Home > The Resounding Silence Continues. How Much is Enough for the Media to (...)

The Resounding Silence Continues. How Much is Enough for the Media to Cover Votergate 2004?

by Open-Publishing - Sunday 21 November 2004
40 comments

Edito Elections-Elected USA


The Resounding Silence Continues. How Much is Enough for the Media to Cover Votergate 2004?

By Anthony Wade

Silence. That is all we continue to hear from our media. There was a time in America when the media would actually practice journalism. They would investigate. They would corroborate. They would scrutinize. In modern day America , this must be proving to be too daunting for our faux media. It seems to be easier to create news, based on what is fed to them. It must be far simpler to just accept what the administration says, instead of actually digging a little to find out if the facts coincide. The problem is that the American people deserve better. They deserve the truth, not parroting of created news stories. Votergate 2004 continues to swell all around us, yet the silence remains deafening. It is beyond silent, it is insulting.

When the cries first rang out from the Internet following the election there was just a sense that things did not seem quite right. Exit polls had clearly shown a Kerry landslide was imminent, yet in swing state after swing state, Bush tallies kept coming up on top. The truly bizarre thing was that in both Ohio and Florida , it was the heavy democratic counties that had not reported at the end and when they did come in, Bush actually gained votes in both states. These concerns fueled the heart of the American people to not just walk away this time. It led to ordinary people gathering data, creating spreadsheets, and analyzing results. Suddenly the cause grew, and more people got on board simply wanting to know what happened. The truth did not seem to be so much to ask. We looked to our media, and the response was silence. Stories about lockdowns in Ohio vote counting, Freedom of Information Act requests, and Congressmen finally asking for an investigation started to bring the story to the surface as Keith Olbermann addressed the growing controversy in prime time.

In response to this, we see the mainstream media still ignoring the largest story out there, the potential theft of a presidential election. We can see segment after segment about Scott Peterson, but no coverage for a stolen democracy. How much will it take for the media to wake up and serve our interests again? Every day there are more and more stories about obvious fraud and statistical impossibilities. Just today a research team at UC Berkeley reported that irregularities associated with electronic voting machines may have awarded 130,000 - 260,000 or more excess votes to President George W. Bush in Florida in the 2004 presidential election. This study, conducted under the guidance of a PhD sociology professor, found a net gain of 81,000 votes for Bush in Broward County alone. Broward was one of the aforementioned democratic counties that came in late and yet swung for Bush. This is a scientific study using a multiple regression analysis accounting for multiple variables. This is not “tinfoil hat” theory, as the media would have you believe. The actual data and report can be found at, http://ucdata.berkeley.edu/. Professor Hout stated today at the press conference, “The disparity in favor of the incumbent President Bush cannot be explained away by other factors. The study shows that counties that used electronic voting resulted in disproportionate increases of votes for the President. For the sake of all future elections involving electronic voting, someone needs to explain the statistical anomalies that we found in Florida . We’re calling on officials in Florida to take up this task and to take action now.”

Left unchallenged, does anyone really believe that President Bush’s brother, the current Governor of Florida will do anything at all? No, the only way is to exert enough pressure where he has to act. That pressure can certainly come from the citizenry, but it needs to also come from the media. This press conference occurred today, yet went unreported in prime time. It is insulting to the American people that the media chooses to ignore such a vital story.
The truly shocking thing is that this is not the only story about Votergate 2004 to arise recently and be ignored. Yesterday, Bev Harris of Blackboxvoting.org went to Florida to collect the information she requested through the Freedom of Information Act. Surprise, surprise, the officials were less than cooperative. First they tried to give Ms. Harris unsigned versions of the polling place tapes, instead of the real signed tapes, or even copies of the signed tapes. When pressed, they were told they could not have the real ones, or copies. Ms. Harris arranged to come back the following morning (today) to review the real tapes. When Ms. Harris and her crew showed up as arranged, they were dismissed from the premises and the warehouse was locked down. It was then that Ms. Harris noted that in the trash, were polling tapes! After having the police called on them, for representing democracy, they were able to compare the fake tapes with the signed polling tapes and guess what? They did not match and hundreds of votes from African American communities were off, always in favor of Bush and the republicans. This story can be found here, http://blackboxvoting.org/ but please scroll down until you get to the “ Volusia County on lockdown”.
Not enough yet? How about some testimony from real Ohioans about the rampant disenfranchisement they suffered at the hands of Bush whore Ken Blackwell? People made to wait for up to ten hours to vote. Minority communities provided with too few voting machines, while over 60 sat unused. See the following article about this:
http://nov2truth.org/article.php?story=20041117221754596.
To see some quotes from real Americans who suffered these conditions, please see,
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/886.
How about another analysis conducted by yet another PhD, Steven Freeman from the University of Pennsylvania ? Dr. Freeman did an analysis of the still unexplained exit poll discrepancy. The violent swings toward Bush in crucial states were analyzed and Dr. Freeman was able to determine that the probability of just the three swings in Pennsylvania , Florida , and Ohio occurring in the same election was 250 million to one. This analysis can be found here,

