"I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a Vice President who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a Secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States."
-John Kerry's Acceptance Speech at the Democratic National Convention-

But that's not what America wanted.

November 3rd, 2004, the day you affirmed the mistakes of this president and pushed America closer to a one-party nation.

Kerry concedes, White House aide says
BUSH WINS THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY!

(updated January 17th, 2005)
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Maps and cartograms of the election results
putting the "landslide" in perspective

The Government We Deserve

FactCheck.org

Debate This!
Archie Levine looks at the 2004 Debates

Assessing the Damage...Figuring out what it all means

• 'S factor' still relevant in election, by Neal Starkman, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 17, 2005
  The S factor -- short for the Stupid factor -- describes people who don't understand cause and effect, can't handle more than two sides of an issue and don't seek out multiple sources of information. It was my contention that, although the S factor applies to people across the political spectrum, it went a long way to explaining the apparent popularity of President Bush in the face of facts that indicated he was neither competent nor virtuous.
• Bush can still pull off a Reagan triumph, Andrew Sullivan, Sunday Times of London, January 16, 2005
  We should know him by now, shouldn’t we? This week George W Bush will be inaugurated for a second term as president, but the occasion, far from being an unqualified triumph, will be a reflection of the American public’s ambivalence towards the man and his record. Bush’s re-election margin, remember, was 3%. Ronald Reagan’s was 18%. Bill Clinton’s was a solid 8%.

I Want YOU to be afraid to vote for anyone but ME!
--George Bush Campaign Slogan Subtext

• Fear Factor: The Bush campaign has been very successful in appealing to the fear and anxiety of the electorate. Fear is a powerful motivator, but can be trumped by hope, courage, toughness and confidence. By Frank Joyce, AlterNet, October 26, 2004.
• Chiller Theater, New York Times, October 21, 2004
  s the election draws near, the Bush campaign grows ever more irresponsible in its effort to scare Americans into believing that voting for John Kerry will bring on another terrorist attack. In Ohio on Tuesday, Vice President Dick Cheney said Mr. Kerry was incapable of understanding, much less acting on, the specter of terrorists' creeping into our cities with nuclear bombs "to threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans." Attorney General John Ashcroft was back in Washington, meanwhile, suggesting that God had spared America from an attack since 9/11 because President Bush's team was assisting "the hand of Providence."
• Vote and Be Damned, by Maureen Dowd, New York Times, October 17, 2004
• Appealing to Our Lizard Brains: Call it ludicrous, but the most important election of our lifetime is coming down to who can best pacify the electorate's inner baby. By Arianna Huffington, AlterNet, October 13, 2004.
• Scaring voters to the polls, by Helen Thomas, Hearst Newspapers, October 8, 2004
• How Dare Kerry Speak Up, LA Times, September 29, 2004
  The suggestion that terrorists support Sen. John F. Kerry for president is ugly, but basically silly. The suggestion that Kerry supports the terrorists is flat-out disgusting.
• Bush or Kerry: Who's Really Osama's Boy? By Michael Kinsley, LA Times, September 26, 2004
• An Un-American Way to Campaign, New York Times, September 25, 2004
  "Mr. Bush is running as the man best equipped to keep America safe from terrorists - that was to be expected. We did not, however, anticipate that those on the Bush team would dare to argue that a vote for John Kerry would be a vote for Al Qaeda."
• Are US elections the ultimate hostage?, by Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe, September 24, 2004
• Candidates Play on Fears of Attacks, Wars , by Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press, Sep 19, 2004
• The Fearful Voter: Everyone these days has advice for the presidential contender. But what's the campaign to do when fear is the prime motivator of this year's voter? By David Corn, TomPaine.com, September 16, 2004.
• Kerry a sitting duck for Cheney, by Marianne Means, Seattle Post Intelligencer, September 16, 2004
  "Cheney and Bush are using scare tactics to distract voters from the reality of a bungled war"
• Cheney's No Terrorism Expert: Vice president's comments ignore the facts and distort recent history. By Daniel Benjamin, LA Times, September 12th, 2004
• The scare vote, by Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe Columnist, September 12, 2004
• 'War president' Bush has always been soft on terror: His campaign says vote Republican or die - but he lets al-Qaida off the hook, by Craig Unger, The Guardian, September 11, 2004
• Bush shamefully exploits tragedy, by Dan Payne, Boston Globe, September 11, 2004
• Exploiting Sept. 11: A Capital Times editorial, September 11, 2004
• Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire, Democracy Now, September 10, 2004
• Cheney's threat, Boston Globe, September 10, 2004
• Vote for Bush or Die, by Judd Legum & David Sirota, The Nation, September 9, 2004
• Cheney Spits Toads, by Maureen Dowd, New York Times, September 9, 2004
• A Disgraceful Campaign Speech, New York Times, September 9, 2004
• Red Scare, Updated, by Richard Cohen, Washington Post, September 9, 2004
• Riding Fear To Victory? Why do half of all Americans embrace our most incompetent and most reckless president, our most hated president overseas?, by Gerald Rellick, Intevention Magazine, September 8, 2004
• Cheney: Kerry win risks terror attack: Edwards says Cheney 'crossed the line' with comment, CNN, September 7, 2004
• Cheney: Vote for Bush or Die, The Washington Dispatch, September 8, 2004
• Faltering Bush plays terror card: Kerry leads in key states as Republicans mass for convention, by Paul Harris, The Observer [UK], August 29, 2004
• All in Favor, Say 'Aiiiee!': On election day, will we be too scared to vote? Too scared not to vote? Mondo Washington by James Ridgeway, The Village Voice, August 11 - 17, 2004
• Not Scared Yet? Try Connecting These Dots: "Pre-election period…pre-election plot…pre-election threats" By Ray McGovern, Common Dreams, August 9, 2004
• Will Osama bin Laden Vote for George Bush? Editorial, One Thousand Reasons, August 8th, 2004
• Why Bush could be a fan of terror: America won't turn against its President this November, not as long as al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden stay on the front pages, by Peter Preston, The Observer, August 8, 2004

