Krugman: Don't Prettify our History (2000 elections again!)

[Carolab]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/22/opinion/22krugman.html?pagewanted=print

[Dynasty_At_Passes]

1. A warmup to something else?

A warmup by the Times to if all the ballots had been recounted, Kerry would be in the house right now instead of the thieves of 2004?

:shrug: Hmmmm

[wli]

2. trial ballooning breaking the election fraud story?

Interesting... maybe something good is afoot. But I doubt it.

[Senator]

3. What it ought to be laying the groundwork for

I'm fairly sure that this article is just what it seems. An attempt to get out in front of the coming propaganda response to the CNN special last night.

I doubt very much that even Krugman could be laying the groundwork for what we really need to be doing to return this once-great nation to its former stature. Which is to confront the reality of our long national nightmare that began with that first stolen election, when the (former) American People were cut out of the loop.

That was the seminal event -- from which all the subsequent horrors flowed. That's what made us "fair game" for 9/11. US public opinion could no longer be looked to as the only consistent powerful force for good on the planet.

We can redeem this nation only by coming to terms with the full reality. The reality that 2 elections were stolen, that the election thieves defrauded and terrorized the American People into complicity with a criminal war of aggression, that the regime never had legitimate claim to the power they've been wielding, and thus have no place of honor in our history.

But simply admitting the truth to ourselves is not enough. We need to purge the immoral manipulators from our midst, hand them over for international trial and punishment, expunge them from our history, and reverse all illegitimate actions we are able to.

Unless and until we do these things we will continue as the rogue state, the outlaw nation, the declining grim shadow of the noble experiment we once were.

--

[Dynasty_At_Passes]

4. Bingo, its time for Paul Krugman to lay it all out on the line.

We put all the AEI fascists down and we end this movement, we end it with the very hands that started it.

[pat_k]

6. Facing the truth is not enough. National redemption requires punishment...

Absolutely agree.

Facing the truth is not enough. National redemption requires punishment and redress.

Acknowledging the illegitimacy of the Bush regime does a lot more than make people "feel worse about their country" – facing this reality demands action. The crimes must be fully exposed and punished. Every law, executive order, appointment, and crony contract made under illegitimate authority must be rolled back. Reparations for damage that cannot otherwise be undone must be sought.

The single moral tenet on which the US Constitution, and therefore the nation, rests is the principle that government power can only be derived from the consent of the governed.

We the People, through our representatives, have set out our election laws to ensure that election results reflect OUR will.

Our law is intended to serve our will, not thwart it. Any "technical" or "legal" arguments and rationalizations that set aside the intent of the electorate are wrong.

From the article:

...if the intentions of the voters hadn't been frustrated by butterfly ballots, felon purges and more; the answer is that Mr. Gore would have won by a much larger margin.

We know that more voters showed up at the polls in Florida intending to vote for Gore than for Bush. What most people don't seem to get (Krugman included I'm afraid) is that this is ALL WE NEED TO KNOW. Gore won. Period.

Any "scenario" that disregards this reality must be discarded. (See "Election 2000: A look back" in jan6points.html or jan6points.pdf)

The inauguration of Bush in 2001 violated our most fundamental principle. That violation, and the cascade of horrors that follow from it, are devastating. Although we can't turn back the clock, we can and must take on the work of digging out and rebuilding.

Simply acknowledging what happened and "moving on" would be like building on a rotting and damaged foundation. Acknowledging the rot won't keep your house from falling down.

[MelissaB]

5. Wow! Just...wow!