For over half the days during any period of years you choose to select, the biggest story in U.S. news outlets is the impending most important election in your lifetime. The story, of course, takes an infinite variety of forms, ranging from candidates' friends and associates to their diets, wardrobes, religions, childhoods, and hobbies. There are variations that take us through polls and fundraising and commercials and donors and staffers and analysis of commentary on reporting on sound bytes. We learn the ins and outs of the process, the demographics of likely supporters, and the statistical likelihood that a candidate of a given race, religion, gender, and shoe size will get an RBI in the next inning. Occasionally we even get a glancing glimpse at what a candidate might do if elected.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives on Monday, June 9, that contain articles alleging the president conspired to violate the Voting Rights Act and tampered with free and fair elections.

(Photo: AP)

    But what if there were a story about the entire process that flipped the whole thing upside down, radically altering many of the assumptions never mentioned but always assumed in all of the endless "reporting"? And what if, on top of that, this story involved strong evidence of the commission of major crimes and abuses by the highest officials in the land? And what if, on top of that, you could toss in the historic reversal of some of the major gains won by the most dramatic populist movement of civil resistance during the course of the last century? The question, of course, would be: Can we find a way to connect this information to some kinky form of illicit sex so that members of the media can feel responsible about using our airwaves to discuss it?

    That, my friends, is your assignment. The raw material you have to work with is contained in the following two articles of impeachment introduced in the House of Representatives last Monday night by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. The model you should seek to emulate is, of course, the classic report named for its author: Kenneth Starr.

    Article XXVIII

    Tampering With Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice

    In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed", has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, conspired to undermine and tamper with the conduct of free and fair elections, and to corrupt the administration of justice by United States Attorneys and other employees of the Department of Justice, through abuse of the appointment power.

    Toward this end, the President and Vice President, both personally and through their agents, did:

    Engage in a program of manufacturing false allegations of voting fraud in targeted jurisdictions where the Democratic Party enjoyed an advantage in electoral performance or otherwise was problematic for the President's Republican Party, in order that public confidence in election results favorable to the Democratic Party be undermined;

    Direct United States Attorneys to launch and announce investigations of certain leaders, candidates and elected officials affiliated with the Democratic Party at times calculated to cause the most political damage and confusion, most often in the weeks immediately preceding an election, in order that public confidence in the suitability for office of Democratic Party leaders, candidates and elected officials be undermined;

    Direct United States Attorneys to terminate or scale back existing investigations of certain Republican Party leaders, candidates and elected officials allied with the George W. Bush administration, and to refuse to pursue new or proposed investigations of certain Republican Party leaders, candidates and elected officials allied with the George W. Bush administration, in order that public confidence in the suitability of such Republican Party leaders, candidates and elected officials be bolstered or restored;

    Threaten to terminate the employment of the following United States Attorneys who refused to comply with such directives and purposes;

    1.David C. Iglesias as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico;

    2.Kevin V. Ryan as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California;

    3.John L. McKay as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington;

    4.Paul K. Charlton as U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona;

    5.Carol C. Lam as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California;

    6.Daniel G. Bogden as U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada;

    7.Margaret M. Chiara as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan;

    8.Todd Graves as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri;

    9.Harry E. "Bud" Cummins, III as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas;

    10.Thomas M. DiBiagio as U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, and;

    11.Kasey Warner as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia.

    Further, George W. Bush has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, together with the Vice President conspired to obstruct the lawful Congressional investigation of these dismissals of United States Attorneys and the related scheme to undermine and tamper with the conduct of free and fair elections, and to corrupt the administration of justice.

    Contrary to his oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, George W. Bush has without lawful cause or excuse directed not to appear before the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives certain witnesses summoned by duly authorized subpoenas issued by that Committee on June 13, 2007.

    In refusing to permit the testimony of these witnesses George W. Bush, substituting his judgment as to what testimony was necessary for the inquiry, interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, thereby assuming to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the checking and balancing power of oversight vested in the House of Representatives.

    Further, the President has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, together with the Vice President directed the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia to decline to prosecute for contempt of Congress the aforementioned witnesses, Joshua B. Bolten and Harriet E. Miers, despite the obligation to do so as established by statute (2 USC § 194) and pursuant to the direction of the United States House of Representatives as embodied in its resolution (H. Res. 982) of February 14, 2008.

    In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W. Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.

