From: Charles Hixson (charleshixsn@earthlink.net)
Date: Fri Dec 13 2002 - 19:05:07 MST
Lee Corbin wrote:
>Charles Hixson writes
>
>
>
>>[Jeff writes]
>>
>>
>>>[Lee wrote]
>>>
>>>
>>> ...
>>
>Right. But speaking of "fair elections",
>the North Vietnamese held one in 1956.
>Guess what? The Communists won by 99%.
>Amazing, isn't it, how well they had
>captured the hearts of the people,
>collectivization and all!
>
>Lee
>
>P.S. The last sentence was heavily
>sarcastic.
>
Yes. But it certainly highlights the necessity of poll watchers from
outside the area of control validating any election held in an area
where an autocratic government is in control. If there aren't a lot of
checks, you can't trust the results.
--(Which brings to mind: Did you notice that the new electronic voting
machines have no audit trails? And that the code in secret? There
won't be any moreembarassing investications of voting irregularities!)--
Elections like that remind me of the one the Nazi's conducted in
Chechosovakia before WWII (though I'm not sure they got an entire 99%).
Also a bit about the recent Iraqi elections. Usually, though, more
civilized areas manage to control things by just crafting the rules so
that the power controllers win no matter which side gets elected.
(Which is, I admit, much more humane...but not much more honest.)
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