CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, October 2, 2023

CAn America rise above the margin of fraud?

Former Fox News TV, and now "X" talk show host, Tucker Carlson, says the upcoming presidential election will decide whether it is possible for the current presidential party-in-power to eliminate its leading political opponent either through imprisonment and/or bankruptcy (lawfare), or not.

As we all know, such chicanery is a common practice in third-world or so-called Banana Republic countries. But could it happen in America, the world’s leading example of democratic practices?

In a free country, citizens should be free to voice their opinions or even offer up factual data with regard to elections, past and present. And do so without fear of being thrown in jail or even "eliminated," as is too often done in Banana Republics.

But a new frame of reference from the craft of political polling should give us pause. While citizens who follow polls in the media are familiar with the term "beyond the margin of error," meaning that a certain candidate’s lead is so great as to be beyond doubt, a new term is "beyond the margin of fraud."

Citizens should be shocked, shocked, to see the word "fraud" used in the context of political polling. Has election "fraud" become so commonplace that it is now embedded in the lexicon of political discourse?

If so, our democracy is not only in peril, but the work of any honest political pollster becomes way more complicated.

For example, let’s say you need to produce a poll for a state we will call "Blue." You would need to know if that Secretary of State follows the state’s election laws or not. Does Blue permit mail-in ballots? Does Blue permit ballot harvesting? Does Blue permit the use of unofficial, insecure, and unobserved ballot-collection boxes? Does Blue permit Election Day to drag on for weeks? Does Blue require signature verification? Does Blue handle absentee ballots from armed forces personnel serving abroad so they are counted on time? Does Blue allow poll watchers from all political parties to have equal access to polling places? Or, in times of so-called emergencies, does the Blue Secretary of State set aside the normal procedures intended to produce free and fair elections?

So, you see, a pollster dealing with Blue would have to be able to identify his or her results as being "beyond the margin of fraud," or not.

Conversely, if the pollster had to produce a poll dealing with a state we will call: "Red," that follows the statutes designed to produce free and fair elections, his or her work would be dramatically easier.

Now, here’s a quote from George Orwell’s classic work: 1984 "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. And Big Brother is watching you."

Also watching are Obama, Valerie, Michelle, Holder, Hillary, Big Joe, Dr. Jill, Big Jim, and Hunter. All of them will have roles to play in the 2024 elections. Some overt. Some covert. We would all be well-advised to keep all these names in mind. Since 2009, each of them have played roles in the decline of the America we once knew and celebrated as "beyond the margin of fraud."

©2023. William Hamilton

Central View always free to you at: www.central-view.com

Dr. Hamilton can be contacted at:

Email: william@central-view.com