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/exit-poll-discrepancy-1110.pdf.

Haven’t saw this on your evening news either?
What about these collections of fraud, which grow every day:

http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=4300

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/2004votefraud.html

http://vote2004.eriposte.com/

http://www.votersunite.org/electionproblems.asp

http://www.opednews.com/keefer_111504_readings.htm

These are all recent developments. The Votergate 2004 story not going away, it is gaining momentum. Every day brings new revelations. Right now there are going to be recounts in New Hampshire and Ohio , yet there is no coverage from the media. There are additional stories daily about machine problems, voter fraud and statistics that defy logic, yet the media turns their collective heads and then sticks them in the sand. How much is it going to take for the pundits and talking heads to admit there is a story? Pretending that doctorate level citizens are wild-eyed conspiracy theorists is only proving that the media has little credibility left.
Even if the media truly believed the stories are not accurate, the fair thing to do would be investigate and prove such. There is nothing newsworthy of covering what the government wants you to and ignore what they do not want you to cover. In the run up to the Iraq War, we saw a media basically serve as a tool of the government. They trumpeted the Bush policies beat the war drums, instilled patriotic fever and bought into the WMD lies without so much as asking a question. In the aftermath, some mainstream media actually apologized for their non-journalistic zeal. They admitted they had lost their way, and as such, some of their credibility. They promised to return to serving the interests of the people again. Apparently, they have forgotten the lessons they claimed to have learned. Honesty and transparency from the media is what distances itself from government sponsored propaganda. That distance is closing rapidly. The resounding silence must be broken if we are to ever have faith in our media again.

Anthony Wade is co-administrator of www.ibtp.org, a website devoted to educating the populace to the ongoing lies of President George W. Bush and seeking his removal from office. He is a 37-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive and professional Rehabilitation Counselor working with the poor and disabled, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and excess.

Anthony Wade’s Archive: http://www.opednews.com/archiveswadeanthony.htm

Email Anthony: takebacktheus@yahoo.com

Forum posts

  • "There were thousands upon thousands of instances of election fraud committed by Republican operatives and the electronic vote was manipulated to favor Republicans. There is an ocean of evidence to show it."

    http://www.helpamericarecount.org

    • You have touched on every single issue that needs to be addressed on this extremely important issue of possible widespread vote fraud in the U.S. 2004 election.

      Now we have some additional ammunition to our argument!!!!!

      READ ON!!!!

      "...One poll, conducted by anonymous questionnaires under a program funded by several Western governments, including the United States, said Western-leaning reformer Viktor Yushchenko had collected 54 percent of the vote and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych trailed with 43 percent..."

      – By Aleksandar Vasovic, AP - November 22, 2004

      O.K., so the exit polling discrepancy in the U.S. is due to flaws with the exit polling (which has not been proven at all to be the case). However, in the Ukraine, exit polling is significant proof that the election is a fraud.

      I think this double-standard in relying on exit polls should provide a boost for the vote-fraud investigation in America. At the very least, it should put pressure on the U.S. election officials (et al.) to provide more evidence to back up their theory that the exit polls are flawed.

      After all, it’s hard to believe that the exit polling in the Ukraine is more reliable than that in the United States, is it not?

    • Here’s a blogger who has daily updates to votergate:

      www.cannonfire.blogspot.com

      One of the best bloggers out there!! (He was the first to break the presidential rectangular back-bulge story )

    • Have you found a mainstream newsclip about votergate which is exposes half-truths, mis-truths or leaves out the truth entirely?

