Ohio election fraud, continued

The truth about what happened in Ohio keeps trickling out, and it smells an awful lot like rotten fish entrails.

Ohio's Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a Republican, admitted yesterday that he "accidentally" bought stock in Diebold Inc., a voting machine maker that benefited from decisions made by his office - and gave Bush the presidency.

Blackwell, a gubernatorial hopeful, revealed in a required filing with the Ohio Ethics Commission that his hefty portfolio included 178 shares of Diebold stock - which he has, of course, sold to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

Too late, Ken.

Stealing a line from Bill Frist, Blackwell said, "While I was unaware of this stock in my portfolio, its mere presence may be viewed as a conflict."

Why are Republicans so frequently "unaware"?

A spokesman for Ohio's attorney general said Blackwell "has a pretty unique history with this company...This should be investigated."

But Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo called the request for an investigation "absurd" and said that county boards of election - not the secretary of state - determine which voting machines to use. However, Blackwell's staff had narrowed down the list of companies eligible to replace old voting equipment, and Diebold made the cut.

In other words, counties could choose whichever machines they wanted - as long as they were Diebold.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, LoParo maintains that Diebold's machines are safe and reliable, and he described Blackwell's Diebold holdings as an honest mistake.

Why do Republicans so frequently make "honest mistakes"?

As the spokesman for Ohio's Democratic Party said, "If Ken Blackwell didn't know how his own money was being spent, why would the people of Ohio think he would be a good steward of their checkbook?"

Indeed. And further, why would the people of Ohio think Diebold is a good steward of their votes - and our presidency?

Ohio, unless you want to see this country go completely to hell, we suggest you make both Blackwell and Diebold live up to their names.