Howard Dean on Diebold: "These machines are a problem"

[kpete]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=994507&mesg_id=994507

[LaurenG]

1. lol that's an understatement Mr. Dean! nt

[Quakerfriend]

2. Top of the morning to you, OhioBlues!

:hi:

I wish he would squawk loudly and repeatedly about Diebold!!

[LaurenG]

3. Hello! and yes we need more squawking

:hi:

[paineinthearse]

4. GEN is a tough forum

Zippo replies since 3AM.

[Slit Skirt]

5. finally...is anybody else going to speak out?

like Kerry
Gore
Clinton
Biden
Pelosi
Reid

cause if they don't, the polls don't mean shit...we are screwed

Bush can not afford to have us with subpoena power...and they will do ANYTHING to stop it

[Land Shark]

6. typical rationalization: we don't want people to refuse to vote,

so we don't want to talk about the problems. internally contradictory, but...

if it becomes clear however that word has gotten out this poor rationalization will disappear because the cat will be out of the bag

[Amaryllis]

7. Cross posted on GD to try to get some discussion going over there:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2584167

[kster]

8. CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC KNR........nt

[Raksha]

9. I just posted the following reply on GD,

on the thread that corresponds to this one. I'm afraid it may get lost in the shuffle over there so I'm reposting it here.

This was in response to an extended rant by Peace Patriot, which included a very important rhetorical question which I have reproduced here.

45. You raise a very good question, and I think I may have an answer.

Re >>why was the Democratic Party completely SILENT about it until now? And why was the breaking of that silence a report that endorses optiscans that contain 'TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY programming code owned and controlled by Bushite corporations? And why is the Democratic Party opposition to this OUTRAGE--which NEVER mentions *WHO* OWNS AND CONTROLS these machines, and what they have done for George Bush--still barely above a whisper, and only in response to a happenstance question in the course of a political breakfast?<<

Why indeed...WHY is this issue of the ownership and control of the voting machines never raised by a Democrat? It's a pretty glaring omission, all right, especially a year and a half later when the issue is FINALLY percolating upward from the grassroots, forcing itself upon the party movers and shakers despite their best efforts at stonewalling.

Why be silent about something so obviously against the party's self-interest? The only answer I can come up with is that it wasn't against the self-interest of certain individual candidates. THAT was the price of their silence! They kept silent on the critical issue of ownership and control of the machines IN EXCHANGE FOR LETTING THEM WIN, or maybe even rigging the election in their favor. How difficult would it be, after all? After that, of course, they would be effectively blackmailed if they did try to speak out.

What does everyone think about this theory?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=994507&mesg_id=999188

Edited to add link

[BeFree]

10. Insiders

...hear a lot more than we do, and it could be certain promises were made certain people. Heck, with 3.8 billion dollars floating around there was plenty of opportunity to buy anyone.

What the rest might be afraid of is that confidence - the public's confidence in fair elections - would be destroyed overnite were they to open up the HAVA can of worms. Once I opened it up, my confidnce hit rock bottom, that's fer sure.

One day, some little kid is gonna embarass them all by stating the obvious: The king wears no clothes.

Its coming; the leaders best get ahead of it, or be steamrolled.

[Raksha]

11. Yes, that's what I was trying to say: promises were made

to certain people, and they were bribed, but not necessarily with money. They were Diebolded in just like Bush/Cheney.

Howard Dean may know or strongly suspect who these sellouts are, but obviously he isn't free to talk about it.