      Go to:

      http://newsclipautopsy.blogspot.com/

      and expose it here.

      Help disassemble "manufactured consent".

    • A small group of like-minded people have been meeting in San Luis Obispo, California to plan a town-hall gathering at the library on 12/6 to get this info out and help the buzz grow.

      I’m sure this is happening all over the country — at MoveOn’s houseparty event on Sunday (14,000+ across the nation participated), the vote for most important direction to take now: address the voter fraud. We also had a march - almost no notice but over 100 people (town has 53,000) came on Saturday for "Mandate My Ass."

      For our 12/6 event:

      The planning group is meeting with our county elections officer, who is happy to answer questions but can’t come (we’re asking for a rep from her office to come speak. We trust this woman, actually, but we’re still checking the numbers).

      We’ll have a letter-writing area with representative’s address, paper and stamps; we’re also making a long scroll-letter urging Kerry to stand up and champion this cause; we’ll have handouts about other things people can do; there will be an area to talk about ’the next thing’ with snacks nearby.

      We’re also taking pictures of people holding their handwritten statement, projecting them at the event and also posting to our website (under construction www.investigatethevote.org). If you’ve seen sorryeverybody.com it’s a similar concept, but rather than just apologizing to the world for this mess we want people to join us in this effort to retain our democracy. The way we’ve done it here is a person hand-writes a statement (on lettersize paper in bold pen) and holds it up just below their eyes, over the mouth like a speak bubble, but also so people who are afraid can cover their faces. When the website is up we welcome you to upload your own photos.

      It’s a busy time of year and all of us would rather have peace in the land and homemade organic soup on the stove, but this is too important to let slide. We must not allow these people and their machines of mass deception to destroy democracy.

      We join with you and so many others out there to TALK about the election fraud and TAKE ACTION to force recounts and revotes where necessary, and to prevent vote tampering in the future. Stand up and be counted!

    • Please invite me to your meeting in San Luis Obispo and give me directions. We need to
      demand a revote in Ohio and Florida.

      Thank you,

      Steve Eklund

      sleklund1@earthlink.net

  • There is no freedom of press in dictatorships... ;)

  • Watch the film The Running Man (1987). It is a pretty accurate depiction of the United States in 2004. I especially liked the talking billboard that encourages citizens to rat on their neighbours & family members (sounds like the Patriot Act, does it not?)

    • "Watch the film The Running Man (1987). It is a pretty accurate depiction of the United States in 2004."

      ...a film which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, ironically enough. And for a REALLY scary bit of irony, check out Demolition Man (1993), in which Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock) answers John Spartan’s (Sylvester Stallone) question about a particular building: "That is the Arnold Schwarzenegger Presidential Library. After his popularity as Governor of California, the Constitution was amended to allow foreign born people to be elected President..."

  • Why would ANYONE be surprised by this? All major media, controlling everything that you see, hear and read, are in the hands of under a dozen mega-conglomerates. Sumner Redstone has already come out for the Republicans, perceiving rightly that they will give him even more opportunities for consolidation and increase of revenue. The unalterable fact that this is a travesty and a breach of faith with the American people never even enters into the equation. The end result, however, will be even wider distrust of mainstream media resulting in erosion of readership and viewership as more and more people turn to independent media that are beholden to NO political or commercial interest. Redstone and his ilk have traded short-term gain for grave long-term loss.
    Angel Of Mercy

    • Alternative news is the only news that can or should be trusted. The military industrial complex that makes their profits through weapons and war have bought up the major T.V. stations to supress the truth and to spresd lies that keep people here in a prison of fear and hate in order to insure more wars and tensions around the world. It is up to all citizens who care about a free press to refuse to tune in to the major t.v. stations and to immediately stop buying newspapers, which are complicit in spreading fear and hatred. Only when the profits of these evil media companies disappear will they have to get out of the business of lies for wars for profits. Tell your families, friends, and internet buddies to join in helping sink these evil industries. We no longer can have a free country while our media is controlled by the war machine.

  • More power to you!