    Article XXIX

    Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965

    In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed", has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, willfully corrupted and manipulated the electoral process of the United States for his personal gain and the personal gain of his co-conspirators and allies; violated the United States Constitution and law by failing to protect the civil rights of African-American voters and others in the 2004 Election, and impeded the right of the people to vote and have their vote properly and accurately counted, in that:

    A. On November 5, 2002, and prior thereto, James Tobin, while serving as the regional director of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and as the New England Chairman of Bush-Cheney '04 Inc., did, at the direction of the White House under the administration of George W. Bush, along with other agents both known and unknown, commit unlawful acts by aiding and abetting a scheme to use computerized hang-up calls to jam phone lines set up by the New Hampshire Democratic Party and the Manchester firefighters' union on Election Day;

    B. An investigation by the Democratic staff of the House Judiciary Committee into the voting procedures in Ohio during the 2004 election found "widespread instances of intimidation and misinformation in violation of the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, Equal Protection, Due Process and the Ohio right to vote;"

    C. The 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause guarantees that no minority group will suffer disparate treatment in a federal, state, or local election in stating that: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." However, during and at various times of the year 2004, John Kenneth Blackwell, then serving as the Secretary of State for the State of Ohio and also serving simultaneously as Co-Chairman of the Committee to Re-Elect George W. Bush in the State of Ohio, did, at the direction of the White House under the administration of George W. Bush, along with other agents both known and unknown, commit unlawful acts in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution by failing to protect the voting rights of African-American citizens in Ohio and further, John Kenneth Blackwell did disenfranchise African-American voters under color of law, by

    D. Willfully denying certain neighborhoods in the cities of Cleveland, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio, along with other urban areas in the State of Ohio, an adequate number of electronic voting machines and provisional paper ballots, thereby unlawfully impeding duly registered voters from the act of voting and thus violating the civil rights of an unknown number of United States citizens.

    E. In Franklin County, George W. Bush and his agent, Ohio Secretary of State John Kenneth Blackwell, Co-Chair of the Bush-Cheney Re-election Campaign, failed to protect the rights of African-American voters by not properly investigating the withholding of 125 electronic voting machines assigned to the city of Columbus.

    F. Forty-two African-American precincts in Columbus were each missing one voting machine that had been present in the 2004 primary.

    G. African-American voters in the city of Columbus were forced to wait three to seven hours to vote in the 2004 presidential election.

    H. Willfully issuing unclear and conflicting rules regarding the methods and manner of becoming a legally registered voter in the State of Ohio, and willfully issuing unclear and unnecessary edicts regarding the weight of paper registration forms legally acceptable to the State of Ohio, thereby creating confusion for both voters and voting officials and thus impeding the right of an unknown number of United States citizens to register and vote.

    I. Ohio Secretary of State John Kenneth Blackwell directed through Advisory 2004-31 that voter registration forms, which were greatest in urban minority areas, should not be accepted and should be returned unless submitted on 80 bond paper weight. Blackwell's own office was found to be using 60 bond paper weight.

    J. Willfully permitted and encouraged election officials in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo to conduct a massive partisan purge of registered voter rolls, eventually expunging more than 300,000 voters, many of whom were duly registered voters, and who were thus deprived of their constitutional right to vote;

    K. Between the 2000 and 2004 Ohio presidential elections, 24.93% of the voters in the city of Cleveland, a city with a majority of African American citizens, were purged from the voting rolls.

    L. In that same period, the Ohio county of Miami, with census data indicating a 98% Caucasian population, refused to purge any voters from its rolls. Miami County "merged" voters from other surrounding counties into its voting rolls and even allowed voters from other states to vote.

    M. In Toledo, Ohio, an urban city with a high African-American concentration, 28,000 voters were purged from the voting rolls in August of 2004, just prior to the presidential election. This purge was conducted under the control and direction of George W. Bush's agent, Ohio Secretary of State John Kenneth Blackwell outside of the regularly established cycle of purging voters in odd-numbered years.

    N. Willfully allowing Ohio Secretary of State John Kenneth Blackwell, acting under color of law and as an agent of George W. Bush, to issue a directive that no votes would be counted unless cast in the right precinct, reversing Ohio's long-standing practice of counting votes for president if cast in the right county.

