"Cattle (& election) thieves should be hung": My very first DU post & why it's still relevant today

[Fly by night]

Back on December 13, 2004 (when I had been a DUer for all of nine days), I posted my first DU response to a William Pitt OP which suggested that those of us who were incensed by the (second) theft of our White House by Bush should "just get over it". Will argued that there was no way that Kerry would be allowed to accept the Presidency, despite the rapidly mounting evidence in Ohio and elsewhere that the election had been stolen. Here's the thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x151694

I wanted to post my newbie response to Will's thread back then because I still believe the same things now; that is, cattle (& election) thieves should be hung. Here's my response way back then:
—

"Here in southern middle Tennessee, I've raised cattle for about three decades. Let's say I get a new neighbor who moves in from Texas wearing a big cowboy hat but without any cattle when he arrived. But, after a few weeks, I notice that my fences are cut, some of my cattle are missing and my 'neighbor' is sporting a new herd that looks suspiciously like the cattle I am missing. Let me tell you straight out that it would not be enough for me to fix my fences, to label my 'all hat/formerly no cattle' neighbor as a thief in the community, for me to tell him I had my eye on him or even for him to tell me he wouldn't do it again. I would damn well want my cattle back right then, just before I (and my neighbors) encouraged him to move on down the road. And if he wouldn't go fast enough, we wouldn't hesitate to call my backhoe-owning neighbor for a little small-scale toxic waste removal (big hat and all).

"If the Bushies stole this election in Ohio, I want MY White House back NOW. I also want to know how many other states' votes were contaminated by their elephant dung because there are likely many other down-ticket races (including here in Tennessee) that were also stolen and whose results would need to be reversed NOW. I would also want to know if there were immediate vacancies NOW in a federal prison I had bought and paid for with my tax money to house anyone and everyone involved in this treason.

"But first and foremost, I want MY White House and my democratic process back NOW. Because let's face it, folks. If the Bushies get away with this one, the process isn't breaking down -- it is broken. It doesn't need looking at or studying, it needs fixing or forgetting about. And if we don't fix it now, I'll have to agree with my country neighbors who say they didn't vote because the ‘powers that be' just put in office who they want anyway. I used to argue with them about that point, but I'd have to agree with them if the Bushies are allowed to keep what they will keep telling us they got because it just 'fell off the truck'. (Musta just been a 'glitch' in their giddy-yup. Yeah, right.)

"This country -- and the democratic process it's founded on -- is worth fighting for. Not next time -- now. If Bush did not earn the White House, I'm not going to reward him for stealing it 'fair and square'. Around here, we finally have our media (the Nashville CBS affiliate who covered our ‘51 Capitals' rally yesterday and our local NPR affiliate) saying the ‘F' word (fraud) three times on-air in the past 24 hours (and continuing to say it on their web-site.) And no one around here takes kindly to people who assume power by ‘F'ing us over, regardless of whether some of us were once willing to let the ‘F'ers kiss us ahead of time or not.

"Now is the time to do everything necessary not to reward bad behavior -- even for a minute. So I hope you do have to treat a lot of hardworking DU ‘F'-busters with champagne. As for me, you can buy me a cup of coffee at my local diner -- and buy one for all my other yellow dog and honorable Republican neighbors who'll be happy to tell you what we do with cattle thieves around here, whether they're charming kinfolk or not. And it doesn't involve slapping them on the wrist and looking the other way. Peace, out."
---

The evidence that the Rethugs are once again engaged in election theft is already accumulating in West Virginia, Ohio, New Mexico, Tennessee and likely every other state where anyone is looking. Despite the overwhelming numbers of endorsements for Obama from conservative Republicans and conservative major newspapers, we have McCain stating in the past 24 hours that he expects to win a "narrow" victory. Unlike 2004 (where the race actually looked close), there is NO reason to believe that McCain has a snowball's chance in Hell to win this race. If he does, the White House will most likely have been stolen (again).

What I said back in late 2004 is still true: "If the (McCainiacs) get away with this one, the process isn't breaking down -- it is broken. It doesn't need looking at or studying, it needs fixing or forgetting about." Well, I am still here four years later and our election system still remains embarrassingly (and unnecessarily) vulnerable, despite our ceaseless efforts from ER/DUers and thousands of other "small d" democrats to mend it. This time around, if OUR White House gets stolen again, I say fuck "fixing" or "forgetting" about anything.

This time, the "F" word will be "FIGHT". If the Rethug trolls on this forum don't believe that, just hide and watch. But pick a very good hiding place. Personally, I would recommend Alaska. Or Argentina.

[Fly by night]

1. Another DUer just told me the word is "hanged", not hung. (Oops)

Too late to edit the OP. Oh well.

If I thought stealing cattle (or elections), would make me better hung, I might be tempted....

Not really

[Kurovski]

2. K&R.

Thanks, Fbn. :hi:

[sarchasm]

3. This is a fight I would gladly sign up for.

I've already voted. I'm proud to have cast my vote for the first African-American President of the United States.

[Fly by night]

4. I'm honored to be the recipient of your first post.

Welcome to DU.

[sarchasm]

5. It's an election of firsts ...

.. and I live in TN as well. I've been trolling for a while now and I've decided to finally chime in.

[FlyingSquirrel]

10. Hell, just the first duly elected president in 8 years would be nice. n/t

[Psyop Samurai]

6. k&r..., with you wholeheartedly, Fly by night. /nt

[demodonkey]

7. Rec #5 -- Happy to send this great post to the greatest page for my friend Fly By Night...

... and his 2004 post is still soooooo true. NEVER GIVE UP (even when we think we are winning!)

[bertman]

8. Highly recommend. IF WE DO HAVE TO FIGHT THIS TIME, we will have to deal with the

Republicans AND the Democrats.

Because if this election gets stolen again it will be as much, if not moreso, the fault of the Democratic leadership. Those clowns, Pelosi, Reid, the Clintons and their DLC pals, have been acting like they can't smell that huge dog turd that's all over the bottom of their shoes. We serfs are pointing and sniffing and telling them they need to go outside and clean off the mess, but they act like everything is just fine.

We wouldn't be anywhere near this mess if the Democratic leadership had started pounding on this right after '04--nevermind '00. But, for some reason, likely called corporate campaign money, they have decided that the Republic is safe with the Republican touch-screen, no-paper-trail voting machines.

I'm pretty sure that Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Addams, Franklin and the rest of the early Americans would have dealt with this long before it got to this stage.

[bleever]

9. I think there's a different perspective now.

Now it's understood in a much broader way that election fraud is a significant national issue, and that crying foul now is no longer easily dismissed as being a sore loser.

Brooks Brothers riots and outrageous misallocation of voting machines won't fly this time, nor will reams of instances of vote-flipping be ignored by the corporate media.

Looking back, I see that I agreed with you then, and I agree with you now.

This time we win.

[Fly by night]

11. I agree that the corporate media is finally covering this issue.

That is a blessing, as is the incompetence of our opponents this time around. It IS easier to steal a close election -- here's hoping and praying that Obama/Biden keep widening the lead in the next two weeks.