The Free Press -- Independent News Media

Thu Jul 24 2008

Departments
Election Issues

Did the US Supreme Court deliver the Indiana Primary to Hillary Clinton?
by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
May 2, 2008

Imagine Hillary Clinton's luck.

When she needed to win a primary in New Hampshire, the machines glitched up, and she emerged with an unexpected margin of victory. Whether it was due to electronic voting breakdowns is not clear. But there was never a a full recount or a thorough investigation of the serious problems that plagued the vote count in that state.

When she needed a victory in Ohio, Republican voters -- urged on by Rush Limbaugh -- crossed over in droves and helped give her one. Cross-over voting may also have been a factor in her critical victory in Pennsylvania. There were also numerous instances of computer tabulation glitches in the Pennsylvania secretary of state's office.

Now the Indiana primary looms ahead. Less than a week prior, the US Supreme Court has delivered a devastating decision on voter ID that could again make a big difference in Clinton's favor.

Contrary to two centuries of American election law, the Court has ruled 6-3 that it is legal for a state to require official photo ID in order to vote. The lead decision in this case, written by liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, acknowledges that there is no evidence of voter fraud to make this requirement vital to the security of the election process. Indeed, it is clearly stated in the minority opinion that requiring photo ID to vote discriminates heavily against citizens who are young, poor, elderly and of color.

The Indiana primary will now be the first in US history with a Supreme Court-certified requirement for photo ID. GOP stalwarts -- led by Limbaugh -- are positively ecstatic. There is simply no doubt this requirement will eliminate hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters in November. It is in place not only in Indiana, but in Florida, Michigan, Louisiana, Georgia, Hawaii and North Dakota. Other Republican-controlled legislatures will hasten to duplicate the requirement, though it's unclear how many can pull it off before this November.

In the meantime, despite indisputable proof that electronic voting machines are the perfect engine for stealing elections, millions of Americans will still be voting on them this fall. In Ohio, e-voting will occur 53 of 88 counties even though Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's study documented the critical vulnerabilities of Ohio's electronic voting machines.

Whether that will guarantee the election of John McCain remains to be seen, but it certainly won't hurt him.

And whether the photo ID requirement now enshrined in Indiana will deliver the Hoosier State's primary votes to Hillary Clinton is also unclear.

But much of that may be up to Barak Obama. Obama did not rise to help Dennis Kucinich obtain a recount in New Hampshire. He's said little or nothing about GOP cross-over voting in Ohio and Pennsylvania or the electronic glitches. Neither he nor Clinton has taken on the electronic voting machines that were crucial to delivering the White House to George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.

Nor has Obama risen up the challenge this latest GOP disenfranchisement machine, the photo ID requirement.

In the interim, it seems clear the Republican Party and its conservative bloviator corps is pushing Clinton, and fear the Obama phenomenon.

But will Obama step forward in Indiana -- as did Bobby Kennedy on April 4, 1968 -- to side with the people? If not, then what is the real substance of his campaign?

Justice Steven's lead opinion is worded in a way that leaves open the door to challenge this photo ID law. Obama and/or Clinton can and must file a lawsuit on behalf of every Hoosier State voter who is disenfranchised by this law. If we're to preserve any semblance of democracy in America, there must be a real test of how this law is applied in Indiana on Tuesday.

For example, the African-American woman who challenged the law in the first place had been prevented from voting because her photo ID was an expired driver's license. She also had two additional current identity items including a utility bill showing she lived at the same address. But she was still barred from voting.

You can bet that white suburbanites and rural Republicans will not be held to the same rigid or stringent standards as urban minorities. As Justice Souter noted in his dissent, roughly 6-10% of voting age Americans lack photo IDs. And it's clear who they are.

If Obama doesn't stand up for these disenfranchised voters, he will drop the bottom out of the "Obama Phenomenon". If Clinton is aided to victory in the Indiana primary by this GOP engine of targeted disenfranchisement, and ultimately gets the nomination, it could nonetheless lead to her ultimate downfall.

For only one thing is certain: if this photo ID law is not challenged, and it spreads to other states, or becomes a major factor in November in the key states where it's already in place, it could render this entire Hillary-Obama-Drama moot by putting John McCain in the White House.

