[ExI] public funding of election PR

spike spike66 at att.net
Tue Jun 30 00:52:25 UTC 2009


 

> ...On Behalf Of Damien Broderick
> Subject: Re: [ExI] public funding of election PR
> 
> At 02:55 PM 6/29/2009 -0700, Spike wrote:
> 
> >Illegal contributions can still be funneled thru citizens 
> that need not 
> >even know they donated to a candidate.  Millions of dollars went to 
> >Hillary Clinton this way, and they didn't even make any 
> dramatic effort to hide it.
> 
> References, please. (Not denying this, just wondering how you know. 
> Please say Rush didn't tell you--you know, that really marginal media
> character.)

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-donors19oct19,0,4231217.story

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10202007/news/nationalnews/hills_cash_eyed_as_ch
inese_lau.htm


> >I suspect this as the reason why Obama waited so long to say 
> anything 
> >about the Iranian elections, because the Iranians made 
> illegal campaign 
> >donations, more to him than to his rival.
> 
> Jesus, Spike, this sounds like a wander into tinfoil hat territory. 
> References, please...

No news stories on that.  It just puzzled me he wouldn't speak up sooner and
louder, with video images of government thugs beating unarmed protestors.
His commentary just seemed late and lite.  No need to threaten militar
action, but an early word of sincere condemnation would be welcome.  Notice
how quickly he spoke up on the Honduras coup:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090629/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_honduras_coup

Honduras?  Where is that?  Isn't that one of those coconut places in the
Australian rainforest somewhere?  They don't even have oil or nukes!  Who
the hell cares who runs Honduras?  Well, I do, but for a different reason.
I am specifically watching unrest anywhere *caused by a stolen election*
because that is the only circumstances I can imagine as applicable to the
US.

> As for the Iranian elections--have you checked out Jeff's links yet?
> 
> Damien Broderick

Ja, and I agree with Jeff on that.  In Iran it was one bad guy against
another, and Ahmadinejehad *probably* did win.  

But it isn't about that, it's about elections.  It's about the fact that
Iran, the US, and every other democracy is conspicuously and flatly refusing
to set up verification techniques on their elections, which make them durn
near meaningless, and goddam dangerous in a country where everyone is armed.

spike







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