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Wednesday, January 05, 2005

You've Got ME!? Who's Got YOU??

Just got the newest letter from John Kerry:

No American citizen should wake up the morning after the election and worry their vote wasn't counted. No citizen should be denied at the polls if they are eligible to vote. And, as the greatest, wealthiest nation on earth, our citizens should never be forced to vote on old, unaccountable and non transparent voting machines from companies controlled by partisan activists.

Tomorrow, members of Congress will meet to certify the results of the 2004 presidential election. I will not be taking part in a formal protest of the Ohio Electors.

Despite widespread reports of irregularities, questionable practices by some election officials and instances of lawful voters being denied the right to vote, our legal teams on the ground have found no evidence that would change the outcome of the election.

But, that does not mean we should abandon our commitment to addressing those problems that happened in Ohio. We must act today to make sure they never happen again.

I urge you to join me in using this occasion to highlight our demand that Congress commit itself this year to reforming the electoral system. A Presidential election is a national federal election but we have different standards in different states for casting and counting votes. We need a national federal standard to solve the problems that occurred in the 2004 election. I will propose legislation to help achieve this.

Florida 2000 was a wake up call. But the Republicans who control Congress ignored it. Will they now ignore what happened in 2004?

There are nearly 3,000,000 of you receiving this email. We accomplished so much together during the campaign. Now let's use our power to make sure that at least one good thing comes from the voting rights problems of the 2004 election. If we want to force real action on election reform, we've got to demand that congressional leaders hold full hearings. Make sure they hear from you and help hold them accountable.

Speaker Dennis Hastert: 1-202-225-0600
Leader Bill Frist: 1-202-224-3135

And please report that you've made your call right here:
http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/electoral_reform.php

I want every vote counted because Americans have to know that the votes they stood in line for, fought for, and strived so hard to cast in an election, are counted. We must make sure there are no questions or doubts in future elections. It's critical to our democracy that we investigate and act to prevent voting irregularities and voter intimidation across the country. We can't stand still as Congressional leaders seek to sweep well-founded voter concerns under the rug.

Please join with me in calling Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist and telling them that you want action on election reform now.

A recent report from Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) reveals very troubling questions that have not yet been answered by Ohio election officials. I commend the Democratic National Committee for its announcement this week that the DNC will be investing resources and reaching out to non-partisan academics in a long term study of Ohio voting irregularities. I am only sorry that we haven't seen the same from Ohio Secretary of State Blackwell and GOP officials.

Congress must play a positive, proactive role on this issue. That's why I will soon introduce legislation to reform our election system, ensuring transparency and accountability in our voting system and that all Americans have an opportunity to vote and have their vote counted.

Please remember to let us know that you made your call when you're done. We're hoping to ensure House and Senate leaders' offices hear our demand for action on election reform in meaningful way. Please take a moment to let us know you have made your call here: http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/electoral_reform.php

Thank you,

John Kerry

P.S. Thanks to all those who participated in our USO "phone home" campaign last week. The totals are coming in from the USO, and they are thrilled with your generosity and support for our brave men and women in uniform. We will send you totals as we get them.

Well, excuse me for not jumping up and down and doing handsprings.

I mean, yeah, I'll call Hastert and Frist. I'll call my Senators, Levin and Stabenow; I'll call my Representative, John Dingell. But y'know something? I recall this man saying just before the election, "America, I've got your back."

And y'know something else? He conceded before the returns were in.

So, let's go over this literary gem.

Paragraph one. Obvious, obvious, obvious. But why hasn't anything been done about it? Well, we'll get to that soon.

Paragraph two. He's not getting involved with the protest. Why not? At this point, what can it possibly cost him? Does he think the Repubs might call him a whiny crybaby? They've already called him a traitor, a murderer, and a supporter of terrorism. What's left, Voodoo priest? Necrophiliac? Alien invader?

Paragraphs three through five. No evidence that would change the outcome. But that doesn't mean we should sit by and take it. Yeah, no shit, thanks a lot now, pal.

Paragraph six is the real money quote, though, addressing exactly that: "
Florida 2000 was a wake up call. But the Republicans who control Congress ignored it. Will they now ignore what happened in 2004?"

You asshole, they planned it. They didn't ignore it -- they literally counted on it.

The rest of the letter commends some people, expresses disappointment with others, and -- I love this -- calls upon Dennis Hastert and Bill Frist to hold hearings on the whole voting-is-fucked-up thing. Hastert and Frist
, two of the biggest liars and conniving scumboys in government, are gloating about their more solid majorities and are trying to gut the rules so that the minority has no power at all, e.g., disemboweling the filibuster.

Mr. Kerry, what you and the rest of your party should've been doing is screaming about this since day one. The reason that the government has been able to use the media so effectively to lie to the country time and time again is not merely because they are largely bought and paid for subsidiaries of BushCo, but because you refuse to call things by their real names -- for instance, lies, theft, lawbreaking, stuff like that.