What, me worry?

• Supreme Disenfranchisement: Did you know that in Bush v. Gore the Supreme Court wrote: "the individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote" in presidential elections? By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet, November 2, 2004.
• What to Do on Election Day, New York Times, November 1, 2004
• Getting Physical: On Tuesday, the traditions of civil disobedience and electoral politics may converge. By Tom Hayden, AlterNet, November 1, 2004.
• Voters claim abuse of electoral rolls: Students say they were conned into registering twice, by Greg Palast, The Observer [UK], October 31, 2004
• Ohio Lawmakers Call for Secretary of State Blackwell to Resign, Democracy Now!, October 29th, 2004
  As a federal judge in Ohio temporarily blocks the GOP from challenging the voting rights of 35,000 people ahead of the election, we go to Ohio to speak with State Sen. Teresa Fedor, one of the lawmakers leading the calls for Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell to resign.
• Election day: It is time for regime change--American style. Are you changing America? By Mick Youther, Intervention Magazine, October 26, 2004
• New Florida vote scandal feared, by Greg Palast, BBC's Newsnight, October 26, 2004
  A secret document obtained from inside Bush campaign headquarters in Florida suggests a plan - possibly in violation of US law - to disrupt voting in the state's African-American voting districts, a BBC Newsnight investigation reveals.
• Some Fear Ohio Will Be Florida of 2004, by Paul Farhi and Jo Becker, Washington Post, October 26, 2004
• Election Law: The law of politics and the politics of law: election law, the California recall, campaign finance, legislation, voting rights, initiatives, redistricting

• Election Integrity At Stake, by George F. Will, Washington Post, October 24, 2004
• Voting and Counting, by Paul Krugman, New York Times, October 22, 2004
  If the election were held today and the votes were counted fairly, Senator John Kerry would probably win. But the votes won't be counted fairly, and the disenfranchisement of minority voters may determine the outcome.
• The art of stealing elections, by Robert Kuttner, Boston Globe, October 20, 2004
• Gore warns of grab by Bush, by Noelle Straub, Boston Herald, October 19, 2004
• Election to Be Scrutinized for Irregularities: Along with computer experts to monitor the equipment, thousands of observers will be on hand to detail incidents that could affect votes. By Ralph Vartabedian, LA Times, October 17, 2004
• Bush New England campaign chief resigns: Tobin denies Democrats’ phone line-jamming allegations, The Associated Press, Oct. 15, 2004
  Get-out-the-vote phones run by Democrats and the nonpartisan Manchester firefighters union were jammed on Election Day two years ago by more than 800 computer-generated hang-up calls. The calls tied up the phones for 1½ hours.
• 7 U.S. groups ask U.N. for vote observers, by Edith M. Ledberger, ASSOCIATED PRESS, October 11, 2004
• Hurdles Remain for American Voters Who Live Overseas, by Michael Moss, New York Times, September 29, 2004
• Something rotten in the state of Florida, The Independent [UK], September 29, 2004
  Pregnant chads, vanishing voters... the election fiasco of 2000 made the Sunshine State a laughing stock. More importantly, it put George Bush in the White House. You'd think they'd want to get it right this time. But no, as Andrew Gumbel discovers, the democratic process is more flawed than ever...
• Florida will not play fair, Jimmy Carter, The Guardian [UK], September 28, 2004
• New rules may tangle vote: Regulations designed to fight voter fraud and disenfranchisement could work against each other, some critics say, by Susan Greene, Denver Post, September 27, 2004
• Carter fears Florida vote trouble: Voting arrangements in Florida do not meet "basic international requirements" and could undermine the US election, former US President Jimmy Carter says. BBC News, September 27, 2004
• Memo: 'Terror' Election Barring Voters Could Stand, by Ritt Goldstein, AntiWar.com, August 20, 2004
  • Executive Branch Power to Postpone Elections
• Saving the Vote, by Paul Krugman, New York Times, August 17, 2004
• International team to monitor presidential election: Observers will be part of OSCE's human rights office, by David de Sola, CNN, August 9, 2004
• Florida poll workers getting unprecedented lessons on how to master disasters, by Luis F. Perez, Sun-Sentinel, August 7 2004
• Election Day Worries, by Michael Isikoff, Newsweek, July 19, 2004
• Lawmakers ask U.N. to monitor elections : Florida's contested vote prompts call for oversight in U.S , San Francisco Chronicle, July 9, 2004