--
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman co-authored HOW THE GOP STOLE AMERICA'S 2004 ELECTION & IS RIGGING 2008 (www.freepress.org) and, with Steve Rosenfeld WHAT HAPPENED IN OHIO? (The New Press). This article was originally published by http://freepress.org.

Email this article to a friend

Don't forget to check out articles from 2007 and 2008

Election Issues

"Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. applauds Sen. Obama’s speech before the NAACP"
July 16, 2008
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

"Three key ways YOU can help protect the 2008 election"
July 3, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Colleges, voter registration, and a historic opportunity: a more detailed proposal"
June 19, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Obama must learn from Kucinich's election theft impeachment"
June 11, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Clinton only needs 153% of remaining delegates"
June 1, 2008
David Swanson

"The buried Florida story: why campaigning matters"
May 31, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"The myth of Clinton's popular vote lead"
May 29, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Did the Limbaugh effect also flip Michigan?"
May 29, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Edwards just put Obama over the top"
May 15, 2008
David Swanson

"Did the Limbaugh effect also flip Michigan?"
May 14, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Obama-Clinton funny math: Guam update"
May 4, 2008
David Swanson

"Did the US Supreme Court deliver the Indiana Primary to Hillary Clinton?"
May 2, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Did the US Supreme Court just elect John McCain?"
April 30, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"The 2008 election will be stolen"
April 19, 2008
David Swanson

"The done deal"
April 18, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Letter to Hillary: remember when John McCain slimed your daughter"
April 17, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Fire and race"
April 3, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Keep the Republic"
March 27, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"What it's all about..."
March 25, 2008
Sheila Samples

"Can SuperDelegates stop the scorched earth campaigning?"
March 24, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"An election without meaning"
March 23, 2008
Peter Phillips

"We have a dream"
March 23, 2008
Phil Tajitsu Nash

"Hope, change, and pissing in the wind: "Of Obama, Democrats, and the Power Elite""
March 19, 2008
Patrice Greanville and Jason Miller

"Ohio's voting machines are now an official crime scene"
March 17, 2008
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

"Did Republicans give Hillary her victory in Ohio?"
March 8, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Primary day at the polls in Columbus, Ohio"
March 5, 2008
David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor

"Obama & Clinton: who's more likely to confront global warming?"
March 4, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"If you think Karl Rove is evil, make phone calls today"
March 4, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Obama's talking points"
March 1, 2008
Gregg Gordon

"Adventures in inaudible audio with Senator Barack Obama"
February 27, 2008
David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor

"Attention all voters: this is a must-see video"
February 26, 2008
Free Press staff

"On the campaign trail in the Buckeye State stalking the candidates: John McCain"
February 24, 2008
David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor

"Will Clinton's advisors tell her the hard truths?"
February 22, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"How much damage will Clinton do before she folds?"
February 22, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"The Hillary nutcracker"
February 21, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Behind Obama's wave of victories: the more they know him….."
February 17, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Hillary's hawks -- How Obama's and Clinton's advisors mirror their stands on the war"
February 11, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb, introducing a Stephen Zunes article

"Poll shows John McCain faces tough road in gaining conservative support"
February 11, 2008
Richard A. Viguerie

"The Obama Factors"
February 11, 2008
Todd Huffman

"Vote against Clinton"
February 4, 2008
David Swanson

"Why this Edwards voter Is now backing Obama"
February 2, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Liveblogging Obama v. Clinton v. CNN"
February 1, 2008
David Swanson

"It's all about Hillary, not her party"
January 29, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"The South Carolina you won't see on CNN - South Carolina primary colors: black and white?"
January 26, 2008
Greg Palast

"Conspiracy theorist"
January 24, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Hillary Clinton's sleaze parade "
January 20, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Bob & Harvey's 3-Step "Ohio Plan" for fair and reliable voting and vote counts"
January 16, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Media misses story: Obedwards wins New Hampshire"
January 11, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Primary concerns"
January 10, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Clear evidence of widespread vote fraud in New Hampshire"
January 10, 2008
Paul Joseph Watson

"The Kudzu Effect: The Voting-Industrial Complex chokes our democracy"
January 6, 2008
Sheri Myers, Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

"Still true to ObEdwards: Why I keep donating to both Edwards and Obama"
January 6, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Clinton campaign office re-occupied by peace activists on day of Iowa voting"
January 4, 2008
Mike Ferner

Read Articles by Year:
2007 2006 2005 2004
2003 2002 2001 2000