This is amusing and/or interesting and/or not surprising at all on several levels.
First, of course, ever since Obama has taken office, Republicans have pretended that there is something wrong with using a TelePrompter when speaking — at least when it’s done by Obama because, you know, he’s so stupid he needs one, or something.
But, more of note, the two videos below offer amusing proof that the GOP is even willing to fix the results of their own elections at their own national conventions….
We told you yesterday about the mini-revolt by Ron Paul supporters that erupted on the floor of the RNC after the adoption of the Rules Committees new rules were adopted (to keep pesky party supporters of non-establishment-approved candidates like Paul from gaining any foothold in future election cycles) and after they’d barred most of his delegates from Maine from being seated.
That all came after the GOP, over the last nine months, bent and broke their own rules, sometimes violently, at state conventions, primaries and caucuses to rob Paul delegates and supporters of their voices. (See yesterday’s piece for more details on that.)
As heard in one of videos we ran yesterday, the “Yays” and “Nays” on accepting the GOP establishment’s slate of delegates (which excluded some Paul supporters from Maine), were just about even. Despite calls for a roll call vote instead, RNC Chair Reince Priebus announced “the Ayes have it!” and the floor uprising ensued.
Now we get to see why that happened, as evidenced by the two videos below. The fix was in from the jump.
In the first video, former NH Gov. John Sununu, Chair of the Rules Committee, calls for the adoption of the GOP’s new rules, and Boehner is heard favoring the “Ayes”, even though the vote sounds pretty close to us. After that, protests from Paul supporters are quickly drowned out by party loyalists chanting “USA! USA! USA!”.
Watch the TelePrompter…
And, in this next one, National Party chairman Priebus is heard doing the very same thing on a different vote (though this is not the specific vote in the videos from Tuesday we posted yesterday that led directly to the Paul supporters revolt)…
So not only is the Republican Party more than willing to disenfranchise their own party members, as discussed yesterday, raising the question of what they’d be willing to do to shut down the legitimate votes of members of the opposition party this November, but, as seen in the videos above, they are even willing to pre-determine the results of their own elections before they even happen. Imagine that. 🙂
Wow… just wow. This needs to go viral.
Brads concern for a little bickering in the GOP is admirable.
The GOP’s “clutched pearl” response to Obama using teleprompters has always annoyed me given the massive hypocrisy. But this seems to lay out in plain sight an even greater level of hypocrisy. In a few short minutes, this clip lays waste to the entire claim of the GOP that they despise teleprompters and (more importantly) value an open democracy. It’s pretty sickening to see how the wheels of America’s foundation are nimbly and quickly removed by the GOP… seemingly without hesitation or concern of the consequences.
I watched it on DemocracyNow!, and I too thought the ayes and nos were equal. The TelePromter revelation is just hilarious.
What kind of name is Rinse Prepuce? Sounds more like an act of hygiene after gay sex.
Have you seen this coverage?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B39W91O-rUg&feature=player_embedded#t=0s
Democracy is kinda weird. You gotta, like, follow rules and stuff. Otherwise, it’s not a democracy. Parties are supposed to follow Robert’s Rules to settle all disagreements. It’s not that difficult to do. I’ve seen some card games that are more complicated. Which raises the question:
What kind of person would, say, play cards with a dealer who is so crooked that they don’t just cheat on the sly, they actually reach across the table and hope they can get away with it, even if everybody sees…?
Ralph @4,
Hilarious.
Who would have thought a chair would have an opinion … at least until the outlaw Josie Wales showed up.
I’m sure Brad or Ernie will have this up soon but I couldn’t wait! Another POSITIVE for election integrity advocates. Yeah Brad!
Here is the link which was okay on the first comment but disappeared when I submitted?
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/08/federal_judge_overturns_ohio_l.html
Way off topic. IMO C&L has the best comment program of all the blogs I read.
“I cannot stop the GOP “Establishment” from cheating and lies, stealing the votes /delegates through chicanery and strong-arm tactics, but I can say this:
“Pay attention Republican Party and Voters,
I am a Ron Paul supporter. This election season, no candidate will get my vote for the Office of President of the United States of America except for Ron Paul. There will be no exceptions. If he does not win the nomination, I will write his name on the ballot.
No amount of slick-talking, flip-flopping, wooing, cajoling, threatening, or condescending will persuade me to vote for any other contender for that office.
You don’t want to admit it, but you know that the Republican Party cannot beat Obama without us, the Ron Paul supporters. It’s long past time you admit it.
You and I have conflicting goals. I will only cast a vote for liberty, for peace, for small government, for fiscal sanity and respect for the Constitution of the United States and adherence to the oath of office of the Presidency. You, however, are content merely to vote for whatever Republican the GOP leadership and the media approve of.
I will not move. I cannot be persuaded. And I truly believe you cannot win without me and the millions whom feel as I do.
I am not here to convince you that Ron Paul’s positions are superior; I am not here to convince you that his foreign policy is in line with traditional conservatism; I am not here to convince you that his understanding of economics put everyone else in Washington to shame. I am not even here to convince you that the positions of the other candidates are not materially different than Obama.