Voting Machines

• Electronic Voting Raises New Issues: Security, Recount Questions Persist As States Adopt Paperless Balloting, by Dan Keating, Washington Post, October 25, 2004
• State Joins Suit Over Voting Machines: Activists allege the maker sold equipment that was vulnerable to ballot tampering, By Stuart Pfeifer, LA Times, September 8, 2004
• Fla. judge requires manual recounts: A state judge threw out a Florida Division of Elections rule barring the 15 counties that use touch-screen voting systems from conducting recounts by hand. BY Gary Fineout and Mary Ellen Klas, Miami Herald, Aug 28, 2004
• Voting systems' equipment uncertified, Detroit Free Press, August 23, 2004
• Rage Against the Machines: Computerized Voting Systems Have Been Proven Insecure; Is Enough Being Done to Assure that the 2004 Election Will Not Be Stolen? By Ronnie Dugger, AlterNet, August 4, 2004
• The e-coup of George W. Bush, by G.D. Rouville/The Village Idiot, 02/08/2004
• Florida GOP Playing Games with Voting Machines: New Revelations spark Renewed Demand for Verifiable, Auditable, Recountable Votes, Press Release from People For the American Way Foundation, July 29, 2004
• Diebold bans its executives from politics, by Julie Carr Smyth, Plain Dealer, June 08, 2004
  "Chairman and Chief Executive Walden O'Dell from the whirlpool of controversy that seized his voting-machine company after he "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes for the president" in an August 2003 fund-raising letter."
• Machine Politics in the Digital Age, by Melanie Warner, New York Times, November 9, 2003
• Diebold appears to have conflict: CEO lobbies for Bush while seeking contract to sell voting machines, Associated Press, August 29, 2003

How to manipulate an electorate

• Election 2004: Intimidation, Harassment and Suppression of Voters, Democracy Now!, October 19th, 2004
• Protesters can't be searched Court rules terror fears not reason to search demonstrators, By C.G. WALLACE, The Associated Press, Oct 17, 2004
• The Strategy Beneath the Flip-Flop Label: The tactic has stayed around because it works so well. By David Greenberg, LA Times, September 30, 2004
• This is the lowest blow, The Capital Times, September 28, 2004
  "The Republican National Committee has acknowledged sending mass mailings to voters in at least two states that suggest Democrats would, if elected in 2004, ban the Bible."
• The fine art of lying to win elections in a democracy, by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, The Daily Star, September 23, 2004
• Discrimination at U.S. Polls Now 'Subtler, More Creative', Reuters, Aug 25, 2004
• A Chill in Florida, by Bob Herbert, New York Times, August 23, 2004
• Voting While Black, by Bob Herbert, New York Times, August 20, 2004
• Suppress the Vote? By Bob herbert, New York Times, August 16, 2004
• GOP apologizes over voting flier, by Mark Hollis, Christy McKerney and Jeremy Milarsky, Sun-Sentinel Staff writers, July 30 2004
• People For the American Way Foundation Calls on Attorney General Ashcroft to Investigate Florida Purge Practices, July 22, 2004

How to influence an election

• G.O.P. in Ohio Can Challenge Voters at Polls, by James Dao and Adam Liptak, New York Times, November 2, 2004
• Judges Bar Party Challengers at Ohio Polls, ABC News, November 1, 2004
• G.O.P. to the Poor: Don't Vote, New York Times, October 30, 2004
• Bush Administration Attempts To Overturn Decades of Legal Precedents & Block Voting Rights Lawsuits From Voters, Democracy Now!, October 29th, 2004
  Bush administration lawyers are now attempting to overturn decades of legal precedence by claiming that under the Help America Vote Act only Attorney General John Ashcroft -- and not individual voters - have a right to ask federal courts to enforce voting rights.
• GOP Disrupts the Ohio Vote: Republicans have announced that they're dredging up some dusty old law to send thousands of recruits to polling places in Ohio on Nov. 2 to challenge the qualifications of Americans as they try to cast their votes. By Laura Flanders, Air America Radio, October 25, 2004.
• Big G.O.P. Bid to Challenge Voters at Polls in Key State, by Michael Moss, New York Times, October 23, 2004
• GOP Voter Drive Accused of Tossing Cards, by Deborah Hastings, The Guardian [UK], October 22, 2004,
  In several battleground states across the country, a consulting firm funded by the Republican National Committee has been accused of deceiving would-be voters and destroying Democratic voter registration cards.
• Dirty tricks return to the sunshine state: US election begins with voting in Florida dogged by controversy over faulty machines and disenfranchised voters, by Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian, October 19, 2004
• Allegations of Electoral Crimes, New York Times, October 18, 2004
• Report: Jeb Bush ignored advice to 'pull the plug' on flawed felon voter list, SFGate.com, October 16, 2004
• A Look at Lawsuits, Voting Problems, Associated Press, October 16, 2004 3:46 AM
• Republican Dirty Tricks: Republican operative Nathan Sproul's company is under investigation for allegedly destroying voter registration forms signed by Democrats. Now comes new evidence about Sproul's connections to the Bush-Cheney campaign. By Max Blumenthal, AlterNet, October 15, 2004.
• Block the Vote, by Paul Krugman, New York Times, October 15, 2004
  arlier this week former employees of Sproul & Associates (operating under the name Voters Outreach of America), a firm hired by the Republican National Committee to register voters, told a Nevada TV station that their supervisors systematically tore up Democratic registrations.
• Trashing democracy: Voters Outreach of America, an outfit largely funded by the GOP, is accused of trashing registration forms of hundreds of Democrats in Nevada, by Bill Berkowitz, WorkingForChange.com, 10.14.04
• Pushing to Be Counted in Fla.: Groups Say That Blacks May Not Be Heard at Polls, by Jo Becker, Washington Post, October 13, 2004
• Kerry accuses GOP of suppressing voting, Associated Press, October 4, 2004
• Sacrifice and Sabotage, by Bob Herbert, New York Times, October 1, 2004
• Voter Suppression Gains Momentum: Ohio Secretary of State keeps people on parole from being notified of their eligibility to vote, AlterNet, September 28, 2004
• Ohio rejects 1000s of voter registration applications due to paper weight, Daily Kos, Sep 27th, 2004
• How Florida Republicans Keep Blacks From Voting, by Ann Louise Bardach, LA Times, September 26, 2004
• Blocking the Latino Ballot? By Harold Meyerson, New York Times, September 22, 2004
• Pentagon blocks site for voters outside U.S., by Jennifer Joan Lee, International Herald Tribune, September 20, 2004

