My letter to Senator Kerry on election fraud:

[debbierlus]

Dear Senator Kerry

I was one of your most avid supporters during the 2004 campaign. I traveled to canvas in battleground states. I gave money and hundreds of hours of time. I truly believed you when you said that you would make every vote count.

But, you didn't. You simply conceded a very questionable outcome, despite the exit polls showing that YOU won...voters in Ohio being denied the right to vote...machines switching votes to Bush when people voted for you...

It was a tragic outcome for America. Not just because our democracy was subverted and we were denied our voice. But, also because by allowing the GOP to outline the election as won by Bush, despite significant and substantial evidence
that he did NOT win, you allowed the debate around the election fraud to be conviently filed under 'conspiracy theory'.

Report after report after report has come out since that day showing SERIOUS fraud, vote suppression, and deliberate disenfrachisement of democratic voters. And, still...we hear nothing of substance from the SECOND man denied his due position as President.

I hear democrats speak of election reform. But, I don't hear anyone pointing out that the reform can not happen with a GOP controlled Congress. Nor, do we hear any discussion of the danger of ANOTHER stolen election. Do you really think the people who cheated in the past two national elections will not do so again? Especially, when impeachment and criminal charges could result against Bush?! I will make a prediction. I don't think the dems will take back the house or senate come November. Not because they didn't win, but because the elections will be stolen again.

How many stolen elections will it take? Three...Four...Ten?

Why should any person give their heart, soul, money, and time to any campaign when the dems won't even address the most crucial issue for us to regain power?

When will it be enough to speak out?

What are you afraid of? YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE - YOU HAVE ALREADY LOST IT ALL.

I once believed in the John Kerry who promised he would fight these people who have kidnapped our democracy. Please, redeem yourself. Take up this fight.

Please read this article as well:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen

[fooj]

1. Well said.

Thanks.

[debbierlus]

2. I have written probably 20 times before...

Maybe, the 21st time will be the charm...

I will give a call again, as well.

[TayTay]

6. He and his lovely wife knnow this

And they have spent a lot of money tracking this down. They were involved in lawsuits in Ohio, at least one of which was thrown out of court. As the Senator said recently, a lot of this was done LEGALLY with the bending of the law that was done by Blackwell in Ohio.

The problem with this was getting witnesses on paper and able to testify in a court of law. (Know anyone who is willing to come forward and sign a legal affadavit.)

Oh, and yeah, I will write another letter to the Senator to continue to investigate this. Be aware that the machine fraud problem isn't that easy and that the request to get inside the machines in Ohio was denied in a court of law. I have participated in a discussion on this with the Senator and believe me, he did look for things that would stand up in court, and still is looking. Articles like the one by RFK, JR (who is a friend and supporter of Kerry, btw) help.

Keep at it.

[debbierlus]

47. Why don't the all the dems make this an issue?

I mean make it a REAL issue.

Why don't they all join together and have town hall meetings across the nations?

Why aren't they fighting more?

Are they scared? Of what?

Why do they shrink away from this issue?

[blm]

56. ASK THEM - I do - Kerry has gone to other Dem senators and none of them

believe it or maybe they don't WANT to believe it. Dodd thinks its timfoil.

Kerry has been doing what he can on his own. Be damn sure that before this article came out if Kerry said ANYTHING, the entire Clinton crowd would have gotten on tv and said Kerry's being a sore loser and it's sad he sunk to this level. THAT'S what he's up against.

This article will HELP more come forward and join Kerry with his suspicions.

WRITE TO THEM.

[TayTay]

57. Keep your eye on the DNC

Keep your eye on the agenda items being promoted by the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Not all Democrats believe that fraud happened. Just because you or I believe this doesn't mean that all Democrats believe it. After all, the current system, they might believe, elected them so how can it be fixed? They have to be brought along into this. There are people who strongly believe what happened cuz they know; they were either there or it happened to them.

Did you see the Senate hearing last year in the Rules committee. Sen. Dodd was arguing with a witness over paper ballots. He remembers the days when you could literally 'stuff the ballotbox.' He claimed that system was the easiest to screw with of all. Sigh! He doesn't get the problems with the electronic balloting at all. Any measures that pass the Congress having to do with reforming the election system MUST pass through the House and Senate Rules Committees?

