We used to count votes, now we count bacon
The Obama campaign is famous for its ground game. The question is, does it have a post-game ground game? It's time to consider what happens if Obama goes into the election with an insurmountable lead in the polls, and ends up losing thanks to manufactured chaos at the booth.
The likelihood of the election being stolen — if not directly than by a combination of intentional and fortuitous shenanigans — is increasing every day. Yesterday's chilling New York Times investigation into illegal voter purges is only the tip of a very cold iceberg.
Obama can't allow himself to be blindsided by this as Al Gore was when he lost the 2000 election in extra innings. His campaign needs to be prepared for an immediate mobilization of all forces — communications, legal, grassroots — at the first sign of trouble. He may need to be on top of this before the polls even close, setting the narrative before McCain can. I won't pretend to know exactly what steps he may need to take, but I do know he'll need to have them planned out in advance. McCain certainly will.
One possible model for him to look to: Hillary Clinton's second-half primary campaign. True, her kitchen-sink tactics were appalling in their own context because she had actually lost, but in support of a candidate who actually won, and was in danger of being denied victory, a similar combination of unashamedly aggressive spin and backroom maneuvering would be appropriate and necessary. Not pretty, perhaps, but better than four years of McCain (or, more likely, two years of McCain and two years of Palin).
Relevant Chris Rock bit begins at 2:35
Comments
Elements of the armed forces loyal to the constitutional-democratic process have begun taking up positions around the republic.
Huh? Oh, sorry, ignore that.
Posted by: TG Gibbon | October 10, 2008 10:59 AM
I won't pretend to know exactly what steps he may need to take, but I do know he'll need to have them planned out in advance. McCain certainly will.
Given the planning and organizational skills we've seen on display from the two candidates, I think you're giving Obama too little credit here and McCain entirely too much.
Posted by: EarBucket | October 10, 2008 2:29 PM
yeah, this is the real issue, isn't it? I think if Obama goes into this with a double digit lead and "somehow" doesn't come out the winner the only solution will be, as they say, "on the streets."
Posted by: Jake | October 10, 2008 3:30 PM
Convenient how voting irregularities hurt only the candidate that you support, isn't it? If you doubt this, read my email:
Dear Republican,
Every election, it's the same old song and dance from the Democrats and their liberal allies when it comes to donor and vote fraud.
This year, the Obama-Biden campaign broke their pledge to accept public financing during the general election. Now it turns out they padded their coffers with contributions from "mystery" donors that don't exist (as reported by Newsweek).
They will soon be trying to pad their totals at ballot boxes across the country with votes from voters that do not exist. From Ohio and Florida to Wisconsin and Nevada, there are reports of fraudulent voter registration forms being submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a liberal group that is dedicating its resources to electing the Obama-Biden Democrats.
What's worse is the Obama-Biden campaign has funneled more than $800,000 to ACORN for work on get-out-the-vote activities conducted by the left-leaning organization.
Republican, we must fight back against attempts by Democrats at vote fraud and ensure the integrity of our democracy. Please join our effort to keep our elections clean and fair by [giving us money].
Posted by: John Tabin | October 14, 2008 11:23 AM
I'm sorry, did you say voting irregularities? Because I have yet to see even a suggestion of *voting* irregularities regarding ACORN. *Registration* irregularities sure -- which is to be expected when you hire people to collect signatures on commission -- but unless you expect Mickey Mouse and "Tony Romo" to actually show up at the polls and try to vote, I fail to see the comparison to real people not being allowed to vote.
Posted by: radosh | October 14, 2008 11:42 AM
Yes, I do expect that some people who double registered will vote more than once. There's evidence that this happened in Milwaukee the last couple of cycles, if I remember correctly. Stuffing the registration role naturally makes them more difficult to police.
If you really think only Republicans commit voter fraud, you're delusional.
Posted by: John Tabin | October 14, 2008 1:14 PM
As much as we all love to hate the MSM, I'll take The New York Times over "if I remember correctly."
"Of the hundreds of people initially suspected of violations in Milwaukee, 14 — most black, poor, Democratic and first-time voters — ever faced federal charges. United States Attorney Steven M. Biskupic would say only that there was insufficient evidence to bring other cases... Even the 14 proved frustrating for the Justice Department. It won five cases in court... [These involved illegal voting by felons] The Wisconsin prosecutors lost every case on double voting."
Posted by: radosh | October 14, 2008 1:29 PM