Chris Matthews invited Ken Blackwell on his program to discuss the Sestak flap today. Of course it's best to have opposing views on the political spectrum to discuss political matters in the news as Matthews usually does.
Why invite a Crook?
Ken Blackwell succeeded in suppressing liberal voters during the 2004 elections. Blackwell strategically skimped on voting booths in liberal districts causing lines too back up so bad, that most people in those districts gave up and left. People do need to work you know. Which leaves me to believe that, contrary to conservative beliefs - that liberals are the jobless bums, that actually it's the right wingers that are the jobless bums and moochers.
Blackwell also somehow succeeded in not allowing the disclosure of the voting machines and the inner workings to prove whether or not the machines were rigged.
That's right! Where we know that thousands upon thousands of votes actually flipped to Bush, and some Kerry votes were actually, if not flipped, deleted, there was a secretary of state by the name of Ken Blackwell who blocked investigations into the voter machines to prove whether or not they were rigged.
Did you catch that. I'm sure it's not news to most involved people out there, but I don't think Chris Matthews caught it.
So Blackwell blocked investigations. Maybe the government didn't have a right to be snooping. Or maybe time ran out for investigations.
Excuse me! But we have a right to have the answers to the questions about anyone blocking American's Right to exercise their most American Right.
Blackwell also suspiciously ordered touchscreen voting machines instead of the requested optimal scan voting machines that would leave paper trails. And then, after succeeding in securing the non-paper trail voting machines, we know of vote flipping and deletion. And we know that Blackwell refused to recuse himself from these and other investigations surrounding the suspicious 2004 irregularities, and we know that Blackwell refused to allow the suspicious machines to be investigated (which is completely absurd). We also know that there were also other companies prepared to provide paper trail voter machines.
And what else do we know. Oh, this from the CEO of Diebold, the company that supplied these suspicious machines, (and a company that was also in Blackwell's portfolio at the time);
"I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president."
CBS
Blackwell also violated The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) by making poll workers..
the arbiters of eligibility by demanding that they confirm in some manner -- he failed to specify the proof that poll workers were permitted to require -- the eligibility of would-be voters.
And what else? Oh yeah, Blackwell was also honorary co-chair of Bush's 2004 Ohio campaign And this while he was Secretary of State.. of Ohio.. who was in charge of voting booths.
So what have we learned? Or what have we already known? Ken Blackwell is a crook.
And what else do we know? Chris Matthews legitimized him. Chris Matthews legitimized a man who may have succeeded in stealing votes, and DID block the investigations into the machines, and refused to recuse himself from investigations.