READER COMMENTS ON

"'Think Progress' Smears BRAD BLOG Coverage of Voting Machine Concerns as 'Conspiracy Theory'"

(75 Responses so far...)





COMMENT #1 [Permalink]

... GWN said on 10/23/2012 @ 7:03 am PT...





Reading the comments (170+) it looks like the majority are well informed on electronic voting but you do have 5-6 comments saying but,Soros, Soros,Soros owns voting machines. What a slap on the face eh.

COMMENT #2 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 10/23/2012 @ 7:25 am PT...





Brad: they're getting like the Huffington Post. Recently, TP (toilet paper?) APOLOGIZED for saying "Israeli Firster". http://www.commentarymag...progress-israel-firster/ So that tells me they bend to complaints that they're not "official mainstream". Official Story = protect "officials".

COMMENT #3 [Permalink]

... Robert said on 10/23/2012 @ 7:38 am PT...





Brad...conspiracy or not...our country is being shredded by the wingers by any means necessary...The voting machines have been proven to be inaccurate to begin with...and without a paper trail we cannot really know the truth...Instead of arguing about who is or who could, we should be talking about the solution to this dilemma...which is a public counting of the ballots and reporting results locally before sending results in...Brad we are in a battle of the ballot box...we need to take back our electoral process from the private sector...if we are to survive as a real democracy...we the People, have to fight for our rights, and keep these corporate terrorists from whittling away any more of our rights. Keep doing what you are doing, Brad, and thanks for keeping watch...

COMMENT #4 [Permalink]

... David Lasagna said on 10/23/2012 @ 7:42 am PT...





Apparently Humpty Dumpty has many offspring, people who without reservation believe that words mean whatever they chose them to mean. Seems to me there's a lot of this going around whether the subject is Iran, the president's hit list, climate change, our faith-based voting systems, etc. As this latest and incredibly maddening example demonstrates, this sort of magic thinking is not the sole preserve of wingnuts.

COMMENT #5 [Permalink]

... Karen said on 10/23/2012 @ 8:14 am PT...





Its one thing for Think Progress to have a writer make duh a claim but to have editor back it instread of correct it and to under handily remove their swipe at more established Forbes to better be able to stick to unsubstantiated claims against individual blogger is ridiculous, and infuriating. To deny possibility that electronic vote count machines could be rigged, hacked, easily, is journalistic malpractice. Seriously, think progress is doing worse than Fox news in this case, they are saying we, the American people, shouldnt be concerned about the security of vote counting computer systems, because they know (based on nothing, no evidence presented) better than Forbes, Truth out, various Sec of States who all have done thorough investigations and all have concerns.

The whole country is having numerous media debates about a very small problem, voter fraud that can occur if voter not ID'd, and legislation is being passed about this small election security issue but Think Progress says that we shouldn't be concerned about security of uncheckable software vote counting systems?!? And calls Brad Blog and Forbes, and by implication, various Secs of States, conspiracy theorist?!?

COMMENT #6 [Permalink]

... Lora said on 10/23/2012 @ 8:18 am PT...





Hey Brad.... these days in journalism, "will" is the new "can," and IOKIYAR or a stooge of the R. I saw some headline or other (one of many that have enraged me of recent months, or is it years?): went something like "Will taxes be less under Romney?" Yeah, "will." Not...If Romney wins, will taxes be less?" Not... "Could taxes be less under Romney?" I remember thinking, oh, the fix is in, is it? So he won already? More like, they wanted people to get the idea fixed in their minds that he's already won... and so affect the vote slightly to his benefit. Never have I seen a recent headline. "Will the economy rebound under Obama?" So your despicable TP "colleagues" are just following in the other pseudojournalists' footsteps in helping to promote the Repugs in every way possible. You made your point very, very clearly. That they refused to acknowledge it is incredibly dishonest. You might ask them who first told them you were such a moral hazard that they needed to slap you down the way they did... it might prove interesting.

COMMENT #7 [Permalink]

... Des said on 10/23/2012 @ 8:44 am PT...





Wow. Classic reading comprehension problem. "Can" does not mean "will". Never has. Never will. Or can, for that matter.. Removing Forbes so quickly indicates the DC corporate media rules his world. Taking the side of the uninformed Chuck Todd indicates Legum is actually a Villager, deep iInside the Village bubble, currying favor for his next job. Dont want to insult the master, you know. What a shame.

COMMENT #8 [Permalink]

... colinjames1971 said on 10/23/2012 @ 9:13 am PT...





