Monday, November 06, 2006

Either We Win or You Cheated

These stories have been circulating for days, with Democrats claiming to be on the verge of winning the House and probably the Senate, they are also planning for the loss with stories like this one and this one that boil down to what Michael Grahman correctly notes as "we win or you cheated."

The funny thing is that both parties are guilty of looking for voting boogeymen at every turn. For the GOP it takes the form of voter fraud, the impetus behind many of the voter ID laws. For the Democrats, it is voter suppression--the idea that the GOP can't win unless it cheats.

In reality, neither form of "cheating" occurs on a great or even a medium size scale. Do people vote fraudulantly? Yes. Are there some voter suppression schemes? Yes. But again, not nearly as bad as everyone makes out.

Although Democrats have lead for months in the polls, the only poll that matters opens tomorrow and closes tomorrow. That is all. Whoever wins or loses does so on their own merits and nothing more.

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