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Jews for Buchanan: Did You Hear the One About the Theft of the American Presidency?

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Remember the TV pundits trying so hard to convince us that the Bush presidency really began on 9/11? Don't let them fool you--the details of vote robbing, fraud, abuse of power, and political chicanery that played out in Florida, courtesy of the Bush family and GOP operative Katherine Harris, have been researched and presented in very convincing fashion by John Nichols. Until I read this book I thought I was pretty well up to speed on the Florida election fiasco. I was wrong: Jews for Buchanan not only has much to add about the infamous butterfly ballot (designed by a Texas firm, by the way!) but also goes into depth about such under-reported (or outright censured) aspects as the real extent of African-American voter disenfranchisement. The book is rich in details. For instance, I didn't know that there is a Bush cousin working at Fox who succeeding in manipulating that station's news coverage.

The saga is recounted with an appopriate touch of light humor (much needed, because the information is enough to make you scream and cry), with fascinating sidebars throughout focussing on particular technical or "human interest" aspects. It is extremely well-written.

I promise you will never look at Bush and his clique the same way again. It has stirred me to become more politically active, and to start paying close attention to this Administration and its media lackeys.

What took place last autumn in Florida was one of the most extraordinary episodes in U.S. history. In 100 years it will be much discussed and analyzed. Yet our mainstream media coverage -- weighted down by extraordinary political pressures -- have done a dreadful job of shedding light on what actually happened, how it happened, and why; perhaps becuase the media themselves are a significant part of the story.

Along comes John Nichols, one of the top political journalists in the country, with this brilliant evaluation of the events in Florida over those five weeks. Nichols nails down the story, and does so in a remarkably entertaining manner. Folks, for those of you unfamiliar with the territory, this is what journalism looks like.

The present War and the call for everyone to bow down to our "maximum leader" may undercut some of the attention this book would have received otherwise. (For those who think it improper to criticize the president, I urge you to look at how the press treated Linclon during the Civil War. Lincoln, a democratic figure, not the bumbling heir to a dynasty, took it in stride.)But it shouldn't. This book really cuts through the lies and propaganda and gets to the truth of the matter. And it is not as pretty picture, as a commentary on the caliber of our political culture today.

(...)

The British philosopher Lord Acton said, "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." Numerous patriotic Americans have given their lives throughout history initially in revolution and later in wars to provide us with a democracy and to help preserve it.

Author-journalist John Nichols reveals the theft of democracy by the Bush campaign team and, ultimately, the United States Supreme Court in the 2000 presidential election. Not one for small talk, Nichols, as the current saying goes, "cuts quickly to the chase." He writes about the prevasive influence of George W. Bush's first cousin, John Ellis of Fox News, in making the initial call of Bush as the "winner" of the hotly contested race, along with the masterly spin operation which prompted all other television networks to quickly follow. From that point Bush was the presumptive president-elect and efforts by the Gore team to secure a definitive recount of Florida voters would be dubbed as the efforts of a "sore loser." Much attention is also devoted by Nichols to the successful efforts on the part of Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the candidate's younger brother, and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, a George Bush "co-campaign chair" to disqualify African American voters in Florida, resulting in the estimated disqualification of 31% of the state's elegible African Americans on the state's voting roles. The effort did not stop there as roadblocks were erected in heavily African American precincts while, among those who attempted to vote, many ballots were discarded. Also covered in detail by Nichols is the "Butterfly Ballot" controversy in Palm Beach County. He reveals there was indeed judicial precedent for the revote which the petitioners sought.

Another excellent element of Nichols' brilliantly researched effort is his closing reference sources, in which he invites interested citizens to investigate deeper, supplying a treasure trove of sources to facilitate such efforts.

This is an excellent account of the travesty in Florida that resulted not only in the theft of the American presidency, but the death of American democracy as we know it. This book serves as a chilling warning of how the democratic process can fail under the weight of corruption, incompetence, and partisanship.

John Nichols has written a great book, the best of a number on the debacle known as the Presidential Election of 2000. And, its a hot title, which is great because finally people outside his home of Madison, Wisconsin, and outside the readership of small lefty journals get to discover his incisive wit and great progressive analysis. That 's one of the best things about this book - it gets Nichols finally out to the large audience he deserves. We need this guy. All those bland right-to-far-right talking heads that dominate the media - yuck. Let's see Mr. Nichols reach the audience he deserves. Move over pundits, and let Johnny take over. This man has heart and mind and uses both brilliantly.

