Ohio lessons

Over at Hullabaloo, tristero has a quick roundup of arguments that Kennedy's Rolling Stone argument that the GOP may have stolen the 2004 Ohio election is flawed, perhaps fatally so.

While I'm not yet convinced that Kennedy's wrong about Ohio, I want to clarify one point about my own post on the subject:

Whether Ohio was actually, legally, electorally "stolen" or not, the shenanigans that went on are un-American, and clearly the product of people who disrespect the system our country runs on. Putting a halt to it--regardless of whether we're talking about 2004, or '06 or '08--does not rest on the integrity of mainstream media. It does not rest on left/liberal/progressive bloggers. It does not rest on shouting at your television from your couch.

It rests on getting out there--being heard and being seen. Make the call. Attend the meeting. Give your time. Let your representatives know you're watching them and weighing your next vote.

I haven't mentioned money yet. Yes, money counts too, but one of the destructive misunderstandings of our age is the belief that money is speech. It isn't. Money is commerce, and campaigns need it. But speech is speech. Get out there and make yourself heard. Nothing else will do.

Cross-posted at Preemptive Karma.