For the last year plus TP has held the #1 spot on my news aggregator app on my phone. Brad Blog has been #2. I saw the TP piece yesterday and was absolutely HORRIFIED by the smear. I scoured the article here, parsing the language, and came to a swift conclusion. I stand firmly in Brad Blog's corner. This is worse than when I found out John Elway is a douchebag, which happenned BEFORE I found out he was a right wing douchebag, btw. Total Dick. But I digress. Somebody from up high in the Party Apparatchik had to be behind this. To remove Forbes without notice, but leave the rest of the article untouched (am I correct in that?) only reinforces that belief. This is the same kind of magical thinking that prevented LBJ from calling out Nixon on the Vietnam peace treaty deal. Look where that got 'em. TP and the democratic party should heed your words. I'm tired of Brad getting no credit when his reporting is pilfered without acknowledgemnt. But to be smeared by an otherwise great (however one-sided and biased) organization, well, that's just messed up. As The Dude would say, The Dude does not abide. I think I got that right. You get the point. Strongly-worded letter of condemnation coming their way.

COMMENT #9 [Permalink]

... Lora said on 10/23/2012 @ 9:32 am PT...





From the Forbes article (which protested over and over again that NO ONE would EVER attempt to hack the vote --- at least not those nice folks who bought Hart Intercivic): Really, guys. You couldn’t find anything else to invest in? You couldn’t donate all those hundreds of thousands to charity rather than put it into political contributions so that your fellow countrymen would have no reason to ever doubt or question the results of so important an election—or any election for that matter, even if it’s the choice of a county dogcatcher? Yeah, really, guys. Couldn't you have kept your ties to Romney under wraps instead of being so goll-darn blatant about it? Now geez, people might actually look up from their grazing and wonder what is going on --- not, of course that anything ever was, or ever is, or ever will be! These are the kind of people TP likes --- and that Forbes didn't blame anybody for anything ever was FAR more important that the facts they reported on! Because, y'know Brad, you're a distraction and all, making people worry about their vote. We ALL know that NOBODY would EVER MESS with our Wonderful Democratic Process! In Corporate Politicians We Trust!

COMMENT #10 [Permalink]

... Lora said on 10/23/2012 @ 9:52 am PT...





From "Why Romney Isn't Rigging Voting Machines:" However, there is absolutely no evidence that this crony capitalist network extends to interference with voting machines. Furthermore, Hart Intercivic machines are only being used in two counties in Ohio. Though it is not implausible that the election could come down to two Ohio counties, it seems like quite a gamble to plant these supposedly rigged machines so sparsely. Um, so yeah, like we didn't find any emails saying, you know, like, they're gonna hack the vote, so they just won't do it, right, and oh yeah, it's not gonna go down in Ohio in a couple a' counties, because that's where the whole problem might be, y'know, but there ISN'T any problem, we keep TELLIN' ya....

COMMENT #11 [Permalink]

... Kevin said on 10/23/2012 @ 10:14 am PT...





I had the same visceral reaction when I read that TP article. Using TP's whacked out logic, it'd be like saying "I've got the worst neighbors in the world... they plug in and take my electricity at night, use my water spigots when I'm not looking, go through my mail, take my dog's food to give to their own, and throw their trash over into my yard... They already do so many awful things, I can't see how they could possibly have the time or desired to break in and steal some things from my house."

COMMENT #12 [Permalink]

... Ezekiel said on 10/23/2012 @ 10:28 am PT...





Ed Schultz has a change of heart about discussions of voting machines being a, career killer. He is going all in on discussing Tagg's machines tonight. This should be interesting.

COMMENT #13 [Permalink]

... Floridiot said on 10/23/2012 @ 10:29 am PT...





See what happens if you don't kiss the toes of the corporate elite/Beltway media complex? j/k.

Keep on keepin' on Brad.

You're light years ahead of them on this.

COMMENT #14 [Permalink]

... nswfm said on 10/23/2012 @ 10:38 am PT...





Elway was a douchebag as far back as the 1982 Big Game. TP has just jumped the shark.

COMMENT #15 [Permalink]

... Karlof1 said on 10/23/2012 @ 10:41 am PT...





emailed TP through its Climate Progress site and demanded an immediate apology and correction or myself and everyone I know will toss TP and CP in the trash.

COMMENT #16 [Permalink]

... Randy D said on 10/23/2012 @ 10:47 am PT...





Why is TP suddenly the self-appointed thought police for the left? They've also taken it upon themselves this week to decide which movies Hollywood actors can appear in or not. Bizarre.

