Here We Go: Denial and Delusion

I just won a big bet with a friend. I wagered him on Tuesday night that, unfortunately, within 48 hours of the election we'd see the first major story out that Kerry was somehow robbed by a vote fraud conspiracy.

Well, here it is, right on schedule. Greg Palast, who fancies himself a crack investigative reporter but is much more a conspiracy theorist has written a piece titled Kerry Won.

I've read through it twice and frankly couldn't be bothered to deconstruct it here. Anyone who gives it a fair reading will immediately see on his or her own that beyond the authoritative-sounding "statistics" Palast lays out, he, in fact, has no substantive evidence for his assertion that Kerry actually won the majority in Ohio. This is but mumbo-jumbo.

Kerry didn't win in Ohio. And if even he had and was cheated out of it, he still would have been 3.5 million votes behind Bush nationally producing a morally vapid and politically un-sustainable "victory" in the electoral college.

This published fantasy by Palast -- who has somehow acquired a cult-like following among way too many liberals and progressives-- is precisely the tack the left should not be taking.

If there was ever a moment for serious self-reflection and poltical re-assessment, it is now. But, no, Palast has rung the bell for a self-deluding wild goose chase-- I shudder to think how big the Pavlovian response might be. Let's hope only a few will bite.

I fully expected Palast to come up with this sort of BS. What is depressing is how Tompaine.com -- a much more mainstream outlet-- has provided the platform. Four more years of this crap and there will be no progressive movement left to even worry about 2008.

Update 5:30 PM: Lee Miringhoff head of the Marist Poll, and appearing on MSNBC now, says exit polls are a “creation of the media to help them along” but they were, nevertheless, like taking a snapshot of a ball game during the 3rd inning. The final score comes in the ninth. He also says there is a margin of error, of course, in the polls. All this is obvious, but bears some repeating as the "stolen election" myth virally expands tonight.

Comments

[John]

John Moore,

Fox Dead Center? I'm shocked! It is too liberal for my tastes. Besides, it's kind of repetitious with words like "flip-flop" and "oui" being constantly bandied about.

But then my soundtrack is Michael "Savage" Weiner.

[Not that John, the other one.]

I don't know...guys who've been skinny-dipping with Allen Ginsberg and selling health food out of Marin County just strike me as half-baked pussies. I like Gordon Liddy because he's capable of backing it up when he decides somebody oughta be dead.

[Yes, That John]

The other one:

Rush, Dr. Laura and Michael "Savage" Weiner are the three most popular hosts on talk radio. They are the soundtrack of my life.

Between them all my worldview is soundly encapsulated.

Mr Liddy's voice is indeed unique and I trust he does not reside in the state of Florida whose laws concerning convicted felons may preclude him from participating in our democracy. However my concern may not be justified considering the color of his skin.

And, by the way I believe Mr. Liddy is too liberal despite his formidable skills as a trained killer.

Please do not cast aspersions on Michael "Savage" Weiner. His life is a journey that has culminated in his current status. Anything in his past you can chalk up to mere research.

[No, not the John who's not me.]

You choose the guy with a "past you can chalk up to mere research" over one with "formidable skills as a trained killer." Are you serious about expunging liberalism from the planet or do you just want to waste your life listening to the radio ?

[Yes, Not not the John who's not me.]

I indeed choose Michael "Savage" Weiner as the Exterminator uber Alles of liberalism no disrespect to the most highly esteemed exterminator from Texas, Mr. Tom DeLay.

All citizens will indeed expunge liberalism from the planet once they properly adhere to the recommended daily regime of Rush, Dr. Laura and Michael "Savage" Weiner.

Now if you'll excuse, I have prepared myself a plate of Freedom Fries. I bid you adie... Goodbye!

[rosedog]

To all possible Johns. Just so you know somebody is listening. (and laughing.)

[THE John]

I just had a thought:

Rush, Dr. Laura and Michael "Savage" Weiner: a sort of AIDS "cocktail" therapy for liberalism as prescribed by physicians of the highest moral clarity.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must take my youngest to the clinic for Freedom Measles vaccination.

[Jim R]

Actually Steve, I think Bill O'Rile_ly and Rush Limbrain are hypocritical embarrassments to conservatives. Do you think the left has any crazy people like these rocking on their front porch?

I wasn't saying Palast's claims of voting fraud was 'the' indicator of the left's 'right' attitude. I was saying it was just another sign.

[steve]

"Do you think the left has any crazy people like these rocking on their front porch?"

Sure, around somewhere. But no, Palast is not the equivalent of Oreilly or Limbaugh. Palast makes mistakes and a tad full of himself in my book, but he doesn't make the kind of outlandish, ugly, or false statements that those two do. It's not even close actually.
Palast's claims, some are on target, others are probably not, though who knows which ones are right now. I thought his reporting on Florida 2000 was pretty good, at a time when the mainstream media was just parroting Bush's line of "Al Gore should concede".
I was initially inclined to poopoo the calls for investigation of the election, but in the last week or so I've read some persuasive arguments that there was certainly stuff that should be looked into and fixed.
But I mean heck, we can gripe about Palast all we want to, but my sense is we're missing out on something that I've seen only reported on by left journalists, namely the bogus claims of 'morals' as the big issue in the election. I'm glad to see the left criticising that nonsense.

Very nice work. I wish you the best for the future.

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