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I’ve been thinking about what I might do if Election 2004 is a replay of Election 2000—and unless there’s a clear landslide (which very well might happen; polls are showing large numbers still undecided, and undecideds tend to break against the incumbent), that’s a real possibility. Given the dangerous precedent of Bush v. Gore, both parties have legal teams assembled. If there’s even a whiff of uncertainty, there’s a nightmare of suits and counter-suits waiting to be unleashed.
I’m terrified that, in the absence of a clear mandate, the administration will pull that favorite trick of banana-republic strongmen and simply declare victory. The Supreme Court will almost certainly back the Bush administration along its usual 5-4 split, and Kerry—like Al Gore before him, brought up in the Senate, where compromise is a constructive value—will roll over “for the sake of national unity” and “for the good of the country.”
And that all across the country there will be huge wells of anger and energy, but no focus. I wanted then—I want now—to hop the first bus to Washington, and—then what? Well, that’s where it all falls apart, see.
Surely the progressive movement can’t be unaware of the real possibility of another stolen election—and they must know that the key to dealing with it is quick grassroots action; If Bush goes Pinochet on us on Tuesday, we need to have a million people on the Mall by Saturday. (If there is a clear landslide, well, then you’ve got either the world’s biggest victory party [if Kerry takes it], or a digging-in-our-heels, keep-hope-alive-in-the-dark-days-ahead rallying of the faithful [if Bush].)
But I haven’t seen anything about any planned large-scale actions or rallies across the MoveOn / CommonDreams axis of liberal websites; I suppose ANSWER will be gathering burn the winner in effigy, whoever he is—but the mainstream lefties are all focused on Election Day itself, on getting out the vote, and trusting to the Kerry legal team to get tough if things get hinky. But can we really afford to just hope for the best?
So: two questions—
(a) Anyone know of any planned demos for the weeks immediately following the election? Websites, info clearing-houses, etc. most welcome.
(b) Realistically, do you think it would be possible for any group to organize a mass demonstration—on a par with the London and NYC action of this past year—within the three-to-ten day window after the election? |
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