COMMENT #17 [Permalink]

... Sue Wilson said on 10/23/2012 @ 11:13 am PT...





This is at once unbelievable and yet expected. Mainstream Democrats have stuck their collective heads in the sand over electronic voting machines (owned by whomever) which have been proven to flip votes to Republican candidates, and which have NO paper trails to allow manual recounts. These same Dems also ignore the role of Right Wing media makers in winning elections for the GOP. Shame on them all, starting with Think Progress, for decimating Democracy. This is why I cannot bring myself to register as a Democrat. I have been waiting a long time for them to grow a spine, now it looks more like a tail.

COMMENT #18 [Permalink]

... colinjames1971 said on 10/23/2012 @ 11:16 am PT...





Elway was my childhood sports hero! Oh I was so bummed. I'll just say I have eyewitness testimony to douchebaggery on a grand scale at a restaurant "tangentially linked" to the one I worked at. Tangentially linked (my new favorite term) as in owned and operated by the same exact people, 20-ish miles away from one another. Just sent a message to TP after commenting on the post. By the reader comments I saw, they didn't assuage any concerns by anyone who appeared to have a brain who wasn't a troll, so, I do believe it was one epic FAIL!!!!!!!!!

COMMENT #19 [Permalink]

... Dredd said on 10/23/2012 @ 11:33 am PT...





Perhaps they are being all cocky because they feel that Romney is a liberal plant. Especially after last night's debate. Now that is a conspiracy theory fit for the DOJ. Shame on you Think Progress!

COMMENT #20 [Permalink]

... Bamboo Harvester said on 10/23/2012 @ 11:44 am PT...





Brad is on the Ed Schultz Radio show right now.

COMMENT #21 [Permalink]

... Ezekiel said on 10/23/2012 @ 11:49 am PT...





Thank god. Good job on the segment Brad. Made my day especially after reading harpers yesterday. Hope your on TV tonight.

COMMENT #22 [Permalink]

... Deborah Newell Tornello said on 10/23/2012 @ 12:05 pm PT...





As I have said several times in the past, and recently: Brad, you're doing God's work here. It truly sucks when your own allies criticize what you're doing and try to silence you with labels like "conspiracy theorist". Alas, I've had a similar experience--when I first wrote about the DHS coordinating with city police chiefs during the nationwide violent crackdown on peaceful Occupy protests, a prominent Alternet editor called me hysterical and said that I was letting fever dreams get the best of me. Turned out I was right, though. He never apologized, not even privately via e-mail. I think one has to develop very thick skin when one is reporting on such disturbing material as the possibility of our voting machines--and along with it, our very democracy--being compromised. People will tell themselves all manner of stories and will lash out at the messenger, if need be, in order to avoid facing such disturbing truths. And by "people", I of course include journalists. It might also have something to do with a bit of professional jealousy, who knows? But either way, in my view, there should be only one guiding motivation for a real journalist, and that is the desire to shine a light on the truth. And as such, you go where the facts lead you as you pursue that truth, changing your course or doubling down as necessary, but always letting the facts--the data, the science, the indisputable--guide you. Think Progress has lost its way here. For shame.

COMMENT #23 [Permalink]

... Al S. said on 10/23/2012 @ 12:09 pm PT...





Why not reference HBO's documentary "Hacking Democracy"? Link:

COMMENT #24 [Permalink]

... Al S. said on 10/23/2012 @ 12:11 pm PT...





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYIezJyhGWY (HTML tags did not work)

COMMENT #25 [Permalink]

... Dredd said on 10/23/2012 @ 12:13 pm PT...





The new name for TP is "Think Clueless" when it comes to the pathetic state of election technology in the U.S.eh?

COMMENT #26 [Permalink]

... karenfromillinois said on 10/23/2012 @ 12:16 pm PT...





addressing the theory that letting progressives know that vote counting is done in a concealed manner by private corporations will drive down turn out.....if progressives really understood what is happening they would realize the only protection we have against rigged machines is massive turn out...a recent article by bev said that republican voters names were listed twice in the particapating voters list in primaries and 3 times in general elections,while she did not assert that votes were counted twice,i think we get the idea that it is possible....

COMMENT #27 [Permalink]

... zapkitty said on 10/23/2012 @ 12:46 pm PT...





The CAP and TP have been in the veal pen for a long time. I'm a bit surprised it took this long for them to try to throw Brad under the bus.

COMMENT #28 [Permalink]

... GustavMahler said on 10/23/2012 @ 1:18 pm PT...