Quick: What members of Congress serve on those committees? To whom should we direct our efforts? Can we have voices that push for reform and who maintain that the elction system itself is corrupt and have any receptive ears in the right places to hear those pleas? What are the recommendations to move this from an argument in the blogosphere to action in Congress?

[blm]

3. Did you not believe Kennedy's article? There was no evidence to use at

that point. Or are you writing to Kennedy, too, to call him a liar?

Machines need securing BEFORE an election. Put a Dem party infrastructure in place to make sure the machines are secured for EVERY DEM on the ballot.

[debbierlus]

4. There was no excuse for Kerry not fighting

He conceded almost immediately.

He was out of the country when Boxer challenged the election result.

He STILL will not acknowledge what happened.

There was enough evidence between the time between the election and the election certification for Kerry to have come out fighting.

NO EXCUSE.

[blm]

5. Then what did Kennedy miss in his article? Why don't you post all that

evidence you have that Kerry didn't have on the day after the election. Send it to Kennedy, too, because he must not have seen it or he could be lying to us.

And please make sure to ignore the Dem party infrastructure and the Dem election boards in every state - because when it comes right down to it, Kerry should have micro-managed all of their jobs for them while he was campaigning and debating.

[fooj]

10. I admire your loyalty...

I DID read the article and there was PLENTY evidence out there. Kerry conceded before all the votes were even counted. The article CLEARLY outlines MANY valid reasons why Kerry SHOULD NOT HAVE CONCEDED as soon as he did.

See I-IV in the article. Exit polls, partisan officials, The "Strike Force" (1500 RNC volunteers from Texas), barriers to registration, the "wrong pew", abnormally long lines, FAULTY MACHINES, vote tampering, software tampering, WARREN COUNTY (bogus terrorist alert) and finally, rigging the recount.

This is all anyone needs to know......

Kerry conceded, however, that the widespread irregularities make it impossible to know for certain that the outcome reflected the will of the voters.

Bottom line...he made a promise that he did not keep. Period. There is no getting around it.

Peace.

[blm]

13. Evidence that was not AVAILABLE that day.

And read TayTay's post on that.

How did Kennedy come to a different conclusion about that day then you did?

[fooj]

20. What?

People were reporting faulty machines, voters were disenfranchised, the EXIT POLLS were ALTERED...

Warren County lockdown happened the NIGHT OF THE ELECTION. These were all things every American was aware of...at least those who were watching the returns come in.

Look. I don't want to argue about this for an eternity. My gripe is that he didn't even wait a FULL 24 hours BEFORE conceding. That is NOT what he promised.

[blm]

25. Listen - fact is that the Dem Party had no infrastructure in place in Ohio

that could even get Kerry the more solid evidence he needed to do what you and I wanted. They didn't have them that day and still don't for the most part. The DNC did not BELIEVE in machine fraud then, and Gore's election law team was on the ground in Ohio for Kerry - they were looking out for the areas they were familiar with, but no one was looking at the machines.

[TayTay]

8. He did acknowledge this.

He most recently discussed it at length in an interview on the Stephanie Miller show that is still up at that Show's archive. Go listen to it.

He also mentioned, in that interview, that they are still looking and are investigating for a possible 'major lawsuit' filing.

I have heard the Senator talk about this in person. They know. However, knowing something and proving it in a court of law are two different things. I have also talked to the lawyer who advised the Kerry campaign on the concession and asked why they conceded. Because they had no way of verifying the lost votes. (You can't verify what isn't there. It's proving a negative.)

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

9. I'm with BLM. I'd love to see that irrefutable evidence you speak of too.

Quite frankly, not a single shred of irrefutable evidence existed in November 2004. Anecdotal evidence, sure, but nothing that definitely proves the case.

[fooj]

12. Warrren County (bogus terror alert) and faulty machines...

not to mention the EXIT POLLS that were IMMEDIATELY altered by ALL MEDIA OUTLETS. That's enough to warrant an investigation. No doubt about it. See my post above. I took EVERYTHING from the article.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

14. Exit polls are not irrefutable.

And a few glitches does not a conspiracy make. Sorry, but it's enough for DU, but not even close for the rest of the country.