No, I don’t need to do any of that. I only need to tell you that without me, you have lost. If you did not vote for Ron Paul in your Primary or Caucus, you are already defeated. If you fail to nominate Ron Paul to be the Republican candidate for President, Barack Hussein Obama will serve a second term.
This is not blackmail.This is not a threat. This is a simple statement of fact.”
Peace. Which is as easy as choosing Doctor Ron Paul rather than a “PUPPET””
Tex, you said a mouthful. Ron Paul or nobody.
So now it looks even more plausible that they rigged the primary, which is what we all thought in the first place. Remember that clip of CNN showing live counting and by far the most name called out was RON PAUL, and then they never showed live counting again? In a predominantly JEWISH county btw..and Ron Paul is supposed to be “anti semetic” (just an interesting side note on that):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDJfIAsbme8
https://bradblog.com/?p=9524
While I’m enjoying the quiet spectacle of massive fraud by the corporatist wing of the GOP and its propaganda arm, the mainstream media, I have no sympathy for Ron Paul, merely for the gullible among his supporters. Here is a man far smarmier and more hypocritical than his more garden-variety GOP brethren and sistern. Gotta love those hate-baiting newsletters of his — sorry, there’s no way to pretend they don’t exist, or that Ron Paul was not ultimately responsible for them. Supporters must either resort to denial, carry some big-time heavy apologist water for Mr. Personal Responsibility, or wade on in and give those newsletters a BIG ol’ full-frontal bearhug. And then there are the Great Man’s pronouncements against federal disaster recovery funding — how FASCINATING that they issue from a Gulf Coast Congressman who has cadged for his district ten$$ upon ten$$$ of million$$$$ in federal disaster recovery funds down the years. That definitely makes him seem Presidential, don’t you think? And let’s not forget his horror — !HORROR! — of forced military conscription. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Out of one side of his mouth, the Great Man says “The basic premise underlying conscription is that the individual belongs to the state, individual rights are granted by the state, and therefore politicians can abridge individual rights at will. In contrast, the philosophy which inspired America’s founders, expressed in the Declaration of Independence, is that individuals possess natural, God-given rights which cannot be abridged by the government.” Read: the individual is endowed with the right to decide who will and will not use his body. Note my use of the pronoun “his.” Because out of the even mealier side of his mouth, the Great Man openly advocates forced pregnancy. He, like today’s standard-issue GOPper, would restrain women from exercising our right to control who will and will not use our body — indeed, who will or will not commandeer our entire physiology, change it forever, and put us at risk of permanent injury and even death. And he did this by, in essence, asserting as an agent of the state that the human embryo as a “super-person,” a woman’s legal and moral superior, whose rights trump a woman’s because her assertion of her body rights might involve — HEAVENS! — “an act of aggression.” The Great Man, the Deep Thinker About Real Real Important Stuff, is terribly, terribly worried about the “slippery slope” abortion rights presents; OH NOEZ, contrary to decades of experience here and elsewhere in the world, it might suddenly lead to euthanasia! But he is entirely unconcerned about the slippery slope his own skewed logic creates: Shall we be denied certain aspects of political speech rights if politicians unilaterally declare them “acts of aggression”? And if we’re locked out of our voting precinct, how polite do we have to be to avoid being accused of “acts of aggression”? What about our natural right of self-defense? I guess we can only defend ourselves if, in doing so, we don’t commit an “act of aggression” as defined by the state. I’m sure that will work just fine, and I’m sure you’re sure, too — aren’t you? But… but… wait… the Great Man says it’s not up to the state to abridge our God-given rights. Gosh, it’s all so confusing. Probably the best thing to do is let Ron Paul be the Decider about such lofty matters. Yes, that sounds right, doesn’t it? That’s the libertarian way, isn’t it? On the brighter side, surely the Great Man would consider massive funding of right-wing political candidates by GOP plutocrats “an act of aggression,” and promptly decide on campaign finance limits. Right? Yes???
These events at NRC presented yet another opportunity for all Americans to see how deep the corruption has set in.
The video footage on this page is conclusive proof that we are witnessing the end of democracy in the United States of America.
This affects absolutely every single American. It does not matter whether you are a Republican or a Democrat. It does not matter whether you support Romney, Obama or Ron Paul. Democracy is being trashed and America is collapsing into tyranny right in front of us!
Ron Paul is the only honest candidate, I would have voted for him regardless of party, and still would. Romney and Obama are idiots, liars, and anyone voting for them is in my opinion not worth used toilet paper. But I know Ron Paul has no chance, both the Dems and Repubs will make sure of that. Its funny that this article almost sounds like a defense of Dr. Paul, which of course its not.
This country is so out of whack because of the 2 main parties, that honestly we deserve to go down as a failure. We need new parties, ones who dont reflect simply the fringe of society, I mean how screwed up is it that only about 30% of Americas are identified as belonging to one of these two dumb groups. Im done, going to milk the system to increase the debt, hope for a collapse, because the only time in history a country has ever improved its government is through civil war. So lets hope we are fortunate that it comes and ends quick.
This is a joke. Vote rigging in the country that is supposed to be the model of democracy to the rest of the world – http://bit.ly/Rsgtux