Russia elects Putin successor in tarnished poll

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

MOSCOW (AFP) - Large numbers of Russians voted Sunday in a presidential election slammed by foreign and domestic critics as rigged in favour of Vladimir Putin's chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev.

Medvedev's victory was a foregone conclusion following a campaign where Russia's heavily censored television networks rammed home the message that he is heir to Putin, who is expected to become prime minister to keep a key role in the world's leading energy exporter.

Opinion polls predicted 42-year-old Medvedev, currently first deputy premier and head of gas monopoly Gazprom, would win at least 60 percent of the vote.

None of the other candidates -- Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, populist nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and the almost unknown Andrei Bogdanov -- presented a serious challenge.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080302/wl_afp/russiavote_080302154429;_

[tom_paine]

1. They are using the Amerikan model of "elections"

It always makes me laugh to see the Imperial News criticizing Putin when all he is doing is EXACTLY what the Bushies do, only a little more intensely and a little more openly, due to the fact that Russia has no longstanding traditions of freedom and relatively free elections to fall back on, as we do here and as makes our Bushies camoflauge themseleves and their BushPutinist electoral activities.

The Bushies need PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY, the Putinskis don't. That's the only real difference between our two nations nowadays. All else is window dressing, for bad or good.

[democrat2thecore]

4. The difference is that Russia is enamored with Putin - America can't wait to get rid of Bush -nt

[tom_paine]

10. Are you sure about that? Perhaps their love of Putin is as much of a lie as Amerika's love of Bush.

From afar, it couyld easily look like Amerika is enamored of Bushler. After all, no one challenges his diktats, and he has not been charged with any crimes, in spite of committing dozens.

Our TV blowhard punditocracy still loves him and covers for him to an amazing extent.

Who is to say Russia is any different, and how would we know if it was?

I'll say it again: Amerika and Russia are run by the same form of government. Our version only leaves the sheep to sleep a little while longer, thus it is so "nice" compared to BushPutinist Russia.

How much longer do you think THAT is going to last? A generation? Two? Probably a lot less.

[democrat2thecore]

13. Are you a Democrat? What's with the 'k' in place of 'c' in America?

Just because our current administration is a gang of thieves does not mean our country is something to be mocked with the use of "Amerika".....I don't get it....what does it symbolize to you? (The 'k') Do you have no hope for a better America? This country has had its ups and downs, but resorting to renaming your country with a 'k' is not anything either Obama or Clinton would want to be associated with. I guarantee you that. Seriously though, I wish you would explain what the use of 'k' instead of 'c' means to you. Maybe it's a generational thing.

The Trotskyists use that 'k' thing a lot. Do you consider yourself a Trotskyist? I'm really curious.

[tom_paine]

14. Yes, I am a small 'd' democrat and even something of a Democrat.

In fact, I daresay there is a VERY good chance that over the last three elections, I have been a better big D Democrat than you.

Over the course of 2002, 2004, and 2006, I devoted at least 100 or more person-hours to canvassing, phone-banking, data-entry and envelope-stuffing all while holding down a full-time job. Plus, in each of the last three "elections" I took the day off of work to drive people to the polls and otherwise fully support the Democratic Party. Oh, plus more than $1,000 in donations to various Democratic candidates and causes (not including environmental or other stuff not directly affiliated with the Democratic Party)...and I am no rich guy, lower-middle class and YES I could have used that money for other things. No such thing as "disposable income" in my tax bracket.

So, yes, there are my bona fides. Can you say you have done more? If you can, well that's fine, but don't cast aspersions on MY work and efforts on behalf of the Democratic Party.

America is the nation which existed from 7/4/1776-12/12/2000, and for all it's faults and flaws was a truly great nation right up until the date of it's death. Old America. Free America. The United States of America. What a great place to live! I remember it well.

Amerika, or Imperial Amerika, just came into existence on the ashes of Free America. It is a dark hearted place and bears much resemblance to Russia or China, when you strip away the bullshit. Hell, the Russian or Chinese Congresses may have MORE power than the Amerikan Congress nowadays. The Amerikan Congress is a mostly ceremonial, powerless and pointless organ, like the Roman Senate. Imperial Amerika is ruled by fiat and imperial will, intimidation and money. The peasantry has little to say about it, though our Rulers sure do put on a fine show every two years. Just like the Caesars kept the trappings of their Old Republic around to fool the sheep into believing they were free...until there was nothing they/we could do about it anymore.