[fooj]

17. They sure as hell were in the Ukraine, weren't they?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

18. Last I checked, this ain't the Ukraine.

The people in THIS country are too sedentary by years of being too accustomed to "freedom" and "democracy". The people of the Ukraine had no such comfort.

[fooj]

21. What country assisted the Ukraine in "getting it right"...

and denounced the initial "winner" BECAUSE of the Exit Polls? The United States of America. That's who.

[blm]

26. Because Bush supported that guy OVER Putin's guy.

And that guy's wife is an American woman who is a BFEE loyalist - and THAT mass protesting happened because they know how to MAKE IT HAPPEN.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

27. What does that have to do with anything?

The Ukrainians stood up and demanded justice. There was not even close to such a call here.

[fooj]

31. That's not what the article states...

<snip>
The most extensive investigation of what happened in Ohio was conducted by Rep. John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.(52) Frustrated by his party's failure to follow up on the widespread evidence of voter intimidation and fraud, Conyers and the committee's minority staff held public hearings in Ohio, where they looked into more than 50,000 complaints from voters.(53) In January 2005, Conyers issued a detailed report that outlined ''massive and unprecedented voter irregularities and anomalies in Ohio.'' The problems, the report concludes, were ''caused by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it involving Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell.''(54)

''Blackwell made Katherine Harris look like a cupcake,'' Conyers told me. ''He saw his role as limiting the participation of Democratic voters. We had hearings in Columbus for two days. We could have stayed two weeks, the level of fury was so high. Thousands of people wanted to testify. Nothing like this had ever happened to them before.''
<snip>

We'll never know if it was "close to happening" or not, will we? Why stand up and demand justice when the candidate CONCEDES first thing the following morning? That's all I'm sayin......

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

35. Bullshit

Conyers damn well knows why it didn't happen. He just knows how to grandstand with the best of them.

And none of what you said still has a goddamn thing to do with the Ukraine situation, nor does it have anything to do with what I said.

[fooj]

38. Fine. Not interested in changing your mind. I'm expressing MY opinion...

Interesting how you charge Conyers with "grandstanding" yet Kerry is a paragon of virtue.

Bullshit.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

63. Where did I say Kerry was a paragon of virtue?

I railed against his shameful grandstanding attempt at his failed filibuster, thankyouverymuch. Open mouth, insert foot.

[karynnj]

42. The exit polls are not even designed to verify the election results

They are designed to explain the results and trends. The difference is that the first stage in the sampling is not random. The precincts used are selected to insure that all demographic groups are represented. This works because they then expand the sample results to reflect population totals. The danger is the selected precints can be non representative.

[fooj]

15. I'm with you.

It's a simple fact. He walked away. Period.

[LittleClarkie]

7. He's also a lawyer who ain't goin' in there without a smoking gun

I don't need the noble useless gesture. Unless it has a chance of working, I don't want him trying, and failing, putting another nail in the coffin of election reform by opening up the thing to ridicule.

"You have nothing to lose" is not a good enough reason to go down in flames just so you can look all shiny and heroic to a certain segment of the left.

He's into getting results. Unless he can get results, he ain't goin' in. And I wouldn't want him to.

[BeFree]

11. Timing is good, now

With an election coming up the timing is good to open up this can of worms. Really, right after the election there was not much to go on, and Kerry would have been hung out to dry by the freeper press had he made our claims out loud.

[LittleClarkie]

16. It's time to press election reform legislation

but not to try and say he won. They'd still hang him out to dry for that.

I just bristle at the suggestion that the man needs to redeem himself. I don't see how he could have done anything else but what he did.

But now would be a good time to do some speechifying on fair elections and such, and make an issue of it.

[BeFree]

32. Kerry says... from Rolling Stone link

Sen. John Kerry -- in a wide-ranging discussion of ROLLING STONE's investigation -- expressed concern about Republican tactics in 2004, but stopped short of saying the election was stolen. ''Can I draw a conclusion that they played tough games and clearly had an intent to reduce the level of our vote? Yes, absolutely. Can I tell you to a certainty that it made the difference in the election? I can't. There's no way for me to do that. If I could have done that, then obviously I would have found some legal recourse.''

