Posted on 10/31/2002 7:46:32 PM PST by PhiKapMom
Fraud a Part of Demos' Senate Strategy?
2002-10-31
BY THEIR nature political campaigns are not for faint of heart. It ain't beanbag, as they say. Even so, what Democrats are doing in a handful of pivotal races for the U.S. Senate is outrageous, because the central strategy seems to take aim at integrity of the electoral process itself.
Let's start with New Jersey, where incumbent Democratic Sen. Robert Torricelli grappled all year with ethics problems before deciding -- in the shadow of daunting poll numbers -- that he couldn't beat challenger Douglas Forrester and abruptly dropped out of the race.
The state's Democratic machine whirred into action, pulling former Sen. Frank Lautenberg out of mothballs to replace Torricelli -- while asking the state's Supreme Court to order new election ballots printed, bypassing the deadline for such changes spelled out in state law.
You'd expect that kind of emergency remedy if a candidate died, as what happened in Minnesota, or had become suddenly incapacitated, but not merely to bring in a sub for a corrupted pol who was about to be drubbed at the polls.
No matter. Democrats unashamedly demanded a change in the rules in the middle of the contest. And New Jersey's high court, dominated by Democrats, allowed it.
Move on to Iowa, where incumbent Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin last month had to accept the resignation of his campaign manager after a Harkin supporter secretly taped a strategy meeting of his opponent, U.S. Rep. Greg Ganske.
As if that weren't enough, the Des Moines Register reports Iowa Republicans want an investigation into whether the Democrats' aggressive campaign to turn out absentee ballots also included elements of fraud.
The state's GOP claims there have been reports of multiple applications for absentee ballots bearing the same or similar signatures, and that the absentee ballots of some Republican voters have been picked up by Democrats and, presumably, lost.
Sounds a little like what's going on in South Dakota, where Democrats' voter registration drives on Native American reservations are being investigated for fraud. There's real concern the tight Senate race between Democratic incumbent Tim Johnson and Republican John Thune won't be on the up and up.
Same thing in Arkansas, where Republicans accuse Democrats of registering dead people and businesses to vote in the close race between incumbent GOP Sen. Tim Hutchinson and Democrat Mark Pryor.
Said state GOP chairman Marty Ryall: "It makes me wonder, that if you have the Democratic Party behind voter fraud in South Dakota, and Arkansas is a key race, is this a national effort by the Democratic Party to steal elections and steal the Senate?"
Good question.
Pope Catholic?
Bear sh*ts in woods?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.