That's the common thread between concerted Republican efforts to recall Gray Davis in California, reopen redistricting in Texas, and rig the voting machines. These and other illegal and quasi-legal tactics take aim at our basic system of government by stacking the deck for 2004 and beyond. Here's a rundown of how lowdown Republicans have been recently:

"Republicans are engaged in a systematic effort to steal elections."

"The anger that began over former President Bill Clinton's impeachment - and intensified after the contested 2000 presidential election - has solidified into an unshakeable belief among the [Democratic] faithful that the other side has abandoned rules of fair play."

"The charge, which is gaining favor among some scholars and nonpartisan observers, has become a staple of Democratic speeches, opinion pieces and conversations."

"'People are furious over what is going on,' said Molly Beth Malcolm, chairwoman of the Texas Democratic Party. 'Republicans don't want a two-party system. This truly is an attitude of 'masters of the universe. We're in control and nobody can stop us. We'll do whatever we want, and we don't care what happens in the aftermath.'"

"Republicans successfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to stop a recount in Florida that they feared would deprive George W. Bush of the presidency."

"I'm beginning to think," said comedian Bill Maher in comments being passed around by Democrats, "that Republicans will do anything to win an election - except get the most votes."

"Republican maneuvers - impeachment, recall, lawsuits and redrawn congressional boundaries - [are a] fundamental assault on the two-party system."

"House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, led an effort this year to reopen the state's congressional boundaries - traditionally redrawn every 10 years - to provide Republicans with as many as six more congressional seats."

"Colorado Republicans, concerned after GOP Rep. Bob Beauprez won election in 2002 by just 121 votes, redrew district lines to add nearly 40,000 more Republicans to his district."

"There has never been a use of power to this extent, in this magnitude, to change the whole structure of politics," said Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University. "There is a concerted attempt to use whatever power they have to increase Republican majorities in key states as far as the eye can see."

"The Republican Party is on a mission and the Democratic Party isn't. Republicans feel they are the party of morality, goodness, truth and light, and whatever means are necessary to promote morality, goodness, truth and light, they are going to adopt," Lichtman said.

"Conspiracy is a loaded word," said Lichtman. "I'm not saying it's evil. But there is a concerted effort on behalf of the conservative right to take advantage of this moment. These are definitely not random events."

See: Widening cry against GOP election tactics, Marc Sandalow, Washington Bureau Chief, SF Chronicle - September 2, 2003.

Republicans are even threatening to sue and revoke FCC licenses of TV stations that run Democratic ads! "Tom Bier, station manager at WISC-TV/Channel 3, said his station received the ad Friday, and also a letter from the Republican National Committee urging him not to run [the Democrats' ads]." The "Letter from the Republican National Committee to Madison, Wisconsin, Television Stations" reads in part:

Dear Station Manager:

It has come to our attention that your station will begin airing false and misleading advertisements on July 21, 2003, paid for by the Democratic National Committee....

[A]s an FCC licensee you have the responsibility to exercise independent editorial judgment to not only oversee and protect the American marketplace of ideas, essential for the health of our democracy, but also to avoid deliberate misrepresentations of the facts. Such obligations must be taken seriously.

This letter puts you on notice that the information contained in the above-cited advertisement is false and misleading; therefore, you are obligated to refrain from airing this advertisement.

Respectfully,

Caroline C. Hunter
Counsel, Republican National Committee

See: Dem ad targets Bush here, Republicans warn stations, Steven Elbow and Joe Potente, The Capital Times, July 21, 2003.

The RNC threatens to put TV stations out of business to suppress ads taking Bush to task for lying to the American people. This although the Republicans insist "money is free speech" in yet another GOPocritical attack on our Constitutional rights and freedoms.

Not content with keeping opposing, accurate commentary off the air, Republicans are ginning up internecine battles among Democrats, and probably infiltrating the top campaigns hoping to set off a prairie war between rival campaigns:

You gentlefolk may already know about the questionable American Spectator article that tries to claim - by quoting suspiciously-anonymous "Kerry advisors" who may or may not actually exist - that Kerry is doing GOP-style oppo research on Howard Dean, looking for some sort of evidence that Dr. Dean performed, or was involved with, any abortions during his time as a practicing physician.

The piece, printed by those folks who gave us the "Arkansas Project," is designed to make Deanizens and Kerry supporters fight each other instead of Bush.

See: Fight Club, GOP-Style, Tamara Baker, American Politics Journal.

The Doctor IS In

FOX "News" has joined in, reporting that Kerry is about to unleash vicious attacks on Dean. To their credit, most Democrats are not rising to the bait. Instead, they're following Howard Dean's lead going after the Bush Occupation.

