Post by duke on Aug 10, 2012 18:56:47 GMT -5
The Greatest Election-Stealing Conspiracy in US History
By Alex Slater, Guardian UK
10 August 12
In Washington, conventional wisdom is everything. It's the driver of perceptions, and often of self-fulfilling political prophecies. That's why you might notice a guarded confidence amongst the Obama campaign these past few weeks: generally speaking, most realistic experts predict a victory for the president in this November's election.
This perception is reinforced by current polling, some of the most recent being published by Quinnipiac University, the New York Times and CBS News, giving President Obama an edge over Romney in key states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. Certainly, it will be a tight race, but by any realistic standard, the money is on Obama to pull out a victory, even narrowly.
But it's exactly the likely closeness of the race that may turn Washington's conventional wisdom on its head on election day. That's because, until relatively recently, political experts and journalists have been oblivious to a widespread and pernicious phenomenon occurring in many critical swing states â€' one that, unless checked, could erase Obama's electoral edge.
This phenomenon takes the form of a spate of new voter laws: efforts by Republican governors and Republican-controlled state legislatures to pass restrictive new voting rules just in time for election day. As a result, at least 5 million Americans could essentially lose their right to vote, according to the non-partisan Brennan Center in New York.
It's no surprise that these laws are almost uniformly designed to disenfranchise young people and minorities â€' the very demographics that make up part of Obama's base. And 5 million votes flagrantly stolen from the Democrats, especially in the swing states where Obama currently has the edge, could easily spell a Romney victory.
The Republican strategy here is simply too blatant to be believed, hence the relatively muted press coverage on the issue. Indeed, while Republican lawmakers have been busy undermining the basic rights of Americans for months now, it was not until recent weeks that the New York Times and Washington Post started paying attention. <snip>
readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/12866-focus-the-greatest-election-stealing-conspiracy-in-us-history
By Alex Slater, Guardian UK
10 August 12
In Washington, conventional wisdom is everything. It's the driver of perceptions, and often of self-fulfilling political prophecies. That's why you might notice a guarded confidence amongst the Obama campaign these past few weeks: generally speaking, most realistic experts predict a victory for the president in this November's election.
This perception is reinforced by current polling, some of the most recent being published by Quinnipiac University, the New York Times and CBS News, giving President Obama an edge over Romney in key states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. Certainly, it will be a tight race, but by any realistic standard, the money is on Obama to pull out a victory, even narrowly.
But it's exactly the likely closeness of the race that may turn Washington's conventional wisdom on its head on election day. That's because, until relatively recently, political experts and journalists have been oblivious to a widespread and pernicious phenomenon occurring in many critical swing states â€' one that, unless checked, could erase Obama's electoral edge.
This phenomenon takes the form of a spate of new voter laws: efforts by Republican governors and Republican-controlled state legislatures to pass restrictive new voting rules just in time for election day. As a result, at least 5 million Americans could essentially lose their right to vote, according to the non-partisan Brennan Center in New York.
It's no surprise that these laws are almost uniformly designed to disenfranchise young people and minorities â€' the very demographics that make up part of Obama's base. And 5 million votes flagrantly stolen from the Democrats, especially in the swing states where Obama currently has the edge, could easily spell a Romney victory.
The Republican strategy here is simply too blatant to be believed, hence the relatively muted press coverage on the issue. Indeed, while Republican lawmakers have been busy undermining the basic rights of Americans for months now, it was not until recent weeks that the New York Times and Washington Post started paying attention. <snip>
readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/12866-focus-the-greatest-election-stealing-conspiracy-in-us-history