Kerry conceded, however, that the widespread irregularities make it impossible to know for certain that the outcome reflected the will of the voters. ''I think there are clearly states where it is questionable whether everybody's vote is being counted, whether everybody is being given the opportunity to register and to vote,'' he said. ''There are clearly barriers in too many places to the ability of people to exercise their full franchise. For that to be happening in the United States of America today is disgraceful.''

Kerry's comments were echoed by Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. ''I'm not confident that the election in Ohio was fairly decided,'' Dean says. ''We know that there was substantial voter suppression, and the machines were not reliable. It should not be a surprise that the Republicans are willing to do things that are unethical to manipulate elections. That's what we suspect has happened, and we'd like to safeguard our elections so that democracy can still be counted on to work.''

To help prevent a repeat of 2004, Kerry has co-sponsored a package of election reforms called the Count Every Vote Act. The measure would increase turnout by allowing voters to register at the polls on Election Day, provide provisional ballots to voters who inadvertently show up at the wrong precinct, require electronic voting machines to produce paper receipts verified by voters, and force election officials like Blackwell to step down if they want to join a campaign. (205) But Kerry says his fellow Democrats have been reluctant to push the reforms, fearing that Republicans would use their majority in Congress to create even more obstacles to voting. ''The real reason there is no appetite up here is that people are afraid the Republicans will amend HAVA and shove something far worse down our throats,'' he told me.

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen/4

[debbierlus]

19. There is TONS of objective and substantial evidence that show

A fixed election....

It is not as simple as a smoking gun....

There are HUNDREDs, if not THOUSANDS of smoking guns...

The GAO came out with a significant report last October that found severe violations within the voting system.

There is NO EXCUSE for the democratic party not demanding that this issue be addressed. When will you expect them to?

If they cheat the same way in 06 as they did in 04? Will that get you mad enough?

Or, do you need another Presidential elections before you demand that our leaders take action?

[LittleClarkie]

22. Not enough for him to march in and say "I won"

which is what I thought you were getting at.

He has addressed the issue since the election, including being a part of a Green/Libertarian lawsuit in Ohio re: election fraud.

But if folks think he's going to suddenly come out and say "I think I won" without ultimate proof that he would have won, or that there was one plan behind it all as opposed to a bunch of small plans, I think they will be waiting a while.

[fooj]

23. Perhaps giving the public a full 24-48 hours to start sorting it all out

would have been a better option. I'm fully with you on this one, debbierlus. The man practically conceded at sunrise.

[karynnj]

44. Maybe if you live in Hawaii

On the east coast, where Kerry was I think it was noon.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

24. Yes, it is that simple.

This is not a friggin littering charge he's levying here. And especially given that the plaintiff might possibly be the single most biased person in the world on this issue, you cannot do a single goddamn thing without having not JUST a smoking, but pictures of Bush holding the smoking gun over the corpse.

The general public simply would not buy the case without 100% irrefutable evidence. Period. What's so hard to understand about that?

[debbierlus]

29. Right. He should not talk about the MASS amount of fraud

Corruption and Voter Suppression....

Let's just keep having elections where the GOP blatantly cheats to win...

And, the dems can just say...

Well...

We don't have an actual video tape of the GOP meeting stating they are going to cheat...so, we don't have a case.

Yeah. Let's keep doing that.

Enjoy your Republican House & Senate come fall.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

33. People have been talking about this for a year and a half.

Do you see anyone else listening? Hmmm?

[blm]

30. Then send your letter to the DNC - I do. I hound them all the time on

election issue because there are ALOT of names on the ballots that are getting hosed. Kerry is the victim of the weak Dem party infrastructure that was WEAKEST in Ohio.

It's a diversion to make it about just Kerry - The Dem PARTY has to act - and first they have to BELIEVE what we do.

[AnneD]

28. Kerry is a good guy...

no doubt in my mind. But I think it was conceeded too soon. There was too much anecdotal evidence to the contrary that should have been followed up on. I voted for a fighter and he let me down. He should have been here when Boxer voted, but he was out of town. He has spoken up more as of late, and I am glad....but he let me down.

He ran a good campaign, but he wasn't aggressive when he should have been. He was at his best when he told the truth and fought back. He fell into the speed boat trap by 'staying above it' for too long.

Howard Dean was good and that is why they blasted him out first. They knew he was the biggest threat to them. Smart, thinks on his feet, fearless, speaks the truth.