Dean already established himself as pugnacious. He's trying to down-play that aspect of his campaign. I don't think this is in reaction to Rove or the Republican schemes. It's just a happy accident that Dean has already made his name as a fighter and he's moving ahead.

Dean can afford to zero in on Bush while fostering party unity. Can Democrats afford not to join him? Democrats should vow not to savage each other. Bush is their real enemy.

Howard Dean is leading the fight against what he calls "the fourth attempt to undermine democracy in this country by the right wing of the Republican Party since the 2000 elections." He cited the "conservative-dominated United States Supreme Court" decision in Bush v. Gore and Republican re-redistricting efforts in Colorado and Texas.

The first handed Bush the White House by halting the full, fair vote count in Florida. The others seek to rob voters of their choices for Congress by stacking districts to favor Republicans. Dean is standing up against these efforts to rig elections.

Of the nine declared Democratic contenders, only Dean is connecting the dots on right wing disrespect for our system. "I believe the right wing of the Republican Party is deliberately undermining the democratic underpinnings of this country," Dean said.

CNN reports: "Presidential candidate Howard Dean Saturday urged Californians to vote against the effort to oust Gov. Gray Davis, calling it part of a plan by right-wing Republicans to subvert democracy." Dean added, "I'm tired of having this country run by the right wing. That is not where most people are in this country, and I think we ought not to put up with this anymore."

When "Asked whether his presidential bid might be adversely affected by his support for Davis, Dean responded, 'I don't care. My trademark is I say what I think, for better or for worse.'" Dean said, "Absolutely. I think [Bush chief political adviser] Karl Rove and George Bush have their hand in this." See: Dean stumps for Davis in California, CNN online September 6, 2003.

Signs of the Times

The key to beating Bush is a party unified behind a tough person willing to say what needs to be said and able to get rough with Bush. Only Dean, Kucinich and Sharpton have dared to call Bush on his lies so far.

Dean put himself on the line to stand up for Democrat and democracy in California, putting principle over politics. Others hold back, refusing to risk connection with Davis and afraid to call Rove and Bush on their dirty tricks. They hope to appear dignified, but they come across as soft.

Democratic statesman Mario Cuomo hopes this will change soon, and told CNN's Wolf Blitzer he see the Democratic contenders coming together as a chorus telling the truth about Bush's failures. If all the Democrats maintain strong, factual criticism against Bush, one of them is likely to replace Bush in office.

Most Democrats will eagerly support any nominee, but many fear Rove and his puppets in the media will "Mondale," "Dukakis" and "Gore" any who comes across as "soft." Al Gore came off as too soft in 2000. He won, but not by enough, and times have changed. Rove is intent on manipulating fear of terrorism to smear Democrats as weak on defense.

Looking back, the Gore people should have anticipated Bush's dirty tricks and gotten tougher on Bush and the media. Bush used crimes - such as shutting down and moving polling places - to set up a "fire wall" to stop John McCain in South Carolina after McCain won in New Hampshire. This gave us fair warning that Bush was up to no good, but we ignored this.

President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno should have sent federal investigators to South Carolina and punished Bush for his illegal dirty tricks there against McCain. Also, AG Reno should have had an early inkling of the massive vote fraud and disenfranchisement in her home state of Florida, and prosecuted the criminals. This might have saved 100,000 Democratic, mainly African American votes.

After the Election Day Clinton and Reno should have sent the FBI, the Civil Rights Commission and others there to Florida to determine what happened before the "recount" ended. The Bush forces brought in thugs from Texas and even as far as Alaska. This might have saved 10,000s of Gore votes and stopped the election theft.

The Democrats were road kill, refusing to contest Bush's election crimes, apparently afraid of Republican and media attacks. Knuckling under to the thugs and criminals didn't stop the charges, it just made them bolder. Now, it's even easier for the Republicans to storm troop over all opposition.

OK, water under the bridge. Still, we must anticipate the dirty tricks this time, and this time will be much worse. This time, Rove has the FBI and the feds PLUS Florida and Texas. I believe they're angling to get California into the toss-up column. If they can get Arnold as Governor, they'll pour in $billions of government contracts to turn around California's economy. They think that will help Bush. They may be right.

Their choice of NYC for the GOP Convention makes me think that - aside from exploiting 9/11 for partisan gain - they think Pataki and Bloomberg can help Bush make NY competitive too. If the Democrat has to fight for California and NY - the most expensive media markets - that will hurt in all the other states. Probably fatally, unless the nominee can generate massive free media attention by bashing Bush and raise tons of money.

So far, Dean is the only serious contender raising a lot of money and taking the fight directly to Bush. Dean is very close to running away with the race, and he can afford to be generous in his tone with other Democrats. His fundraising is amazing. His ability to charge up a crowd and inspire ardent support is beyond anything any Democrat has done in years.

