Water is Wet; Sky is Blue...

Democrats in MA cheated last Tuesday. I'll take "Non-shocking headlines" for $500, Alex.

Massive Voting Fraud Reported in Massachusetts

The ballot box is one of American democracy’s secular sacred spaces, where the fact that you voted may be public, but whom you voted for is your own private business.

Unless, that is, you happen to be in one of the low-income communities targeted for “help” from the community organizers of Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts, where individuals may just need a little extra guidance to ensure they vote the correct way.

The author then goes on to detail numerous incidents where "interpreters" and "escorts" (huh???) were "assisting" folks voting; food items changing hands in exchange for votes; "pledges" for voting; etc. Reports of irregularities submitted to poll watchers were often ignored or pooh-poohed; such "escorts" were openly making calls advocating certain candidates right inside the polling place in clear violation of the law.

And these violations were ignored. Business as usual in MA; Barney Frank and Deval Patrick must be returned to office for the good of the commonwealth, who cares if a few silly little rules get bent?

It's hard to get worked up about it, really. This is MA - absent hard and fast evidence of such cheating, this is little more than p**sing in the wind. Without the "smoking gun" of a video showing a "poll watcher" making someone's vote for them (or something of that nature), this can be brushed aside as the bitter fruit borne from the sour grapes of the losing side. Some folks point to the wide disparity between the polls in the run-up to the election and the actual result as evidence of chicanery; once again, absent hard and fast evidence of cheating, it's all so much ill wind.

Is it possible that cheating occurred? Absolutely. Any time there's a critical election with a tight race, it's entirely possible that some might look for any loophole, any advantage to win - and that's what politics are all about. In places like MA it's pretty much a full-contact sport - if you expect your opponent to play by the rules and make nicey-nice, you're destined to be on the outside looking in on Wednesday morning. If there was observable cheating going on, go grab a camera and come back and get some proof. Shining daylight on these groups as it's happening is the way to do it - not a week later once the dust has settled.

And let's be ready in two years for the exact same thing to happen again - there's a lot at stake in 2012, which means plenty of motive for cheating...

That is all.

Thanks to, well, pretty much everyone - I got this story from many different sources.