International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) arrived in Washington October 7 to prepare to monitor the U.S. presidential elections. The OSCE delegation, which was invited by the U.S. State Department, monitored the congressional elections in 2002. The initial request was made in a June 30 letter to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan by several Congressional Democrats. The United Nations declined, but the U.S. State Department, at the request of the same Congressmen, extended an invitation to the OSCE. This is equivalent to placing American troops in blue helmets! It undermines U.S. sovereignty and is uncalled for. U.S. elections are looked upon the world over as the best example of representative democracy.How can any fair-minded person possibly object to having non-partisan observers to verify that due process is observed? Seriously, tell me how.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
And the upsetting email keeps coming
The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins tells me:
One conservative blogger went so far as to say she wasn't going to vote for Bush anymore because he allowed this. I just don't understand it. I mean, it really is an incredible insult to treat us as if we're Afghanistan or as if the corruption we have is worse than in Cuba (as one former president insinuated), and I do happen to think much (certainly not all) of the outcry against voting fraud is directed at legitimate checks to see if people are really registered, and genuine voter registration fraud is going on from both parties, which means those only outraged at one side doing it don't look too hot, but still ... they're just watching! What's the big deal? If you don't like it, say we don't need it, but undermining our sovereignty? It's not as if anyone has given them authority to declare an election invalid.
ReplyDeleteThank God they'll be watching. I've yet to hear a really juicy story about Democratic party shenanigans, but I've heard of any number of attempts by Republicans to trick people into thinking they've registered and to strike entire minority communities off of the rolls. I'm not sure that the monitors will be able to help much with this, but as the standard 'we ain't as bad as Cuba' doesn't impress me, every little bit might help.
ReplyDelete