I think I know why Romney is not worried about the polls . . .

[BigBearJohn]

He and his rich bastards plan on stealing the election.

[liberal N proud]

1. Any way they can

Look at the big swing states and who is in power in those states. It has been clear from the start what they are planning. These people in these state offices are there for a reason.

If we do not get a large turnout and it is not decisive, they will steal this election.

[2on2u]

2. Seems to me polls are a tool that tells the powerful what they need to do to accomplish

what they want. I think polls should be banned period. Why have 100 pseudo elections before the real election? Just doesn't make sense to me.

[Turbineguy]

3. You got it.

But like Hitler, he'll get lots of help from Fox News' Useful Idiots.

[Flaggkilledgod]

4. Voter Suppression Efforts Yes, Outright Theft Unlikely

It's far more likely that Romney is shitting himself over the polls and is just doing what he does in response to anything that impacts him negatively, lying about it.

[valerief]

19. Vote flipping *will* occur. It always does. nt

[Sekhmets Daughter]

35. Voter suppression

IS outright theft.

[PoliticalBiker]

71. Voter Suppression

Voter Suppression is terrorism.
Why not call it like it is?

[Blue State Bandit]

70. Ask Mike Connell how easy it is to steal an election...

oh, wait. He was killed just before testifing about the "MIM" hacking of the Ohio vote in 2004.

One of Rmoney's political consultants, Strategic Allied Consulting was just busted for registration fraud.

The Republican Party of Florida’s top recipient of 2012 expenditures, a firm by the name of Strategic Allied Consulting, was just fired on Tuesday night, after more than 100 apparently fraudulent voter registration forms were discovered to have been turned in by the group to the Palm Beach County, FL Supervisor of Elections.

The firm appears to be another shell company of Nathan Sproul, a longtime, notorious Republican operative, hired year after year by GOP Presidential campaigns, despite being accused of shredding Democratic voter registration forms in a number of states over several past elections.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics , Strategic Allied Consulting has been paid some $667,000 this year by the Florida GOP, presumably to run its voter registration campaigns in the state. That number, however, does not account for another identical payment made in August. The Palm Beach Post is reporting tonight that the firm received “more than $1.3 million” from the Republican Party of Florida “to register new voters.”

The firm is not only tied to the Florida GOP, but also to the Mitt Romney Campaign, which hired Sproul as a political consultant late last year, despite years of fraud allegations against his organizations in multiple states.

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/26/fla_voter_fraud_charge_has_ties_to_romney/

Attempts at outright theft is all around you.

[yankeepants]

5. Either that or Valium

I think his handlers might have him doped up so that he doesn't have another temper tantrum/meltdown and really bury even the chance to steal the election.

Just guessing.

[brooklynite]

6. Unrec

Besides the fact that I find conspiracy theory posts really annoying, I really hate ones that offer no evidence whatever, but just assume that "we" all agree.

[Chorophyll]

24. +1

[BB1]

25. Agree to the extent that he will not win

by stealing votes. But votes will be stolen.

[D23MIURG23]

37. +1

[WinkyDink]

39. 1. How does "I think" = "we"? 2. Were you not around in 2000 and 2004?

[brooklynite]

82. Why yes, I was around...

...and I was around earlier when Carter and Mondale lost. 95% of the blame for 2000 and 2004 lies with Gore and Kerry (and I volunteered) for running lousy campaigns.

[magical thyme]

46. +1M

It's not like this is some brilliant new idea that nobody has thought of before.

This stupid conspiracy theory has been pushed in every single freakin' poll thread, plus had multiple threads on its own.

And I say stupid for a reason. It was advanced endlessly in 2008 too. We see how well it worked for McCain/Palin.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

53. I Hope We Aren't Going To Be Regaled With This Conspiracy Crap For The Next Thirty Nine Days

.

[PoliticalBiker]

78. Republicrats are conspiracy theory specialists

Expect it to continue in earnest as long as they are perceived to be behind
When Mittens loses, expect it to continue for some time after as to why
Damn Republicrats and thier surrogates

[Jakes Progress]

58. -1 for Dr. Pangloss

If the election is thrown into doubt, will you be one to come on and say "But we had no idea such a thing might happen."?

[Dustlawyer]

59. Google Spoonamore and computer vote fraud. It is more than a conspiracy!

[PATRICK]

7. A real temptation to cling to unreality

when you know you can and are going to cheat even though real numbers are tanking. it must be agony to see the margin slipping away along with the nerve of the operators who have to sneak in somewhat believable restraint in a losing op that could end up with some real consequences(though we have been waiting in vain for this since 2000 at least).

There have actually been the usual signs of desperation denoting a real knowledge of certain defeat. Usually the only hope was to 'turnaround" the whole electoral mindset which for the GOP usually ends up in scolding insults or incredible statements. In a media that is so friendly that the entire cheating advantage for the GOP is never mentioned directly, however, Rmoney must also cooperate by appearing the moderate and seemingly earning the middle that in fact he can never have enough of.

Result: apparent insanity, reliance on nothing but fraud and big money, but deep down going through what Goldwater, Dole and others have with much less talent, intelligence and personal integrity.

[cali]

8. Uh, I don't think it could be much clearer that rMoney is freaked out by the polls.

His re-re-re vamping of his campaign and embrace of "empathy" point to that.

[get the red out]

13. EXACTLY!!!!!

His campaign has given every clue possible that they know they are in bad shape.

[PoliticalBiker]

81. Yet...

rMittens lies to everyone possible to try to make it see he is in good shape

[dougolat]

9. If they do, it'll be with a sneer and the finger, 'cuz we took it laying down before

Last edited Sun Sep 30, 2012, 06:47 AM - Edit history (1)

Richard Hayes Phillips did exhaustive research on 2004.
Book, site, movie:

"A Citizen's Audit of an American Election"
www.witnesstoacrime.com

Elipsis posted it: DU 101738391

[Scuba]

83. +1

[BigBearJohn]

10. I should point out that though they PLAN to steal the election

THIS time I don't believe it will work. But then again,
I never dreamed that in a million years GWB could EVER become President.

Still, it is so damned refreshing to see Obama keep moving UP UP and UP
in the polls.

As for Romney, I seriously doubt whether butter would melt in his mouth.

If he does get in, I'm gettin' out and moving to Thailand.

[scheming daemons]

11. what a novel OP! nobody else has had one with this idea...

Except for ..oh... about 30 other people

[randome]

16. Thirty-seven, actually. Come on. Learn to count.

[BigBearJohn]

18. thanks. at least I'm not alone. And to think I actually used to admire you. oh well...

Instead of pissing on my op, why don't you write one of your own?
Sarcasm is the lowest form of creativity.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. like that.."sarcasm is the lowest form of creativity" I am thinking that it is more

than thinking he will be covered by fraud/election rigging. He doesn't even flinch about the polls. Even if you knew it would be rigged, any normal human would not be able to hide the worry of losing. It might be the slightest "tell", but you could tell. He shows nothing.

[WinkyDink]

42. I don't get your point. Are you saying that DU never has duplicated threads but for this topic?

[quaker bill]

12. Nah

The margin will be too big. They were counting on an election where suppressing 100,000 or so votes here or there would be enough get it done. Millions of votes is just too much to not be detected and I don't think they like Rmoney enough to risk it in the face of that.

Losing candidates never worry about the polls publicly, it makes them sound like a loser. Often they complain about the media and not having enough debates. Rmoney won't be looking for more debates becase Obama will be at the other podium, but he will rail that the polls have it wrong and the media is conspiring against him.

[mstinamotorcity2]

14. We all see

what they are trying to do. That is why we must put undeniable numbers at the ballot box. So there is to be no question. That is why we are registering and getting Identifications,and people to the polls. We must work harder than we did in 2008, because the direction of our country depends on it.

[gollygee]

15. He has to put up a facade of confidence

even if he knows he'll probably lose. That's all.

[liberalmuse]

68. This is probably more likely.

I think his book, "No Apologies" would probably give some insight into his seeming facade of confidence. Although that is starting to crumble if you watch him lately.

[spinbaby]

17. I think the margin is too great for them to steal it

What really has me worried in the back of my paranoid little mind is the possibility of an October surprise in the form of an Israeli strike on Iran.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

28. How would that help him though?

I'm failing to see how. Create an even bigger mess for President Obama to deal with in the ME? Force him into a box in terms of supporting/denouncing Israel's actions. Hopefully, nobody in Israel would be so dumb as to launch military strikes as part of an electoral strategy here in the US for Mitt Romney.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. Actually, the whole thing by him and FOX "News" to deny the polls,...

...is because the big money people are saying "fugetaboutit".

[INdemo]

21. It will not come down to just one state this time

So that takes away their advantage to steal...
..but if they were able to pull off another theft I think we would see the biggest uprising in history...Would make the 60's protests look like a family picnic

[elleng]

33. Planning to join any such.

Do wonder effect and numbers, with many 'unstolen' states

[The Wizard]

22. Any lead that's under 5 points

on election day is subject to rigging as beyond 5 points is beyond the realm of plausible deniability.

[HereSince1628]

27. That's certainly the meme in the lefter blogosphere.

I'm not sure where that really comes from other than the practice of sizing sampling populations to give +/- 5% confidence intervals. Consequently there is a belief in the general population that differences can't be statistically significant under 5% difference.

Voter exit polling often includes large enough numbers of actual voters to be quite a bit more precise, even with uncertainty introduced by deceptive responses during exit polling.

[The Wizard]

44. Max Cleland was ahead by three

but lost by 2. In two of the counties using Diebold voting machines the numbers were exactly the same.

[HereSince1628]

47. I have no doubt that's true

I guess I would say this...a computer flipping subroutine could be set to flip any proportion of votes it encountered.

That has nothing to do with potential exit polling precision which can be much more accurate than 5% with tens of millions of potential respondents.

In vote flipping, the programer must choose a proportion to flip. Why would they choose 5%? Because the American population, including much of the democratic base, thinks that 5% precision is the best exit polling can do and a 'surprise result' of that magnitude would be accepted by the general population even if a discrepancy was detected (as it has been).

It's probably much less about issues of math or sampling, but rather upon the psychology of interpreting and accepting a surprise result.

[Pbs1914]

48. But then

when Kerry was set to win, the memo was "I guess the exit polls were wrong." And that was that. Yep, the exit polls, not the vote itself being rigged was the culprit.

[HereSince1628]

73. Acceptance of a result is indeed all about perception

and the public's perception certainly can be wrong and/or helped along to a wrong interpretation of objective reality.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

45. I think if Romney were to say "win" a state where polls showed him behind >5%, it might not

cause nationwide outrage. But, what we have on our side is that Obama is leading in multiple states by >5%. The general public may buy one anomaly - but not a handful.

I will definitely be in the streets if this happens

[dotymed]

23. Sorry, but Shaduh!

These rich bastards are following the same playbook as 2000 and 2004.
I "think" I am getting through to some of the poor,racist, never voted before people around here. Amazingly it came through a conversation on legalizing marijuana....I hope they wake up and vote.

[BumRushDaShow]

26. They are stealing the money being raised

I keep saying it's a Ponzi and expect they are getting interest for it somewhere and will pocket it.

[porphyrian]

29. Of course they will try to steal the election, but I don't think you're right about Romney.

He is worried, you can see it, despite his best board room faces. He can't keep track of who he's fucking over any more and he's getting attacked at every turn regardless of who he listens to. If there is a plan, his survival isn't part of it. I think they were counting on a much closer election, which makes stealing it easier. As-is, their best efforts are likely to fail if we continue to fight back.

[MANative]

30. On the contrary, I think he's plenty worried.

Have you looked at his eyes lately? Margins are getting too big for them to steal.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

31. You bet. Between . . .

. . . voter suppression (Voter ID), voter intimidation ("True the Vote&quot , ballot bloat (see FL 10-page ballots), and voter purges, they absolutely plan to steal it. They can't win on their ideas, policies or platform. All they can do is lie and cheat. And every election, it gets worse.

[elleng]

34. Yes, every election it gets worse.

[asjr]

32. That is what has bothered me for a long

time. The voting machines have had a good bit of practice so I am certain they are ready to do it again.

[renie408]

36. Ok. But that aside, what does everybody expect him to say???

"Yeah, I am running the shittiest campaign EVER and getting my ass totally kicked in the polls!" ???

OF COURSE he says he isn't worried about the polls. If Republicans get disenchanted enough to stay home, he is fucked.

Which is another reason a little confidence can't hurt Dems.

[cyberpj]

38. I live in historically Democratic Delaware and I have to say I was surprised when

I was driving down a major highway and saw 4 Diebold vans traveling the same roadway with me.

I know it doesn't mean voting machines necessarily.

And I don't think I remember us using electronic machines yet (but perhaps the tabulator are?) ...

But anyway, that's my first association with that name.

[DCBob]

41. Oh he's worried.. that's why they are desperately tying to discredit the polls.

He just putting on the false confidence face to keep the troops from bailing on him.

[D23MIURG23]

43. Gee whiz, I wonder why McCain didn't think of that? n/t

[Eddie Haskell]

49. They're lulling the opposition into complacency

The fight is not won.

[lunatica]

50. They believe they will buy it

Their belief in the power of money knows no bounds. Money is their God. And now that they have the right to use it unobstructed by anything they are buying the Presidency. Or so they believe with every fiber of their beings.

[ann---]

51. exactly

and that has me worried.

[Bucky]

52. If you don't think they're worried, you haven't been paying attention.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

54. Rmoney does not have the power Bush did

If the Rethugs wanted to steal every election, then McCain would be president.

Rmoney is a toady.

It's 2016 they want, and it's Jeb Bush.

[orpupilofnature57]

61. I don't scoff at the notion, and they'll try

and make life hell until we develop total amnesia of his agenda and bloodline .

[orpupilofnature57]

55. Exactly !!! Instead of being lulled in to

that cozy feeling we had 12 yrs ago, we should remember the theft 11yrs and many months ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2000

[DemocratSinceBirth]

56. Sometimes I Think We Are As Bad As The Morons At The Other Site

But in the other direction. Here we discuss Diebold. There they discuss dead people voting and illegal aliens.

[orpupilofnature57]

63. So you think it's a paranoid notion ? " Diebold "

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm

[DemocratSinceBirth]

65. No More Or No Less Paranoid Than Believing Millions Of Dead People And Undocumented Aliens Vote

.

[orpupilofnature57]

77. Millions?

[slackmaster]

57. THAT MUST BE IT! CALL CONGRESS RIGHT NOW!!!111!!!

[orpupilofnature57]

66. Tell it to the guy in the picture on the wall. n/t

[slackmaster]

69. Oh, he knows about it. J.R. "Bob" Dobbs knows there is ONLY ONE CONSPIRACY!

The Conspiracy - So vast, so pervasive that ALL of its adherents are perfectly unaware that they have been DUPED!

[orpupilofnature57]

76. Devo or NWO what is it ? Lennon or your boy

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=bob+do&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4DKUS_enUS317US317&q=bob+dobbs&gs_l=hp..3.0l5.0.0.3.28393...........0.xYBYtx_iM7k

[slackmaster]

79. I praise and honor both Marx and Lennon

[Jennicut]

60. They may try but there are two things that would probably stop that.

#1, we aren't stupid or naive anymore. And the general public and the media (MSNBC specifically) is not dumb about voter suppression.
#2, this election may not be close enough to really steal.

[Lex]

62. Why didn't they steal it for McCain in 2008 if it can be stolen so easily?

[orpupilofnature57]

74. Shrub-phobia, we forget too soon, the apparatus of NWO

is more in place because of paranoid yuppies worrying about their muffy shit and the willingness to look the other way, what ever you fucking like, but it should be discussed and verified without ridicule from within, how soon we forgot.

[liberalmuse]

64. Yep.

And my tinfoil hat theory involves the "prophet" of the Mormon church probably telling him he would win. But yes - they are definitely planning on suppressing and stealing as many Democratic votes as they can. But they can only do it up to a point. I read a great article years ago (before the 2008 election) that stated that once outside a certain percentage, it is impossible to steal an election without being caught. I wish I could remember the details. So, we need to get out the vote for President Obama, and up those numbers so that anything they might be planning will be rendered null and void.

[PoliticalBiker]

67. He is worried about the polls...

He's just lying about it.
Why steal the election when you can buy it?

[Arkansas Granny]

72. That's why I would like to see the polls so lopsided in Obama's favor that it will

be obvious to anyone that the election was stolen if Romney comes out on top.

[zeemike]

75. Well I say there will be tells if you are correct.

And the biggest one will be if the polls start to tighten in the next few weeks...making it too close to call.
And we hear the MSM tell us that Romney's message is starting to get through.
If that happens then I will say there is a good chance they intend to steal it.

[brush]

80. They'll try

They'll try but it's not going to be close enough. And with all the monitoring and attention to that possibility going into this election, they won't be able to sneak up on us like they did in '04 and '00. Also, don't think they didn't try in '08. I'm pretty sure they did but the election wasn't that close. The President won by some 6-7 points but it was probably more except for the votes they skimmed off. And that is why we have to keep working hard until election day because they will try, we just have to beat their asses good so they won't try it again. Also, this is a turning point for the repug party as it's presently constituted. Latinos, blacks, women, progressive whites, gays and Asian Americans are lost to them. And now some seniors and working class white men (the 47%) are are turning away as the true nature of that party has been revealed. They've been pulling out all the stops to win this time because this is their last chance for a national election unless they drastically change the party to appeal to more than the rich, the racists/teabaggers and deluded people voting against their own economic interests. If they don't win they can't instill permanent national voter ID laws and other measures to insure that they stay in power, but you can bet they have plans to if they win. They won't though so look for major rifts in that party after the election. The beaten back moderates will reappear to appeal for substantive change in policies that might attract some Latinos, blacks, women, progressive whites, gays and Asian Americans. After all you aren't going anywhere as a party by attracting 0% of the black vote while writing off the Latino vote, the fasted growing voting block, with repugnant immigration policies. This might even split that party because those entrenched racists/teabaggers aren't going to want any moderation.