  Note: if anyone knows any Americans abroad who are having difficulty voting, send them to http://www.overseasvote2004.com. They'll still need to fax in their materials, but at least they'll be able to register and vote.

• Killing Democracy One Vote at a Time, One Thousand Reasons, Sept. 20th, 2004
• The Return of Katherine Harris, New York Times, September 16, 2004
• How to steal an election, by Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, September 16, 2004
• Plan to let soldiers vote by e-mail is questioned, By Terry Ganey, Jefferson City Bureau Chief, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 08/27/2004
• VENEZUELA FLORIDATED: Will The Gang That Fixed Florida Fix the Vote in Caracas this Sunday? By Greg Palast, August 10, 2004
  • The Chávez Victory: A Blow to the Bush Administration, by Jaun Forero, New York Times, August 20, 2004
  • Constantly updated headlines on Venezuela
  • Venezuelan President Chavez Wins Recall Referendum, Muslim American Society, August 16, 2004
  • Chavez Declares Recall Victory; Foes Claim Fraud, by Patrick Markey, Aug 16, 2004
  • BACKGROUND: Bush Administration Behind Failed Military Coup in Venezuela, Project Censored, 2003
• Pruitt claims Gov. Bush pushes race to help brother, by Dara Kam, Palm Beach Post, July 29, 2004

Republicans for Nader!

• Time to step aside, The Guardian, October 20, 2004
• Voter's Outreach Connection to Nader Campaign, Brian Allen, KLASTV.com, October 13, 2004
• Phenomenon: Nader Republicans, by Nathan Littlefield, The Atlantic Monthly, September 2004
• Republicans Helping Nader to Help Themselves, by Brian Faler, Washington Post, July 19, 2004
• Group: Bush allies illegally helping Nader in Oregon: Complaint filed with Federal Election Commission, CNN, July 1, 2004

Conservatives for Anyone But Bush?