    We Kerry supporters were shocked. We really felt that enough people were UPSET about the war and Bush’s style of "ruling," coupled with his suspect intellect (God only knows how he even got through Yale with a "C" average ... maybe there was some fraud going on there, too), ... that he would be Fired! Had we lost through a fair election, I feel we would be able to bite the bullet and go on, but given the cheating that got him selected in 2002 and given what we now know about Karl Rove and his "Any means to an end" attitude, AND given the results (anamolies only where there was electronic voting), there is no way we can accept another four years of this guy and his cohorts. The media has a lot to answer for, although it seems unwilling to take even part of the blame.

    I do wonder about the Democrats. They are such wimps, one almost longs for a third party. No one has ever given ANY explanation for why not one Democratic Senator could be found to endorse the legitimate beefs Democratic Representatives had at the last Senate meeting (January 2001?) over which Al Gore presided ... without a single Senator’s endorsement their grievances became simply statments without impact.

    We are left depressed, with nowhere to turn. The media is moving on, as though nothing more can be done for now. Lots could be done, but they have lost their backbone. They were only too eager to pounce on Clinton for Lewinsky ... ooh, like THAT affected all of us, compared to war.
    As the bumper sticker says: When Clinton lied, nobody died!" ... And why was the president given a free pass when everyone was so interested in that big lump under his jacket during the first debate????

    Carry on!

    Beverly Peterson
    Defiance OH

    • I should have read my comment when given chance. Haste makes waste ... should have said "cheating that got him selected in 2000" (not 2002) .

  • "It is better to be thought a fool than to speak up and it be known for sure". Mr Wade spoke up and their is no doubt he is a FOOL!!!

    • Like your comment is anything but an uncalled for slur. If you don’t like the truth, go somewhere else.

  • A wonderful article Anthony. I am so sick and tired of feeling like I am some lunatic who can see things that others can’t. This election was the biggest joke. I unfortunately live in the great state of OHIO, but at least I can say I live in the great blue North Coast of the state, my county, Cuyahoga, voted him out more than 2 to 1. By the time the people that actually voted for the wrong man figure it out, it will be too late, we will have reverted back to the 60’s, if not furether back. Please keep up the fight, I will be sure to mark your site and seek my information from journalists willing to do their own research, instread of the hand fed sheep. Thank you, Jennifer

  • We all just accept too many lies in our lives. We let others define who we are. Doesn’t anyone else realize there’s nothing liberal about our stands. I believe thats where it begins. I couldn’t even begin to explain it to anyone, because everyone accepts the lies. Then we accept the thieft of our way of life. Isn’t that conservitive. I voted in the primary and on election day I was told I wasn’t regesisted. Thats the first vote that I ’ve missed in my life. Now, for the first time in my life I question the use. Tim Barlow

  • Have you found a mainstream newsclip about votergate which is exposes half-truths, mis-truths or leaves out the truth entirely?

    Go to:

    http://newsclipautopsy.blogspot.com/

    and expose it here.

    Help disassemble "manufactured consent".

    • i have discovered a simply marvelous feeling of not subscribing to a newspaper anymore....don’t have to get mad....don’t have to see lies being told as truth....don’t have a huge pile of newspapers to dispose of...feel good about not wasting all of those trees....I highly recommend it, it feels so good....even the call to cancel it felt good.

  • These articles I’ve been reading about a stolen election are pretty pathetic. Voters voted Republican across the board. Weren’t exit polls done mostly in cities and/or metropolitan areas, the only places Kerry won? Yes, and by a liberal group. You talk of the mainstream media not discussing Votergate 2004, when most media (besides Cable news and a.m. radio) is left-leaning and would like to Kerry in office. The fact is, there is nothing to talk about. The guy affected most by this conspiracy theory, John Kerry, says nothing because its bullshit. But I give you an A for effort. YOU are not the voice of America, your views only represent the minority of America and the sooner you realize that the better. Stop the embarassment. Your only making things worse.

    • FACT 1:

      Actually, the exit polls were taken all across the country (in every state). Take a look at this graph which charts the exit poll vs. actual result discrepancy. You’ll notice that the graph is skewed overwhelmingly in one direction. This is proof that the discrepancy is not just due to "error" in the polling itself (the explanation the "liberal" media is giving). If it was due to error, the graph would skew in both directions equally for Bush and Kerry.

      FACT 2:

      The exit polls were conducted by an equal representation of republicans and democrats.