You, and all the Republicans as well, are the employees of the people.

You say you've got our back? Start acting like it. Don't wait for us to call and write. Just do it. Just go on the Senate floor when there are actually people there and everything, and say, "This is a problem, it's been a problem for awhile, and why haven't you, the party in power, done anything about it?"

Don't be ruled by partisan politics. Do what you think is right. And be public about it. Be loud about it. Demand time on the TV shows. Go on all the damn networks. If Faux News doesn't have you on, or puts you on with three Republican talking heads, all of whom shout, say, "Why do you feel the need to lie about this? What are you hiding from the American people? We're all supposed to be in this together." If they call you on saying words like lies and theft and lawbreaking, say, "You've called me and my political allies much worse, with no evidence. Here's some evidence."

But, goddammit, before you have the gall to call upon us to phone two assholes who aren't even going to listen, show us something first.

Because, man, we had your back. And you folded like a map.


Comments:
Great Post. I'm one of those who brought this up in OT comments over at Atrios' place. I'm old, I like John Kerry and John Edwards. I felt I understood their high-road choice in the campaign. I admired them for drawing flak on Vietnam and Republican gay hypocricy in order to force a public discussion of these things. But as an Ohioan who lives 3 miles down the road from the precinct where Kenyon students and other Gambier residents waited on line up to 10 hours to vote, I'm bitterly disappointed in his post-election stance/non-stance. I've worked on the recount as a Green Party witness and coordinator and seen both some very admirable BOE procedures and some nightmarish ones. There is no doubt that the equal protection clause was violated in numerous ways in the the way these elections were run -- the same clause SCOTUS used to rationalize inserting itself into the 2000 recount. Kerry has clearly let down young and minority voters by fleeing the country for the electoral challenge.
 
It is with a heavy heart that I must say: I agree with this blog.

I won't say anything nasty about JFK myself, not publicly, not yet, but this ain't good.

Thanks for saying what's in my head right now.
 
Could it be that your response was the desired one?

There is a reason he mentioned that the email went to almost 3,000,000 people. Could it be that Kerry would like to see all 3,000,000 people call Hastert and Frist, and overwhelm them with anger and protest?

Just a thought.

It makes me angry too, reading this (I received it as well), but maybe it is a ploy to anger enough people to spur them into action.

Additionally, John Kerry is still rumored to be running in '08 (correct me if I am wrong). What were some of the comments when it was rumored that Gore was going to run again?

Sore/Loserman part deux?

At least that I what I heard.

Just a thought.

David (Austin Tx)
 
The problem is we trust the politics to the politicians.

I don't think Kerry did a bad job at all, he just didn't play as nasty and is still playing civil - with people who are nasty and don't play civil. This, at least, keeps issues in people's minds and keeps the pressure up.

But frankly, we've got to go back to what we've forgotten -working with and getting active with our fellow Americans. We've trusted the politicians, pundits, and preachers too much.

And in the case of the Republcian party, they've turned Americans against their fellow Americans.
 
Could it be your response was the desired one?Could be. But, frankly, if Kerry had won, we would've been rarin' to go, ready to do whatever we could to help make the country better. If he's trying to get us mad now, after all this, well, we're already mad. And we're all looking for action to take. And phoning Hastert and Frist strikes me as pretty useless. Is all I'm sayin'.
 
I too got the email. I'm only receiving the emails now because I want to see the lies behind things he says, not that I care anymore John Kerry's chances of winning anything.

If the 2000 vote was such a travesty, then why didn't he stand up as the "one single senator" needed to help the Black Caucus protest the election?

He didn't stand up then, he won't stand up for this one either. This is all just more smoke and mirrors. All talk, no action. I supported John Kerry until he emailed me about how he had our backs one day and rolled over to play dead the next. I will never vote for him again.
 
First, I'm not sure if this was a genuine email, or some sort of clever spam, but I got it to. (While I'm a Dem, I'm not sure how they got my email address; I probably logged onto some Dem's website.)

Kerry was, and is, a wishy-washy wimp. I voted for him, because I considered Bush a power-hungry idiot; at least Kerry's intelligent. It seems that the '04 campaign hasn't changed him a bit: he'll always do what *looks* good, but doesn't reflect to badly on him, or put his ass too much on the line.

Yes, I can say this: I've seen him as our Senator for years, and I know the Massachusetts Dems pretty well, and was involved in party politics before there was email. So, to me, this email is the same old Same Old.

--Lisa Hertel
 
I got it too. I feel like I've been had. For weeks I've been e-mailing John Conyers for encouragement, I have begged Carl Levin, and promised Debbie Stabenow my 1st born, if only they would stand with the Black Caucus on Jan 6. Oh well, in the alternate universe all the senate democrats would rise together in protest and there would be .....

OT. I got here by way of Atrios where you mentioned that you were planning a counter-inaugural in Troy. Please publicize, I am cross-town and would gladly attend.

ruby in the dust
 
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