• American Conservative Magazine Endorses Kerry, by Scott McConnell, Democracy Now!, November 2nd, 2004
• Why even a hawk like me is backing Kerry, by David Aaronovitch, The Guardian [UK], November 2, 2004
• Bush skewered again by former treasury secretary Paul O'Neill, Yahoo! News, Nov 1, 2004
  O'Neill, who infuriated the White House with his withering portrayal of Bush as a "blind man in a room full of deaf people" in a 2003 book by Ron Suskind, "The Price of Loyalty," returned to the fray in an interview with CNBC television.
• Republicans for Kerry, The Nation, 10/26/2004
• Bush’s War Against the Military By Ian Williams, In These Times, October 24, 2004
  Discounting that he sent American troops into Iraq on false pretenses, a real commander would fight for the welfare of his troops. But Bush has demonstrated a consistent unwillingness to do so, and as a result many high-ranking officers have endorsed Kerry, including retired Navy Adm. William Crowe and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. John Shalikashvili.
• Kerry will address Indian concerns, by W. Ron Allen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 26, 2004
• Muslims Seen Abandoning Bush: Chagrin Over President's Policies Spurs Pro-Kerry Activism, By Caryle Murphy, Washington Post, October 25, 2004
• Florida newspapers desert Bush as media swing to Kerry, by Dan Glaister, The Guardian, October 25, 2004
  The Orlando Sentinel, which has not endorsed a Democrat for president since Lyndon Johnson, opted for John Kerry. "This president has utterly failed to fulfil our expectations," an editorial said. "We turn now to his Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry, with the belief that he is more likely to meet the hopes we once held for Mr Bush."
• Bush's Choices May Be 'Tough,' but My Choice Is Not: An open letter to Ed Gillespie from a Republican Voter for Kerry, by Leonard Maluf, AntiWar.com, October 23, 2004
• Badnarik TV ads target conservative voters: The Libertarian Party launches a TV advertising campaign on Thursday that could boot George Bush out of the White House by appealing for votes from disgruntled conservatives. Libertarian Party Press Release, October 21, 2004
• A FORMER REPUBLICAN SENATOR FOR KERRY: 'Frightened to death' of Bush, by Marlow W. Cook, The Courier-Journal, October 20th, 2004
• Without a Doubt, by Ron Suskind, New York Times, October 17, 2004
  Bruce Bartlett, a domestic policy adviser to Ronald Reagan and a treasury official for the first President Bush, told me recently that "if Bush wins, there will be a civil war in the Republican Party starting on Nov. 3."
• Respected conservatives agree with 'clueless lefties', Pierre M. Atlas, IndyStar.com, September 30, 2004
• The CIA 'old guard' goes to war with Bush, by Phillip Sherwell, Telegraph, 10/10/2004
• Once Again, America First, by Franklin Foer, New York Times, October 10, 2004
  "This administration cannot be trusted to govern if it cannot be counted on to think and, having thought, to have second thoughts," [George Will] wrote.
• In the Senate, Raising a (Quiet) Republican Voice Against the Administration, by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, October 4, 2004
• Betrayed by Bush: Patrick Buchanan says there is no conservative party in Washington. Instead there is a Republican party of big business, big government and big war, The Spectator, October 2nd, 2004
• GOP split over Iraq, Kalamazoo Gazette, September 30, 2004
• GOP Sen. Won't Commit to Voting for Bush, by Brooke Donald, Associated Press Writer, September 20, 2004
• McCain: Bush not straight enough on Iraq, CNN, September 19, 2004
  Senators of both parties criticize his picture of conditions there: Several Republicans and Democrats took President Bush to task on Sunday's talk shows over his repeated assertions that all is well in Iraq.
• Republicans Criticize Bush 'Mistakes' on Iraq, by Randall Mikkelsen, Reuters, Sept. 19, 2004
• GOP Gay Group Has a Word for Bush: No, By Patrick Guerriero, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, LA Times, September 15, 2004
• Fiscal Conservatives Challenge Bush, Reuters, Sep 10, 2004
• Robb's vote may not go to Bush: GOP mayor may use Electoral College to lodge protest against president, by Chris Stirewalt, Charleston Daily Mail Political Editor, September 08, 2004
• Gay GOP Group Won't Endorse Bush Reelection: Log Cabin Republicans say they will instead use their resources to put allies in other offices. By Johanna Neuman, Times Staff Writer, September 8, 2004
• In a New Book, Buchanan Chastises Another Bush, By David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times, August 22, 2004

Negative Campaigning and Vicious Attack Ads? That isn't the President, it's those pesky 527's!