I did a quick review of TP site. The article cannot be found by scanning through the posts or looking at the Election 2012 articles. I only refound it by clicking on Brad's link to the article. I scanned through some comments and found none that agree with the article at all. Most are incredulous that the article finds no connection and say it is a conflict of interest. The same person wrote an article about the Ohio postcards with the wrong info on them and implies that this was done on purpose. Very strange. My opinion is that this is limited to the writer of the article and that one editor. Some of the other articles are very interesting and very left wing. I get no sense that TP is 'in the bag' for the right. Thom Hartmann is very close to TP and I wonder what his opinion is on this. I have a feeling he won't commit either way. He will have Brad on his show but will not burn the bridge to TP. It is a shame this has happened because I would think the 2 sites are on the same side. The main point should be, now that it is established that there is a link between the Romney family and these voting machines, what safeguards are in place to prevent the appearance of conflict of interest?

COMMENT #29 [Permalink]

... Grrrr! said on 10/23/2012 @ 2:08 pm PT...





How extremely ODD that TP, of all sites, would cry "conspiracy theory !" when none was ever set forth, and would also attempt to discredit you, Brad, when even a brief perusal of your blog instantly disproves that far-fetched slur. I suppose it'd be just too terribly "tin foil hat" of me to wonder why --- just whose tail did you step on to could elicit such a shrill attack ?

COMMENT #30 [Permalink]

... Rick H. said on 10/23/2012 @ 2:19 pm PT...





Gustav @ 28, Yes, it looks like the article's been removed from the main body of the site. It still shows in the "ELECTION" subsection of the site, currently the third article down.

COMMENT #31 [Permalink]

... Rick H. said on 10/23/2012 @ 2:29 pm PT...





Dickheads added a lame update, re Forbes pardon. UPDATE: This post previously included a Forbes piece that expresses concern about the conflict of interest presented by the Romneys� ties to Hart Intercivic. However, the piece includes a caveat that the author does not believe there will be any intentional foul play with voting machines.

COMMENT #32 [Permalink]

... Grrrr! said on 10/23/2012 @ 2:42 pm PT...





O/T Question: Is early voting a way to prevent or preclude any electronic voting fraud which might occur on election night ? IOW ... are early voting ballots in some way "pre-counted" ? Or are they also processed and tallied through e-voting machines ?

COMMENT #33 [Permalink]

... Luther Weeks said on 10/23/2012 @ 3:10 pm PT...





Last spring the AP mus-characterized, actually reversed, the meaning of some of my testimony to the state legislature, it was quoted in all sorts of newspapers online. But I saw it and called the AP. They changed it within minutes and it was corrected everywhere. My only regret was that in my haste I did not point out that they also did the same thing to another person who also testified on the same bill. We all make mistakes, but we should all be willing to correct them.

COMMENT #34 [Permalink]

... Floridiot said on 10/23/2012 @ 5:07 pm PT...





Well I guess if the media can somehow conflate vote machine ownership ties with voter registration fraud then they can claim both as a conspiracy theory. And then they don't have to report anything except, well, you get the drift. They work for the 1%, not us anymore.

The pattern of deception is becoming clearer.

COMMENT #35 [Permalink]

... Intercept Media said on 10/23/2012 @ 5:38 pm PT...





How much of a stretch could it be to even state that Romney's planing to fix this election in his favor? He's already done it in the primaries! I think it's a good idea to observe very carefully what you're bucking heads with. If they are using the hackneyed "conspiracy theorist" label to dismiss your descriptions of the precise mechanism for how the election may be rigged, welcome to the phony left/right paradigm. Bucked heads with it in AZ for long enough. Romney and his supporters have already demonstrated their intent to cheat. Think Progress does no damage to your site. In the long run, you make your site look a lot better.

COMMENT #36 [Permalink]

... Robert said on 10/23/2012 @ 5:40 pm PT...





To Whom It May Concern, I received an Emmy nomination for journalism for my coverage of election integrity issues in 2007 for my HBO documentary Hacking Democracy. The film was recognized by the academy for separating out all the conspiracy theory and making plain the journalistic facts. I would like to state for the record that there is simply no better source than Brad Friedman for consistent and well researched journalism, of the highest standards possible, on the issue of election integrity. None. Sincerely, Robert C. Cohen

producer

Public Interest Pictures

COMMENT #37 [Permalink]

... Intercept Media said on 10/23/2012 @ 5:45 pm PT...





