McCain is running an entirely negative, divisive, racist campaign based on lies, intending to trick, manipulate, deceive, divide or otherwise do whatever it takes to get enough people to vote for him.
And we all know it.
So if it works, where are we? Do we accept such a government, elected based on the appeal his campaign is making?
Set aside for a minute all the the voter suppression, problems with voting machines, etc. -- that's not what I want to write about here, go here for what to do about that -- and instead imagine that Nov. 5 we learn that McCain is the "winner of the election" and that it comes from a surge of voters responding to his current campaign.
What would that mean? And what do we do? Do we accept a government that we all know is in power entirely based on lies, division and racist appeal? This is a serious question: Is such a government legitimate?
I'm asking for a discussion, not making a declaration.
Update - An email I received:
Unless there is evidence of illegal activity, yes, we must accept such a government, and, yes, it is legitimate. It is not illegal for an individual operating in an unofficial capacity (as a presidential candidate as opposed to a senator) to lie. Citizens have a responsibility to verify the accuracy of the information they receive. If they choose not to verify it and choose to believe a lie and to act on it with their vote, that is their right, and they deserve to be governed by the lying president they've chosen. There's nothing in a democratic political system that requires a candidate to tell the truth. It is we, each individual citizen, who must require it by refusing to accept any information we haven't verified for ourselves. We fail miserably at that, so we generally get the government we deserve.
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Personally, though, I think it depends on how the down-ballot elections turn out. I disagree with virtually all of McCain's policies, but he can't get those policies enacted without congress. So, for example, if the Democrats succeed in getting a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, he's screwed. There's no way he'd be able to get anything he wants passed unless he'd be willing to give the Dems things from their own agenda.
What will certainly happen is we'll lose many more lives of American soldiers, and we may anger the new Iraqi government, and her People, to the point that sectarian violence gets out of control again. I say this because their government wants a withdraw date in writing, and McCain consistently opposes a date of any kind. People who have Muslim friends or have read the Koran for themselves know, the reason any occupying force has to deal with bloody murder in a Muslim country is because it is their religious right, and in fact their obligation, to defend their lands against invaders and occupying forces.
I've got way more than 250 words worth of stuff to say, but that's a start anyway. Short answer, more of the same - but to what degree depends on a number of questions that haven't been answered yet.
The founding fathers didn't accept the lies of an imperial power.
The imperial power is now the US corporate sector and it is subjugating the people through control of the political process and the media. If we want a free, honest and just America it's time for revolution again. Take to the streets!
"Sorry for the email intrusion, but I wanted to recommend that you monitor http://votefraudsquad.com/ for news about voter fraud around the country.
The website is affiliated with the Voter Integrity Project, which is a non-partisan project to help the American voter report and expose incidences of vote fraud and vote suppression. This is an issue that crosses party lines and we should all be concerned about it.
To learn more, please go here.
Sincerely yours,
Erick Erickson
Editor, RedState.com"
When I visited the link, I was surprised to find that the vast majority of stories were about Acorn, which didn't jibe with the non-partisan approach I was expecting. I looked up the url to see who votefraudsquad.com was registered to. It's the Sam Adams Project:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/the-sam-adams-project/
This is the kind of crap that Republicans are going to use to frame a debate that the election was somehow stolen by voter fraud.
I no more believe that the Republican party and it's bunch of big talking financial advisors would be able to save what's left. The World Economy is riding on this Election too you know, and they have already expressed a vote of No Confidence in the McCain/Palin ticket, so if by some rare and incredibly stupid stroke of bad luck they do end up in the White House ... the first thing I'd do is call for a RECOUNT, and that would include any alleged voter fraud alleged inappropriate or alleged fraudulent votes... remember what happened in the Florida elections when Jeb Bush- Candidate for Governor -forced thousands of votes to be uncounted due to the now famous "hanging chads"... (that's the little holes the punches didn't punch all the way through, so even though there were holes in the cards of the ballot, they weren't counted because they didn't detach the tiny little piece of paper on the back completely off the ballot). .. Oh ...and I forgot... there were many allegations of thousands of "lost" ballots also...so much so in fact that it became National News .. alleging Republican Voter Fraud.. had won the race for the Republican candidate.. who just happened to be the brother of President Bush...