• Karl Rove: America's MullahBy Neal Gabler, LA Times, October 24, 2004
  This election is about Rovism, and the outcome threatens to transform the U.S. into an ironfisted theocracy.
• Teresa Kerry's Taxes, by Michael Kinsley, Washington Post, October 24, 2004
  John Kerry says that rich people pay too little in taxes. His proposal is to raise taxes on incomes over $200,000 and cut taxes for the middle class. Maybe this is a terrible idea. But Teresa Kerry's tax returns certainly seem to illustrate, not contradict, the case for her husband's tax proposal. By contrast, if you're offended by how little Teresa Kerry pays in taxes, you might consider President Bush's tax cuts, which have saved her many millions.
• Scared but Saved in Albuquerque, by Stewart Nusbaumer, Prevention Magazine, October 21, 2004
• Sinclair's Kerry smear is 1984 come true, by John Nichols, Capital Times, October 19, 2004
• Sinclair Fires Journalist After Critical Comments: The broadcaster's Washington bureau chief had called an upcoming anti-Kerry program 'blatant political propaganda.' By Elizabeth Jensen, LA Times, October 19, 2004
• We Hold This Dirt to Be Self-Evident, by Michael Kinsley, Washington Post, October 17, 2004
• Kerry Campaign Seeks Equal Time Over Film, by DOUGLASS K. DANIEL, Associated Press Writer, AP, Oct. 15, 2004
• Making 'Liberal' a Fighting Word Again, by Janet Hook, LA Times, October 15, 2004
• Bush borrows dad's attack slogans By HELEN THOMAS, HEARST NEWSPAPERS, October 15, 2004
• A Tone-Deaf Broadcaster, LA Times, October 15, 2004
  Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Sinclair Broadcast Group, an owner of TV stations across the country and an advocate of lifting current federal limits on media ownership, is interrupting regularly scheduled programming on its stations nationwide next week to force them to air a documentary opposing John F. Kerry. If opponents of further media concentration had floated this as a hypothetical scenario to advance their cause, they would have been laughingly dismissed.
• Bush Attack Ad Is Questioned: Democrats say Kerry's comment was taken out of context. Some analysts warn that the president's credibility could be damaged. By Peter Wallsten and Maura Reynolds, LA Times, October 12, 2004
• TV channels to rubbish Kerry on eve of poll, by Julian Borger, The Guardian, October 12, 2004
  One of America's biggest television companies has announced plans to broadcast a film days before the presidential election that portrays the Democratic candidate John Kerry as betraying his fellow soldiers in Vietnam.
• Billionaire Against Bush: Investor George Soros Is Giving America a Piece of His Mind, by Hanna Rosin, Washington Post, September 29, 2004
• Political Group's Antiwar Ad Draws Ire of the Bush Campaign, by Glen Justice, New York Times, September 17, 2004
• Feel the Hate, by Paul Krugman, New York Times, September 3, 2004
• "I'M SAYING WE DON'T KNOW": The latest smear from House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Washington Monthly, August 30, 2004
• Media ignores another Bush flip-flop: Bush was for 527s -- before he was against them, Media Matters for America, August 27th, 2004
• Testing your Republican credentials, by Dan Payne, Boston Globe, August 21, 2004
• Insensitive, The Boston Globe, August 17, 2004
• The GOP Minstrel Show, A white tycoon in blackface race-baits Teresa Heinz Kerry. By Timothy Noah, SLATE, Aug. 12, 2004
• Is Kerry "Unfit for Command"?
  • A War Hero or a Phony? By Nicholas D. Kristoff, New York Times, September 18, 2004
    "one of the ugliest smears in modern U.S. politics"
  • Columbus swift boat vet angry about letter, by Linda Halstead-Acharya, The Billings Gazette, September 1st, 2004
    "Swift boat veteran Bob Anderson of Columbus is ticked. It bothers him that Sen. John Kerry's swift boat history has become such a political hot potato. But he's even more irritated that his name was included - without his permission - on a letter used to discredit Kerry."
  • Bush, not Kerry, should face scrutiny, by Linda McQuaig, The Toronto Star, Aug. 29, 2004
  • Poll: More Believe Bush Behind Attack Ads, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, August 29, 2004
  • Unheroic Bush behind anti-Kerry lies, by Dave Zweifel, the Capital Times, August 27, 2004
  • Bush’s Sleeper Cells: All it takes is a wink and a nod from the White House, and this network springs into action, by Eleanor Clift, Newsweek, Aug. 27, 2004
  • Smeared by Ginsberg, Boston Globe, August 27, 2004
  • Swift Boats and the Texas Nexus, New York Times, August 25, 2004
  • Bush's dirty work, Boston Globe, August 25, 2004
  • Editorial: Despicable smears/Exposed for all to see, and reject, Star Tribime, August 22, 2004
  • Smear by veterans may hurt Bush, by Thomas Oliphant, Boston Globe, August 22, 2004
  • Kerry: Slo-Mo on Swifties, by Marueen Dowd, New York Times, August 22, 2004
  • Military Documents Contradict Kerry Critic, The Associated Press, August 19, 2004
  • FACT CHECK: Swift Boat Veterans for Bush
  • Swift Boat Folks Are Kerry's Nemeses of Old, by John Gonzalez, Dallas Observer, August 11, 2004.
  • GOP Viet Vet Says Kerry Attackers 'Lying...Without Decency', by William, D. McTavish, Capitol Hill Blue, Aug 11, 2004
  • Anti-Kerry Author's Slurs Welcomed on Right-Wing Bulletin Board, by William, D. McTavish, Capitol Hill Blue, Aug 11, 2004
  • Editorial: Confused commander, The Capital Times, August 11, 2004
  • Anti-Kerry Vets Led by Longtime GOP Operative, Bankrolled by Bush Cronies, by William, D. McTavish, Capitol Hill Blue, August 9th, 2004

Bush doesn't stand a chance with the damned Liberal Media on Kerry's side!

• It's Not Just Al Qaqaa, by Paul Krugman, New York Times, October 29, 2004
  Just in case, the right is already explaining away President Bush's defeat: it's all the fault of the "liberal media," particularly The New York Times, which, so the conspiracy theory goes, deliberately timed its report on the looted Al Qaqaa explosives - a report all the more dastardly because it was true - for the week before the election.
• Letter to CNN regarding coverage of polls, by David Brock, President and CEO Media Matters for America, October 22, 2004
  Media Matters for America has noticed a distinct trend in the way your network reports polls -- specifically, polls that show favorable results for President George W. Bush have received greater coverage than polls that show less favorable results for him or more favorable results for Senator John Kerry. In several instances, CNN has reported a poll that shows a relatively positive result for Bush when more recent polling shows less favorable numbers.

The Excitement and Danger of Faithless Electors...
as if it weren't maddening enough already

• "Faithless Electors": a history, Center for Voting and Democracy
• Robb's vote may not go to Bush: GOP mayor may use Electoral College to lodge protest against president, by Chris Stirewalt, Charleston Daily Mail Political Editor, September 08, 2004

Come on feel the noise...