By the way, Brad. The name and email I used for previous comments here have repeatedly failed the character test today when placing this comment. Switched to another name and email and voila! Up it goes. Can you check this and maybe let my name/email pass through the comments section on your site again? Thanks.

COMMENT #38 [Permalink]

... Philip Racuel said on 10/23/2012 @ 6:26 pm PT...





I will run this story on my little program tomorrow. I ran the TP story on Monday. I have read your site since we had am1360 here in San Diego and I met you at a festival at UCSD. I trust your work as opposed to corporate influenced werbsites. Shame on TP. I will think twice before I run any more of their pieces.

COMMENT #39 [Permalink]

... Mighty Dave said on 10/23/2012 @ 6:39 pm PT...





Brad, Positively disgusted here. I am writing solely to thank you and support you first. There is much to say on the topic, there are letters to Chuck Todd, TP etc we can and will write but I just feel like saying to you that you are a great person and vital force in this fight we call democracy.

You work so very hard and you work ONLY for honesty and fairness for all. I am sorry, I thank you, you are appreciated and sorely needed.

I hope this only makes you more determined because it is plain by the attention your getting that you are hitting the right spot. Push back and push back constantly. Keep your energy up, eat well and last long. And here's to Mike Malloy for blowing the horn for you! Sincerely, Mighty D

COMMENT #40 [Permalink]

... Queenvictrola said on 10/23/2012 @ 7:05 pm PT...





Lee is making a terrible error and if anything it will damage his reputation in the long run. I am so surprised with this coming from Lee Fang. I had such respect for him until now. I had always thought of him as a thinking, reasoning, really good investigative journalist. Here, I think he has slipped deeply in his thinking. He has not considered a plethora of FACTS that cannot be refuted. It is bad enough when the right wingnuts smears you and the MSM disses you but this coming from Lee Fang is very disturbing. Divide and conquer. That is the right'sMO and Lee is playing into their hands.

COMMENT #41 [Permalink]

... MsKitty said on 10/23/2012 @ 8:19 pm PT...





"Recent events show why election theft deserves much more scrutiny than it receives from either government officials or news reporters. Most dramatically, a federal judge has released the 2008 testimony of GOP IT guru Michael Connell, right. The Ohio resident died in a mysterious plane crash that year after anonymous warnings he would be killed if he testified about his work with Karl Rove and others helping the Bush-Cheney ticket win in 2000 and 2004." Andrew Kreig http://justice-integrity...sectionid=1&Itemid=1 Perhaps this testimony should be published?

COMMENT #42 [Permalink]

... MsKitty said on 10/23/2012 @ 8:26 pm PT...





http://markcrispinmiller...ourt-filing-reveals-all/ I know this is old news to Brad, but still very relevant if you are unfamiliar with it.

COMMENT #43 [Permalink]

... GWN said on 10/23/2012 @ 10:02 pm PT...





@Queenvictrola #40 This article is not about Lee Fang,who now works at the Nation.

COMMENT #44 [Permalink]

... Disillusioned said on 10/23/2012 @ 10:13 pm PT...





Notice that the Forbes article that was removed says regarding the voting machines: "each easily susceptible to chicanery that could alter the results of an election." Apparently "chicanery that could" is not "chicanery that will" for TP, at least when its published by Forbes. Its too sad that the democratic party and its affiliated movements are their own worst enemies at times.

COMMENT #45 [Permalink]

... Linda said on 10/23/2012 @ 11:25 pm PT...





Think Progress is just being Think Progress.

Some time ago, I used to blog regularly at Think Progress. There, I found it offensive as we were not allowed to post opinions concerning 9/11 as an inside job. With this, other annoyances and when they changed the blogging format most bloggers, the best, left and went here:

http://tpzoo.wordpress.com/

COMMENT #46 [Permalink]

... Floridiot said on 10/24/2012 @ 6:12 am PT...





Thanks Ms Kitty, your first link led me to this one... "New Court Filing Reveals How the 2004 Ohio Presidential Election Was Hacked" Project Censored named the outsourcing of Ohio's 2004 election votes to SmarTech in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a company owned by Republican partisans as one of the most censored stories in the world. We all need a refresher once in a while...

COMMENT #47 [Permalink]

... Louis Lemire said on 10/24/2012 @ 7:12 am PT...





Think Progress really went down hill some time back. All facebook buddies now. I no longer visit the site - too weird for me. That they've smeared Brad is no surprise. What do you expect from a site that entertains children?

COMMENT #48 [Permalink]

... sarah said on 10/24/2012 @ 8:03 am PT...