    O. Willfully allowing his agent, Ohio Secretary of State John Kenneth Blackwell, the Co-Chair of the Bush-Cheney Re-election Campaign, to do nothing to assure the voting rights of 10,000 people in the city of Cleveland when a computer error by the private vendor Diebold Election Systems, Inc. incorrectly disenfranchised 10,000 voters

    P. Willfully allowing his agent, Ohio Secretary of State John Kenneth Blackwell, the Co-Chair of the Bush-Cheney Re-election Campaign, to ensure that uncounted and provisional ballots in Ohio's 2004 presidential election would be disproportionately concentrated in urban African-American districts.

    Q. In Ohio's Lucas County, which includes Toledo, 3,122 or 41.13% of the provisional ballots went uncounted under the direction of George W. Bush's agent, the Secretary of State of Ohio, John Kenneth Blackwell, Co-Chair of the Committee to Re-Elect Bush/Cheney in Ohio.

    R. In Ohio's Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, 8,559 or 32.82% of the provisional ballots went uncounted.

    S. In Ohio's Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati, 3,529 or 24.23% of the provisional ballots went uncounted.

    T. Statewide, the provisional ballot rejection rate was 9% as compared to the greater figures in the urban areas.

    U. The Department of Justice, charged with enforcing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, and other voting rights laws in the United States of America, under the direction and Administration of George W. Bush did willfully and purposely obstruct and stonewall legitimate criminal investigations into myriad cases of reported electoral fraud and suppression in the state of Ohio. Such activities, carried out by the department on behalf of George W. Bush in counties such as Franklin and Knox by persons such as John K. Tanner and others, were meant to confound and whitewash legitimate legal criminal investigations into the suppression of massive numbers of legally registered voters and the removal of their right to cast a ballot fairly and freely in the state of Ohio, which was crucial to the certified electoral victory of George W. Bush in 2004.

    V. On or about November 1, 2006, members of the United States Department of Justice, under the control and direction of the Administration of George W. Bush, brought indictments for voter registration fraud within days of an election, in order to directly effect the outcome of that election for partisan purposes, and in doing so, thereby violated the Justice Department's own rules against filing election-related indictments close to an election;

    X. Emails have been obtained showing that the Republican National Committee and members of Bush-Cheney '04 Inc., did, at the direction of the White House under the administration of George W. Bush, engage in voter suppression in five states by a method know as "vote caging," an illegal voter suppression technique;

    Y. Agents of George W. Bush, including Mark F. "Thor" Hearne, the national general counsel of Bush/Cheney '04, Inc., did, at the behest of George W. Bush, as members of a criminal front group, distribute known false information and propaganda in the hopes of forwarding legislation and other actions that would result in the disenfranchisement of Democratic voters for partisan purposes. The scheme, run under the auspices of an organization known as "The American Center for Voting Rights" (ACVR), was funded by agents of George W. Bush in violation of laws governing tax exempt 501(c)3 organizations and in violation of federal laws forbidding the distribution of such propaganda by the federal government and agents working on its behalf.

    Z. Members of the United States Department of Justice, under the control and direction of the Administration of George W. Bush, did, for partisan reasons, illegally and with malice aforethought block career attorneys and other officials in the Department of Justice from filing three lawsuits charging local and county governments with violating the voting rights of African-Americans and other minorities, according to seven former senior United States Justice Department employees.

    AA. Members of the United States Department of Justice, under the control and direction of the Administration of George W. Bush, did illegally and with malice aforethought derail at least two investigations into possible voter discrimination, according to a letter sent to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and written by former employees of the United States Department of Justice, Voting Rights Section.

    BB. Members of the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC), under the control and direction of the Administration of George W. Bush, have purposefully and willfully misled the public, in violation of several laws, by;

    CC. Withholding from the public and then altering a legally mandated report on the true measure and threat of Voter Fraud, as commissioned by the EAC and completed in June 2006, prior to the 2006 mid-term election, but withheld from release prior to that election when its information would have been useful in the administration of elections across the country, because the results of the statutorily required and tax-payer funded report did not conform with the illegal, partisan propaganda efforts and politicized agenda of the Bush Administration;

    DD. Withholding from the public a legally mandated report on the disenfranchising effect of Photo Identification laws at the polling place, shown to disproportionately disenfranchise voters not of George W. Bush's political party. The report was commissioned by the EAC and completed in June 2006, prior to the 2006 mid-term election, but withheld from release prior to that election when its information would have been useful in the administration of elections across the country

    EE. Withholding from the public a legally mandated report on the effectiveness of Provisional Voting as commissioned by the EAC and completed in June 2006, prior to the 2006 mid-term election, but withheld from release prior to that election when its information would have been useful in the administration of elections across the country, and keeping that report unreleased for more than a year until it was revealed by independent media outlets.

