The following is a selection from among the many letters we have received recently on the US election.
To the WSWS:
I have been ill in the US and have watched the entire presidential campaign. I am now an “expert” on US political coverage. I praise your article on the US media and I attach these thoughts:
1. The US media staged an all-out misinformation campaign for the Bush presidency. Bush lied for 18 months and these lies were treated as the gospel truth. Some other conspirators are Chris Matthews, Tim Russert, Rich Lowry, Peggy Noonan, Congressman Scarborough of Florida (where else?), Ralph Reid, Jerry Falwell, Ari Fleischer, Karen Hughes, Karl Rove and Pat Caddell. Ask me any question about the campaign and I know the lie of the day. Just look at their November 5th Election Day predictions. All of the above were saying a huge win for Bush. They knew they were lying and so did I. I was tracing state by state polling information day by day. My numbers said Gore 278. These TV and newspaper experts were saying Bush 330 to 411. I think that was designed to peel off 3 percent of the vote who wanted to vote for the winner. It worked; it won't be investigated and never will be.
2. I believe that there is a link to the Bush campaign on the Palm Beach ballot. Theresa LaPore did not think that one up on her own. I also believe that there is a link to Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris. (I can't go to Tallahassee because I'm ill, but I'm sure they approved that ballot in their role on the state elections board. In fact, I think Ms. Harris was 18 days late in mailing the approved ballots back out to the counties. It worked; it won't be investigated and never will be.
3. The Republicans have launched an all-out assault on the right to vote in the US. Justices Scalia and Rehnquist have proven that this is a new mandate. The American public is now being told (somewhat softly) in twisted and contorted ways that it may not be Constitutional to have public officials, particularly the president, voted into office in a democratic manner. The blackout you mention in your article on the systematic suppression of minority voters in Florida has not been covered by the media because it conflicts with the right-wing target of eliminating the right to vote all together. I predict a movement to electronic voting because of the infamous “chad” and the elections will be rigged by hackers instead of counters. The result is no evidence of the will of the people to inspect, thereby eliminating judicial review of elections.
John
5 December 2000
I read you every day to get at the truth.... I find your analysis to be on point. Every day I write e-mails to these TV and print ranters who say nothing and repeat it over and over. Few people I think really realize what a crisis we are in and will be in. Already they are screaming for us to unite behind our President Bush. Why? I don't agree with what he and his party want to do and I do not like what I have seen of them on display, and not hidden behind their platitudes of honor and integrity. I say they are amoral. And if that is what it means to be a Christian then let me be a pagan.
HMW
5 December 2000
Is it time to throw out the US Senate? This is a “republic for which we stand” and carefully balances mob rule with state rights. The Supreme Court did not say the electors were subject to the Florida legislature assignment exclusive of the popular vote of the citizens of Florida. If you decide to attack the motives of the Justices, you (among others) have placed our judicial system on trial from the top down. Consider Rehnquist in Arizona a little closer and then check out who controlled congress when he was seated on the court and then decide if his record was established after laboring hard to discern the US Constitution as a whole or purely on political bias.
4 December 2000
Dear Editor,
Orrin Hatch, head of the Judiciary Committee, could hardly contain himself yesterday when he predicted a Supreme Court decision of 5 to 4 in favor of Bush. Immediately, the talking heads on scream TV picked it up. The fix is in! Watching this thing play out is like watching a repeat of events leading up to Clinton's impeachment. The right wing of the Republican Party overreached themselves on that one but they are better prepared this time around. They are calling in their debts big-time from Democrats (Torecelli from New Jersey is in the pocket of the Cuban mafia in Miami and they simply scared the hell out of everybody else) to the right-wing justices on the Supreme Court.
Your analysis was right on time! As an African American I noticed Justice Clarence Thomas did not utter one word. Friends who are lawyers tell me the answer is quite simple—he didn't have a clue. Interestingly enough, the media picked up on every wart in Clinton's personal life, including his family. But the Bush family has been left largely unscathed—the old man's long-time rumored romance—reported on for 15 seconds and dropped like a hot potato. Neil Bush's theft of millions of dollars in the savings and loans scandal. GW's rumored arrests for cocaine in Florida. Where is Larry Flynt now that the Democrats need him?
Don't misunderstand my intent here—I am a socialist. This ambush of what little democracy we do have in this country is deeply disturbing. Any reasonable person can clearly see through this obscene scam. We are seeing the making of a “good American” like Germany's “good German” during the Third Reich.
NH
2 December 2000
P.S. The best thing that has happened to me in a long time is discovering your web site!
Dear Editor,
I wish to thank WSWS and its contributors for the excellent coverage of the US election. In contrast to the mainstream media, which gives shallow and misleading coverage, WSWS has maintained a rigorous and principled approach to covering and analyzing events. I think that many commentators are alarmed by the turn of events, but owing to a variety of reasons (mainly stupidity and spinelessness), refuse to call things by their real names. Congratulations to WSWS for pointing directly to the uncomfortable and in some senses, unpalatable trends that have revealed themselves during this debacle.
Yours
EG
4 December 2000