This is the second time ThingProgress has sought to discredit a story, from what I've seen. We're not giving them money or helping them promote themselves anymore. The incident in Virginia is the most disturbing thing - we catch people, but we don't prosecute them? keep reporting, Brad.

COMMENT #49 [Permalink]

... Ralph Crown said on 10/24/2012 @ 9:16 am PT...





Yesterday I commented on their story to complain about their treatment of Brad and to impugn their integrity. Today it's gone. Sad.

COMMENT #50 [Permalink]

... WingnutSteve said on 10/24/2012 @ 9:52 am PT...





Too bad. This is an important issue. Remember all those times I complained that this site, rather than focus on this important issue, wastes time on partisan left wing hit pieces and promoting the ridiculous idea that the GOP always cheats? I believe this is called karma, even think progress doesn't buy it.

COMMENT #51 [Permalink]

... JimBement said on 10/24/2012 @ 10:23 am PT...





Today I commented on their story to show how Brad is precisely accurate, Aviva's false, and Legum refused to correct.

COMMENT #52 [Permalink]

... anderson said on 10/24/2012 @ 10:37 am PT...





Well Brad, I think you are discovering that internet "editors" really aren't, are more often than not political operatives as opposed to actual journalism editors, and clearly have very poor reading comprehension. Arguments longer than 140 chars are simply beyond their ken.

COMMENT #53 [Permalink]

... Ralph Crown said on 10/24/2012 @ 11:30 am PT...





"promoting the ridiculous idea that the GOP always cheats" You're confusing partisanship and journalism. Democrats have a numerical advantage, they don't have to cheat. Republicans can't compete on a level playing field. When you report on election fraud, you find many more offenders are Republican. It's not a partisan thing, it's a reality thing.

COMMENT #54 [Permalink]

... Kathryn said on 10/24/2012 @ 12:03 pm PT...





This won't end well for Think Progress if they maintain this stance. I live in one of those states where the mentioned machines will be tabulating my vote and there is no paper trail denoting how I voted. I don't get a receipt guaranteeing the machine tabulated my vote correctly. And forget any recall if there's a near tie in any election. I'll just have to rely on republican operatives to tabulate my vote correctly, and it's quite eye-opening to see Think Progress is supporting that type of system. The Democratic Party is in for a rude awakening if they continue to defend corporate-owned voting machines.

COMMENT #55 [Permalink]

... Ron said on 10/24/2012 @ 12:41 pm PT...





Brad Blog--1 (and counting)

Think Progress--0 Our research backs up Brad's assertions completely. Too bad more of these webzines, which seem to spend as much energy fund raising as reporting, don't have the timeliness. accuracy, and depth of Brad's reporting.

COMMENT #56 [Permalink]

... duke-rules said on 10/24/2012 @ 2:28 pm PT...





The dems have had their head in the sand regarding the privatizing of the commons such as vote counting since the repubs stole 2000. Repubs have just continued to steal elections since. Just look at GA senate race in 2002 and Ohio pres in 2004. The party line (and TP is part of 'the party) says if we talk about it it may depress turnout. Therefore just ignore it and hope we get enough turnout to make it impossible to steal?? What a way to run an airline, eh?

COMMENT #57 [Permalink]

... WingnutSteve said on 10/24/2012 @ 10:42 pm PT...





I've figured it out, really it's quite easy to see. These guys, Chuck Todd and Center for American Progress (has always been an outside extension of the Democratic Party) and Think Progress (has served as a crucial, and journalistically sound fact-checker on the excesses, inaccuracies and blatant fabrications of the Right over the past several years) have received their marching orders. Discredit folks who speak of vote rigging and other shameful vote fraud scenarios. Why wouldn't several key DNC mouth pieces want Brad taken seriously when he speaks of these issues? Because the Obama team is going to steal the election, that's why. How else could four years of utter failure get reelected?

COMMENT #58 [Permalink]

... Susan said on 10/25/2012 @ 12:35 am PT...





ThinkProgress has sought to discredit a story, from what I've seen. How extremely odd that TP, of all sites, would cry "conspiracy theory ! .

COMMENT #59 [Permalink]

... Tamara said on 10/25/2012 @ 1:49 am PT...





�You know, I�ve got a little secret here," Romney told a rally crowd of a few hundred supporters. "That is that the Obama campaign thinks Pennsylvania is in their pocket --- they don�t need to worry about it. And you�re right, and they�re wrong.

"We�re going to win Pennsylvania. We are going to take the White House."

COMMENT #60 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 10/25/2012 @ 3:50 am PT...





