Home arrow Writings arrow Primary Smell: Vote Machine Scandal Brewing - The Winning Ticket: Hillary and Diebold in 2008
Primary Smell: Vote Machine Scandal Brewing - The Winning Ticket: Hillary and Diebold in 2008 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Mike Whitney   
Saturday, 12 January 2008

by Mike Whitney

Something doesn't ring true about Hillary's “upset” victory in the New Hampshire primary. It just doesn't pass the smell test. All the exit polls showed Clinton trailing Obama by significant margins. In fact, in the Gallup Poll taken just days before the election, "Crocodile tears" Hillary was down by a whopping 13 points.

Her “turnaround” was not only unexpected, but downright shocking. The results for the rest of the candidates — excluding Clinton and Obama — were all within the margin of error. Clinton was the only anomaly. Surprise, surprise.

“Its not who votes that counts. Its who counts the votes.”
- Joseph Stalin

If this election had been conducted in any other country in the world, the Bush administration would have immediately dispatched an independent team of election observers and demanded a recount. But not in the good old USA, where stealing elections is replacing baseball as the national pastime. Would it surprise you to know that (according to Black Box Voting) the Marketing and Sales Director of the company that tallies the votes (LHS) “was arrested, indicted, and pleaded guilty to "sale / CND" and sentenced to 12 months in the Rockingham County Correctional facility, and fined $2000.” That would be LHS Sales Director Mr. Ken Hajjar. Here's an excerpt from Bev Harris's Black Box Voting web site:

“The Diebold ballot printing plant at the time we got records on the overages (that is, more ballots than needed for election; MW) was being run by a convicted felon who had spent four years in prison on a narcotics trafficking charge. No, not New Hampshire's voting machine programming exec Ken Hajjar, who cut a plea deal in 1990 for his role in cocaine distribution. This was another convicted felon, John Elder, who ran the Diebold ballot printing plant; he's now an elections consultant.”

Still feel confident about the election results?

Then why not spend 5 minutes perusing this you-tube demonstration that shows how anyone with a screwdriver and a brain the size of a walnut can transform a 'humiliating defeat' into a miraculous Clintonesque “comeback”.

The you-tube video also shows LHS's owner defending the dubious record of his optical scanning hardware in court. The reader can decide for himself whether we're dealing with a man of impeccable integrity or another flannel-mouth opportunist who has enriched himself at the expense of our basic democratic institutions.

Bradblog's Dori Smith reports that Sales Director “Hajjar totes memory cards around in the trunk of his car and defends the practice of swapping out memory cards during the middle of elections.” Nice touch, eh?

Smith also adds this revealing tidbit:

* "Other LHS staff members we spoke with, including Mike Carlson and Tom Burge, provided similar comments. They said they would open machines up during an election and swap memory cards as needed. This is illegal under Connecticut law and Deputy Secretary Mara told us she has since informed LHS that such actions were in violation of Connecticut election laws.”


* "So what's all the fuss? I'll just slip this little card in the slot and — Lookee here — Hillary's a winner; just like I figured.”

Activist Nancy Tobi provides a great summary of the back-room machinations in her article “Democracy for New Hampshire” which came out the day after the primary:

* “81% of New Hampshire ballots are counted in secret by a private corporation named Diebold Election Systems (now known as "Premier"). The elections run on these machines are programmed by one company, LHS Associates, based in Methuen, MA. We know nothing about the people programming these machines, and we know even less about LHS Associates. We know even less about the secret vote counting software used to tabulate 81% of our ballots. People like to say "but we use paper ballots! They can always be counted by hand!"

But they're not. They're counted by Diebold. Only a candidate can request a hand recount, and most never do so. And a rigged election can easily become a rigged recount, as we learned in Ohio 2004, where two election officials were convicted of rigging their recount. (Is it just a funny coincidence that Diebold spokesman is named Mr. Riggall?)

We need to get the count right on election night. Right now, nobody in New Hampshire, except the programmers at LHS Associates and Diebold Election Systems, knows if we are getting it right or wrong.”

Good job, Nancy.

Does it seem to you, dear reader, that we could save the taxpayer a lot of money and trouble by just returning to the “old system” of letting 9 judges on the Supreme Court chose our leaders? Why do we continue with this pointless sham?

Look, our elections are being run by corporations that have an obvious stake in the outcome. There's a heap of money involved and nothing is left to chance. The media's job is to make us feel like we have a choice. We don't.