Conceived in a breezy, almost soundbite manner, "Jews for Buchanan" gets right to the heart of the matter by throwing the hard facts at the reader. This is a book which one should lend (or buy copies and give) to any friends who are skeptical that partisan chicanery took place in Florida not just on 2000 election night but well before November 7th. This concise book shows how a perfect storm of deceit, incompetence, and opportunism robbed Al Gore of the Florida electoral votes and ultimately dragged the unwilling Supreme Court into the mess. We've experienced a lot of pain as a nation in the past three years since 9/11/01, a lot of it would have been prevented had the press and courts immediately and carefully examined the rolls of those "ex-felons" who were purged from voter rolls. The recount of undervotes and overvotes and chads isn't what mattered: the blatant disenfranchisement of African Americans is the real story, thousands of whose names were almost at random struck from voting. This willfully inept procedure virtually guaranteed a Bush win before November 7th.

I want to know what really happened with the Butterfly Ballot issue in Florida and why. I highly recommend this book to all readers who have had the same questions and also to those who hold their votes and democracy sacred. Jews for Buchanan: The Theft of the American Presidency provides the truth about an election run amuck. John Nichols and David Deschamps provide a compelling and true narrative on WHY elections such as Election 2000 should never happen again and give reason to why it is certainly justifiable that the registered Democratic voters who were turned away and who intended to vote for Gore on the Butterfly Ballot should have been allowed a second chance to vote for President in Election 2000.

Katherine Harris, Chairperson of the Bush campaign in Florida, took a number of partisan actions prior to, during, and after the election that obviously aided here candidate. Prior to the election she had all ex-felons from all states deleted from the rolls (even those whose civil rights had been restored; 31% were black males, vs. statewide average of about 5% - a group that heavily favored Gore). During the election many/most were not offered affidavit ballots that would under go later verification and counting (a legal requirement).

A five-month review by USA Today, Miami Herald, and KnightRidder papers of 171,908 discarded ballots led to a USA Today article concluding that Gore should have "decisively won Florida and the White House." Roughly 3% of the "overvotes" (two or more candidates marked) made a clear choice for Gore and would have brought him victory (Miami Herald). Counties for Bush accepted 60% of overseas ballots, vs. 20% in those for Gore, using a deliberate pro-Bush strategy, according to the New York Times.

Butterfly Ballots: Buchanan estimated that only 300 - 400 of the 3,407 votes he got in Palm Beach were for him - the rest were intended for Gore. There were also about 10,000 overvotes for Buchanan + Gore - Buchanan estimated that 95-98% should have gone to Gore.

Tom Delay (Republican House Whip) initiated a "riot" of outsiders (mostly Republican aides) to disrupt/delay the Miami recount - was never finished prior to the arbitrary Harris deadline, and would have turned the election around.

Nichols ends by calling for specific revisions to election laws and procedures.

My view is that any candidate that does not stand for honesty and fairness should not be elected. Based on Bush's dishonest McCain-bashing in the South Carolina primary I should have voted for Gore, and am ashamed that I did not.

This is a GREAT book about the 2000 election, Florida's electoral bungle and much much more that went into George W. Bush becoming President DESPITE not receiving the majority of the popular vote. Nichols puts so much evidence into play about the Florida mess that one can hardly not be convinced of who really won the presidency. Great stuff on racism, siblings in power, voting systems, outright lunacy and more. Loads of information, but more importantly its very funny! Excellent cartoons, writings from Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Nader, and a great one-on-one conversation with Pat Buchanan after the election. (Pat thinks the election was stolen too!) I highly recommend this book.

In this treatise, John Nichols provides a wealth of information which explain how personal bias and petty ambition led to an election outcome that produced the first court-appointed president of the United States.

Reform Party candidate Pat Buchannan ended up receiving an abnormally high percentage of Jewish votes--a rather interesting concept in light of his less than favorable public comments about this group of people. The mass media, shortstaffed, and already enamored with the slick media image that is dubya did not devote serious resources to investigating election discrepancys and political connections.

Although I usually find myself at extreme odds with Mr. Buchannan's idea of "good public policy", the very fact that he also recognized the large percentage of votes could have not possibly been intended for him was indicative that something was trully rotten in the Sunshine state.