Forwarded from [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MILLIONS THAT THE DEMOCRATS RAISED TO CONTEST THE > ELECTION? WHY ARE WE RAISING IT ALL OVER AGAIN WITHOUT THEM? > > http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/7/2004/991 > > Ohio hearing shows massive GOP vote manipulation, but where the hell > are the Democrats & John Kerry? > > By Harvey Wasserman > > www.freepress.org > > Columbus, Ohio---Hour after hour the testimonies are the same: angry > Ohioans telling of vicious Republican manipulation and de facto > intimidation that disenfranchised tens of thousands and probably cost > the Democrats the election. > > At an African-American church on Saturday and then at the Franklin > County Courthouse Monday night, more than 700 people came to testify > and witness to tales of the atrocity that was the November 2 election. > > Organized by local ad hoc groups, the hearings had a court reporter > and > a team of lawyers along with other appointed witnesses. At > www.freepress.org we will be making the testimonies available as > they're transcribed and organized, and we will present a fuller > accounting of the hearings, along with a book that includes the > transcripts. > > But one thing was instantly and abundantly clear: the Republican > Party turned Ohio 2004 into an updated version of the Jim Crow South. > > The principle overt method of vote suppression was to short-change > inner city > precincts of sufficient voting machines to allow a timely balloting. > In > precinct after precinct, virtually all of them predominantly black, > poor, young and Democratic, the lines stretched for two, five, eight, > even eleven hours. The elderly and infirm were forced to stand in the > > rain while city officials threatened to tow their cars. No chairs or > shelter were provided. Crucial signage was mysteriously > missing. Thousands came to vote, saw the long lines and left. > > How many thousands? Enough to turn the election? Almost definitely. > > None of this was accidental. This was a well-planned GOP attack on > the right to vote, and on Democratic candidacies. > Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell was also co-chair of > the Ohio campaign for Bush. A right-wing Republican was > in charge of the Franklin County Board of Elections. > > They all said the election went "smoothly." By their standards they > were right. At least 68 voting machines sat in a warehouse while > precinct managers called desperately for help. Republican precinct > judges and challengers harassed would-be voters. The names of > long-time activists mysteriously disappeared from registration lists. > > The arsenal of dirty tricks was virtually endless. > > With it the Bush/Rove team deprived countless Ohioans of their > right to vote just as surely as if they'd levied a poll tax or > invoked the grandfather clause. > > In the coming days we'll issue a more complete accounting of these > devastating hearings. No one who cares about democracy and fears the > consequences of its destruction could come away from them without > being > both infuriated and terrified. > > But one thing also stood out---the complete lack of Democratic support > > for these hearings or for the larger vote count movement. Nationally, > it all stands in the shadow of the complete disappearance of John > Kerry, on whose nominal behalf this was done. > > A successful grassroots effort involving the Green and Libertarian > Parties, among others, has raised---in just four days---some $150,000 > to > force a recount of the Ohio vote. (Ralph Nader has forced a similar > recount in New Hampshire). But where were the countless millions > raised by the Democratic Party and Kerry campaign by trusting > American citizens who expected them to fight for democracy? > > Right up to election day Kerry repeated his solemn vow to, in light of > what happened in Florida 2000, guarantee everyone's right > to vote. But now that another highly dubious election has occurred, > where the hell is he? > > Rumors are circulating that he is biding his time, waiting for the > right time to jump in. Or that the Democrats themselves have > something > to hide. Or that there's a magic bullet just waiting to be fired. > > Similar rumors spread about Al Gore four years ago. We're still > waiting for that fateful shot. > > This election was not about apathy. Tens of thousands of smart, eager, > fiercely dedicated volunteers came out this year, > desperate to rid this nation of the curse of George W. Bush. > > An escalating avalanche of evidence indicates a true vote count would > have thrown Bush out of the White House. > > But once again, the Democrats have dissed the grassroots. Once again, > a candidate who promised democracy has disappeared > with barely a whimper in the face of those who would destroy it. His > silence has allowed an orgy of media bloviation in homage > to a bigoted, war-crazed America that, if it won at all, took this > election not by national consensus, but by the Rovian staples of > dirty tricks and voter suppression. > > The upcoming Ohio recount is fraught with danger. The Republicans > battled successfully to prevent the state's voting machines > from including paper trails that can be reasonably recounted. These > "black boxes" will require extreme sophistication to be > properly evaluated. Unless intensely supervised down to the last > detail, the Republicans who control these machines will turn this > recount into a "proof" that the election "went smoothly." > > So a true recount will require serious additional financial resources > and a very aggressive, well-organized team. So far we hear > not a peep from the mainstream Democrats. So far, they seem utterly > deaf to the cries of fury and despair from those who were > so wrongly deprived of their right to vote. > > Democracy itself was lynched in Ohio on November 2, by both high and > low tech means. Our freedoms may be the ultimate > victim. But where is the Democratic Party? > > ------------------------- > HARVEY WASSERMAN'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES is at > www.harveywasserman.com. He is senior editor of > www.freepress.orgHarvey Wasserman, Senior Editor, The Free Press > http://freepress.org > > http://www.freepress.org/MyMail/entry.php?action=add&listID=4&[EMAIL PROTECTED] org&what=unsub > My reply, This gentleman asks: WHERE IS THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY since evidence of voting fraud is rampant. Several days ago I posted the answer to this question on my website at: http://www.geocities.com/klomckin/Stolen.2004.Election.html#THE STOLEN 2004 Here is the key paragraph found near the bottom of my article. "Some will no doubt ask why Kerry and his lawyers do not embark upon legal battles throughout the nation to fight the alleged result since the evidence of fraud is so widespread. The answer lies in the fact that those in control of the Democrat and Republican parties agreed beforehand that elections will not be contested via bitter legal battles because of the obvious TREMENDOUS ramifications. If evidence brought out in court struggles reveals to millions of people that their candidate was, in fact, cheated out of being victorious by massive fraud, vote tapering, corruption, and other felonious acts, and the proclaimed victor is not deposed, they will be motivated to embark upon mass demonstrations, violence, destruction, and other activities which the ruling class fears. Even more importantly, hundreds of thousands of people, especially young people, will be radicalized as occurred during the Vietnam War era when government decisions directly clashed with mass demands. And most important of all, millions would now realize the propaganda they had been fed throughout their entire lives to the effect that the United States was the beacon of world democracy and freedom in which the majority ruled had become a farce, a charade. As far as the American ruling class is concerned one would be hard pressed to find outcomes more odious or threatening." The Democrat Party already has enough evidence to make a convincing courtcase, especially with millions of dollars at its command. That is no problem. The problem lies with what I noted above--the potential ramifications which they fear. Sending a couple of lawyers into Ohio for appearances sake is nothing but deceptive tokenism on their part to mollify Kerry's supporters. fraternally, Klo "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - -Mahatma Ghandi "If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They'll have enough to eat, a bed and a roof over their heads. But if an American wants to preserve his dignity and his equality as a human being, he must not bow his neck to any dictatorial government." - - Dwight D. Eisenhower "I'd rather be Don Quixote than another statistic." - -Douglas L. Wilson "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. 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