The Grinch Who Stole The Election Lorenzo Komboa Ervin America likes to project itself as a democratic nation, the so-called "leader of the free world." It likes to brag that its elections are always fair and not beholden to political special interests. After an election, you always hear some politician say "the people have spoken," well not this time; the guy with the highest popular vote totals was replaced by a stooge of the Religious Right, due to circuitous and highly questionable means. In the past, the American government has forever claimed that bloody violent military coups, as occur in Latin America and other 3rd world regions "can't happen here", that its elections are the "free-est in the world". Why that is supposed to be the case nobody knows, purportedly because the government and the capitalist state are so "stable" and the President and U.S. so "fairminded". But, we know it's not because the American government is made up of any better people than anywhere else. Now the 2000 elections have made it all clear to all who want to see. In response to the United States Supreme Court ruling installing George W. Bush as President, Jessie Jackson referred to this as a "velvet legal coup" by political appointees faithful to past Republican administrations, and he just may be onto something. He and others in the Black community, especially in Florida, allege widespread voter fraud in Florida, which allowed Bush to take the Florida vote, not just "undecided ballots", but police intimidation, widespread purging of Blacks eligible to vote, trickery by the election precinct officials to prevent them from voting, and other actions. Of course, it is George W. Bush's brother, Jeb, who is Governor of Florida, and appoints all the officials of the state government, including the State Election Commissioners. He literally delivered the vote to his brother, although he personally claimed to be taking a "low profile." The issue here is not the just the results of the election accomplished by undemocratic means, but the return of open forms of racially discriminatory barriers for Black people to vote, which many thought had vanished with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965. Of course, the results of this: more police terror, erosion of the civil rights for Black people especially, (but the population as a whole), more right-wing judges appointed that support white supremacy, an even larger prison population, more extensive use of the death penalty, more rights for the rich and corporations. Let's face it a right-wing coup has been accomplished right under our noses. It's not going to be "business as usual", we're headed towards an outright fascist regime - Texas style. The fact is that all the people of the world are aware of what has gone down, and it ain't kosher! Even the press of countries like France, England, and Italy openly refer to the gridlocked election and elevation of Bush as a coup or "dirty election", accompanied by massive fraud. Many point out that if this election had taken place in 1968, the high point of student insurrection and the heyday of the Black revolutionary movements, there would have been massive rebellions in the streets. Even commentators on the BBC have made comments that such a result in most countries in Africa, Asia or Latin America would have resulted in street fighting by partisans of the defeated candidate. But people in this country have had almost blind faith in government and the capitalist state in the last few years, and there is hardly any honest leadership among the mainstream political figures to tell the people the truth. Even Jackson himself is in so deep to the Capitalist politicians of the Democratic party establishment that he can do nothing more but verbally bemoan what happened. The capitalist establishment is now demanding "national unity", and Gore and the other establishment political figures have to get in line...or else. But they can't hide the secret government coup now. Nobody believes the old propaganda line anymore, and this election will continue to tarnish and undermine American government institutions for years to come. Back to Anarchism And The Black Revolution