The only reason the farce continues is because the ruling elite believe that perception management is the cheapest way to control the bewildered herd. And, of course, they're right. Pulling a lever every 4 years is a type of political empowerment. It makes us feel like we're part of the decision-making process, which makes it easier to accept the “shittier and shittier paying jobs”, the curtailed civil liberties and the endless wars. (Thanks George Carlin)

This year we can choose from a slate of 8 candidates; all of whom are members of the secretive Council on Foreign Relations; and all of whom are wholly committed to the off-shoring of businesses, the outsourcing of jobs, the expansion of police-state powers, and the obscene enlargement the already over-bloated War Machine. The only exceptions are Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich who are treated like pariahs by the establishment media.

As for Hillary; she won nothing. The results are completely bogus. Her weepy performance before the balloting was orchestrated to create a credible narrative to explain the fraudulent shifting of votes away from Obama. It was exactly the same trick that Karl Rove played in 2004, when he had the entire corporate media standing behind his cockamamie story that 3 or 4 million fundamentalists — who had never voted before in a general election — suddenly poured down from the mountains to cast their ballot for their champion, George Bush.

This absurd narrative was spouted from every media-soapbox in the nation until it was generally accepted as fact. The media then proceeded to quash any investigation of the massive voter fraud which took place across the country (particularly in Ohio) while discrediting critics as conspiracy theorists.

“Conspiracy theorists?”

Is it a conspiracy to think that the same guys who abduct foreign nationals off the streets of cities around the world and take them to black sites — where their eyes are gouged out and their finger nails ripped off — would get squeamish over something as trivial as ballot stuffing?

Get real!

Clinton's tearful antics were right out of Karl Rove's “Dirty Tricks Playbook”. Chapter one: Invent a believable storyline, run it through the Propaganda Ministry (the media) and stick with it no matter how ridiculous it sounds.

I carry no brief for Obama or Clinton and I don't see any substantial difference between either of them. They are both water carriers for their far-right constituents. It is the system that's important. And the system is broken.

The primary was stolen. End of story. Now, it's our move.

 
Comments (5)add comment
president: ...
Here you can vote our new president. Stop believing the statistic you see on television. Let`s make our own vote. Below you have informations about all the candidates . Choose the president that will change your live from 2008. http://presidentofamerica.blogspot.com/
1

January 12, 2008
CHCH: simple statistics
Agreed, and I can prove it:

Clinton gets more votes only from Diebold machines in districts where Obama was polling higher than average, after adjusting for the influence of each district's population on Hillary's votes (using total votes cast as a proxy for population), and for the influence of how many votes Obama got in each district (since Hillary & Obama tend to trade-off).

This is exactly what you'd expect if Diebold vote counts were manipulated only in district where Obama looked strongest.

The difference is statistically significant (p=.013), and you can replicate it - use this table of the NH democratic primary results.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=plzQSq0nOZaVSi1WM_DSfZQ

Now, regress CLINTON on total @ of votes, OBAMA, the diebold variable, and the interaction of the latter two [their product]: and you'll see the interaction is statistically significant, F(1,235)=6.26, p=.013).
2

January 12, 2008
Geoffroe: Resort to their tactics?
Why not just rig the votes ourselves. It is the people that have the power and ultimately make the decisions. President Bush isn't programming the voting stations himself, that's for sure.
3

January 12, 2008
Michael G.: Iron my shirt?
Who is credulous enough to believe that the two hecklers who garnered so much last-minute media attention and sympathy for Hillary in new Hampshire by demanding that she "Iron my shirt!" like Marianne Pernold-Young, the 64-year-old Democratic Party operative who asked her, "How do you do it?" thus providing Sen. Clinton with the perfect opportunity to humanize herself for the voters at a crucial moment, were anything other than plants?

The Clinton campaign had already been caught planting questions at a Veterans Day town hall meeting in Iowa, yet few if any MSM reporters have expressed any skepticism about the "Iron my shirt!" stunt or the soft-ball question asked by Pernold-Young.

This while Bill castigates the MSM letting Obama foist a "fairy tale" on the American people! There's enough truth in that charge to go a long way in the direction of obscuring the cheap tricks his wife is playing on the voters.

Sadly, referring to the MSM news organizations as a "Propaganda Ministry" is no exaggeration.

Keep up the good work, Mike!

4

January 13, 2008
BLACKS/ AFRICAN AMERICANS: BLACKS/ AFRICAN AMERICANS VOTING FOR HILLARY CLINTON
BLACKS/ AFRICAN AMERICANS VOTING FOR HILLARY CLINTON.
I happen to like Hillary but as a Black/African American woman I will never vote for a white women over a black man. This is why:
1- As a Corporate American black woman and Business Owner in the USA, I have never been fairly promoted or recognized fairly by a white woman. I’ve been better qualified than many and white women have enviously overlook me, however asking or demanding me to train or assist her/ them with my knowledge and network????????
2- I have never been hired by a white woman unless she was directed to do so; and if I was hired I was Greatly cold-bloodedly sabotage during the process.
3- In corporate American there is a huge amount of Rank pulling to say the least against the blacks.
4- As Hillary is an 'Idol' to many of which the bible ten commandments warns us of idols. but like I was saying Hillary is a great person and she will always be working to do better anyway- So being the president will not be a big deal.

