Was the 2004 Election Stolen? (Article from 'In These Times')

[The Straight Story]

Was the 2004 Election Stolen?
By Joel Bleifuss

Did the Bush-Cheney campaign engage in electronic vote fraud to ensure that George W. Bush would be president for another four years? That is a question every small-d democrat should be asking.

Much has been written on the Internet alleging that the election was stolen. Some writers are members of the tin-foil hat brigade, but others provide sober analysis of the election results that raise disturbing questions.

Unfortunately, thanks to the herd instinct in our current media culture, anyone who publicly raises this question is immediately labeled a conspiracy theorist.

In the December 6 Nation, Alexander Cockburn dismissed such speculation, writing, “As usual, the conspiracy nuts think plans of inconceivable complexity worked at 100 percent efficiency.” Dan Thanh Dang of the Baltimore Sun put it this way: “John F. Kerry barely had time to concede the presidential race before the conspiracy theory began circulating.” The headline: “Election paranoia surfaces; Conspiracy theorists call results rigged.”

A lot more here:
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1742/