• The Bush baiters: They persuade loyal Republicans to accept a nuclear dump in their backyards and to sign up their children for war against North Korea. Professional ironists the Yes Men tell Oliver Burkeman that, in Bush's America, people will believe anything, The Guardian [UK], November 2, 2004
• Bush forced to stop singing 'Still the One', newkerala.com, Oct 30, 2004
• One Nation Under Bush: At a campaign rally, Republicans recite the "Bush Pledge." By Chris Suellentrop, Slate, Oct. 28, 2004
  "I want you to stand, raise your right hands," and recite "the Bush Pledge," said Florida state Sen. Ken Pruitt. The assembled mass of about 2,000 in this Treasure Coast town about an hour north of West Palm Beach dutifully rose, arms aloft, and repeated after Pruitt: "I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States."
• King George abuses 1st Amendment, by John Nichols, Capital Times, October 28, 2004
  The Bush-Cheney campaign rented the local high school and applied the divine right of kings - or at least one ill-prepared and inarticulate boy king - to what had been a public school. Richland Center students were informed that they could attend the audience with His Highness only if they donned approved apparel: a Bush for President T-shirt or so-called "neutral clothing." What they could not wear was any clothing that promoted the cause of any dissenter to the rule of King George.
• Bush Relatives For Kerry
• The Intensity Gap, by E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, October 26, 2004
• World writes to undecided voters, by Matt Wells, The Guardian, October 16, 2004
• Activist accuses GOP of 'attacking gays': Head of gay GOP group Log Republicans lashes out, CNN, October 15, 2004
  The head of the nation's largest gay and lesbian Republican group slammed fellow Republicans Friday for "feigning outrage" over comments by Sen. John Kerry, and called on President Bush to "stop attacking gay families on the campaign trail."
• Distilled garbage, A Capital Times editorial, October 12, 2004
  A maroon SUV with Bush bumper stickers and Ohio license plates was seen picking up bags of trash outside the Kerry for President headquarters on Henry Street in downtown Madison. A Kerry backer followed the SUV and said that it went to the state Republican headquarters on Johnson Street.
• Conservative TV Group to Air Anti-Kerry Film: Sinclair, with reach into many of the nation's homes, will preempt prime-time shows. Experts call the move highly unusual. By Elizabeth Jensen, LA Times, October 9, 2004
• In New Attacks, Bush Pushes Limit on the Facts, by Adam Nagourney and Richard W. Stevenson, New York Times, October 8, 2004
• Election May Turn on Report: Kerry could benefit from CIA findings on Iraq, but Bush has his own ammunition. By Ronald Brownstein, LA Times, October 8, 2004
• Kerry receives three-star support: Highest-ranking woman in U.S. Army history says Bush has no idea how to get out of Iraq, by Andrew Dys, The Herald, October 7‚ 2004
• Divided against itself: If Americans choose Bush over Kerry, it will be from fear, a lack of choice - and a preference for power over safety, by Gary Younge, The Guardian [UK], October 4, 2004
• What Women Want: Contrary to the media babble about "security moms," the issues most important to women voters are also John Kerry's greatest strengths. By Rose Aguilar, AlterNet, September 30, 2004.
• Bush's Hometown Newspaper Endorses Kerry, Reuters, Sep 28, 2004
• Swagger vs. Substance, by Paul Krugman, New York Times, September 28, 2004
• Supporters Get Incentive Plans at Bush Rallies, by David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, September 28, 2004
• Bush and the Damage Done, by Marc Young, Deutsche Welle, September 27, 2004
  The millions of Americans living abroad may decide this year's tight US presidential election. Seeing the effects of Bush's foreign policy firsthand should boost Kerry with expatriate voters.
• Bush rallies are by invitation only, by Helen Thomas, Hearst Newspapers, September 24, 2004
  "At Bush-Cheney campaign rallies around the nation, the only people welcome to attend are Bush supporters, volunteers and undecided voters who lean toward Bush politically."
• Decoding the National Polls: The misleading numbers of the Gallup and New York times polls are explained. Also, persuadable voters have still not been persuaded. By Ruy Teixeira, The Center for American Progress and The Century Foundation. September 23, 2004.
• A strident minority: anti-Bush US troops in Iraq, by Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, September 21, 2004
  " Though military personnel lean conservative, some vocally support Kerry - or at least a strategy for swift withdrawal."
• Is the right outbreeding the left? By Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe, September 19, 2004
• GOP Mailing Warns Liberals Will Ban Bibles, by Will Lester, Associated Press, Sep 17, 2004
  "Campaign mail with a return address of the Republican National Committee warns West Virginia voters that the Bible will be prohibited and men will marry men if liberals win in November."
• Pre-emptive Paranoia, by Maureen Dowd, New York Times, September 16, 2004
• Moulton woman says she lost job for sporting Kerry sticker on car, by Clyde L. Stancil, Decatur Daily, September 12th, 2004
• Playing to the media in attacks on service, by Thomas Oliphant, The Boston Globe, September 12, 2004
• Framing the debate: It's all GOP, by George Lakoff, Boston Globe, September 12, 2004
