From David Swanson: Gore Vidal et al to Obama: Do Not Concede! http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/37295
An Open Letter to Senator Obama and the Democratic Leadership: On Election Night, DO NOT CONCEDE! "Eight years is too much" is how Barack Obama explained why we must win the coming election and begin to restore America. But, even if we receive the most votes, will we win the election? DO NOT CONCEDE! Both of the last two elections were conceded by the Democratic presidential candidate. The 2004 election was handed to George Bush while votes were still being counted in closely-fought Ohio. While the 2000 election was contested to the Supreme Court, it too was ultimately conceded to Bush "for the good of the country." Some good. Numerous politicians, investigators and authors, including Robert Kennedy, Jr., agree the 2004 election was stolen, not only in Ohio but in several other battleground states. Tactics included purging of legitimate voters and the use of nefarious voting software--but when even these actions did not yield the required numbers, Republican election officials simply changed the vote tallies in several states, all without a peep from the Democratic Party. DO NOT CONCEDE! In the time since the last general election the public has learned much about these scandals, which have led some states to reject electronic touchscreen voting (and which caused the infamous Diebold voting machines corporation to hide behind a new corporate name,) yet the Democratic Party seems to have learned nothing. THREE STRIKES AND WE'RE OUT! If we cannot afford another Republican administration, we cannot afford a third concession in the face of election fraud. Already there is evidence of massive fraud such as voter purging and caging of Democratic voters, and "flipping" of votes in early voting on electronic touchscreen machines. It is reasonable to once again expect further manipulation on election night by some Republican operatives and election officials, as was seen in 2004; should we also expect our Democratic Party leaders and candidates to repeat history, by once again conceding in the face of such blatant fraud? Senator Obama, we need you, our Party and all candidates to stand firm, come what may on election night. You ask us to work for you, contribute to you--and to have your back; we ask that you promise to have our back: We ask that you PLEDGE TO STAND FIRM, AND NOT CONCEDE THE COMING ELECTION in the face of election irregularities, no matter how long it takes to contest such fraud, while there remains any doubt as to any part of the process. Be assured, Democratic voters will be more--not less--energized if we see you promise to stand firm. Senator Obama, if there is any reason to contest the election, DO NOT CONCEDE! Signed: (Titles for identification purposes only) Gore Vidal, Author Bob Fitrakis, Professor of Political Science, Columbus State Community College, Attorney; Editor of The Free Press (freepress.org) Harvey Wasserman, Senior Editor, FreePress.org, Author of SOLARTOPIA! Our Green-Powered Earth Mark Crispin Miller, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, Author of Fooled Again, How the Right Stole the 2004 Election Tim Carpenter, Director, Progressive Democrats of America Mimi Kennedy, Chair, National Advisory Board, Progressive Democrats of America David Swanson, Co-Founder, After Downing Street Eric Bauman, Chair, Los Angeles County Democratic Party Garry S. Shay, Member, Democratic National Committee (CA) Lead Chair, Rules Committee, California Democratic Party Jo Olson, MD, Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party Mal Burnstein, Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party Marcy Winograd, Executive Board representative, California Democratic Party, 41st AD, Former Chair, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles David Earnhardt, Filmmaker, "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections" Don Goldmacher, Chair, Election Integrity, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party Michael Jay, Progressive Democrats of America, Special Projects, Former Delegate, California Democratic Party, 42nd AD Sheri Myers, Director, "Wake Up and Save Your Country" Robert A. Feuer, Former Chairman, Stockbridge, MA Town Democratic Committee Thomas Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Region 3 Vice Chair, Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair, Irish American Caucus, California Democratic Party Howard Jennings, PDA-Virginia, State Co-Coordinator Sarah Stott, Chapter Chair, PDA-Virginia Lisa Pease, Co-editor, "The Assassinations: Probe Magazine on JFK, MLK, RFK and Malcolm X" Cindy Asner, Former Delegate, California Democratic Party, Member, National Advisory Board, Progressive Democrats of America Julie Lopez Dad, President, Santa Monica Democratic Club, Chair, 41st AD Committee, Los Angeles County Democratic Party Dr. Bill Honigman, PDA California State Coordinator and Orange County Chapter Leader, Delegate, California Democratic Party, 73rd AD Linda Milazzo, Senior Editor, OpEdNews.com, Blogger, Huffington Post Rady Ananda, Senior Editor, OpEdNews.com Jan Baumgartner, Managing Editor, OpEdNews.com Cheryl Biren-Wright, Managing Editor, OpEdNews.com Sherry Healy, Co-Founder California Election Protection Network, Coordinator, Election Defense Alliance Laura Bonham, Summit County, UT Democratic Party Chairperson Albert E. Fairchild, Retired Foreign Service Officer Dorathea Peters, Precinct Captain, Alexandria, VA Democratic Committee --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
