Reagan Stole the 1980 Election

To know me or listen to my radio show is to hear me occasionally joke that we're all living in the age of stupid. Of course like a lot of jokes I've told over the years there's some truth in it... IMHO that is. I won't give you the litany about a whole generation not being aware of even the recent past, let alone the important ages of humankind. Let's just go back in time to the point I believe it all started to go in the wrong direction: the election of Ronald Reagan.

Today I learn that the 1980 Presidential election was, for all intents and purposes, stolen. Robert Parry of consortiumnews.com reports the investigation into, what became known as,the 'October Surprise,' did not have an extraordinary bit of evidence at their disposal that had been earmarked just for them:

The Russian report, which was dropped off at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Jan. 11, 1993, contradicted the task force’s findings – which were released two days later – of “no credible evidence” showing that Republicans contacted Iranian intermediaries behind President Carter’s back regarding 52 American hostages held by Iran’s Islamic revolutionary government, the so-called October Surprise case.

There can be no doubt that  Carter's failure to secure the hostage release doomed his bid at a second term and this is evidence that Reagan, the Republican Party apparatus and the Military Industrial complex did what they could to sabotage his efforts and forward their own political interests. In effect stealing the election in what should be considered an act of treason.