Lugar Urges New Ukraine Vote; No Absentee Ballots

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sen. Richard Lugar, a U.S. monitor of the contested Ukrainian presidential election, urged on Sunday a new round of voting without absentee balloting, where he said much of the fraud took place.

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the disputed election victory of pro-Moscow Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich over pro-Western challenger Viktor Yushchenko was a blow to fledgling democracy in the former Soviet Union states.

"You know we're in the process of watching a re-incorporation of the newly independent states back into Russia," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

Lugar, who monitored the Ukraine election as a representative of President Bush, has accused the authorities of "concerted and forceful" fraud.

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=6934917

Lugar's actually one of the few "good" Republicans. I'm glad he's involved with this. If the Republicans have to be in charge right now, I can't really think of a better man to be dealing with this than Lugar.

it's not fa-a-a-a-ir-r-r-r. we want one too!!!!!

Sorry I am not convinced.

He's an old-style Conservative, not a neocon. Not once has he creeped me out in the way that a Cheney, Hastert, Frist, Bush, Wolfowitz, etc... has.

He's actually been fighting with Bush over cleaning up Russia's nuclear stockpile. Lugar's been trying to keep them out of the blackmarket, but Bush has been ignoring the issue and cutting the funding. Needless to say, Bush isn't exactly one of Lugar's favorite Republicans.

(Hoosiers will also tell you that he's more of a gentleman politician than Bayh could ever be. Lugar answers his mail and phone calls (as stated by several members of this board) whereas Bayh doesn't do either.)

Worried about massive election FRAUD?
Couldn't we use him right here in the US?
:eyes:

Lugar makes noises about poor planning in Iraq lack of WMD but seems to follow the Republic party line when it suits him (election fraud in the Ukraine).

If a Russian or Ukrainian would have visited Ohio or Florida and said that they would have been asked to leave. At worst they would have been arrested for fomenting civil war.

I feel sorry for the Ukrainians they are caught by competing election fraud. Sounds like our 200+ year old Republic is not any better than the attempts by former Communist dictatorships to establish legitimate elections.

We're right here!! What about taking care of business at home first.

If Bush says there was fraud in the Ukraine we really have to ask ourselves what the hell Bush is up to. You know any time his mouth is moving he is lying. So we need to try to figure out why Bush is involved in the Ukraine. Is there oil there or what? There has to be some angle to this, and I am sure it stinks.

The only thing I can think of so far is that Bush is going to use the Ukraine as a diversion if sh*t starts to hit the fan in Ohio by voter fraud activists, but there may be something else.

there is oil there.

It has also been repeatedly alleged that foreign observers found the elections fraught with violations committed by the government. In fact, this is exclusively the view of highly politicised Western governmental organisations like the OSCE - a body which is notorious for the fraudulent nature of its own reports, and which in any case came to this conclusion before the poll had even taken place - and of bogus NGOs, such as the Committee of Ukrainian Voters, a front organisation exclusively funded by Western (mainly American) government bodies and think-tanks, and clearly allied with Yushchenko.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=74&ItemID=6746

and realize why it is very likely they did vote against closer ties to Russia.
There are no competing accusations of fraud and if you look at Yushchenko, you can tell he didn't eat bad shrimp. He was poisoned. The other side is far from innocent and the people want their freedom. They have only had a constitution since the mid 1990s. They want to keep it.

I would suggest you also talk to some Ukrainian people. They will give you the straight scoop. They HATE the Russians. They don't want to be tired to the Russian government anymore.

that the reporting on this issue has been particulary unenlightening if you're trying to figure out who the parties are and what they stand for. The Znet author might have biases, but his description of events sort of suggests why the reporting isn't filling out the blank spaces.

The official loser (as of now) is pro-West and wants Ukraine to join Nato. Bush is probably dreaming of all the wonderful military bases he can put up in Ukraine right next to Russia if this guy is declared a winner.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/082004W.shtml

The US financed Venezuelan Opposition tried to use phony exit polls.
BTW...there is no such thing as a "good" Republican. I will take almost any side against this Administration and this is one of the sides that I will take against them.

Way to go. Do away with that method of cheating here in good old USofA too-including military.

Flame away.

180

then I would not be able to vote

If you can make it to the polling location you should not get one.

since I live 6000 miles away

How are you getting on?

Yes unfortunately the honest people would be disenfranchised.

In a way I am speaking from life experience when in two local elections I won on the voting machines and lost by absentee ballots which by some mysterious process suddenly came into being.

In the area I live in it is common for retired locals to maintain homes in Florida, register their cars in Florida and vote in New York. Much later in life (Recently) I overheard a local bragging about voting in both states, Florida and New York. No I did not report it.

But finally when th Republican Lugar suggests doing away with absentee ballots in a foreign election, I cannot help but to be thinking hmmmm Senator look to your own back yard.

180

without electrons?...Paper ballots only please!

We didn't' even have that.

All I hear is everybody crying fraud but offering no details. Any links?

Sounds familiar?
Of course, exit polls can not predict the winner, or so we are being told when it suits Bush.
:eyes:

By that standard we must have new elections in Florida and Ohio at the very least. :wtf:

and absentee ballot fraud, etc. But certainly, by that standard, we should definitely get new elections in OH and Florida.
We all know how concerned Bush is about fair elections. Surely, what's good for Ukraine should be good enough for US?

senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov

I just e-mailed him.

The hypocrisy is ludicrous.

a clue to be afraid of his own back and start acting like a prez instead of the corps ass puppet.

When a compromise is reached, Ukrainian news will completely fade from the US media.

Yulia Tymoshenko ran most of the gas industry in the Ukraine. She is said to be worth about 11 Billion. Anyone thing there is there a connection?