You ask, "Do I have no hope for a better Amerika, or to put it more aptly a restoration of the Old American Republic?" Sure I do. I just need to see some action to stand up to the Ruling Bushies and reestablish a Nation of Laws, to restore the legislative branch as a coequal, to repair our untrustworthy and badly parasitized, if not outrightly rigged, "voting" system, to break the media conglomerates up, to name just a few key issues that differentiate the nation we were born into from the nation we live in now...a wholly different nation.

But we have seen none of that, or such inconsequential actions as to be nonexistent or worse, window-dressing itself.

You ask me about MY country. This thing I live in is not my country, no more than Nazi Germany was the country of my fellow Jews. MY country died on 12/12/2000 and I pray for it's restoration. I just have no illusions about the likelihood of ever going back (~5% chance, I would guess). History shows that once formerly free nations (relatively-speaking) taste the tyrant's lash and do not stand against it, said nations seldom return to a condition of freedom without great cataclysm. Don't blame me for history's clear message regarding Imperial Amerika and the likelihood of it ever being free again.

As to what Clinton or Obama would think of me, I could care less. If I am to be brutally honest about the party I have belonged to since I first registered at age 18 and have so strongly supported in particular these past seven years, the one word that comes to mind is "fear". We Democrats are so goddamned afraid of the Bushies it makes me puking sick. And if you don't think it doesn't extend both up and down the ladder, let me say that working on more than one campaign I have heard my fellow Democrats speak fear when bold words are needed..."we don't want to piss off the Republicans."

Maybe, just maybe if you give it some thought as to why we are all so scared to piss of the Republicans while they piss and shit on us and the Constitution at every waking minute, you will begin to understand the difference between Old America and the semi-totalitarian cesspool of moral and fiscal bankruptcy we live in today.

Bottom line: A Clinton or Obama victory in November, if that will even be allowed by Diebold, the Bushie vote-stealers and stuffers, and the Democrats who are so afraid of being labeled "sore losermen" that they frequently HELP the Bushies sweep electoral fraud investigations under the rug (one example of many - Christine Buchanan in Florida 2006, Google it), does not automatically restore the United States of America.

Finally, I am NOT a Trotskyite. I am a great believer in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, not to mention the vision of the Founding Fathers. You might want to look to David Horowitz, Michael Savage, Grover Norquist and other Vile Bushies for Trotskyites who have turned their evil to the service of capitalist tyrants instead of commie tyrants. Bolsheviks are like Bushies...JUST like them, the ONLY difference is the economic rationale behind the lying, stealing, fraud, and other criminal activity masquerading as a government.

There's your answer.

[FarCenter]

2. Medvedev seems like the best choice

Zyuganov is a warmed-over communist who's been around since the Gorbachev/Yeltsin era.

Zhirinovski is a facist.

Don't know about Bogdanov -- probably the capitalist stooge...

[democrat2thecore]

3. The bottom line is Putin is HUGELY popular in Russia

Having been there last August, I can tell you that the Russian people feel Putin has brought Russia "back" and "restored a sense of pride." I heard it, and similar things over and over. The country is on its feet economically and just because many in the U.S. have an agenda that must include not liking Putin - them are the facts. (As they say.)

- edit to correct spelling.

[PittPoliSci]

5. you're exactly correct.

the biggest problem is how we structured their economy post-soviet collapse. the entire nation went into a deep depression, and the result was that putin was able to rise out of it, bring people together, and raise the standard of living for most russians. it makes perfect sense that he is overwhelmingly popular.

[maryallen]

6. "rammed home the message that he is heir to Putin ..."

The propaganda sounds vaguely familiar.
Like American media, perhaps?

How low we have fallen ...

[ConcernedCanuk]

7. Interesting, they don't call the ELECTION tarnished, they call the poll tarnished..

.
.
.

And while it certainly looks like the expected winner will be the victor,

It's not unanimous by any stretch - 65% at present.

Medvedev leading in election, 23% of votes counted

02.03.2008, 22.07


"MOSCOW, March 2 (Itar-Tass) -- Dmitry Medvedev is leading in the Russian presidential election as 23.8% of votes are counted.

The current rating of presidential candidates is the following:

Dmitry Medvedev – 65.4%,

Gennady Zyuganov – 19.5%,

[LisaL]

8. Well,

what exactly makes this poll tarnished?
The fact that one candidate was way more popular than the others?
Hmm...

[New Dawn]

9. US corporate media doesn't like any of the candidates in the race

Therefore, the election is "not fair."

And I'm sure there really is some ballot stuffing and vote stealing going on, but that happens in US elections too. So I'm not impressed by the hypocritical "outrage" of the corporate media about this election.

[LisaL]

11. It doesn't seem there was any need for ballot stuffing, considering

how far ahead one candidate was compared to others.

[daleo]

12. Time for Bush to go look into this guy's eyes

And check out his soul for us.