OCTOBER SURPRISE 2008?

Too many of us somehow still believe our nation will hold a fair, democratic election this November, resulting in a Democratic majority that will compel the radical faction of the GOP currently in the White House to relinquish power.

We should instead be prepared for the possibility that the administration will either steal yet another election, or create some catastrophic event that will cancel the election altogether.

Last Tuesday, in a Mississippi special Democratic candidate Travis Childers soundly beat GOP Greg Davis for what was considered to be one of the safest Republican seats in the country. The Saturday before, rookie Democrat Bill Foster won a Michigan seat previously held by former House Speaker Denny Hastert. These are just two losses of what had been considered "safe" seats for Republicans, suggesting the party could be heading for huge upsets in November's congressional elections.

Anyone still believing that Republicans are taking this news lying down is in deep denial.

Republicans realize that even if they multiply their tried-and-true dirty election tricks by 100, they still might not be able to steal the 2008 race. This time, they might need to take more drastic measures.


First, let’s look at a few precedents: In the early 1970s, a very paranoid Richard Nixon commissioned the Huston Plan, which detailed how to cancel the 1972 Election.

Just 4 years ago, then Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned that large-scale terrorist attacks might be planed to disrupt the presidential election, and hinted that a preventative code-red status might be used to shut down the country prior to the election.

At the same time, according to a report by globalresearch.ca, Bush worked behind the scenes to ignore the Election Assistance Commission’s bipartisan mandate by positinoning the EAC an informal arm of the Dept. of Homeland Security. That way, he could embed formal “guidelines” into federal election procedures that allow for the postponement or cancellation of the presidential election in the event of terrorist attack.

In 2004, a mildly unpopular Republican party knew all they needed was a small shift, so they used voter suppression tactics and exploited vulnerable electronic voting machines to swing the election their way. The GOP swung the vote in Ohio by a hardly detectable 6%, which was all they needed to hand Bush his 2nd term.

It’s 4 years later and thanks to the subprime mortgage crisis caused by corrupt Republican policies, Americans have had it with the GOP. They know it’s going to take a lot more than a few dirty tricks to stay in power.

Mass. Congressman John Olver publicly expressed his belief that the Bush administration will likely strike Iran from the air, declare a national emergency, and cancel the '08 elections.

In an article on CommonDreams.org, Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitrakis write “the Bush administration has both the inclination and the power to cancel the 2008 election. The real question is not how or when they might do it - it’s how...we can stop them”.

Indeed, Republicans also know that should they cancel the election process, we the people won’t take the news lying down. And they’ve planned for that possibility.

CONSOLIDATING EXECUTIVE POWER

John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 - allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder.

These provisions were slipped in at the last minute, allowing no opportunites for Congressional examination or comment.

Section 333 of the bill states that "the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State are incapable of maintaining public order.

This overturns the 1878 Posse Comitatus act which prohibits use of the military for domestic law enforcement, allowing the President to commandeer guardsmen from any state, over the objections of local governmental, military and local police entities; ship them off to another state; conscript them in a law enforcement mode; and set them loose against "disorderly" citizenry. Senator Patrick Leahy condemned the Warner Act, claiming that it made it easier for Bush to declare Martial Law.

The Act also facilitates militarized police round-ups and detention of protesters, so called "illegal aliens," "potential terrorists" and other "undesirables" for detention in facilities already contracted for and under construction by Halliburton.

As you may recall, in January of 2006, the Army Corps of Engineers awarded Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root a $385 million contract to construct detention centers somewhere in the United States, to deal with "an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs."


And just today, Infowars.net reported The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) plans to build 3 new internment camps on both coasts and on the Southwestern border, each of which will house up to 50 men and women in addition to 150 children involved in immigration cases. The federal government is accepting bids on the contracts from county governments or private companies to build and run the "family detention centers"

On May 9th of last year, Bush issued Presidential Directive 51 outlining contingency plans in the event of a national emergency. The directive allows the president alone to determine what constitutes an emergency, which can be anything from a terrorist attack to a financial calamity. Once an emergency in declared, the Directive states that the President will then take control of all branches of the government. When members of Congress demanded that Bush show them the details of his martial law plan, Bush refused.

Last Summer, Bush issued Executive Order 13350 and 13438, which violate the 5th Amendment by empowering the federal government to freeze and/or sieze the assets of people who threaten Iraq's stability or. Its terms are so broad it could be applied to any domestic opponent of the Iraq war who has assets in the U.S. In other words, Bush is saying that he can take the house, car, bank accounts, and other assets of any American who actively protests against the Iraq war.

The “Homeland Defense Technology Transfer Legislative Provisions” facilitates the "transfer" of the newest in so-called "crowd control" technology and other weaponry designed to suppress dissent from the Pentagon to local militarized police units.

When you add up the provisions of the Patriot Act, Homeland Security Act, the repeal of Habeus Corpus, the hundreds of signing statements that disregard Congressional lawmaking, the illegal surveillance, the defiance of subpoenas, the violation of international treaties, the use of torture - when you add all this up and take a good look at the mountain of Constitution-crushing crimes committed by the Bush admin., it’s hard to deny that they’re playing for keeps.

Blogger Theresa Gandhi asks that we pause and think about human nature. She writes, “Do people really change when doing so means they could lose unlimited power? It’s like the illusion of a battered wife thinking a pattern of behavior will change. It won’t.”

If I’m wrong, and Democrats retake majorities in the House and Senate, and succeed in changing the course of our nation back toward democracy, I promise I’ll put on my tin foil hat and sit quietly in the corner.

But if I’m right, and any of the scenarios I’ve mentioned compromise our elections, please don’t cower in fear and give in to the theft of our few remaining liberties. Armed with this information, it’ll be obvious any future crisis resulting in the theft of the election has been manufactured by corrupt politicians seeking to retain their power. You’ll also know that it’s time to stand up and take that power back.

READING SUGGESTIONS

The End of America - A Letter of Warning To A Young Patriot by Naomi Wolf
It outlines the ten steps it takes to close down a democracy and transform it into an authoritarian state - and shows that how the Bush administration has already put those steps in place.

Democracy Incorporated - Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism by Sheldon Wolin, who argues that America’s freedoms are being lost while avoiding the appearance of suppression.