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SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
7. All I know is that I heard a lot of stories from
Sat Oct 6, 2012, 05:56 AM
Oct 2012

reliable people that those who had voted for W four years earlier were not about to vote for him this time. Story after story. And in contexts that seemed reliable.

I NEVER heard stories of those who'd voted for Gore in 2000 who were now planning to vote for W. Never.

So why, in the end, did Kerry lose? In actuality, it's clear the vote was stolen.

Back in the run-up to the 2004 election, I was in a discussion group of like-minded progressives, and was told that our side knew how to steal an election as well as the other side. My great regret was that I didn't call them on that. Even at the time I felt I was being given a load of horse manure. Not that what I might have said would have made a difference.

I think that in 2004 we were led to complacency, especially after Kerry secured the nomination. I was one of the Deniacs, one of the supporters of John Dean who felt utterly betrayed by what led to Kerry's nomination. Dean really transformed the party. And it is in a large part that people like me, the old Deniacs, who have held on, who have maintained the faith, who have hung in even when our preferred candidate has lost, we are the ones who carry on, who keep the faith, who hang in ther no matter what happens.

When Kerry secured the nomination I was heartsick. I knew that he was the wrong man to be running for the office of President. Oh, yes, he personally was an honorable man, one who had served honorably in Vietnam, and who had been an admirable defender of the world since then.

But I also knew that he had never sponsored any significant legislation in Congress. He'd done nothing aside from speaking out against the war in Vietnam. Personally, he was a genuinely admiral person. Politically, he was at best a cypher, at worst a patsy. And so the "Swift Vote Veterans" destroyed him. They were as despicable a group that has ever existed. But Kerry never came back at them as he should have He never really fought back.

For all his flaws, I think a President Kerry would have been a balm for this country. He would have ruled with the generosity, the magnanimity, the understanding of the needs of the disenfranchised that would have moved our country back to greatness.

But instead the election was stolen Bush got a second term, as horrifying as that was. John Kerry never got to be President. But maybe there is a redemption, a second chance. Barack Obama was elected in 2008. It looks as though he'll be re-elected this year. We can only hope for the best.

Diebold? dkf Oct 2012 #1
I posted this a few days ago brush Oct 2012 #53
Such a thready web and it's late blogslut Oct 2012 #2
Smarttech may have been it...I'm gonna do some digging on them later. Thank you! n/t silvershadow Oct 2012 #9
Here's a... YvonneCa Oct 2012 #24
Diebold. Lasher Oct 2012 #3
It was Diebold and they were out of Ohio. Up2Late Oct 2012 #4
Diebold LeftofObama Oct 2012 #5
The owner was the head of the shrubs justgamma Oct 2012 #16
Follow the paper trail. B Calm Oct 2012 #6
Exactly. Up2Late Oct 2012 #20
All I know is that I heard a lot of stories from SheilaT Oct 2012 #7
Ohio Secretary of State confirms 2004 election could have been stolen rfranklin Oct 2012 #10
Thanks so far guys...It's late and I'm tired. I know about Diebold, I was a trainer for those silvershadow Oct 2012 #8
Ithink there was even a photo of the central office set up in the white house Kurovski Oct 2012 #30
the whole thing with Diebold actually came up before 2004 i think 2002 when Dems JI7 Oct 2012 #11
That's what I was just thinking silvershadow Oct 2012 #12
That was our 2002 Georgia Election... Up2Late Oct 2012 #22
here: dougolat Oct 2012 #13
The link is ...messed up Kurovski Oct 2012 #32
ES&S and Sequoia are the other two vendors I remember from those days. LiberalAndProud Oct 2012 #14
ES&S was the machine I trained on. n/t silvershadow Oct 2012 #44
Warren County (OH) locked down the building where the votes were being counted KansDem Oct 2012 #15
Kerry said he would contest the vote and then he didn't. proud2BlibKansan Oct 2012 #17
Kerry conceded while people were still standing in line to vote in some places Lydia Leftcoast Oct 2012 #19
I remember it being the middle of the night. proud2BlibKansan Oct 2012 #26
unless you lived in Hawaii - you remember it wrong karynnj Oct 2012 #27
Kerry conceded early the next day - so something is wrong with your memory. karynnj Oct 2012 #28
This. ^^^^ JNelson6563 Oct 2012 #29
Did you know there was an... YvonneCa Oct 2012 #23
There was?? proud2BlibKansan Oct 2012 #25
Yes. It was... YvonneCa Oct 2012 #41
The Bobbsy Twins had something to do with it... Kurovski Oct 2012 #33
Kerry chose the lives of his family over the presidency. stlsaxman Oct 2012 #60
Was watching the early returns Kerry was leading Tippy Oct 2012 #18
Here are some threads that should help ailsagirl Oct 2012 #21
Voting machines & Rove marlakay Oct 2012 #31
2004 was also the effect of th Help Amaerica Vote Act of 2002 which was the result of what patrice Oct 2012 #34
this is a good resource, lots of history marions ghost Oct 2012 #38
Thanks! patrice Oct 2012 #40
This is exactly what I have been saying... silvershadow Oct 2012 #45
I think the idea of paper ballots, marked by hand and providing a receipt for the vote with patrice Oct 2012 #46
Great idea! Do you have a name for said holiday? Bet that would help spread the meme quickly... silvershadow Oct 2012 #47
Should think about that. Imagine! walking into a counting site & presenting your receipt & patrice Oct 2012 #59
Diebold voting machines can be hacked by remote control ...this is from2012 Kurovski Oct 2012 #35
The machines were shady, but ultimately, republicans won by disenfranchising ecstatic Oct 2012 #36
Here's all you need to know: Poiuyt Oct 2012 #37
There were so many irregularities, there's a * next to their names Greybnk48 Oct 2012 #39
Again, not the best quality... YvonneCa Oct 2012 #42
Let's just not talk about that election. n/t porphyrian Oct 2012 #43
I know, right? Sorry. Trust me, I've been wanting to hang my flag in distress mode since silvershadow Oct 2012 #48
Lots of us were wrong. It helps to have other hobbies. n/t porphyrian Oct 2012 #49
You know those machines are still in use and very easily hacked, right? redqueen Oct 2012 #50
Yes, I do know. I used to live in Tallahassee. porphyrian Oct 2012 #52
Whatever you decide to do is up to you, redqueen Oct 2012 #54
Not everyone has a sense of humor. I won't hold it against you. porphyrian Oct 2012 #55
wow redqueen Oct 2012 #56
I'm sorry, did you not intend to lecture me or be otherwise offensive? porphyrian Oct 2012 #57
I volunteered for the Kerry/Edwards campaign and... cheriemedium59 Oct 2012 #51
Kerry probably would have taken Ohio and the election had he fought for a recount tjwash Oct 2012 #58
Was the 2004 Election Stolen? by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kurovski Oct 2012 #61
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