COUP WATCH: Black Radical Congress Statement on the Post-Election Crisis
COUP WATCH: Black Radical Congress Statement on the Post-Election Crisis
By The Black Radical Congress (BRC)
Sat Dec 02 07:24:39 2000
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This is a Press Release/Statement from the Black Radical Congress
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The Black Radical Congress (BRC)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2000
CONTACT:
Bill Fletcher Jr., bfletcher4@compuserve.com, 202-637-5143
Statement on the Post-Election Crisis by the
National Coordinating Committee of the BRC
It's about the vote, stupid...
There he is: Vice President Al Gore defending democracy. But
yes, sisters and brothers, there is a fight underway which
is not about the elections. It is about the vote and about
the inconsistent nature of democracy in the capitalist USA.
What became very clear immediately after the November
Election is that the Republican Party and segments of the
Democrats were more concerned about the formality of an
election rather than its content. When Democrats, such as
New Jersey's Toricelli, suggested that Gore move toward
concession, he was saying, in essence, that having gone
through the formality of the election, the content was
irrelevant. It did not matter to him and many other
politicians that there were all sorts of irregularities,
not to mention allegations of fraud. The USA went through
an election and that was that as far as they were concerned.
In the past this sort of approach would have been called
a "demonstration election". This is the sort of election
which the USA insists upon across this globe, particularly
in the Third World. Have the formality of political parties.
Have the formality of people casting their votes. Ignore
irregularities. Ignore the question of whether the franchise
is complete and fair. Go through the steps and let the
candidate most favorable to the imperialist agenda win.
November 2000 was a demonstration election as far as major
segments of the ruling class were concerned.
It should not be for us.
The November Election witnessed problems not only in
Florida, but allegations in cities ranging from New York to
Chicago to New Orleans. African-American and Latino voters
found themselves interrogated by police, stopped at road
blocks, as well as being subject (along with many other
voters) to bizarre balloting systems. As a result,
thousands of votes were not counted.
This is not only about the counting and manual counting of
ballots which were run through the machines. It is about the
thousands of ballots which were ignored because they were
double punched or otherwise rendered useless.
The pollsters tell us that the US public is tired of this
situation. Part of that alleged fatigue is probably rooted
in the fact that the issue has not been appropriately
characterized or framed. Indeed, counting and recounting the
existing ballots can be tiresome, but the issue before this
country is about voting rights vs disenfranchisement. This
is not about statistics, nor is it about competence. Nor is
it about who wins the final election. It is about whether a
vote has any meaning whatsoever.
In our gut, African-Americans, and many other people of good
will, understand that the election is on the verge of being
stolen. We understand that ignoring the thousands of votes
cast in Palm Beach County, for example, means that the
voices of masses of regular people were ignored and their
actions deemed meaningless. In fact, what is even more
outrageous has been the implication raised by many on
the political Right that it was ok to ignore the votes of
thousands because those folks were allegedly too stupid to
figure out what to do once they arrived at the poll and
therefore they did not need to be voting anyway. Leaving
aside that this sentiment is unconstitutional, it also
evidences the true intentions of the political Right in
this fight: to reduce the franchise to those with money,
power and education. In other words, to ensure that the
political realm reflects the realities of economic neo-
liberalism: a smaller and smaller elite deciding on the
future for a larger and larger body of the dispossessed.
We, of the Black Radical Congress, believe that this
struggle is far from over. This should not be seen as solely
a legal -- in the courts -- struggle, though litigation is
critically important. This should be seen as a cause for
action in the streets, and in all facets of this society.
Supporters of democracy need to be agitating about this
situation. We need to be writing columns, op-eds, letters
to the editor, calling talk-show programs. We need to be
holding picket lines and handing out flyers. We need to
be supporting demonstrations and civil disobedience, if
necessary, which calls attention to the violations of
democracy underway.
There is a story passing through the Internet about how this
situation is being perceived in the Third World. The story
identifies different aspects of what is happening and notes
that if this electoral crisis was taking place in the Third
World there would be hell to pay. Supporters of democracy
should take this observation seriously, and not let this
situation be brushed under the rug nor the subject of
some sort of unprincipled compromise.
Regardless of our stands on whether people should have voted
for Nader or Gore, that is all irrelevant at this moment.
What is relevant is the battle for democracy. We need to
use this battle, not simply to beat back the Right-wing's
flagrant efforts to disenfranchise entire sections of the
population, but in order to advance the struggle. The
struggle for democracy must now challenge the archaic
and elitist electoral system of this country. We should
be fighting for consistency in ballots and balloting
procedures. We must fight to build the power of those
traditionally disenfranchised.
This is not a time for despair, but a time for agitation
and action.
-30-
Black Radical Congress
National Office
Columbia University Station
P.O. Box 250791
New York, NY 10025-1509
Phone: (212) 969-0348
Email: blackradicalcongress@email.com
Web: www.blackradicalcongress.org
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