Green Party Candidate Plans to Be Force in Gov Race
By Angela Rito
The outspoken Green Party candidate for governor of Ohio spoke at Ohio University's Bentley Hall on Thursday night, discussing the current corruption in Ohio and the nation's governments. "I intend to be a threat," vowed Bob Fitrakis, an attorney, author, investigative reporter and professor, of his potential future office. "I need to defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic."
"I intend to be a threat. I need to defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic." — Bob Fitrakis |
Fitrakis, a professor of political science at Columbus State Community College, became well known nationally after the 2004 U.S. presidential election by calling for the first public hearings on election indiscretions in Ohio, challenging Ohio's presidential election results in the state Supreme Court with three other attorneys.
The candidate spoke about his service as an international election observer in the 1994 presidential elections in El Salvador, contrasting the process to that of the United States. The U.S. is the only democracy that allows private partisan corporations to count ballots, he noted.
"All parties and media counted the ballots in front of everyone," he said of the El Salvador election. The speaker criticized the United States' use of "special vote-counting software that no one can know about."
Fitrakis mocked the fact that some people consider the U.S. to be the world's greatest democracy. "That's bulls***," he said. According to Fitrakis, the U.S. has a comparatively low voter turnout, and the country "ignores obvious aspects of democracy."
Fitrakis spoke about the corruption of Ohio's government, citing many alleged money-laundering schemes executed by government officials and affiliates of the Republican Party, as well as alleged links of Ohio officials to members of the mob. He said that while Republicans do most of the "stealing," Democrats are guilty of it, too, though they "steal less." "Republicans are better at it," he said.
The speaker brought up many shady issues in the 2004 election, including mysterious voting patterns in rural Ohio and the disappearance of many absentee ballots, as well as the access of some candidates to electronic voting machines.
Fitrakis said that some Ohioans with unresolved law violations such as unpaid parking tickets or child support were urged not to vote in the 2004 election by intimidating phone calls, which benefited Republican candidates. He also cited last-minute changing of precincts as being a large factor in the outcome of the election.
"There is corruption in Ohio," he said. "We ignore it and call it conspiracy theory."
Fitrakis slammed President Bush's war in Iraq, stating that the war violates Sections 1 and 2 of Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution. "The war in Iraq is illegal," he said. "It's what we hung Nazi generals for after World War II."
The candidate criticized Bush's use of the term "preemption" when referring to the war in Iraq and argued against the president's reasons for entering the war. He said that it doesn't make sense to attack Iraq now solely because their alleged development of weapons of mass destruction may pose a threat to the U.S. in the future.
"If someone is pumping up lately and seems like they could be a threat to you five or 10 years down the road, should you hit them with a baseball bat and call it preemption?" he asked.
Fitrakis said that though he is often criticized and told to ignore such issues, he won't just "get over it" when it comes to government corruption. "What is it that they'd like me to 'get over'? Democracy?" he asked.
Fitrakis' speech was hosted by the Political Science Majors Association (PSMA).
He has written eight books and won 10 major awards for his work as an investigative journalist, including "Best Coverage of Politics in Ohio." Fitrakis holds a doctorate in political science from Wayne State University and a J.D. from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