I think we need a decoy candidate and a ringer. I think though that the GOP is in very serious trouble and will not have as easy a time pulling off fraud. But we need to have every vote count.

[blm]

34. Did Dean believe in machine fraud?

Because, if he really believed it, then why didn't he lead a publicity campaign about the machines BEFORE Nov 2004, and why isn't he doing it now?

Dean is a fighter - I believe that if he was certain about machine fraud he would have worked his butt off to make it known before the election - but, he didn't.

[AnneD]

48. I have heard Dean speak at a small local fundraiser...

He is very pragmatic and focused on problem solving-very much in the here and now. Not unlike most Docs I know.

I got the sense that he suspects but there is not enough evidence of voter fraud to get bogged down. Remember, the DEM rank and file suspect, but Mainstream America is not even romotely ready to wrap their mind around that possibility. I am willing to bet that he thinks that if we build from the roots up...cheating would become more blatent. I got the sense that he wants to have the people take back the DEM Party. Just my $0.02. I was impressed with his command of facts and the voting analysis. He would have been a great Prez...like Truman I think. I have a grip and grin with him-can't divulge what got him laughing, but I may send it to a famous GOP relative as a Christmas Card.

[blm]

49. And Kerry and Dean both say they have no ironclad case to make - you can't

make the case AFTER the machine tally.

I would trust that Kerry and Dean will work to secure the machines BEFORE the next vote based on what both know NOW.

[fooj]

37. I agree with you.

I DO believe that he's a good guy. That doesn't change the fact that he didn't follow through on what he promised to do re: our votes. I guess I'm just sick of people "apologizing" for him all of the time. He CHOSE to do what he did and he did it. End of story, eh?

[ginnyinWI]

58. when would you have liked him to concede, then?

A day later, or a week? They knew they didn't have the evidence. If the evidence had turned up in the following weeks he would have un-conceded so fast it would have made your head spin.

As for not being there when Sen. Boxer voted--they all asked him not to be--because it was supposed to be about the honesty of the election, not about John Kerry personally. I repeat: they asked him not to be there.

I felt angry and let down too--for about an hour--until I remembered that he certainly knew more about the situation than I did, and that I could still trust him to do as much as humanly possible to win the election. Then the next day or so I read Greg Palast's article on tompaine about how Kerry won, and it all began to make sense.

I continue to believe he ran a pretty good campaign. And I believe the majority of the voters got ripped off by dishonest and traitorous Republicans.

[fedupinBushcountry]

36. Is Senator Kerry your Senator ?

Because if he is not and I'm not saying not to write to him, but if you have Representatives are you sending them a letter like this too?

This is bigger than 1 man, and it needs to be seen by more then a few individuals.

Did you send a letter to all your local media, and to the MSM ? Do you think they were promoting democracy when it came to the people's right to vote, and their irresponsible actions in 2004.

We need a bullhorn now, not just to one person but a lot of those who are sitting on the sidelines.

Senator Kerry is trying to do everything he can, but he can't do it alone. There are a lot of chickens in congress and they need to be woken up.

As he states in the article what he is up against:

But Kerry says his fellow Democrats have been reluctant to push the reforms, fearing that Republicans would use their majority in Congress to create even more obstacles to voting. ''The real reason there is no appetite up here is that people are afraid the Republicans will amend HAVA and shove something far worse down our throats,'' he told me.

I think there is a lot of letter writing and calling to do and it needs to be done to 535 offices in Washington.

[fooj]

39. Excellent point.

Peace.

[politicasista]

40. Agree n/t

[debbierlus]

41. Yes, I am from MA

My belief is very simple. And, I have written and called the DNC. I have talked to other state chapters about this - Ohio particularly. But, until we get the leadership to fight, it will remain a fringe issue.

The GOP EXTENSIVELY, PROFUSELY, DELIBERATELY engaged in vote suppression, election fraud, vote manipulation.

There are HUNDREDS & HUNDREDS of documented cases.

When does a leader have a responsibility to speak out against this?

Doesn't Kerry as the chosen candidate who vowed to fight for voter rights have an ethical responsibility to address this issue? Word is that he wants to run again. Why on earth should we support a Presidential canidate that will not fight tooth and nail to stop this?

