Booman Tribune

Election theft disguised as the "Bradley effect"

by clammyc
Fri Jul 18th, 2008 at 05:16:39 PM EST

There have already been a few articles and discussions over the past few months about the “Bradley effect”, which attempts to “explain” discrepancies between what white voters tell pollsters and how they actually vote when it comes to “non-white” candidates.

And even though a lot of these discussions end up with evidence that dismisses the theory, as the election season heats up, there will no doubt be more of a racial undertone (whether it is blatant or not), and as long as poll samples are intentionally skewed to help McCain, or likely Obama voters are being excluded from the polling samples - there will be more focus on the so-called “closeness” of this race.

A few months back, I wrote a diary titled “They just have to make it close enough to steal”, and this point bears repeating over and over and over.....and over until the election.

The ways that the elections have been stolen since 2000 have been in a number of ways - whether it be caging, gaming the system from the inside, questionable software security “patches”, illegal voter roll purges, voting machine “issues”, voter ID laws, illegal redistricting, phone jamming or other shenanigans by people like Ken Blackwell or Katherine Harris - there have been different and creative ways for different states, different races and on different levels.

Many Americans have been led to believe that exit polls were suddenly inaccurate and unreliable, even though they have historically been the most accurate methodology in numerous countries for many years. We were convinced by the lying corporate media and the republican party that, while our exit polls were so far off in the 2004 Presidential race - and all in the favor of one candidate while at the same time, exit polls were being cited in the Ukraine as irrefutable evidence of a stolen election which was ultimately overturned there.

In many states, the voting machine problems have not been satisfactorily fixed - hell, in New Jersey, the voting machines are known as some of the least reliable in the country. And with new anti-voter voter ID laws being introduced, a renewed effort at voter suppression with each cycle, more states in play for Obama to potentially capture and the skewed polls that I mention above, this election is another one that is ripe for an attempt to steal.

While we can argue whether there is a “Bradley effect” - on that election, on ones involving Jesse Jackson, David Dinkins or others, the narrative of such a “phenomenon” is out there. And just as there were “theories” (no matter if they were based on fact or evidence, or if they were just explanations and cover ups so that a neat and tidy media narrative could exist) of why the 2000, 2002, 2004 and certain 2006 elections defied all sense of reason, statistics, evidence of suppression or disenfranchisement, it will be all too easy for a “new” (but recycled and largely false) narrative to come into play if there is a race that is close enough to steal comes into play.

And just as we have already seen skewed and biased reporting on Obama vs. McCain, just as we have seen biased polling sample sizes in order to give the impression that the polls are close than they are, and just as we have seen prior elections stolen with impunity, it will be all too easy for another “explanation” with no proof to be advanced if there are swings outside of the margin of error in certain states, or even if Obama loses states that historically voted republican but he is winning (or will be projected to win) this November.

Which makes it all the more imperative for this election to be a blowout, and for this narrative to be killed before it starts to rear its ugly head again - as it has from time to time over the past few months.



Display:
I agree where was the bradley effect during the primary election? I think its a ruse and those days are behind us for 98% percent of the population.
by americanforliberty on Fri Jul 18th, 2008 at 05:37:22 PM EST
who to believe when you read this?

ABC News/Wash. Post withheld results of poll favorable to Obama

ABC News and The Washington Post issued staggered releases of the results of their latest poll, withholding from their first release results favorable to Sen. Barack Obama, including the finding that 50 percent of registered voters would vote for Obama for president versus 42 percent for Sen. John McCain. The next day, the Post ran an article headlined "Poll Finds Voters Split on Candidates' Iraq-Pullout Positions," which did not mention Obama's 8-point lead over McCain. Later that day, ABC News and the Post issued a second release with additional poll results that stated: "Obama continues to hold most of the advantages in the presidential race."

Is there any good reason?  

Well, "You can't vote for war and disown the results"

by idredit on Fri Jul 18th, 2008 at 06:48:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
My gut feeling is that they have to create tension. I'd guess their internal polls are showing a much bigger lead.

The algorithms for these polls are all wrong; the number of people with land lines is decreasing, and the percentage of young people who will show up to vote is much higher with Obama.

But corporates don't want him, and they absolutely don't want four months of "no news."

Michaela

by michaelmt (MrMichael_t@yahoo.com) on Fri Jul 18th, 2008 at 07:48:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I was called the other night by a poll - it felt good to be able to diss Bush & McCain while cheering for Obama!

One way or the other, this darkness has to give....
by Denim Blue on Fri Jul 18th, 2008 at 08:16:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Agreed. I'm more worried about the "Diebold effect."
by Bob In Pacifica on Fri Jul 18th, 2008 at 09:14:42 PM EST


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