Below the fold is how Politico screwed Katrina/Rita/flood survivors in Louisiana and Mississippi, and their supporters, out of having a question relevant to their plight asked during last Wednesday's and Thursday's debates.
On Saturday, Jan. 26, I diaried a way, per colorofchange.org, to vote on Politico for the following debate question:
Two years after Katrina and Rita and Gulf Coast schools, hospitals, police stations, roads and flood protection still lie in ruins, keeping displaced residents from returning and communities from recovering. Will you support H.R. 4048, the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act, as President to rebuild community infrastructure and create job and training opportunities for residents?
At that time, that question had been among the top five for both parties' debates. When it hadn't been asked the Repubs, I'd thought it would be asked Obama and Clinton....
Then, Thursday afternoon, I found an ominous, urgent email that had arrived Wednesday afternoon, after I'd left the library, from the man spearheading the effort tp get this question asked. He said that the vote totals for debate questions had been
"reset to zero"by Politico and that voting for Repub debate questions would be reopened at 7:55 PM EST Wednesday. And the questions mixed up so anyone wanting this question asked would have to scroll through 150 questions to find it. This is why we didn't hear this question asked of the GOP candidates.
And there was going to be the same set up for the Democratic debate--with the vote totals
"reset to zero"and voting reopening at 7:55 PM EST Thursday, and the questions mixed up. So, in the Democratic debate, neither the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act question, nor anything else having to do with New Orleans or Katrina, was asked of Obama and Clinton.
So our votes for this question didn't count--because they were just thrown out when the vote totals had been "reset to zero." And I hadn't been able to vote either time because I have to go to a library to use a computer and can't go there that late in the day (6:55 PM CST). Nor was I able to diary this Thursday so others could vote, because I'd found out about it after I'd already posted a diary that day.
This snafu begs several questions:
1.) Why did Politico chuck all the previous votes they'd received for debate questions and reset the vote totals to zero before the debates?
2.) Why did they mix up the questions so one had to hunt for the Gulf Coast Civic Works question? And,
3.) Why wasn't voting reopened until 7:55 PM EST each day?
These questiona are rhetorical because the answers are obvious. It's because of undemocratic dirty tricks on the part of Politico. The
"reset to zero"of each vote and flat-out dishonesty are obviously a deliberate act of sabotage by supporters of BushCo's genocide in Louisiana to keep New Orleans and Katrina from being brought up in what may be the final presidential debates before the fall.
The wingnuts at Politico stole these "elections" because they want to perpetuate the BushCo-friendly media's Big Lies: that Katrina and New Orleans are old news, don't matter, aren't valid campaign issues, and are just "black issues."
These despicable individuals, having noticed that the Gulf Coast Civic Works question has been so popular (#3 for the Republicans, #1 for the Democrats by Wednesday afternoon), decided to disenfranchise all who'd voted for it by throwing out all the previous votes to ensure that it would never be asked.
And these slimebuckets must have assumed that many of the people who'd voted for this question were ones whose only access to a computer would be at a library or at their day job, who wouldn't be able to get online at 7:55 PM EST. In other words, they weren't interested in having the candidates address issues of interest to those who aren't as well-off as they are--so they wanted to make it vwer4y difficult, if not impossible, for people who can't afford to have computers in their homes to vote.
So only blissed-out rich fucks who've neither experienced disaster nor supported people who have were permitted to let their voices be heard by Politico. Hence the fact that all previous votes had been chucked and voting was reopened at 7:55 PM EST each day.
Politico's having done all these things to guarantee that the Gulf Coast Civic Works question would not be asked is a shameful collusion with those who would keep New Orleans and Katrina from being discussed in debates and otherwise keep them out of the news. Because silence will allow BushCo, out of sight and out of mind, to continue implementing its Final Solution in Louisiana.
Whoever decided in the first place to "reset" Politico's vote to zero and throw out all the previous votes is a loathesome, unAmerican piece of scum who needs to be held accountable. He'd fit right in in a country where election results are pre-ordained--not in America.
We all need to visit Politico, sign up, and post remarks wherever we can to let them know how we feel about how they so dishonestly ensured that the question on the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act would never be asked. We need to raise such a stink it drives home to them the fact that New Orleans and Katrina, which many people are still dealing with 24/7, today, are valid campaing issues and we need to know where our candidates stand. We also need to spread the word about what Politico did to keep Katrina and New Orlean from coming up in their debates, so others will know what they're about.
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