What if the pre-election polls were right?

In the midst of the latest court and public relations assault on "We,
the People" in this historically close presidential election, the
mainline media has focused on the few hundred votes separating Al Gore
from the White House. In doing so, they've missed the real story.

As early as election evening, the media's talking heads were grooming
themselves for the weekend, wondering out loud how the pollsters could
have got things so wrong. After all, these public opinion outfits are
sophisticated operations, employing any number of experts, whose
reputations are on the line. They run specialized tests to determine the
accuracy of their results, and publish their findings nationally. "How
could they have been so wrong?" was the question of the moment.

But what if they weren't wrong?

Item: WND reports that legal aliens (nonresidents) living in
California and Washington received letters and voting documents urging
them to vote -- mailed by the Democratic Party and signed by President
Bill Clinton (

"Voter fraud,
again!" by Joseph Farah, Nov. 6).

Item: WND reports that tens of thousands of servicemen and women did not receive their ballot in time to vote (

"Will Congress probe
military-ballot snafu?" by Jon Dougherty, Nov. 10).

Item: The Pensacola News Journal reports an absentee ballot diversion scheme in Florida, uncovered by the son of a federal judge. Two ballots -- thought to have been lost -- turned up to be counted, but the signatures were forged ("Pensacola ballot prompts fraud investigation: Elections supervisor discovers forged ballot," by Scott Streater, Nov. 9).

Item: Edward Nelson, president of U.S. Border Control, suggests that illegal immigrants and other non-qualified voters will elect the next U.S. President. "We believe that the national average for non-citizen voting is about 2-4 percent with it spiking up to 10-15 percent in places like Dade County, Florida, and in major cities that have large current immigrant populations," said Mr. Nelson (PRNewswire, "Non-citizens to Choose Next President Says U.S. Border Control," Nov. 9).

Item: The Honolulu Advertiser reports that a recent check of voter registrations found "550 Hawaii residents who are not U.S. citizens have registered to vote" ("State election officials said yesterday that they will meet with O'ahu and neighbor island clerks to determine ways to head off illegally registered voters at the polls this year," by Scott Ishikawa and Kevin Dayton, Sept. 7).

All of this is in addition to the Clinton administration's documented immigrant fast-track citizenship programs, which have granted citizenship to known criminals, freeing them in their new homeland to prey on innocent Americans who "worked hard and played by the rules." Other applicants who had no business even visiting this country, let alone living here, were rushed through the citizenship maze based on the theory they would, perhaps out of gratitude, vote for the Democratic Party. If we were discussing stock certificates, the masterminds of this fraudulent scheme would be in jail for diluting the holdings of existing shareholders. Is our nation at least as valuable as a publicly traded company? If so, where are the federal officials whose sworn duty is to protect us from this abuse?

The Democratic Party revealed its hand when it crafted the "motor-voter" bill, which made registration so easy that we stopped asking for proof of citizenship. Apparently, we didn't want to hurt the feelings of non-residents who longed to participate in American democracy -- perhaps by voting themselves increasing benefits and obtaining representation from those intent on erasing our nation's history and values -- because that's what stood in the way of their hold on power. Republicans failed to recognize that the motor-voter law was designed to be -- as this election demonstrates -- the last nail in their party's coffin.

And has the American media stood up to champion the integrity of the voting process? One can't help but question whether their original "call" of Florida for Al Gore was perhaps calculated to depress Republican turnout in the Panhandle's Central time zone -- as well as the remainder of the West. This is not the first time their "news reporting" has looked more like election manipulation than viewer information. Despite numerous requests from state officials, they have adamantly refused to put the integrity of America's vote before their own self-interest. Since they use the public airwaves without compensation, maybe a little look into their internal thinking is in order? The Federal Communications Commission could post their internal memorandums and e-mails on its website. Or should we just have NSA release their Echelon intercepts?

At this point, a word needs to be said about the media credibility of William Daley, whose father built one of the most corrupt political machines ever to govern big-city America. How is it that media-types can interview Mr. Daley with a straight face while he pontificates on "voting irregularities" in Florida? "Sir -- have you no shame?" Lifetime political junkies dream of being buried in Chicago, "because there, even the dead can vote." What kind of voting irregularities do you suppose young William learned around the family dinner table from his notorious father? And why would Al Gore burden his campaign with such baggage, if the process is so important to him? Did Mr. Gore, like his boss Bill Clinton, want to be remembered for "the most ethical administration in history"?

Yes, the real story behind Florida's razor-thin vote counts is that Americans have been systematically defrauded of their vote. The impact of honest citizens has been diluted to the point of unconscionably weak orange juice by politicians squeezing every last drop of power and perks out of the system they have chosen to betray, and a media-machine that worships the monolithic diversity of race -- while it shuns diversity of thought in its opinion-laden reportage.

Are the Republicans blameless in all this? Not likely. But the available evidence suggests that Republicans have not attacked the process itself in their quest for power, a strategy Democrats seem to have embraced. I know there are many honorable Democrats who hate what their party has become, and voted for Al Gore in good faith. Voter fraud is not your fault. Yet, I would say to you that the long-term health of our political system -- and even freedom in the world today -- requires your involvement in fixing the process. Without competing visions of our future, we will stagnate. Eternal vigilance is still the price of freedom. But the process requires that once the vision is cast -- the people must be allowed to decide the outcome -- and that outcome must be beyond suspicion. The bottom line is, if "We, the People" want the process to work, then "We, the People" had better inspect the damage uncovered by this election and begin the needed repairs.

We could start by canceling every voter registration in America, then demanding responsible proof of citizenship from those re-registering. And we need to get serious about penalizing those who abuse and subvert the system -- voters and officials alike. Let's implement a decent audit-trail and provide accountability in the ballots we give out -- and get back in return. Absentee ballots, while convenient for busy Americans, are also convenient places for fraud to enter the system. Unless real hardship exists, we should require voters to mark their ballot at the polling place.

Each of us finds time for what is important in our lives. The choices we make determine who and what we become. The choices we make as voters determine who and what our nation will become. The pre-election polling results provide an important check on the health of the very foundation of our governing process, and our ability to remain a free people. When the actual and the projected numbers are this far apart, the body politic is running a fever. Our natural defense mechanism is trying to tell us something. "We, the People" had better investigate the health of the body politic and take corrective action now -- or the patient, and much of the world's hope with it -- will die.