I will preface this by saying that I make no statement about the specifics or credibility of charges against Clinton’s campaign of voter suppression, nor of charges by Obama’s supporters (I say this because I didn’t see anything about his campaign charging this, although I may have missed it) of dirty campaign tactics or voter suppression by the Clinton campaign. Because frankly, it really doesn’t matter to me about whether someone is making allegations of this or not - what matters to me is whether this is going on - regardless of who is doing it, Clinton or Obama - Democrat or republican.
What I want to say, as I have done at least a bit of research and writing on voter suppression and election integrity, and think I have just a wee bit of credibility and objectivity here (since I am not a real supporter of either Obama or Clinton and take the issue of election integrity and voter suppression pretty fucking seriously).
I’ll go out on a limb here and say that most people will agree with me when I say that if we don’t have fair elections where everyone who is eligible to vote not only can vote, but does vote, should have their vote counted and verified - to the point where they know that it was counted and counted accurately.
The fact that 3 of the last 4 elections were rife with voter suppression, election fraud is suspected on so many levels and most likely were tipped based on outright cheating - pretty much all connected to, coordinated by and sanctioned by high level republican party officials, from the inside and out - and at each level - is something that should not be forgotten nor lost in this.
In short - this is some serious shit, and if our elections aren’t fair, then really nothing else matters as far as We the People are concerned. We all know this - and it can not, nay, MUST not occur.
There were diaries alleging voter suppression or manipulation or other similar "dirty tricks" in New Hampshire and more recently, in Nevada. One of my very good friends, thereisnospoon was in Nevada and has numerous incidents from numerous people in numerous precincts that there was voter suppression and cheating. Others have said the same thing. While I trust him implicitly, I flat out asked if there were any independent "non-Obama" confirmations of this, or other corroborating people on who was doing the cheating as well as whether this was from supporters or organizations. I’ll let him talk about his experiences and whatever he knows - I want to talk about the bigger picture here.
I will make a couple of observations - one about those who are making the allegations (including anyone officially with the Obama campaign) and one about those who the allegations are being made against - including Hillary herself.
To those making the charges
If these charges are being made, and it is against anyone in the Democratic Party apparatus (NH and Nevada), the Clinton campaign, or anyone else that has any ties to the campaign (as opposed to assholes acting relatively alone or without sanction) - this better be fucking true and there better be enough proof to make these specific charges.. Charges like this are very damn serious ones, and the one thing that kept the Democratic Party from winning who knows how many more seats in Congress since 2000, as well as kept Gore (and Kerry, although if Gore won in 2000, Kerry would not have run in 2004) out of the White House.
Voter fraud and voter suppression is something that the republican party has had to resort to in order to win elections. It is something that the RNC did. It is something that permeated the Department of Justice and even its Voting Rights Section. It is something that has gotten an odious individual to serve on the FEC - gaming the system from the inside. It is something that was the basis for the whole "permanent republican majority"
In short - this is something that the republican party does to win. If charges are made on this level, then to the many many many people that casually follow politics and elections, there will be no difference between Democrats and republicans when it comes to "whatever it takes to win". And we lose the moral high ground.
So understand what is at stake here - the moral high ground on free and fair elections. If these charges are made and are not able to be credibly traced back to those who are being charged, then there is no going back. Not to mention no credibility for your candidate as it would rather casually throw around these terms than actually fight for true election integrity - regardless if it means that Clinton actually beats Obama.
To those who these charges are being made against
If this is true, then you have ruined election integrity as an issue for Democrats to fight for and have irreparably damaged your candidate as someone who will "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States".
Your candidate’s actions (assuming this is true and not rectified in the most serious manner) indicate that she does not deserve to get the nomination for President and is no different from republican vote suppressors.
How can you support a candidate that will cheat to win? Is that more important than anything else?
You need to rethink your priorities when it comes to what this country is and should be all about, because engaging in or trying in any way to justify these actions is completely disgusting and inexcusable.
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And to everyone - realize what is at stake here. Not just now, not just on February 5, but in November as well. Will it be worth it if this blows up in our faces and we either have a candidate who makes false allegations of voter suppression in the primaries or a candidate who actually engaged in these tactics.
If it happened, then that is unacceptable. If it didn’t happen, then do everyone a favor and don’t say a fucking word about it.