"CONSPIRACY THEORY" should be stricken from the English language. It's always used by OFFICIAL STORIERS" covering up something. The words "OFFICIAL STORY" and "CONSPIRACY THEORY" are essential to each other. One implies the other, even if one is not spoken in the thought or sentence. "OFFICIAL STORY" = story protecting officials. "OFFICIALS" get to say what's an "OFFICIAL STORY" and what's a "CONSPIRACY THEORY", that's also implied, too. Like they have some god-given religious power ordained to them that they are the ones who tab things "CONSPIRACY THEORY" or "OFFICIAL STORY". TP is an "OFFICIAL STORY" mainstream site, gatekeeper type site. It's actually scurrilous EVER using the word "CONSPIRACY THEORY". You have no argument when you use the word "CONSPIRACY THEORY", you usually have no facts and are on the losing side of an argument when you use those words. Don't they know that? Don't they know that doesn't work anymore?

COMMENT #61 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 10/25/2012 @ 3:57 am PT...





Brad, I have an idea: see my comment #2, TP apologized for using the words "Israeli Firster". You're Jewish. Tell TP to retract or else they "hate the Jews". LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey, they're using these ridiculous word tactics like saying "conspiracy theory"! That would be using a similar tactic back against them. Plus, it would be pretty damn funny.

COMMENT #62 [Permalink]

... Alex said on 10/25/2012 @ 4:23 am PT...





The TP piece was terrible-- I happened to run into it earlier today before reading this-- but at the same time, I don't see Brad's point being significantly different from what TP defines as a "conspiracy theory". TP has always been very anti-conspiracy, and I think their heads are in the sand completely on this vote machine tampering issue. However, if their basic point is that speculation that Republicans will steal the vote with these Intercivic machines in Ohio is a conspiracy theory, it's hard to argue with their logic.

COMMENT #63 [Permalink]

... Ska-T said on 10/25/2012 @ 8:58 am PT...





I gave up reading TP a long time ago when I realized they had no intention of holding Democrats feet to the progressive fire. IOKIYAD is not an answer to IOKIYAR. Too bad you don't have the legal team to threaten TP like Forbes most likely did.

COMMENT #64 [Permalink]

... Lora said on 10/25/2012 @ 2:16 pm PT...





ALEX (#62), You seem to have the same difficulty with the English language that TP has. Brad has never speculated that the Repubs "will" steal the vote in Ohio. He rightly points out that Hart Intercivic machines are tied to Romney and that these machines are relatively easy to hack (ask any computer expert); therefore the Repubs could try to steal the vote. More important, it doesn't matter who owns or operates electronic voting equipment, they are not safe for democracy. Stating facts, yes. Drawing a quite reasonable conclusion based on facts about what "could" happen, yes. Using this situation to sound the alarm about electronic voting and counting in general, definitely. Hardly a conspiracy theory. TP seems to want abject grovelling and obeisance to the Republican owners of corporate voting equipment with multiple assurances that they are honorable men in order to qualify as not being a conspiracy theorist.

COMMENT #65 [Permalink]

... David Lasagna said on 10/25/2012 @ 2:17 pm PT...





Alex @ 62- I think you're making a similar mistake to the TP guy who responded to Brad. Nobody's is saying(or at least Brad isn't)that they're GONNA steal the upcoming election, but that there is no way to know if it is stolen or not. That's the point and has been the point all along. To point out obvious conflicts of interest, like one of the teams owning some of the machines that'll be counting votes only underscores this original, basic premise. It is not a seer's declaration of what will happen in the future. It's a realist's declaration that this is no way to have a democracy.

COMMENT #66 [Permalink]

... David Lasagna said on 10/25/2012 @ 2:19 pm PT...





wingnutsteve, Wrong again and then wrong yet again. Not karma. Confusion.

COMMENT #67 [Permalink]

... Desi Doyen said on 10/25/2012 @ 2:29 pm PT...





David Lasagna has @#65 is right --- There is a huge mack-truck-sized difference between "can" and "will". Please get it straight. As any lawyer and lawmaker will tell you (and English teacher will give you a failing grade for) --- "can" does not mean "will". Never has. Never will.

COMMENT #68 [Permalink]

... Lora said on 10/26/2012 @ 8:09 am PT...





