COUP WATCH: Black Radical Congress Statement on the Post-Election Crisis\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCOUP WATCH: Black Radical Congress Statement on the Post-Election Crisis<\/b><\/p>
\r\n\r\n\r\nBy The Black Radical Congress (BRC)<\/b><\/p>
\r\n\r\nSat Dec 02 07:24:39 2000<\/p>
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\r\nThis is a Press Release\/Statement from the Black Radical Congress
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\r\n\r\nThe Black Radical Congress (BRC)<\/p>
\r\n\r\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>
\r\n\r\nDecember 1, 2000<\/p>
\r\n\r\nCONTACT:
\r\nBill Fletcher Jr., bfletcher4@compuserve.com, 202-637-5143<\/p>
\r\n\r\nStatement on the Post-Election Crisis by the\r\nNational Coordinating Committee of the BRC<\/p>
\r\n\r\nIt's about the vote, stupid... <\/p>
\r\n\r\nThere he is: Vice President Al Gore defending democracy. But\r\nyes, sisters and brothers, there is a fight underway which\r\nis not about the elections. It is about the vote and about\r\nthe inconsistent nature of democracy in the capitalist USA.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nWhat became very clear immediately after the November\r\nElection is that the Republican Party and segments of the\r\nDemocrats were more concerned about the formality of an\r\nelection rather than its content. When Democrats, such as\r\nNew Jersey's Toricelli, suggested that Gore move toward\r\nconcession, he was saying, in essence, that having gone\r\nthrough the formality of the election, the content was\r\nirrelevant. It did not matter to him and many other\r\npoliticians that there were all sorts of irregularities, \r\nnot to mention allegations of fraud. The USA went through \r\nan election and that was that as far as they were concerned.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nIn the past this sort of approach would have been called \r\na \"demonstration election\". This is the sort of election\r\nwhich the USA insists upon across this globe, particularly \r\nin the Third World. Have the formality of political parties. \r\nHave the formality of people casting their votes. Ignore\r\nirregularities. Ignore the question of whether the franchise\r\nis complete and fair. Go through the steps and let the\r\ncandidate most favorable to the imperialist agenda win.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nNovember 2000 was a demonstration election as far as major\r\nsegments of the ruling class were concerned.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nIt should not be for us.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nThe November Election witnessed problems not only in\r\nFlorida, but allegations in cities ranging from New York to\r\nChicago to New Orleans. African-American and Latino voters\r\nfound themselves interrogated by police, stopped at road\r\nblocks, as well as being subject (along with many other\r\nvoters) to bizarre balloting systems. As a result, \r\nthousands of votes were not counted.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nThis is not only about the counting and manual counting of\r\nballots which were run through the machines. It is about the\r\nthousands of ballots which were ignored because they were\r\ndouble punched or otherwise rendered useless.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nThe pollsters tell us that the US public is tired of this\r\nsituation. Part of that alleged fatigue is probably rooted\r\nin the fact that the issue has not been appropriately\r\ncharacterized or framed. Indeed, counting and recounting the\r\nexisting ballots can be tiresome, but the issue before this\r\ncountry is about voting rights vs disenfranchisement. This\r\nis not about statistics, nor is it about competence. Nor is\r\nit about who wins the final election. It is about whether a\r\nvote has any meaning whatsoever.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nIn our gut, African-Americans, and many other people of good\r\nwill, understand that the election is on the verge of being\r\nstolen. We understand that ignoring the thousands of votes\r\ncast in Palm Beach County, for example, means that the\r\nvoices of masses of regular people were ignored and their\r\nactions deemed meaningless. In fact, what is even more\r\noutrageous has been the implication raised by many on \r\nthe political Right that it was ok to ignore the votes of\r\nthousands because those folks were allegedly too stupid to\r\nfigure out what to do once they arrived at the poll and\r\ntherefore they did not need to be voting anyway. Leaving\r\naside that this sentiment is unconstitutional, it also\r\nevidences the true intentions of the political Right in \r\nthis fight: to reduce the franchise to those with money,\r\npower and education. In other words, to ensure that the\r\npolitical realm reflects the realities of economic neo-\r\nliberalism: a smaller and smaller elite deciding on the \r\nfuture for a larger and larger body of the dispossessed.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nWe, of the Black Radical Congress, believe that this\r\nstruggle is far from over. This should not be seen as solely\r\na legal -- in the courts -- struggle, though litigation is\r\ncritically important. This should be seen as a cause for\r\naction in the streets, and in all facets of this society.\r\nSupporters of democracy need to be agitating about this\r\nsituation. We need to be writing columns, op-eds, letters \r\nto the editor, calling talk-show programs. We need to be\r\nholding picket lines and handing out flyers. We need to \r\nbe supporting demonstrations and civil disobedience, if\r\nnecessary, which calls attention to the violations of\r\ndemocracy underway.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nThere is a story passing through the Internet about how this\r\nsituation is being perceived in the Third World. The story\r\nidentifies different aspects of what is happening and notes\r\nthat if this electoral crisis was taking place in the Third\r\nWorld there would be hell to pay. Supporters of democracy\r\nshould take this observation seriously, and not let this\r\nsituation be brushed under the rug nor the subject of \r\nsome sort of unprincipled compromise.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nRegardless of our stands on whether people should have voted\r\nfor Nader or Gore, that is all irrelevant at this moment.\r\nWhat is relevant is the battle for democracy. We need to \r\nuse this battle, not simply to beat back the Right-wing's\r\nflagrant efforts to disenfranchise entire sections of the\r\npopulation, but in order to advance the struggle. The\r\nstruggle for democracy must now challenge the archaic \r\nand elitist electoral system of this country. We should \r\nbe fighting for consistency in ballots and balloting\r\nprocedures. We must fight to build the power of those\r\ntraditionally disenfranchised.<\/p>
\r\n\r\nThis is not a time for despair, but a time for agitation \r\nand action.<\/p>
\r\n\r\n\r\n-30-<\/p>
\r\n\r\nBlack Radical Congress
\r\nNational Office
\r\nColumbia University Station
\r\nP.O. Box 250791
\r\nNew York, NY 10025-1509
\r\nPhone: (212) 969-0348
\r\nEmail: blackradicalcongress@email.com
\r\nWeb: http:\/\/www.blackradicalcongress.org<\/p>
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\r\nArchive2: <\/p>\n","contact":"blackradicalcongress@email.com","link":"www.blackradicalcongress.org","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"\"We, of the Black Radical Congress, believe that this struggle is far from over.... This should be seen as a cause for action in the streets, and in all facets of this society.... What is relevant is the battle for democracy.... 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.\"","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2000\/12\/brc.htm","filesize":"8.2 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2000\/12\/4765.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}