There are some (not me) who will say this forum is obsolete now

[Wiley50]

No, not by a long shot. We just beat the Republican Nickel this time.

As Greg Palast wrote in his recent essay " How They Stole the 2006 Midterms",
http://www.gregpalast.com/how-they-stole-the-mid-term-election
The registration suppression, plus the "spoilage", plus the machines adds up
to a 5% head start for the republicans. We mobilized ( actually we can't even
take all or even much of the credit) enough support for a change to meet and
beat (by a little bit) their 5% advantage. The Republicans generated much of
the backlash against them ( and, therefore, the advantage for us) themselves
by the lack of success of their policies and the scandals made inevitable by
their flaunted hypocrisy.

We still have to take our stolen nickel back.

And, eventually, get publicly-financed elections ( thereby taking the corrupting money
out of the process ).


But, at least, if we don't also fall victim to our own pride, we have the power
to do so.

We've got two years.

What time do we start work tomorrow?

[rumpel]

1. Oh, i'm not done.

Especially, over next month I have to fight with McCormack still. She lost my daughters registration - she had to vote provisional on her very first voting experience.
I am also waiting for McPherson to respond to my e-mail.

They have and will continue - they are already planning for 08 - an "improved" system.

on edit: and when you see articles like this one:

"Relatively few problems reported in today's voting" LA Times

snip

The Democratic National Committee, which had deployed lawyers and monitors around the country, reported only sporadic voting problems. DNC spokesman Luis Miranda said the party had "a lot of confidence" that Democratic teams had been able to deal with them.

Republican officials said they were closely watching reported problems in critical races across the country. In New Jersey, GOP officials asked state and federal authorities to investigate a small number of voter complaints that electronic voting machines had not allowed them to vote for Tom Kean, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

And the Republican National Congressional Committee tried to throw a spotlight on reported problems in congressional districts in New Mexico and Kentucky where GOP incumbents were battling to hold onto their seats.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-voting8nov08,0,886600.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[galloglas]

2. Ohhhh, it's NOT over! It's only

just begun...

Next week we start the job of finishing
HCPBs, just like our Forefathers used. Nothing more, nothing less.

[YOY]

15. absofrigginlutely!

[EFerrari]

3. It's just starting. We have a ton of work to do.

On top of vapor voting, now we have vapor registration.

:)

[Febble]

4. Certainly not

because it never depended on who actually won, did it?

If those with a right to vote are prevented from exercising the right that right to vote, and if you can't be sure who won anyway, you need Election Reform!

Good luck!

And congratulations!

[kster]

5. I'm not done until the votes

are counted in open and in full view of R and D observers, and recorded at the precinct level !

Anything less, and I will feel that I have let my kids down.

[sabbat hunter]

13. that is what is done now

in NYS with the old mechanical machines.

[Wilms]

6. I'm not even positive who really won.

Not with all the software and wires and bar-keys out there.

Then there's the voter suppression you rightly point out.

Recount Law, anyone?

Future Harris-Blackwell's are being groomed now.

You can sleep a little late, this morning. But it's back to work.

[emlev]

7. hell no

[Febble]

8. Nice little fraud story here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/7/112734/724?detail=f

No, you can't stop work yet.

[Kip Humphrey]

9. I have 2 things to say" Phooey! and H.R. 6200

[Fly by night]

10. We haven't begun to fight to save our democracy.

Not with corrupt election officials still in place, an awakening corporate media (who may finally help us awaken the slumbering giant that is our citizenry), massive evidence of fraud, incompetence, and unverifiability. Oh yes, there's still loads to do. And who better to do it.

'Cause we ARE the ones we've been waiting for.

[Amaryllis]

11. There was a huge amount of funny business in this election, not to mention

that even without the fraud aspect, these machines, and the scanners and tabulators that count the votes, are so error prone that it is ridiculous. Without all that, the senate would have been an easy win for Dems IMHO. As Greg Palast said, we started out way down but due to the huge turnout and the tireless work of the activists, we managed to off set it enough to mitigate the damage. And, we still have all those election officials who are enamoured of the machines, who have their photos on Diebold promo lit, etc.
LOoks like Lamone may finally be coming down with all the latest...and we have Lou Dobbs on it now. But hardly time to rest. NAtional elections are easier to rig than state, and 2008 isnt that far away.