Strong Support

Dean is already well ahead of where Gore was in 2000 - with a year to go. It's not just my bias saying he's getting close to unstoppable. Pundits admit Dean's impact already equals what most candidates hope for a few weeks or months before the election. His campaign is coping with this unanticipated runaway success - a key right of passage for any enterprise.

Dean's real "political net worth" is double or triple the amount "on paper," with a good chance to explode to record levels far beyond any Democrat's ever. Dean's donors are fart more numerous than the other candidates' supporters. They make small contributions - an average of about $50.

Dean is reaching untapped people. Many of them had never donated to a political campaign before. Unlike the $2000 a shot supporters Dean's top rivals depend on, Dean's donors aren't tapped out. They can still give ten, twenty or even forty times the amount they've given, and federal matching funds double what they've already given.

Dean gets more money and more out of his money than any other Democrat. This thrift and his rapidly multiplying ardent support lets Dean do things the others can't. MeetUps and other web-based activity let Dean fundraise and organize for free. Also, Dean's contributions advance his campaign more than others because Dean doesn't have to spend money to raise money. He even raises money doing outreach and other things that cost other campaigns cash.

Dean himself is a cheapskate, so they're husbanding their enormous cash flow. Campaign manager Joe Trippi is setting up media buys and campaign activity to break out in Iowa. They've mastered getting free media, and Trippi says he will generate $millions in free media the week before New Hampshire.

After that, he knows the media will be focused on two or three candidates - the ones who finish in the top two in those early states. If Dean finishes in the top two in both, and if Trippi is as poised to exploit that as he seems, it may become a breakout for Dean.

The other candidates aren't stupid. They are preparing for a Dean sweep going into South Carolina, but Dean himself is using free media to talk up South Carolina. That's where Kerry and Edwards hope to set up a "fire wall" to stop Dean in case he sweeps Iowa and New Hampshire. If they fail to stop Dean there, his money and the front-loaded process indicate Dean could just run away with the race at that point.

I think that's the best possible result, because an early wrap up would let Democrats focus on beating Bush and let Dean save his money to win the general election. That's the priority. Pundits claim Dean will have trouble making the drastic shift from the left to the middle needed to win the general election. Wrong. Watch him. Dean isn't running to the left anymore, if he ever was. He's already running a nation-wide general election campaign.

Dean's "Sleepless Summer" had him stopping in places like Idaho and Texas. He's launching his own "Southern Strategy" - appealing to people who vote Republican time after time by asking what that has gotten them. They know it's gotten them nothing.

Democrats who back Dean are not "venting" as some pundits claim. We see in him the fighter Americans want. Not just Democrats, but also independents and even some Republicans who know Bush is not on their side. As this takes hold, Dean could not only win the primary in South Carolina and other southern states, he could even force Bush to defend in states like Virginia, Louisiana, Georgia and North Carolina.

Rove knows no candidate other than Dean has a chance to run the table, so he's trying to do a "Muskie" on Dean. Rove will have his media allies - especially in New Hampshire - hammer Dean hoping he'll crack. Then Rove hopes to run against someone else - an easy kill for Bush.

Dean is too tough for that. Attacking him only makes his supporters mad and that only makes Dean stronger. The raw size and passion of the Dean support is far bigger and stronger than Bush's or any other Democrat's. Also, Dean is way ahead of where Muskie was in 1972. It's too late to break him.

Dean Seeks to Replant the Shrub

It's important that Dean not offend the other candidates. He's already talking to General Clark whom he admires, and that might keep Clark out of the race. Even if Clark declares, the two of them can conduct a principled discussion, above the fray, and eclipse the rest of the field. They can run together as the "top two ticket" - a balance of proven domestic / fiscal expertise and military leadership. I'm not saying this is a set up or a plan - just that it might happen.

We need a nominee not beaten up by a nasty primary campaign. We need someone the GOP-friendly media can't paint as a hothead or a nut job or a sodomy advocate or a peacenik hippie - all labels Rove will try to put on Dean. Dean has to be smart and work hard against that, and I think he'll defeat any Republican attempt to caricature him.

With the rigged, no paper trail voting machines and no exit polling or VNS overview, Republican dirty tricks will pad Bush's vote totals. They'll use attack ads on TV and radio, telephone push polls, distribute deceptive "voter guides," and use every dishonest illegal trick in the book. And many more that aren't in the book.

We can't afford to get caught napping again. We need to get the word out on all of this. We must sound the alarm and prepare for the worst campaign ever. Forewarned is forearmed.

We need a proven money-raiser to counter Bush's huge war chest. We need a nominee tough enough to take the fight to Bush. We have to unite as early as possible, and hunker down for a vicious all-fronts war we can't afford to lose. We must prepare for the worst and unite early behind our best bet. To beat Bush we must unite behind Governor Howard Dean.