      FACT 3:

      The discrepancy in the exit polls and the actual results in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania is a statistical impossibility according to Dr. Freeman of the University of Pennsylvania.

      Dr. Freeman has yet to receive any professional criticism, however, continues to be ignored by the "liberal" media.

    • I’m sure this is what you would be saying if the Democrats were in the White House and held a plurality in both Houses, if Gore’s or Kerry’s brother were the Governor of the state that decided
      the 2000 election, if Diebold were owned or run by a Democrat fund raiser, if the Democrats
      had a Karl Rove, etc, etc, etc. Do you realize how transparent you are ?

    • The graph to the above post can be seen here:

      http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0411/S00227.htm

    • No, John Kerry says nothing because he is intelligent enough to know that if he pushes the recount cause as front man for the Democratic party, Bush and the media machine he has in his back pocket will ruin the Democratic party. Forever label them as whining sore losers who don’t play fair, and try to manipulate the democratic process to their own ends (how ironic is that?).

      The media in this country don’t cover this issue because not doing so is financially in their best interests. They made over half a billion dollars in this election, taking ad dollars from both sides. The Republicans support and are supported by the conglomerates which own the media, while these same media maintain the fiction of free elections, so that they can continue to create "closely contested" races which maximize their take in advertising dollars. It’s just a way for them to suck up dollars from the opposition party while knowing all along it doesn’t have a chance in hell, because the outcome is already fixed. We have to push NOW for serious fundamental change in our governmental processes, because the time is almost past for sitting on our hands. If we wait, it will be too late. The next election (if there is one - I have serious doubts) will not fix things, it will only solidify the usurpers in power even more, because there will be ten times as many electronic machines available with which to rig the election.

    • Yes, and it is disenfranchised minorities (population-wise, not necessarily racial) that wage revolutions! 2004 was a fraud just like 2000. Mainstream media left-leaning? Like Fox News and all the papers and stations owned by Rupert Murdoch? The 1200+ radio stations owned by Clear Channel Communications? All right-wing mainstream Republican propaganda machines with the remainder owned by large corporations who buy American politicians like common street whores, depending on which way the wind blows (no pun intended). Kerry folded because he’s part of the corrupt corporate government which now controls our country. Silence? Wake up America, their silence is deafening and their intent as evil as Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, or any other right-wing facist.

  • GET OVER IT

    • Yes, just like the Republicans got over Clinton throwing Poppy Bush out of the WH in 1992.
      That led to 8 years of hell foisted upon this country by people who could not accept the
      outcome of that election. Did you tell your GOP friends to get over it back then ? Do you
      like living in a country that has abandoned its democratic principles just because your friends
      benefit ? Are these the values we all voted for ? Pathetic.

    • After a proper investigation has taken place — like the one called for in Ukraine.

      Democracy deserves no less.

  • This was an excellent summary. I agree that in a civilized society, if there is a significant number of people who is distrustful (20% in this case, they say), assurances have to be provided. These have to be given to us by the mainstream media. I am from Peru, South America. In 2000, I witnessed an incredible fraud perpetrated by the president then, Alberto Fujimori, who ruled like a dictator, with democratic appearences. The exit polls told us that he had lost the election 48% to 40%. However, hours after, the official counting showed a change towards him. He won 49% of the vote against 41% of the challenging candidate. People rushed into the streets of Lima, including me, to protest. You can also see the xample of the Ukraine. My message is, to everyone and specially to the mainstream media, that we should respect the people who are skeptical and provide the required answers. I nothing happened, thats fine, but show it.

    Doctor Marco

    www.geocities.com/marcusantoniu26

    • Washington/Bush has nothing to worry about while he hypocritically denounces the Ukrain for election fraud and the people there poor out into the streest is sub-zero weather, the stupid fat Americans stuff their faces with another bag of chips and swill down another Bud, burp, roll over and tune back in to the Jerry Springer show.