[blm]

54. Because he's the ONLY ONE who even knows about it to make sure machines

are secured BEFORE the next election. The others have said NOTHING and act as if its conspiracy theory stuff. They fluff off any question about it.

Right now, Dean and Kerry are the only ones who know WHAT to look for.

It's like Gore should have been keyed into voting fraud issues after they did it to him - but, he chose not to focus on it. At least he chose to focus on global warming.

Kerry, has quietly kept his cases going in Ohio, and likely worked with Kennedy to generate that Rolling Stone article. His commencement speeches lately have focused on voting fraud and even the fraud that gets pushed through legally by people like Blackwell.

I just think your outrage is disproportionate - be angry at the Dem infrastructure and vow to fix it - this isn't Dodge Ball the movie - one guy can't do the job of every Democrat with responsibility in every key state.

[sandnsea]

53. That's key right there

Of course they'll put in even more obstacles, we've already seen them doing this in several states. We'll end up with laws against felons and more stringent ID requirements, and absolutely nothing to really fix the voting problems. That's why election reform hasn't been pushed, I totally get it now.

[emcguffie]

43. Bravo. You make some very good points.

Particularly the one about having nothing left to lose.

What is it with all these folk? Are they all being blackmailed?

Do you remember that Marine or Navy widow, who talked about the orgies, that they used for blackmail? What was her name? That's what she said they did, take you to a party, intimidate you into participating, take some pictures, and then blackmail you forever.

Could that be it? Could that be why the Dems are always so cooperative?

Me, for one, I do believe George Herbert Walker Bush is a pedophile.

Are they decoding my internet postings? I wonder how many people believe he is a pedophile. If he finds that two thirds of the American public believe him to be a pedophile, what might he do?

ln

[Stevepol]

45. I've sent a dozen letters to pols about it in answer to donation requests.

I have a couple form letters that say basically the same thing, pleading with them to get their heads out of the sand and look around at what's been happening.

I don't send it back to the address given on the donor sheet, but I google the org's or person's address, whether Pelosi or Dean or whoever and I include the donation request.

I tell them I'm not giving one cent and I'll tell others not to give one cent to the organization until they make election reform, electronic voting machines, etc. THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.

I have no idea if these people read their own mail but at least it makes me feel better.

[debbierlus]

46. I think the 2006 elections may be the breaking point

There is NO way the repukes will hold onto power, if we even have SEMI-honest elections.

I think people may scratch their heads and wonder...how did they win?

I am hoping and praying that the voter turn-out against the GOP will be so overwhelming that it will make it impossible to cheat.

I hope!

[McCamy Taylor]

50. Yeah, he was a weenie when it came to politics. Edwards would have fought.

[AnneD]

51. I think so too.

Kerry started out life with a bit more resources than Edwards. That in and of itself doesn't mean much, but I think Edwards is scrappy. He was my first choice-had a clean record and solid middle class background. Almost losing your child/losing your child changes you in profound ways. It can break you or humanize you. He and his wife grew from that experience. I trust him still to be a major leader of the DEM's.

[blm]

52. Really? Kerry was scrappy enough to chase down a guy shooting shoulder

rockets at his crew.

Scrappy enough to uncover IranContra with the rest of the DC Dems supporting Reagan's policies.

Scrappy enough to work for FIVE years investigating BCCI with the entire DC powerstucture set against him, including the Dem party.

Scrappy enough to offer the first pro-gay legislation in the senate.

Scrappy enough to advocate for gays to serve openly in the military.

Scrappy enough to DEFEAT Bush to the point where Bush had to rig machines all over the country to stay in power.

Let me know when you can name ONE LAWMAKER whose record is SCRAPPIER than Kerry's - 35 years of his life was devoted to "scrappy" issues.

[ginnyinWI]

59. and a few more "scraps"

He was scrappy enough to give testimony in 1971 about what the bad policies in Vietnam were turning the troops into--and about the uselessness of that war.

Scrappy enough to keep on protesting that war even though Nixon and his goons had the FBI tailing him.

Scrappy enough to go back to Vietnam as a Senator, 13 trips in all, to search for evidence of P.O.W.'s and M.I.A.'s.