    For directly harming the rights and manner of suffrage, for suffering to make them secret and unknowable, for overseeing and participating in the disenfranchisement of legal voters, for instituting debates and doubts about the true nature of elections, all against the will and consent of local voters affected, and forced through threats of litigation by agents and agencies overseen by George W. Bush, the actions of Mr. Bush to do the opposite of securing and guaranteeing the right of the people to alter or abolish their government via the electoral process, being a violation of an inalienable right, and an immediate threat to Liberty.

    In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W. Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.

    Further Reading on Election Tampering:

    Dan Eggen, & Amy Goldstein, Voter-Fraud Complaints by GOP Drove Dismissals, The Washington Post, May 14, 2007.

    Rebecca Carr, Former Justice Official: Fired U.S. Attorneys Among the Best, Cox Newspapers, May 8, 2007.

    Marisa Taylor, Gonzales appoints political loyalists into vacant U.S. Attorneys slots, McClatchy Newspapers, January 26, 2007.

    David Bowermaster, Charges may result from firings, say two former U.S. attorneys, Seattle Times, May 9, 2007.

    Murray Waas, Secret Order By Gonzales Delegated Extraordinary Powers To Aides, National Journal, National Journal Group, Inc., April 30, 2007.

    David Stout, Ex-Gonzales Aide Testifies, 'I Crossed the Line', New York Times, May 23, 2007.

    Richard Roesler, No evidence of election crime, former U.S. attorney says, The Spokesman Review, May 20, 2007.

    Jan Crawford Greenberg, E-Mails Show Rove's Role in U.S. Attorney Firings, ABC News, March 15, 2007.

    Dan Eggen, Firings Had Genesis in White House Ex-Counsel Miers First Suggested Dismissing Prosecutors 2 Years Ago, Documents Show, Washington Post, March 13, 2007, p. Page A01.

    Laura Jakes Jordan, Agency weighed prosecutors' politics, ABC News (AP), April 13, 2007

    Kevin Johnson, Prosecutor fired so ex-Rove aide could get his job, USA Today, February 6, 2007.

    David Johnston, White House Is Reported to Be Linked to a Dismissal, The New York Times, February 16, 2007.

    CNN, Subpoenas target Justice; White House could be next, March 15, 2007.

    Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Bush Clashes With Congress on Prosecutors, The New York Times, March 20, 2007.

    President Bush Addresses Resignations of U.S. Attorneys - The Diplomatic Reception Room.

    Michael Roston, Bush blocks Miers from appearing before House Judiciary Committee, contempt charges possible, July 11, 2007.

    The New York Times, Questions About a Governor's Fall, Editorial, June 30, 2007.

    Adam Cohen, A Woman Wrongly Convicted and a U.S. Attorney Who Kept His Job, The New York Times, April, 16, 2007.

    Further Reading on Voting Rights:

    James Tobin.

    House Judiciary Committee Report, January 5, 2005.

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Was the 2004 Election Stolen? Rolling Stone.

    Jim Bebbington and Laura Bischoff, Ohio Secretary of State Blocks New Voter Registrations, Dayton Daily News, September 28, 2004.

    Brad Friedman, DOJ WHITEWASHES OHIO ELECTION INVESTIGATION! CONYERS 'FLABBERGASTED' IN REBUTTAL!, BradBlog.

    Paul Kiel, Controversial USA Delivered "Voter Fraud" Indictments Right on Time, TPM Muckraker, May 1, 2007

    Jason Leopold and Matt Renner, Emails Detail RNC Voter Suppression in Five States, truthout.org.

    Thor Hearne, "American Center for Voting Rights" (ACVR) GOP "Voter Fraud" Scam.

    Greg Gordon, Justice official accused of blocking suits into alleged violations, McClatchy Newspapers, June 18, 2007.

    Arlen Parsa, U.S. Election Assistance Commission Altered Final Report On 'Voter Fraud' For Political Purposes BradBlog, April 11, 2007.

    Brad Friedman, EAC Finally Releases Previously Withheld, 9 Month Old Report on 'Voter ID' Concerns After Congressional Prodding.

    Rick Hasen, Another Report to the EAC Buried?, Election Law Blog, December 2, 2007.

    Voting Rights Act of 1965, ourdocuments.gov.

www.truthout.org/article/the-biggest-election-story-not-your-tv