CAN YOU AMAGINGE and you wasn’t born yesterday how white women would treat black women if Hillary was in office??? THINK ABOUT IT... White women are for themselves, then their white men, then OUR BLACK MEN (NEED I GO INTO DETAILS).

White women are INTIMIDATED BY SMART, ATTRACTIVE, STRONG BLACK WOMEN and will ALWAYS RESENT THEM and be JEALOUS OF THEM.....

JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. We all know this is not ULTIMATELY intended to happen as such but when a group of people get control things CHANGE and sometimes for the worst.

So, to all you Blacks who love Hillary think about what is stated here. She is a great person, but just like them--- WHEN THE SH*T HIT THE FAN THEY PULL RANKS AND SUPPORT THERE OWN.

WHEN ARE WE GOING TO STOP BEING DICTATED TO AND DICTATE FOR OURSELVES THIS IS THE TIME TO GIVE OUR ANCESTORS WHAT WAS COLD-BLOODEDLY SABOTAGED AWAY FROM THEM BACK.

WHITES HAVE HAD THERE TIME NOW IT IS OURS. LOOK AROUND THEY ARE TAKING OVER OUR LIVES, CULTURE- BIG LIPS, BIG ASSES IMPLANTS- TANNING IS A BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS- OUR MUSIC- OUR DANCING………………..

YOU REMEMBER WHEN THEY HATED US FOR THIS AND WHEN THEY DISCRIMINATED AGAINST US BECAUSE OF THIS??????

AND YOU KNOW WHAT---- EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE TRYING TO BLEND THEY STILL DON’T LIKE US ENOUGH TO BE 100% FAIR AND NON-DISCRIMINATORY TOWARDS US.

THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO THEY ARE!!!!!!!!

AMERICA IS SUPPOSED TO BE A LAND OF LAWS AND LOOK HOW THEY SUPPORTED BUSH AND CHANEY BREAKING LAWS OVER AND OVER AGAIN-- AND WILL SAY THEY DONE NO WRONG. When the democrats do win, then they will decide it’s time to follow the laws they wrote. Talk about flip flop.
5

January 13, 2008

Write comment
quote
bold
italicize
underline
strike
url
image
quote
quote

busy


Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto:
Digg!Reddit!Del.icio.us!Newsvine!Furl!Fark!Yahoo!Ma.gnolia!Add this social bookmarking functionality to your website! title=

Recommend this article...

 

Related Articles/Posts

< Prev   Next >
Advertise on more
than 70 of the
Internet's Top
Progressive Blogs!




Enter your email address for the Atlantic Free Press Daily Newsletter:

