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Wrong again, Farhad, in your interpretation of Robert Kennedy Jr.'s expose, and more importantly, wrong in your fundamental approach to dealing with the profoundly corrupt. Another election was clearly stolen, but like a tobacco executive you continue to try and convince us, and yourself, that there is no cancer link.
I will address your criticisms in a moment, but in general, given all we know of the Bush regime's propensity to bend and break any and all rules in everything they do, and having watched them subsequently lie and cover up their numerous crimes, you do your audience a great disservice to grant them any benefit of any doubt. Any at all. Shame.
As for your specific criticisms:
- You lead with what sounds like a slam-dunk gotcha, but it is in fact a straightforward indictment of your own foolishness and/or malfeasance. RFK says "In what may be the single most astounding fact from the election, one in every four Ohio citizens who registered to vote in 2004 showed up at the polls only to discover that they were not listed on the rolls, thanks to GOP efforts to stem the unprecedented flood of Democrats eager to cast ballots." You criticize this by pointing out that Republicans as well as Democrats were turned away in equal numbers. Seriously, do you really not understand this one? In 2004, Democrats in Ohio were out-registering Republicans by an astonishing ratio, so turning away *all newly registered voters* (regardless of party) greatly advantaged the Republican candidate.
- Long lines put off Bush voters evenly with Kerry voters. Please, do your homework. Machines were a-plenty in the districts that favored Bush, while they were a-not-so-plenty in Kerry districts, leading to lines many hours long for those wishing to vote for Kerry. These are the facts, as planned and implemented by a corrupt and partisan rulemaker, Blackwell, just as Harris corrupted Florida in 2000.
- "Despite the problems on Election Day, there is no evidence from our survey that John Kerry won the state of Ohio." The source for this? A survey done by a political party machine, not the mountain of actual evidence that the election was stolen. This was a SURVEY, nothing more, performed by the official voice of a powerful political party on a highly charged political issue, facing a relentless, dishonest, Swift-boating attack machine that takes no prisoners and leaves scorched earth where they tread. Let's not forget the public witchhunt that ensued against Al Gore for daring to question the rigged 2000 election, taunts of "Sore Loserman" etc.; the Democratic Party understands that the public has little stomach for the declared loser complaining about an unfair fight, no matter the evidence. It just does not sit well, politically, as wrongheaded as that may be. The public has an odd ethic.
I could go on. And on and on and on. Farhad Manjoo has again sealed his legitimacy in the bloated ranks of the untrustworthy, those that distort to make their ridiculous arguments seem true. I doubt I'll read his stuff again.