[Stevepol]

30. And don't forget the exit polls. They've apparently just folded

to the idea that Dems naturally poll higher the Repubs, thus giving a false Dem bias in exit polls and warranting a re-calibration of the results to match these "facts." Also, the polls are now being conducted in secret.

Apparently, the only results that can be trusted very much are the early results before these re-calibration results click in.

Andrew Kohut yesterday on the News Hour lauded this new method, saying it showed it wasn't a landslide and the Dems only won by a fairly small amount, maybe 5%.

Which is bunch of hooey. This was a landslide. The Natl Review's (!) polls had the Dems winnning by 15% in VA. It's just that the voting machines are tilted, defaulted about 5% or so in favor of the Repubs. The next election cycle that tilt will likely be increased to make sure a Dem landslide doesn't happen again.

[organik]

12. Now is the time to be even MORE ACTIVE!

Don't for one second think this election cycle was without fraud.
Massive Dem vote suppression, switching votes, more votes than voters, voter ID issues, same old crap.
The Dem win was probably actually much larger!

Now with a majority, maybe we can actually get something done. Remember, John Conyers is our friend, will now be the head of the house judiciary committee.

And we can teach the repubs a lesson : bankrupt them over their robo call fraud - $500 per illegal call - and there were LOTS of them.

Never forget 2000 and 2004! Hand Counted Paper Ballots NOW!

[Kurovski]

14. K&R

The price of freedom is eternal vigilence.

And let's get rid of the frikken' machines!!!

[AbbyR]

16. For me, it's not over...

until all of our children are home from Iraq, until the torture laws are repealed, until there is decent health care for all of our citizens, until all of our children have a good education, until our civil liberties are regained, until we can be sure that our votes will be counted, until minimum wage is a living wage, until the homeless have shelter - I could go on forever. We have a long way to go.

[Rhiannon12866]

17. I agree! K&R.

There were countless and flagrant abuses this time around, as well. We only managed to prevail, this time, because we turned out in such overwhelming numbers. But we have to be vigilant because they are pissed off and will certainly try it again. :-(

[byronius]

18. C'mon, now. You guys won. Can't they just have their 5%? Sort of

as a consolation prize?

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. Hell, I just assume stay and keep you Libruls in line.

:-)

[bulletsandspikes]

20. HELL NO

[Joe Chi Minh]

21. It is also vital for Democrats to keep plugging that it is NOT only

about Iraq - seminally disastrous as it has been - nor even PRIMARILY.

THE PHYSICAL SURVIVAL OF THE CIVILIAN POPULATION IN THE US is the cornerstone of everything. What greater priorities can there be than health, food and shelter and a little disposable income for comfort and recreation - without having to work longer than an 8- hour day and being obliged to farm out your children to day-carers. A NEW DEAL, whereby all the people are treated as full citizens, entitled to gainful employment, and a proper amount of leisure time!

Because I think the Republican media shills are always going to try to reduce it to Iraq, and divert attention away from the plunging of millions into penury at home, by the utterly ruthless and fathomless greed of unchecked big business.

[robinlynne]

22. you're kidding, right? Just because someone has a D next to their name does

not mean they will always do the right thing without the public expressing, well, democracy, free speech, kicks in the balls when necessary, and when they have balls, protests, letters, oh and VALID elections, en end to the war in Iraq, repayment of all the stolen money, and... We have work to do. This is only the very beginning.

[cassiepriam]

23. Now the really hard work begins.

It is going to be a tough uphill battle to clean up after the sociopathic corrupt repugs, to deal with the Iraq invasion, to fix the economy, etc etc.

[LaurenG]

24. Excellent reminder

:thumbsup:

[ArmchairMeme]

25. I've learned so much

Keep doing such a great job of education. I was not aware of the background of the newly appointed Sec. Def. Robert Gates. Democracy is a work in progress. There is much to uncover and improve upon.

[adamuu]

26. can you name anyone who is actually saying that?

mr. president?

[mopinko]

27. oh, heck no. we have just begun.

i was a judge yesterday, and i tell ya, what an experience!!
machines or no machines, citizen election control is so fucking important. for all the deficits of a polling place full of rank amatuers, and there are many, the whole day was a citizen uprising of epic proportions. it would not have happened without the enormous outpouring of citizen action.
there is so much work to do still.
i am hooked. how about you?

[Gelliebeans]

28. Hell NO!

You are so vital and the work is not finished!

[kpete]

29. Obsolete - No way

But I did take a day off - Back tomorrow? - You better believe it!!!