More Author Articles

More Articles...
Grasping at Straws - Full-Spectrum Breakdown
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Mike Whitney
(464)
Read more
Sleeping in Cars in the USA
Saturday, 07 June 2008
Mike Whitney
(958)
Read more
The Remorseless Algebra of a Deflationary Death Spiral
Friday, 06 June 2008
Mike Whitney
(1379)
Read more
The Deflation Time Bomb
Friday, 18 January 2008
Mike Whitney
(1903)
Read more
Primary Smell: Vote Machine Scandal Brewing - The Winning Ticket: Hillary and Diebold in 2008
Saturday, 12 January 2008
Mike Whitney
(1856)
Read more
Who Salute the Butcher's Apron
Saturday, 22 December 2007
Mike Whitney
(1746)
Read more
An Interview with Nir Rosen "Iraq Doesn't Exist Anymore"
Monday, 03 December 2007
Mike Whitney
(1851)
Read more
Pentagon Fudging Its Casualties Numbers
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Mike Whitney
(1887)
Read more
It's Time for the Banks to Face the Hangman
Saturday, 20 October 2007
Mike Whitney
(1849)
Read more
The Era of Global Financial Instability
Friday, 21 September 2007
Mike Whitney
(2239)
Read more
U.S. Banks Brace for Storm Surge as Dollar and Credit System Reel
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Mike Whitney
(2570)
Read more
Soup Kitchen U.S.A.
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Mike Whitney
(2392)
Read more
Are the Banks in Trouble?
Monday, 10 September 2007
Mike Whitney
(3353)
Read more
Information Warfare, Psy-ops and the Power of Myth
Monday, 03 September 2007
Mike Whitney
(2254)
Read more
Stock Market Brushfire; Will there be a run on the banks?
Monday, 13 August 2007
Mike Whitney
(4170)
Read more
The Grim Reaper pays a visit to Wall Street
Saturday, 11 August 2007
Mike Whitney
(2697)
Read more
Judgment Week on Wall Street
Tuesday, 07 August 2007
Mike Whitney
(2405)
Read more
Trouble in Hedgistan: “Its gonna get a lot worse”
Friday, 27 July 2007
Mike Whitney
(2455)
Read more
Kissinger’s Secret Meeting With Putin
Friday, 20 July 2007
Mike Whitney
(2884)
Read more
“What are we supposed to do with our Dead”: Odds n’ Ends in the War on Terror
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
Mike Whitney
(2090)
Read more
Demonizing Putin: The Summit in Kennebunkport
Friday, 13 July 2007
Mike Whitney
(5024)
Read more
The Fed's role in the Bear Stearns Meltdown
Monday, 02 July 2007
Mike Whitney
(2972)
Read more
The Jose Padilla Case: Screenplay by Mel Brooks
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Mike Whitney
(2576)
Read more
Iraqis to Bush: “You have left us with nothing”
Saturday, 23 June 2007
Mike Whitney
(2428)
Read more
The CIA and Fatah; Spies, Quislings and the Palestinian Authority
Friday, 22 June 2007
Mike Whitney
(2278)
Read more
Putin’s War-whoop: The impending clash with Russia
Friday, 22 June 2007
Mike Whitney
(2888)
Read more
The Battle of Gaza
Monday, 18 June 2007
Mike Whitney
(2754)
Read more
Putin’s Censored Press Conference: The transcript you weren’t supposed to see
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Mike Whitney
(2761)
Read more
The Global Liquidity Crisis
Wednesday, 06 June 2007
Mike Whitney
(4021)
Read more
Bush's New Middle East
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
Mike Whitney
(2812)
Read more
The Swan Song for the Democrats
Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Mike Whitney
(2342)
Read more
How Will They Destroy Ron Paul?
Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Mike Whitney
(3911)
Read more
Paulson’s Kabuki: Integrating China into the Neoliberal System
Wednesday, 23 May 2007
Mike Whitney
(2749)
Read more
"Are We Headed for Another Great Depression?" My talks with Elaine Meinel Supkis
Thursday, 10 May 2007
Mike Whitney
(4538)
Read more
Post Mortem for the Stock Market
Thursday, 03 May 2007
Mike Whitney
(3617)
Read more
Jose Padilla and the Zucchini Prosecution
Tuesday, 01 May 2007
Mike Whitney
(2806)
Read more
Housing Bubble Boondoggle: "Is it too late to get out"?
Thursday, 26 April 2007
Mike Whitney
(3619)
Read more
Trouble in Squanderville
Wednesday, 18 April 2007
Mike Whitney
(2579)
Read more
Doomsday for the Greenback
Thursday, 12 April 2007
Mike Whitney
(3221)
Read more
Velkomin to the United States of Foreclosure
Monday, 19 March 2007
Mike Whitney
(5251)
Read more
The Rise of the Rove Reich
Monday, 12 March 2007
Mike Whitney
(3800)
Read more
Global Realignment and the Decline of the Superpower
Friday, 09 March 2007
Mike Whitney
(3037)
Read more
“Black Tuesday” - Après le deluge
Thursday, 08 March 2007
Mike Whitney
(3323)
Read more
Juicing the Stock Market; the secret maneuverings of the Plunge Protection Team
Monday, 05 March 2007
Mike Whitney
(3797)
Read more
Tuesday's Market Meltdown; Greenspan's "invisible hand"
Thursday, 01 March 2007
Mike Whitney
(3011)
Read more
“Doomsday Dick” and the Plague of Frogs
Tuesday, 27 February 2007
Mike Whitney
(2737)
Read more
Operation FALCON and the Looming Police State
Monday, 26 February 2007
Mike Whitney
(3198)
Read more
The Second Great Depression
Thursday, 22 February 2007
Mike Whitney
(12527)
Read more
Blackmailing Bush - How the "Dear Leader" Duped "The Decider"
Friday, 16 February 2007
Mike Whitney
(3353)
Read more
The Bombing of the Golden Dome Mosque; one year later
Tuesday, 13 February 2007
Mike Whitney
(3133)
Read more

Expathos
               No account yet?




Page was generated in 2.875503 seconds

ATLANTIC FREE PRESS IS LOADING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.