  • I’d love to agree that the Amurrican people deserve better, but I’m beginning to seriously doubt that. We are lazy and uninterested in participatory government, and that’s our own fault. We have accepted the pablum and now are addicted to it. We want someone else to do something about it. Half the population doesn’t even vote, and we fought and died inventing and saving constitutional democracy. Talk about irony. We have met the enemy, and it is us. You get the government you deserve. Cliches and ironies abound. There is solid journalism everywhere, but in this topsy turvy ratings driven society, you have to dig for it. And if it isn’t in the mass media, well, then, sir, you must be a radical, some kind of nutty conspiracist, or worse, a Liberal! My worst lament is this, Mother Nature deserves better, children deserve better, the poor and disenfranchised deserve better. We need to be specific. There’s no hope if we talk in vaguaries. We need facts. Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

  • We all know that the media has become passive since Bush was appointed in 2001. I remember when journalists would risk their lives and reputation to print the truth ..... they were men/women of honor ..... we cannot allow ouselves to fall victims to this passiveness .... if we do, we have lost everything.

    Jinny Lee
    Melrose FL

  • I agree that the media is not serving our interests in this election. But neither are the Democrats. Why aren’t Kerry’s people demanding an investigation? Where are they?

    The only way to make things right is a revote in Ohio and Florida. The Bush administration
    will not tolerate voter fraud in the Ukraine, but it’s ok here. What hypocrites!

    Thanks,

    Steve Eklund in Salinas, CA

    • Because they know there was no fix.

      You people really are pathetic and sad.

      Next you’ll believe that the CIA staged 9/11 and that aliens control George Bush’s brain at the behest of the Knights Templar.

      Or maybe aliens really do control his brain. Hmmmm... Better have a MoveOn.org meeting and consult with Michael Moore’s website.

    • The CIA did initiate 9/11,,,Bush doesn’t have a brian.

    • You name-call and make an imaginary statement, in jest, about "Liberals".

      That’s the best you can do?!

      Well, since you can’t provide any hard facts, I’ll provide one for you:

      62% of Republicans STILL believe Saddam was directly involved with 9/11.

      – CNN / USA TODAY / Gallup poll, October, 2004.

      Gee, I wonder why?

  • There were a lot of things that happen that allowed Bush to win. In spite of what you said about Florida and Broward county Kerry won here easily. The fact that more people voted Republican here than in the last election is not surprizing when you consider that of all the viable candidates the Democrats could have put up they chose the one with the most liberal voting record who had the most controversey about his character and integrity.You don’t win elections like that. That’s comparable to the Republicans nominating Pat Buchannan.
    Clinton won and ruled well because despite what the Republicans tried to say he was a moderate.
    In this last election, ANY moderate Democratic candidate could have easily won over Bush.
    Why would the Democrats sabotage themselves?
    Maybe they’re not really meant to be a viable alternative.

    I’m not big on conspiracy theories but you have to consider the facts. Bush and Kerry went to Yale and both are members of the Scull & Bones secret society. Cheney though not a member but 5 of his ancestors over the last 100 years were members. Bush though from Texas is really from an elite eastern family. His grandfather was President Eisenhauers’ favorite golf partner. Don’t take my word for it check it out yourself on the internet.
    These handful of families run the economy and politics in this country. They control both parties.
    Their desire is a one world government. Maybe that’s a good thing, I don’t know. Maybe it will bring a an end to war.
    In the meantime you rant and rave about stolen elections when the real people in power laugh about how naive you are.
    If you really want to made a difference, meditate on peace, treat your fellow man with love and respect, don’t tell him he’s stupid because of his beliefs, ask him pointed questions about why he believes in a reality that could be all an illusion. And most of all search you soul and examine what illusions you’re still holding onto.
    Edward A. Thrall

  • This is ABSOLUTELY SICKENING. I first heard about this a week ago from my philosophy professor who is steaming from the ears over this being hushed... why isn’t anyone picking this up? Why should Americans BOTHER voting if it’s going to be hidden, swept under the rug as if we don’t deserve/need to know the truth. Even Michael Moore kept his mouth shut on a recent talkshow... WHAT IS GOING ON??? This is HUGE... we should all be frightened over this sort of thing.

    • I’m sure the sky is falling too.
      Henny Penny

    • Americans are not voting...more and more are realizing it is a sham. 50% of America’s eligible voters just say NO to voting. They realize that there is little difference between the Democrats and Republicans, leaving us a one party system like the former U.S.S.R. where the government appointed its choice then required the people to vote for him. Here we are not required to vote and the smart half do not. It is only the suckers that go out and validate our one party system.