Rewriting History -- Diebold vs. Max Cleland -- Anyone Remember?

[IdaBriggs]

Diebold Says --

"As the world's leading voting solutions provider, Diebold provides the financial stability, substantial manufacturing capacity, world-wide service network and proven election expertise needed for your long term election system solution." (http://www.diebold.com/dieboldes/)

"In 2002, Diebold deployed the country's first uniform statewide electronic touch-screen voting system. More the 22,000 voting stations were successfully installed in six months and effectively utilized in the Georgia 2002 gubernatorial election. Our project management expertise and expandable manufacturing capabilities made this historic event a reality. Surveyed voters in Georgia gave the system a 97 percent approval rating and voter confidence skyrocketed." (http://www.diebold.com/dieboldes/solutions2.htm)

Wikipedia Says:

Accusations of fraud have been made in a Project Censored article, claiming that "On Nov. 3, 2002, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll showed Democratic Sen. Max Cleland with a 49-to-44 point lead over Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss. The next day, Chambliss, despite trailing by 5 points, ended up winning by a margin of 53 to 46 percent. This was, in other words, an unbelievable 12-point turn around over the course of one day!" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Cleland)

So, will someone please explain to me how a 12-point lead wasn't "enough" to keep Max Cleland in the Senate? Oh, wait! The Republicans ran an ad showing the DECORATED VIETNAM VET who had lost BOTH LEGS and part of ONE ARM as someone who "loved" Osama and Saddam, and OBVIOUSLY, it being Georgia, the voters BELIEVED THE TELEVISION BECAUSE GEORGIA PEOPLE ARE STUPID???

Let me explain this one more time for the folks who just don't want to get it:

Its not the message the Democrats are putting out that is the problem.

Its not the lack of "registered" Democrats (New Mexico had counties with 80% registered Dems, and NOT ONE VOTE FOR KERRY!)

Its not the people the party is putting forward -- war heroes, etc.

ITS THE MACHINES AND THE PEOPLE WHO PROGRAM THEM.

Let me say this ONE MORE TIME: If you can use a Spreadsheet, you can FIX an election. (For easy step by step instructions, go here: http://www.chuckherrin.com/hackthevotedemo.htm)

If you can program a Las Vegas slot machine, or calculate credit card interest, you can calculate the number of votes needed to make one candidate win and the other lose within a reasonable margin of error.

And if you are caught, you call it a glitch, and no one goes to jail.

Its a recipe for the destruction of democracy, and giving money to any party that isn't trying to FIX THE PROBLEM is a complete waste of effort in my not-so-humble-opinion.

[snot]

1. k & r -- nt

[AX10]

2. Kick and Recomended!

[napi21]

3. Oh, I remember WELL! I live in Ga.

I still find it impossible that in 2002, Ga. elected a Pub. Governor, a Pub Sen to replace Max, and a lot of Pubs to the Ga. legislature! It was the first pub Governor in something like 150 years!

The SOB is up for re-election in Nov, and guess who one of his opponents is? Cathy Cox, the Sec of State that implemented the damn Dibold machines!!!!

I guess we'll see in the primary in July if it's going to be Cathy or Mark Taylor who is Perdue's opponent in Nov.

[recovering democrat]

5. Cox

Although most of us truly believed this was the first Diebold steal, I guess we will find out in July (or November). If there was a Diebold steal, Cox should win.

[WhoWantsToBeOccupied]

9. I know Andrew Veal remembered 2002... until he (supposedly) killed himself

[AzDar]

4. It's going to bite us in the arse again, in November, I fear. n/t

[IdaBriggs]

12. Yes, it will. It has already begun, frankly. nt

[CottonBear]

6. I'm a Georgian who will never forget 2002 & the stolen election.

The smear campaign against Mac Cleland by Saxby Chambliss was one of the most disgusting and foul political events in US history. I truly detest Saxby Chambliss and every single Georgian who voted for Chambliss and Sonny Perdue (he stole the election from Roy Barnes.)
:grr:
Cathy Cox, the Democratic Secretary of State, now running for governor, is the one who is to blame for the 2002 debacle. She was the one who got us 100% Diebolded and refused to listen to those of us with security concerns.
:grr:

[napi21]

7. She still doesn't want to hear it! I got a fund raising email from her,

and there was a contact address on it, so I asked her what she was doing about the unverifiable voting machines??? I also asked several other questions. I finally got a response, about 3 weeks later, and she answered all the questions except the one about the machines! I got the Standard answer...there is a backup system and can be recounted at any time! Obviously that's crap! I've been an accountant for 40+ years, and I'm well aware of how an audit is done. You CAN'T do an audit on these voting machines! There's nothing to check the ressults against!

I'm soooo tired of fighting this with people who don't understand that...or just don't want to!

[CottonBear]

8. I hear you napi21. It really depresses me to think about Cox & Diebold.

You'd think she would understand the issues. I've met her and Mark Taylor. I like Mark Taylor. I'm going to vote for Mark in the primary. I'll hold my nose and vote for Cox in the general election if she wins the primary because as much as I dislike Cox, I really, really, really hate Perdue. He is a greedy, mean hypocrital bastard.

[robinlynne]

10. Thank-you!

[Stevepol]

11. Here's the principle of the thing: We don't have a democracy!!

When the votes are counted in secret, by extreme partisans of one side, with practically non-existent chances to check the count for accuracy or fraud, YOU CANNOT HAVE A DEMOCRACY. This is the perfect definition of a sham democracy AND WE HAVE IT IN THE US of A.

[femrap]

13. I remember reading an article about the

GA '02 Election....it was months later. I remember feeling absolutely ill. I knew then that our Democracy was a joke.

WTF is wrong with voting using a cheap piece of recycled paper and a pen? We save the taxpayers a large amount of money...and we can count and verify the votes. Shit...it ain't rocket science.

[truedelphi]

14. Thank you for re-telling this story

i had forgotten the particulars and I think it is a most amazing tale.

Consider this: Section 245 Chapter 18 of the US Code stipulates that anyone who injures, intimidates or interferes with any other citizen(s) in their undertaking their right to vote, shall be fined under this section of law, or imprisoned for A YEAR, or BOTH. (This section also reserves the same privileges for those intimidating those "participating lawfully in speech or peaceful assembly.")

To have corporate America buy out our democracy through the money given by lobbyists -
well , that could certainly be considered intimidation, couldn't it?

[robbedvoter]

15. I remember! results neatly reversed the poll numbers.

I am talking of a poll taken the day before the election - as exit polls were all conveniently junked that election by VNS - because "something went wrong". Same neat reversal BTW that occured in Minnesota in the senate Mondale race.
And people here don't seem to give enough weight to the fact that yesterday, in San Diego Diebold machines were used.