Scrappy enough to fight against the bad policies of Reagan, Bush-41, and Bush-43 in the Senate.

And now he's out there giving speeches to college audiences about the value of dissent.

AnneD, did you see his concession? Was that a man who did not care?

[blm]

55. Edwards had evidence to make the case? When?

The article never mentioned that Edwards had the evidence and was ready to go to court. Did Kennedy leave that out?

[zulchzulu]

62. Actually, Kerry AND Edwards DID fight....

Wake up.

"Fighting for Every Voter"

A few more words about an issue that is of the utmost importance to me. As political candidates, we spend considerable time and effort every election cycle fighting for votes...

A few more words about an issue that is of the utmost importance to me.

As political candidates, we spend considerable time and effort every election cycle fighting for votes. After the election, whether won or lost, many candidates leave the irregularities of the election behind. But we owe the voters more than that. When voters are disenfrachised, we owe it to them to seek justice and expose the truth. That is why I have been so proud of the Kerry-Edwards campaign's ongoing involvement in the investigation and litigation of what went wrong in Ohio. I wrote to the candidates recently to ask that they continue to be involved in this important endeavor.

This is not about the past. It is about figuring out what went wrong and why -- and then getting the next election right, not for the Democratic Party, but for all of the voters.

- John Conyers

http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000213.htm

[TayTay]

60. Voting fraud is an American problem.

We are sending brave men and women around the world to defend Democracy while we let it whither on the vine and die at home. I don't want to live in a country that does that. This is a disgrace to me as an American, a dsigrace to every relative I have who ever wore the uniform of the US in order to defend our Constitution and a disgrace to us as a free people.

This is not about John Kerry. It ceased to be about John Kerry in Nov after the election. It's about America and about our rights as citizens to cast votes and have those votes counted. Kerry has to play a part as a Senator. He has a moral obligation to put what he knows and experienced in the last election out before the people. But it's not about him, it's about us, you know, 'We the People.' We cannot go around the world promoting the principles of democracy and while our government strangles those principles at home.

Call the members of the Senate Rules Committee. Ask them to support free and fair elections in this country that have verifiable results. These are the names on the Senate Committee:

Republicans
Trent Lott, MS
Ted Stevens
Mitch McConnell
Thad Cochran
Rick Santorum
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Bill Frist
C. Saxby Chambliss
Robert Bennett
Chuck Hagel

Democrats
Chris Dodd, CT
Robert C. Byrd
Daniel K. Inouye
Dianne Feinstein
Charles E. Schumer
Mark Dayton
Richard J. Durbin
E. Benjamin Nelson

These are the people who hold hearings on the election system. You can see a hearing on verifiable elections here: http://rules.senate.gov/hearings/
(See, this one:
Tuesday, June 21, 2005, 10:00 A.M.
SR-301, Russell Senate Office Building
Hearing on Voter Verification in the Federal Elections Process )
I watched this hearing. Get the docs and read them. See what the actual opposition says. Gawd, this is who we have to fight and lobby for changes. Sigh! BTW, if you notice, on the Rethug side, these are some of the most rabidly RW bastards in the Senate. They are adamantly opposed to change. Just so you know who the actual opposition is. Sigh!

[zulchzulu]

61. This misguided, uninformed, pedestrian swill brought to you by...

...actually anyone who has done their homework doesn't buy this usual Kerry-bashing horseshit...

Ask John Conyers:

"Fighting for Every Voter"

A few more words about an issue that is of the utmost importance to me. As political candidates, we spend considerable time and effort every election cycle fighting for votes...

A few more words about an issue that is of the utmost importance to me.

As political candidates, we spend considerable time and effort every election cycle fighting for votes. After the election, whether won or lost, many candidates leave the irregularities of the election behind. But we owe the voters more than that. When voters are disenfrachised, we owe it to them to seek justice and expose the truth. That is why I have been so proud of the Kerry-Edwards campaign's ongoing involvement in the investigation and litigation of what went wrong in Ohio. I wrote to the candidates recently to ask that they continue to be involved in this important endeavor.

This is not about the past. It is about figuring out what went wrong and why -- and then getting the next election right, not for the Democratic Party, but for all of the voters.

- John Conyers

http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000213.htm


So, um...why don't you bash Conyers while you're at it...