I've been thinking about this a lot. Let me use the KISS approach: 1. Our electronically-run elections could be hacked in an attempt to change the actual vote. This is fully within the realm of real possibility (ask any reputable computer scientist). 2. The easiest and most effective hack is by an insider. (D'OH) 3. When electronic voting equipment is owned by people with strong ties to and a strong investment in a particular candidate, the possibility of a hack becomes much more likely. This is 3rd-grade reasoning. Not rocket science. And most certainly NOT the dreaded unfounded purely-speculative imagination-run-wild "conspiracy theory!"

COMMENT #69 [Permalink]

... Seattle Bill said on 10/26/2012 @ 10:17 am PT...





I was puzzled as to why the Romney people would be so blatant as to acquire the controlling influence in a voting machine company when the prior right-wing owners could be reliably counted upon to rig the vote for him against Obama anyway. Then it hit me --- they needed control to defeat Santorum in the G.O.P. primary!! The mathematically impossible "Romney Shift" stole both the Wisconsin and Ohio primaries for Romney.

COMMENT #70 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 10/26/2012 @ 10:51 am PT...





The GOP *CAN* steal the election. But *TRUST* them, they won't. It's a *CONSPIRACY THEORY* to think that. Don't fix their ability to steal an election, just *TRUST* them not to. How DARE anyone think they would use that ability to do so! The GOP is INSULTED that anyone would even INSINUATE this! And Think Progress is ALSO INSULTED! It's not like they're committing NATIONWIDE VOTER FRAUD or anything like that right now! NSA Analyst Proves GOP Is Stealing Elections http://www.ukprogressive...ctions/article20598.html http://www.youtube.com/w...bedded&v=8K_Rgwo0Ut8

COMMENT #71 [Permalink]

... EllenHarris said on 10/27/2012 @ 9:23 pm PT...





This is so classically the "Arrogance of the Narcissist"

Why did they blatantly invest in voter machines? One with common sense and the ability to look around them at a world not revolving solely for their own pleasure would think "Hey this would cause voter and country doubt no matter if we are honest or not, not a good deal." BUT the Narcissist is someone that defies common sense, and does things that are perplexing to the normal. They push every chance they can because after all they are next to Gods, They deserve respect and complete idolization even if they have not earned it. They do things "Because they can". They feel untouchable, without remorse, and like we have seen so many times with Romney, able to flip flop in complete opposite directions on issues without a bat of an eye. He is "entitled" to flip if he wants. He is a God, he is untouchable, He is important and the world needs to finally realize how very special he really is. I happen to have the unfortunate luck to know a very gifted Narcissist. They will do what benefits them and other narcissists they are either afraid of or respect above all else without any sort of conscience. In fact they think it their duty to share their vision of the world to their unlucky victims. I strongly believe that this guy is VERY dangerous to our country. I mean our political structure is broken. Any politician who gets to any sort of level is corrupt. They have to buy their way up the ladder. But this guy makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck in a big BIG way.

COMMENT #72 [Permalink]

... EllenHarris said on 10/27/2012 @ 9:53 pm PT...





Brad,

Please do not stress about this. In my many years of experience in dealing with this very sort of thing, this is what is called in very small tight circles as "verbal Bartitsu" Referring to the martial art and self-defense of using one's strengths against them. The martial art method originally developed in England during the years 1898–1902. In 1901 it was immortalised (as "baritsu") by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories. What you are experiencing is this tactical response to a known strength or factual event. They in no way can agree with you, it would be their heads. Someone has these guys by the balls in all parties. This is a classical tactical movement our government has used against it's people for a very long time. Flash the strengths of the facts right back at them, use the facts that seem to be undeniable and deflect the attack with something that flusters, confuses or causes fear. Making the facts then appear fuzzy, unreliable. Deflecting the blow with it's own strength. Common sense gets thrown out. The larger the facts the more the deflection into a "conspiracy" it will become. Terms like "radical", "extremest" even "terrorist" work the same. These words completely deflect the attack of facts back against the fact giver.

Don't play the game and be wise to the methods.

COMMENT #73 [Permalink]

... brian carey said on 10/30/2012 @ 6:59 pm PT...





Hi Brad,

Don't let go of that tail, brad! I have never had any use for the American Center for Progress, playing politics has always been their number one priority and you are throwing around too hot a potato for upper crust dems.

Note they put a green horn reporter on this just incase you win.

COMMENT #74 [Permalink]

... Dave said on 11/5/2012 @ 7:48 pm PT...





Your 'could vs will' argument would be a lot more sound if you didn't title your article with such an obviously leading "Is the GOP stealing Ohio?"

COMMENT #75 [Permalink]

... Brad Friedman said on 11/6/2012 @ 1:06 pm PT...

