Look Back and Shudder: Election 2004

There's good news and bad news from Robert Kennedy Jr.'s long article, "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?" in Rolling Stone magazine. The bad news is that the piece makes a very compelling case that the presidential election of 2004 was rigged, specifically in Ohio. Sure, it's galling when you hear President Bush talk endlessly about spreading democracy to the world, when in fact, he could represent the end of it here. If the voting itself wasn't enough proof, just consider the seizure of power to ignore laws enacted by Congress, who at one point were considered the elected representatives of the American People. The democratic system itself is under incredible assault, and, at first, the conclusions seemed to be an endgame. It appeared that a small powerful group of rich right-wingers could raise enough money to persuade the voting public of almost anything, given a compliant media, and the power of television. We could be living in a telemarketing age when any message - no matter how incorrect - can be drummed into the public's collective head. That would mean democracy would fall victim to modern technology. The good news in this article is that the majority of the American People in places like Ohio, were not duped; they were ripped off. Sure, the implications are scary, but at least it now appears that it took a major crime to give us the Bush administration. These days, that's quite a relief.


Rolling Stone : Was the 2004 Election Stolen?