Understand what really happened in Spain...And take
heart...The forest is moving ever closer to the castle
walls...Yes, it's the Media, Stupid...
Jeff Cohen, www.commondreams.org: With suspicions
mounting that the government was holding back the
truth about the terror attacks, and that mainstream TV
couldn't be trusted, "thousands of mobiles were on the
go flashing messages between friends" about
independent news and spontaneous protests that became
massive the night before the election. In cities
across Spain, protesters gathered outside Popular
Party headquarters, chanting: "We want the truth
before we vote," "Our Dead, Your War," "Liars, Liars,
Liars...Don't play with the Dead."
Repudiate the 9/11 Cover-Up and the Iraq War Lies,
Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0315-13.htm
Published on Monday, March 15, 2004 by
CommonDreams.org
Liars Lose -- The Lessons of Regime Change in Spain
by Jeff Cohen
"Political shock in Spain!" blared ABC News on Sunday
night, as regime change came to Madrid. Along with
Tony Blair, Spain's conservative Prime Minister Jose
Maria Aznar had been the staunchest of Bush allies.
One down, two to go.
The deciding issue in Spain's election was government
deceit over war in Iraq and terrorism at home,
especially the bomb blasts that rocked Madrid three
days before the balloting. In a country (like ours)
where major TV channels routinely echo government
propaganda, grassroots activists defeated Aznar's
Popular Party by reaching swing voters and young
voters through mobile phones, the Internet and
creative, nonviolent protests.
For weeks polls had showed Aznar's hand-picked
successor comfortably ahead of Spain's uninspiring
Socialist party, which had been voted out of office in
1996 amid corruption scandals. Then came Thursday's
terror attacks, killing 200 Spaniards and injuring
1500.
The conservative government that had brought Spain
into the Iraq war (despite overwhelming opposition) by
echoing U.S./U.K. lies on WMDs immediately blamed the
Madrid terror attacks on Basque separatists -- before
there was any evidence, and continuing in the face of
evidence pointing to Islamist terrorists. Antiwar
Spaniards had long warned that aligning with the
U.S./U.K would intensify the threat of foreign terror.
By election day, government manipulation had become
the salient issue in the minds of millions of
shell-shocked swing voters. But the seeds of doubt
about Aznar's government had been planted by the
antiwar movement. After all, intelligence on Iraq had
been manipulated; now it seemed Spain was manipulating
the truth about who had murdered hundreds of
Spaniards. It leaked out that, within hours of the
terror attacks, Spain's foreign minister had written
ambassadors: "You should use any opportunity to
confirm [Basque] ETA's responsibility."
In his vivid street-level account from Madrid in the
hours before the election, writer Paul Laverty
described a mass nonviolent revolt. One grandmother
told Laverty that she had voted conservative the last
time, "but I can't vote for these thugs again who led
us into a war nobody wanted. They lied about the
weapons in Iraq, and they're lying again today. How
dare they manipulate the dead?"
With suspicions mounting that the government was
holding back the truth about the terror attacks, and
that mainstream TV couldn't be trusted, "thousands of
mobiles were on the go flashing messages between
friends" about independent news and spontaneous
protests that became massive the night before the
election. In cities across Spain, protesters gathered
outside Popular Party headquarters, chanting: "We want
the truth before we vote," "Our Dead, Your War,"
"Liars, Liars, Liars...Don't play with the Dead."
Then, at a time established through mobile messaging,
came "cacerolada" protests -- banging of pots and pans
-- from balconies and porches and spreading into town
squares. After midnight, Madrid protesters marched to
Atocha train station, near ground zero of the terror
attacks, and the huge crowd went silent for a vigil
and prayers and tears.
On election day, the New York Times quoted a Madrid
voter as saying: "I never would have gone into the
streets for a demonstration like yesterday except that
I felt like they were not telling us everything."
Voter turnout was very high. Late-deciding voters (and
many who hadn't expected to vote at all) swung hard
against the government, and in support of the
Socialists, who campaigned on a pledge to withdraw
Spain's troops from Iraq.
AP quoted a Barcelona voter: "I wasn't planning to
vote, but I am here today because the Popular Party is
responsible for murders here and in Iraq." A law
student told the BBC: "It's the first time I voted. I
feel very happy because the government had to
change...because of the Iraq war." As Prime Minister
Aznar cast his ballot, protesters shouted:
"Manipulator!"
After winning, Socialist Prime Minister-elect Zapatero
called for "self-criticism" by Bush and Blair: "You
can't bomb people just in case...You can't organize a
war on the basis of lies."
There are lessons for Americans seeking regime change
here at home:
A winning issue is government deceit and manipulation;
late deciders can be won over if the Bush
administration's basic honesty is in question. With
enough swing voters questioning Bush's honesty, even a
late-breaking "October Surprise" could backfire
against him. John Kerry was caught on mike accurately
referring to the Bush team as "the most crooked, lying
group I've ever seen" -- if only the Senator would add
some principle and bite to his policy statements.
Take the offensive against the administration for
failing to defend our citizens on the homefront on
Sept. 11 and in Iraq and beyond. Despite all the
pundit blather, Bush has been a "security" failure.
9/11 victims' families need not be alone in expressing
anger at a White House that politically manipulates
9/11 while taking no responsibility for its failure
and stonewalling the investigation. Bush could
continue to lose faith with veterans and their
families for cluelessly sending U.S. soldiers and
National Guard into Iraq unprotected -- as thousands
return home badly wounded to inadequate health and
veterans' services.
Use creativity and all available means of
communication to reach out to undecideds in swing
states until the very last vote is cast. In the weeks
before Nov. 2, disinformation about Kerry will be
flowing furiously in mainstream media while accurate
information about Bush will be blocked. We need to use
everything from email and door-knocking to paid ads
and rock concerts to reach folks who aren't getting
the full story.
Don't cast a risky vote this year for a 3rd party or
independent presidential candidate. In our
winner-take-all elections, only Kerry can retire the
most dangerous and extremist regime in recent U.S.
history. A cautious, mainstream Democrat like Kerry
may be as uninspiring to some of us as the
often-vacillating Socialists are to activists in
Spain. But the demise of Madrid's conservative regime
has electrified peace and progressive activists
worldwide. Imagine the elation we'll feel if Bush is
retired next November.
Jeff Cohen is a columnist, media critic and TV pundit.
###