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Europeans To Monitor American Voters
shonagon53 writes "The United States is known as being the world's most stable democracy. But since the Florida 2000 fiasco, things have changed.
Europe's famous Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) will now be monitoring the U.S. elections. The institution normally monitors elections in third world countries in transition, and in crisis areas or regions where civil wars have destabilized the political process. In november, the OSCE will be monitoring local and state elections in Kazakhstan, Skopje, Eastern Congo, Ouagadougou and... the United States.
As
the BBC reports, for some Americans this comes as a humiliation; others see it as a necessity, since they have lost trust in the American election process."
Really gives me pride in the US.
And to those who say Dem's would do the same thing.. they haven't yet.
Just wait till some crappy band steals your nic.
Monitors only go to 3rd world contries when asked by the host countries. It's a way of demonstrating to the world their legitamacy.
The US has no need to do this. 2000 was an anomoly where the results were so close that the differential was within the margin of error.
The rules in place, ie the Constitution, mandated that Bush win the election. The Sore/Losermen were full of sour grapes and cried foul.
I fail to see how laughing at Americas perfectly laughable voting system is off topic.
That is the problem with America--it is a captive pseudo-democracy: a playground for the investors, rather than a country, for the people and by the people, like so many countries in Europe really are.
Wake up, my fellow Americans--we need a NEW Constitution, instead of the slaveowner-written piece of crap we have.
Oh, go ahead and mod me down as Flameebait.
eat shiat and bark at the moon
...you mean there might be something wrong with concrete canyon dwellers setting the agenda for the entire country? To say, Thou Shalt Not Cut Down Thine Trees -- Don't Do As I Do, Do As I Say?
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
The truth is that the 2000 elections were controversial; some monitoring can only help people regaining faith in the electoral process.
Actually, supposing there is another controversey (not sure how likely, but for the sake of argument) what makes you think this will help? Like in every other country, they'll report that the "election was rigged" and if anything, stir up even more shit than if they hadn't "monitored" it. Every year, I hear about something like this, in shitty 3rd world countries whose names I intentionally forget. They still have their dictatorships, even after the talking head on CNN mouths the words that the elections weren't legit.
Do you think that this time, Dubya will just say "well golly gee, you got me... kerry did win after all'?
That is quite a foolish comment in itself. There is no gaurantee that things would be different but it is just as foolish to claim it is impossible.
Time makes more converts than reason
This is the United States of America. The OSCE can thank me and my ancestors for saving their asses in WWII and throughout the cold war, then kiss mine while saluting. As though their opinion matters...Jeez!
Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.
You're goddamn right!!!
I love how ppl forget that the governor of Florida was related to Baby Bush and the judges on the Supreme Court were in the Bush family's pocket. Oh yeah....no question it was clear victory. Dang schnooks!
Some aim to please, I aim to tease.
I'm interested to see what's going to happen in this election, but not in the same way that some may think.
I'm worried that illegal immigrants will be voting because of the efforts of "fringe Democrats". (By "fringe", I mean people who have such a severe hatred for President Bush because of his successful run in 2000 that they will stop at nothing to make sure that anyone else wins in 2004. These are the same people that have questioned the right of Nader to be on the ballot in several states, in the hope that the misplaced Nader-ites will vote for Kerry.)
I'm worried that some people would vote more than once, such as those that might be registered in more than one place because of loopholes in the system.
I hope that the OSCE is able to put those worries to rest.
I'm not a big fan of public polls, but looking at the numbers as they stand today, President Bush looks like he'll enjoy a decisive victory, unless he trips on his own feet in the coming weeks. We'll see how the numbers play out after the debates.
If President Bush DOES win decisively (and it's a distinct possibility, no matter what the Democrats say), it'll be interesting to see what the Whine du Jour will be for the next four years. (The current favorites are "Let's not elect him this time, either" and "Defeat President-Select Bush". Heh. Sore losers. That would be like me complaining that Clinton shouldn't have one his first term, because the MAJORITY didn't want him; they just couldn't decide between Bush-the-Elder and Perot. Of course, I know that Clinton won fairly, as the system dictates, so I didn't whine. I didn't like it, but I didn't whine.)
When politicians are involved, everyone loses.
Not a nitpick, just another example of insufferable American ignorance and arrogance.
"Does Europe want to continue to alienate itself from America?"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
To say this after Bush's performance prior to the start of the Iraq war is a major act of chutzpah.
You aren't Israeli by any chance, are you?
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
Such a loving and understanding liberal... "Peace, man!!! Make love, not war!!!" Fucking group of hypocrites.
The OSCE has no business sticking their nose into our affairs. While they perform an important role in 3rd world countries, WE are not a third world country, and the need for moderation simply does not exist in this nation. Even if by some inconceivable event, the Communist Party candidate were elected, because of the system of checks and balances in our government, the country would continue functioning with very little noticeable change. (Aside from the president making budget allowances for grey hats, and little red books.) We simply do not need to have our government validated by a foreign nation in order for it to be legal in the eyes of the world, and if it ever came down to it, our population is still able to own firearms...the people still have the ability for self moderation.....remember the old saying, The only true democracy is the one in which the people are able to take up arms and defend themselves from their own government. While every other "civilized" nation hands over its personal weapons, the American People are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, without outside influence. (In fact the last time I checked, it was the US that had to keep things in check on their continent, not once, but TWICE.) Keep your nose out of our country, OSCE!!!
Who cares about the ozone layer?...thanks to CFC's I can write my name......IN CHEESE!!!
Additionally, to put the "deciding votes" into perspective, Florida's Electors were only the "deciding votes" because of the timing of how the returns were reported and the timing of the "questionable" ballot issues. If, for example, another state had been "held up" by some balloting issue, then Florida, despite its issues, may not have been the "actual" deciding vote. It was a matter of timing. To "blame" Florida is unfounded because it's the "total" of the votes that counts, not how an individual state votes. I know that may sound contradictory, but it's also the most objective, non-partisan way to view it...
My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!