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Kennedy and others make a huge mistake in allowing themselves to be distracted by conspiracy theories about the 2004 election. That turns our political discourse into kindergarten whining about cheating when our democracy is in danger.
In _Kingdom Coming_,Michelle Goldberg makes her case that the Republican party did a brilliant job of out-organizing the Democrats in 2004, by organizing via the Christian Right and threats about the "gay agenda." Voters turned out lest the homos take over the world, and Bush won. Most of this happened under the radar of conventional politics. No "cheating" was required.
Liberals need to see and understand these tactics, because we're going to be beaten by them again and again until we learn how to deal with them. The demonization of GLBT Americans provides a vehicle by which the Religious Right can bypass the usual church/state separation of the pulpit from the voting booth.
Forget this stupid conspiracy stuff: I for one do not wish to live in some real-world Handmaid's Tale, and that, folks, is where we are headed.