That we are totally screwed and headed to 3rd world status.
We need, indeed I implore those Republicans who see what is being done with voter suppression in their name, and the vote flipping machines, and all the ugliness, to simply stop being used. Stop being a part of it.
Take Colin Powell's lead and the lead of countless others who have said, "Enough!"
He did NOT win the election. It was awarded to him by the Supreme Court. The majority of people in the United States of America voted for Al Gore.
That, sir, is NOT democracy.
P.S. Why is Sarah Palin so underqualified? She has held more elected posts in gov't than Barack Obama. She is the governor of a state. But since its Alaska, it is completly disregarded. Talk about the American dream, shes lived it. Ive never seen such a fear about what COULD happen, in terms of the possibility of Sarah Palin assuming the presidency. John McCain isn't knocking on deaths door. My grandfather is 88, and stills play tennis once a week. Joe Biden in the White House, scary.......
2. She can't name ONE supreme court case besides Roe v. Wade.
3. She can't name ONE paper, blog, or magazine she reads to stay apprised of world affairs.
4. She is a liar.
5. She appointed friends to government positions for which they were not qualified.
6. The METROPLEX I live in is more than 5 times the size of Alaska - furthermore, the reform she claims as her own in Alaska has been documented as "well underway" before she even took office.
Shall I go on? There's plenty more where that came from.
But my next question is: if she is so wholly unqualified to be VP, what specific qualifications, in terms of government service and experience, does Barack Obama have to be the leader of the free world?
As for the email you received - that person can PISS OFF. NO, I don't have to accept the farce of a government that would be the result of McCain stealing the election and becoming POTUS. I am INFORMED, I WRITE congress - I WRITE the idiotic pundits that don't deserve to be on the airwaves - I DONATE to campaigns of those that I feel represent my views and values the closest (nobody is perfect), I VOTE, and so on.
Finally, I have NO CONTROL over the IDIOTS in this country that aren't informed, vote based on one issue (taxes, abortion, guns, RACISM, etc.), or are just plain STUPID. So, Mr. Emailer, you expect me to just accept a McCain administration because the majority of the country either didn't do their homework or chose to believe the lies, deceit, and divisive politics flowing out of the McCain campaign?! No sir / ma'am - at the end of the day I am a human being and and American with the freedom of choice. So, YOU enjoy your monumentally destructive McCain administration, if it comes to fruition, but do it without me, because I will be a shiny new expat sunning on the beach before you can say "Drill, baby, drill!".
The Patriot Act abolished many of our rights. The American people LET that happen. I did my part - called and wrote to congress, complained on blogs, and tried to generate awareness of what was about to happen. What did I accomplish?
We only have power over the government and the corporate establishment who's really running the government if we speak and act with one voice. This country is sharply divided, and sad as it may be to think about, maybe it needs to hit ROCK bottom before people will wake up.
Senator Obama gets my vote because I truly believe he means to unite the country. Will we get behind him? That remains to be seen, but what we have seen is terrible, despicable acts carried out by the McCain campaign, designed to divide the country and incite hate. The country can't withstand a McCain victory, and I won't stay here and watch my home "burn" to the ground under his lack of leadership and willingness to divide.
This woman is, not one of us in lower 48 !
"I'm often quoted saying that I have "no regrets." This is not true. For anyone paying attention--and I try to stay wide-awake to the world around me always--life brings misgivings, doubts, uncertainty, loss, regret. I'm sometimes asked if I regret anything I did to oppose the war in Viet Nam, and I say "no, I don't regret anything I did to try to stop the slaughter of millions of human beings by my own government." Sometimes I add, "I don't think I did enough." This is then elided: he has no regrets for setting bombs and thinks there should be more bombings."
Ayers' group was not anti-American, but anti-government. They targeted buildings, not people, when Obama was eight. Why isn't more made of the AIP, much admired and respected by Palin and her husband, and McCain's close ties to both G Gordon Liddy and the PNAC?
And the only way McCain pulls this off is by cheating.
VOTE EVERYONE. Vote early if you can.