Villain: n. french, uncouth person, scoundrel or criminal. Not to be confused with villein, a peasant class subordinant to his feudal lord. See also "minions".
Katherine Harris was the Florida Secretary of State, appointed by Republican Governor Jeb Bush. As Secretary of the State of Florida, she decided which ballot reports to accept or deny. Which is exactly what she did in the 2000 Presidential election, single-handedly electing George W. Bush President of the United States.
She was rewarded by the Florida Republican Party with a seat in the House of Representives (two year term). After her two years in the House, she wanted to run for a vacant Senate seat, but agreed to a deal with her party that she wait until 2006 to run against the incumbent Democratic Senator. Dumb, Katherine. The Governor and the party blew her off and backed another candidate. Too bad. She should have known better than to make deals with crooks and politicians.
2. J. Kenneth Blackwell 
Republican Secretary of State
In 2005, after the 2004 fiasco, the House Judiciary Committee investigated election irregularities in Ohio. As in Florida, the Secretary of State was a Republican, appointed by a Republican Governor, and controls polling station setups, ballot design, purchase or lease of machines, and TALLYING THE RETURNS.
Investigation revealed that "...Mr. Blackwell, the Republican Party, and election officials disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of Ohio citizens, predominantly minority and Democratic voters". [] (link is good a/o 5/2008) Mr. Blackwell actually ignored and/or broker a number of Ohio election laws. He probably never went to jail but received a reward similar to Katherine Harris and will disappear into obscurity.
Our thanks to a fearless reader for this update.
So, why aren't we angry that we have suffered the incompetence, arrogance, and gross mistakes of the Republican Administration and then were stupid enough to reelect it to a second term? We didn't really elect the Bush/Cheney adminstration or reelect them, for that matter. The Republican Party wins office only by cheating—and, they are good at it. Too bad they're so incompetent once they get into power.
