Slouching Donkey, Lying Elephant: Elections Suspended Until Further Notice

U.S. counterterrorism officials are looking at an emergency proposal on the legal steps needed to postpone the November presidential election in case of an attack by al Qaeda, Newsweek reported on Sunday.

[....]

In his letter, [U.S. Election Assistance Commission Chairman] Soaries pointed out that while New York's Board of Elections suspended primary elections in New York on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, "the federal government has no agency that has the statutory authority to cancel and reschedule a federal election."

Soaries wants Ridge to ask Congress to pass legislation giving the government such power, Newsweek reported in its latest issue that hits the newsstands on Monday.

There have always been noise on the left from those who feared Bush would find a way to suspend the elections in November. I haven't really taken that sort of thing seriously, because while I have some pretty unflattering opinions of Bush, I never actually thought he'd make such a transparent and tyrranical power grab.

This has just passed out of the realm of conspiracy theories and into the light of day. Does anyone out there seriously think that al Qaeda will not do their level best to attack the US before the elections? Those who don't are living in a fantasy world; I think supporters and opponents of Bush alike can agree that al Qaeda is determined to strike us here at home, and would like to affect the US elections. Can you think of a more foolish incentive to offer our enemies than the possibility that a successful attack might cause us to suspend our most cherished democratic processes?

If this moves forward, I expect President Bush to firmly stomp on any legislation to this effect. I expect our elected officials to react with nothing short of unrestrained horror at the mere notion. And I call on all of you to ensure that any elected official who supports this--Democrat or Republican, Independent or Green, President or City Councilman--be drummed out of office in the next election. Period.


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	July 11, 2004


	Elections Suspended Until Further Notice

	Why is this not front-page news everywhere? U.S. counterterrorism officials are looking at an emergency proposal on the legal steps needed to postpone the November presidential election in case of an attack by al Qaeda, Newsweek reported on Sunday. [....] In his letter, [U.S. Election Assistance Commission Chairman] Soaries pointed out that while New York's Board of Elections suspended primary elections in New York on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, "the federal government has no agency that has the statutory authority to cancel and reschedule a federal election." Soaries wants Ridge to ask Congress to pass legislation giving the government such power, Newsweek reported in its latest issue that hits the newsstands on Monday. Please pass me my tinfoil hat. And a bottle of Captain Morgan. There have always been noise on the left from those who feared Bush would find a way to suspend the elections in November. I haven't really taken that sort of thing seriously, because while I have some pretty unflattering opinions of Bush, I never actually thought he'd make such a transparent and tyrranical power grab. This has just passed out of the realm of conspiracy theories and into the light of day. Does anyone out there seriously think that al Qaeda will not do their level best to attack the US before the elections? Those who don't are living in a fantasy world; I think supporters and opponents of Bush alike can agree that al Qaeda is determined to strike us here at home, and would like to affect the US elections. Can you think of a more foolish incentive to offer our enemies than the possibility that a successful attack might cause us to suspend our most cherished democratic processes? If this moves forward, I expect President Bush to firmly stomp on any legislation to this effect. I expect our elected officials to react with nothing short of unrestrained horror at the mere notion. And I call on all of you to ensure that any elected official who supports this--Democrat or Republican, Independent or Green, President or City Councilman--be drummed out of office in the next election. Period. Posted by Catsy at 12:19 PM \| Comments (0) \| TrackBack (0) Comments: