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Some days, it's really embarrassing to live in the United States.
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By Mike Cuenca | November 24, 2004
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As an American, I'm embarrassed that the citizens of the fledgling
democracy of Ukraine have shown more concern for their democracy than
we have under the same circumstances.
Last week, the Ukranians held a presidential election. Prime Minister
Viktor F. Yanukovich declared himself the winner of the election, by a
margin of 49.46 percent of the vote to 46.61 percent. Apparently, exit
polls had shown the opposition candidate, Viktor A. Yushchenko, as
having an early lead and predicted a double-digit win for him. So,
Yushchenko and his supporters took to the streets, claiming election
fraud and threatening to stay on the streets until a new, fair election
is held.
Our president, through an official statement from the White House, denounced the election. The official statement said:
The
United States is deeply disturbed by extensive and credible indications
of fraud committed in the Ukrainian presidential election. We strongly
support efforts to review the conduct of the election and urge
Ukrainian authorities not to certify results until investigations of
organized fraud are resolved. We call on the Government of Ukraine to
respect the will of the Ukrainian people, and we urge all Ukrainians to
resolve the situation through peaceful means. The Government bears a
special responsibility not to use or incite violence, and to allow free
media to report accurately on the situation without intimidation or
coercion. The United States stands with the Ukrainian people in this
difficult time. Earlier this week, Republican U.S. Senator
Richard Lugar, who is in the Ukraine as a special envoy from our White
House, was quoted by CNN.com as saying, ""It is now apparent that a
concerted and forceful program of election-day fraud and abuse was
enacted with either the leadership or cooperation of governmental
authorities."
And now our State Department, through Secretary
of State Colin Powell, has threatened vague "consequences" if the
election results are validated and accepted. He said$#151;with all
sincerity, I'm sure,—"What we stand for is free, fair, open elections."
But wait. We held an election a couple of weeks ago, during which early
exit polls showed opposition candidate John Kerry with the momentum
necessary to win key states and, consequently, the presidency. But the
"official" results were contrary to those exit polls. Since then there
have been many credible allegations and documented proof of fraud and
irregularities. So why haven't we taken to the streets? Why hasn't our
president denounced the election and called for an investigation into
the allegations? Why hasn't John Kerry led his supporters into the
streets?
Could it be that in America, we're more concerned
about Monday Night Football and Desperate Housewives than we are about
the sanctity of the democratic process? The day after our elections,
when it was clear that something had definitely gone wrong with our
election process, I couldn't believe that it seemed Americans had
already moved on. Even though many people you asked before the election
would have told you they wouldn't be surprised if the GOP stole another
election, it seems that once they did, everyone just yawned, changed
the channel and said, "oh, well. I wonder who the Bachelor will pick?"
This story more than any other in recent years, reveals the
double-standard that our government and its media lapdogs apply to the
democratic process and fair election standards in other countries and
in the U.S. There are reports that our media reporters and anchors have
been warned not to cover the irregularities in the U.S. election. If
true, whoever is behind that is likely behind the stolen election. And
even if it's true, those journalists who accept that dictum without
challenge, without standing up and denouncing it, are not journalists.
They're simply PR people.
We no longer have the right to
challenge or question any other country's democratic process. Ours has
been corrupted and overtaken by partisan factions and corporations. We
are now the most blatant example of what we used to call "banana
republics," for those tropical countries that held obviously corrupted
elections that did not truly reflect the will of the people.
For more on the Ukraine story, see:
Los Angeles Times: Powell Rejects Election Outcome, Calls for Peaceful Resolution
NewYork Times:
Powell Says U.S. Cannot Accept Ukraine Vote Tally as Legitimate For more on our election fiasco, see:
ceaselessagitation.org: Wake up, Americans. The election is not over and it's not official
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