words mean a lot. Ask Salmon Rushdie. Or Lech Walesa. Or even Bill Clinton. Kim in N.K. seems bothered by the words "axis of evil". Many Middle Easterners have recently been bothered by the word "crusade", etc. etc.

[Totallybushed]

7. Hhhmmmm?

And what has he done?

As to what he could do-he could ignore the comment. He could say vote challenging was a part of ensuring ballot security. He could deny any connection with whoever is doing these things.

In short, words do mean a lot of things. That's why it is important that they be precisely defined.

[InvisibleTouch]

2. I hope someone's keeping watch on Ohio. n/t

[niceypoo]

4. And the GOP will gladly pretend to do so...

...then when they get caught cheating they will blame a, "low level staffer" or scream, "sore losers".

[DFW]

6. The whole point of Dean's letter was that

Three times is enough. This time, we will not sit back and say "oh, well," when close elections that Democrats won are thrown to Republicans.

I hope the DNC conserves some of its capital for the mounting of legal challenges to blatant Republican election fraud, which will come again this time as surely as the sun will rise in the east.