Election 2004 - Significant Factors

by Robert Wilkinson

As I see it, there are several factors that will play a greater part than usual in influencing this election:

Pro-Democrat or anti-Bush groups: Howard Stern voters. Internet users. Strippers and other "adult entertainment" workers. Students. Educators. Poor people screwed in corporate wrongdoing. People who care about the Supreme Court and civil liberties. ABB voters. Unions. People who were illegally or incorrectly purged from voter rolls in 2000.

Pro-Republican or anti-Kerry groups: Church pulpits. Energy Industy. Diebold voting machines. People who got the biggest tax cuts. Military-Industrial complex. Soldiers who actually believe Bush plans to bring them home. People who listen to AM radio. Fortune 500 families. True believers in Armaggeddon.

Up for grabs, or ambivalent: Single women. Elderly voters. Arab-Americans. Latinos y Latinas. Military families, especially those who have lost a loved one.

Of course, none of these will matter if the Administration declares a state of national emergency, suspends elections for however long or short a time, has another urgent war to declare in October or November on whatever pretext, or decides to trot Osama bin Laden out for television viewing. All of these capture the news cycle indefinitely, and leave us very little recourse except to view the nightmare.

In the somewhat extreme scenario of a national emergency on election day, I believe it would involve a "terrorist event" in California or Washington state. It is advantageous for it to be in Pacific time after the polls close on the East coast. That way the powers that be will know if the fix is in or not. Another possible event is a crisis in the swing areas of Ohio, Michigan, or Indiana. A "terrorist event" in any of these states, timed correctly, would no doubt influence how many went to the polls in California and Washington, with their 65 electoral votes up for grabs.

The added benefit for the Neocons if there is an election day "terrorist event" is that blacks, who tend to vote 90-10 Democrat, could be denied their voting rights again. In a national emergency, roadblocks would have to be set up and people would be admonished to stay home while the "authorities" made sure we're all safe from the grand illusion. It's not that hard for county Sheriffs to close certain roads to make it near impossible to get to the polls. Apparently it happened all over Florida in 2000.

However, I believe that if there is chicanery, it won't be confined to behind-the-scenes manipulations in Florida this time, folks. I (and a few million others!) am extraordinarily concerned about the paperless voting machines being used in several states. The Diebold honcho has been quoted as saying he'll do whatever it takes to deliver the Ohio vote to Bush. And having been a programmer myself some years ago, I know how easy it is to insert a line of code that will self-destruct after reassigning every other vote for candidate A to candidate B. If we're to go electronic, there must be a backup paper trail, though even that can be manipulated. Welcome to 21st century elections!

© Copyright 2006 Robert Wilkinson. Last update: 8/27/2006; 10:51:02 AM.