Cheating in Ohio

I’ve been too busy to comment here for a while, but this editorial in the New York Times needs attention: And the Winner Is … Me

I am not sure quite how to take this!

First: the Republicans appear so totally freaked that they stoop to this? Getting your opponent off the ballot becasue of some obscure rule seems an extreme measure. Just how bad are things out there in Ohio? Is this Blackwell sane? He is the guy who rigged the last Presidential election so Bush could win, and he can’t rig his own? That’s such incompetence he doesn’t deserve to win!

Second: When you think about it I suppose this ends the debate over cheating. If the Republicans were able to cheat effectively they wouldn’t be in this mess: they’d just wait until election day, rig the machines (Diebold no dobt will help), and declare themselves the winners regardless of how far behind they had been in all the polls. So this ridiculous scheme tells us that even they are afraid to rig an election where they are so far behind: it would look a little obvious don’t you think?

Nevertheless the Ohio farce continues. I wonder whether anyone really cares enough about democracy in America to get the little details fixed. Little details like fair voting, no machine rigging, and no gerrymandering. Don’t hold your breath!