• Why Bush's man is fighting dirty Bush's campaign mastermind has a simple rule: attack your opponent's strengths. As the polls show, it works. by Paul Harris, The Observer, September 5, 2004
• Who The Hell Is "Undecided"?: And why do so many election polls leave you angry and stupefied and drunk? By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist, September 10th, 2004
• Why Americans Like George Bush, One Thousand Reasons, September 7, 2004
• Don't buy Pres. Bush's have faith, by W. Sampson, Joplin Independent, 2004-09-05
• It's Still Nixon's Party, by Harold Meyerson, Washington Post, September 5, 2004
• A dog fight for the presidency, by Frank Rich, New York Times, September 5th, 2004
• McCain: Miller May Cost Bush, by Janet Hook, LA Times, September 3, 2004
• The GOP's Dirty Z-Bomb, by E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, September 3, 2004
• Card says president sees America as a child needing a parent, by Sarah Schweitzer, Boston Globe, September 2, 2004
• Mr. Bush and the Truth About Terror, New York Times, September 2, 2004
• Cabin fever: Gay and lesbian Republicans are going on television to denounce their own party's 'vicious' agenda, by Matthew Wells from New York, The Guardian [UK], September 1, 2004
• Anti-Bush Protesters Disrupt Convention Session, Reuters, Sep 1, 2004
• The Bush Mob Orders Up a Hit, David Corn, The Nation, 09/02/2004
  "I can't believe they're doing it again, and getting away with it." So said a Republican strategist not keen on George W. Bush, referring to the attack being waged against John Kerry. "The Bush gang did it to John McCain four years ago. They're doing it now to Kerry. They're like the mob."
• Eleven Public Opinion Insights on the Election Many indicators are close calls as the GOP convention ends, Gallup Organization, Sept. 2, 2004
• At Least 900 Arrested in City as Protesters Clash With Police, by Diane Cardwell and Marc Santora, New York Times, September 1, 2004
• GOP has dol-fun with Dems, Lloyd Grove, New York Daily News, August 29, 2004
• Spinsanity.com: The nation's leading watchdog of manipulative political rhetoric.
• Marchers Denounce Bush as They Pass G.O.P. Convention Hall, by Christine Hauser, New York Times, August 29, 2004
• Mayhem fears as protesters target Bush, by Rupert Cornwell, The Independant [UK], 29 August 2004
• NYC Police Arrest 250 in Bicycle Protest, ASSOCIATED PRESS, August 28, 2004
• Kerry for President: Four years ago, this page endorsed George W. Bush for president. We cannot do so again — because of an ill-conceived war and its aftermath, undisciplined spending, a shrinkage of constitutional rights and an intrusive social agenda., Seattle Times, August 27, 2004
• Damaged Goods, by William Greider, The Nation, August 26, 2004
• Getting Kicks Out of Iraq, by Matthew Yglesias, The American Prospect, August 25, 2004
• The FBI's Pre-Emptive Interrogations Of "Possible" Demonstrators: Chilling Political Speech, by Bob Barr, FindLaw, August 25, 2004
• The Rambo Coalition, by Paul Krugman, New York Times, August 24, 2004
• Anger as Bush bids to exploit Olympic games, by Lawrence Donegan, The Guardian Unlimited, August 23, 2004
• Iraqi Olympic Team Berates Bush for ‘Iraq Crimes’, IslamOnline.net, August 21, 2004
• The Republican War Against Vietnam Veterans: First John McCain, then Max Cleland, now John Kerry--the Republican attack machine says Vietnam veterans are crazy and are frauds, By Stewart Nusbaumer, Intervention Magazine, August 15, 2004
• Never a hostile question for campaigning Bush, AFP, Aug 14, 2004
• Editorial: Bush is wrong, Kerry is wrong, The Capital Times, August 14, 2004
• VP raises `sensitive' war issue: Jabs at Kerry remarks, By David R. Guarino, Boston Herald, August 13, 2004
• Faith vs. Reason, By Eleanor Clift, Newsweek, Aug. 13, 2004
• Cheney Slams Kerry 'Sensitive' War Plea: Vice President Dick Cheney Slams Candidate John Kerry's Call for 'More Sensitive' War on Terror, The Associated Press, Aug. 12, 2004
• Campaigns spar on war leadership: Bush and Kerry turn up heat on who's fitter as commander in chief. By Liz Marlantes, The Christian Science Monitor, August 13, 2004
• On new anti-Kerry ads, Bush misses opportunity to walk high road of 'uniter', Chuck Raasch, USA Today, August 12, 2004
• Supporters' Words: If Republicans want candidates to be responsible for remarks made by their supporters, Bush has a lot of things to explain. By Mick Youther, Intervention Magazine, August 8th, 2004
• Rock pushes against Bush, by Ben Rayner, Toronto Star, August 8th, 2004

Election Resources:

• America Coming Together
• Help Turn Out Swing State Kerry Voters: How Many Hours Can You Commit?
• Go where it counts most for Election Day: MoveOnPac.org
• http://www.blackboxvoting.com/
• Current Electoral Vote Preditctor, 2004
• Mission NOT Accomplished
• http://www.fundrace.org/
• http://www.evote.com/
• The League of Independent Voters: a new national 501(c)4 membership organization (project of Tides Tsunami Fund) formed to build a massive long-term national progressive constituency
• Democracy For America The old Dean For America machine retooled
• Vote, Run, Lead is a national nonpartisan mobilization initiative to activate young American women to engage in political participation -- from voting to running for political office
• Local Victory: Your Guide to Winning Local Elections Ok, this is a How to get Republicans into Office site, but it helps to know their plans, and what works for them, will work for Dems and progressives too!