I'm sure everyone's seen this by now -
Washington Post on Ukraine Elections
Incumbent president wins by 3 points
Exit polls showed the challenger ahead
Massive fraud alleged
Difference between Ukraine and the US? The Right-wing corporate Media has no need for covering up the obvious when it comes to the Ukraine, where they do need to cover it up here. Someone needs to do something and I think MoveOn is about it.
The DNC can't act. Whether they should or should not is debatable. But MoveOn has to have some money saved up and should run a spot like this.
[Scene from Ukraine in background] - Democracy is in danger around the world. In a former soviet republic, Incumbent president Viktor Yanukovych claimed victory by 3% over challenger Viktor Yushchenko, while exit polls had shown the challenger clearly ahead.
[Montage of Ohio] - In the United States of America, Incumbent President George W. Bush claimed victory by 3% over challenger John Kerry, while exit polls had shown the challenger, clearly ahead. In states like Ohio, over a hundred million dollars in your tax dollars, earmarked for new voting equipment, went unspent. Voting machines were removed from urban and minority precincts even though voter registration was up. Republican challengers stopped voters from casting ballots. The Secretary of State, Bush's campaign co-chair, repeatedly changed the rules about which ballots would count. In heavily Republican areas, there were minimal lines to vote. In heavily Democratic areas, there were lines up to 10 hours long.
[Back to Ukraine] - When this type of behavior happens in a former Soviet Republic, we talk of Democracy struggling and fears of slipping back into a harsh dictatorship.
[Back to Ohio] - And yet when it happens here at home, what do we do about it?
The script needs a bunch of work, but we need to go on the effing offensive. We need to draw the parallels between the Ukraine and the United States. If exit polls are good enough to be used in former Soviet Republics to validate the outcome of an election why are they suddenly mysteriously not good enough here?
-Fred
