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Departments Election Issues Together, we moved three mountains by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman January 8, 2005 Together, grassroots/Internet activists have just moved three major American mountains. On January 6, we forced an angry Republican-dominated Congress into an unprecedented confrontation with the Truth about Ohio's stolen election, about dubious vote counts nationwide, and ultimately about an electoral process worthy of zero public trust. America's progressive grassroots further showed it could prompt the "democratic wing" of the Democratic Party to finally stand up for its constituents' right to vote, even in the face of the usual withering slander from Karl Rove's dirty tricksters. And those of us who work the Internet showed we could spark a mass movement by exposing a national travesty despite relentless abuse from the mainstream media, which did absolutely nothing to uncover the systematic corruption of our electoral process. In truth, the mountains shook even before the election. Many of us Ohioans could see what was about to happen here long before November 2. With blatant manipulation, discrimination and intimidation being flaunted by the supremely arrogant Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, the clear message from the Bush-Cheney campaign he chaired was that John Kerry would never carry Ohio, no matter how many votes he got. When commondreams.org and other fellow web sites circulated freepress.org's "12 ways Bush is now stealing the Ohio vote" on October 27, the warning went worldwide. So when Jim Crow showed up in Ohio, we digitized his picture. In sworn testimony at public hearings convened with no help, cooperation or participation from the Kerry Campaign or the Democratic Party, scores of Ohioans told their infuriating stories. With relentless investigation, cooperation and participation from private citizens from all over the state, a gruesome portrait of GOP racism, fraud and contempt burned across the worldwide web. The mainstream media slept, scoffed and scorned us. But from Ohio, Florida, New Mexico and elsewhere, there emerged an irrefutable portrait of yet another stolen election. On November 3, John Kerry fled the scene. After collecting millions of dollars with the solemn vow to protect and count every vote, Kerry abandoned ship and disappeared, just like Al Gore in 2000. Both left tens of thousands of fervent, idealistic campaigners in a sickening lurch. Do the Democratic Party centrists and Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) corporate types think they can still hope to win an election? Who will organize or turn out for a party that won't stand for the sacred voting rights of its core constituencies? The abuses leveled at Ohio's Democratic core black, young and working-class constituencies have now been thoroughly documented. But the party's corporate elite still slavishly mimics the GOP attack on "conspiracy theorists" who dare explain what really happened here. Kerry's lead Ohio attorney, Dan Hoffheimer -- a high-roller in the Republican Taft, Stettinius & Hollister law firm -- dishes out Rovian contempt for those of us who expose this crime. Likewise fake "Democrats" like William Anthony of the Franklin County Board of Elections are an endless fount of GOP sound bites. Anthony symbolizes a party with no apparent principles or convictions. All "bi-partisan" appointments to Ohio's boards of elections are made by the GOP Secretary of State. As chair of the Franklin County Democratic Party, Anthony has led joint Democrat-Republican campaigns against grassroots independent candidates for local offices. He epitomizes the listless elite that's driven the once-powerful state party into near oblivion. In precisely that spirit, Team Kerry ducked out with the phony dodge that the Ohio fraud was not numerically large enough to give it the presidency. Just a few weeks' research could have shown otherwise. Or they could've looked on the web. Or they could've listened to their supporters' sworn testimony on being cheated out of their vote. "Changing the outcome" means more than who sits in the White House. It also means that every vote is counted, and the final margin is correct, no matter who's on top. Ohio on November 2 was a high-tech lynching. On November 3, John Kerry certified it. But Kerry's concession did clear the way for those who believe that democracy is greater than the Democratic Party. A relentless grassroots movement has pierced the myth of Bush's phony 3.5 million-vote margin. Under-funded lawyers persist with lawsuits made possible by the legal standing not of the Democrats, but of the Greens and Libertarians. In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Jesse Jackson has come to Columbus again and again. With him have come Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and others. Prompted by web sites like truemajority.org, moveon.org and freepress.org, the grassroots have surged. Rallies have boomed in Cleveland, Columbus, San Francisco, Washington. Finally, on January 6, some three dozen Representatives and Senators stood up. Speech after speech in the "Boxer Rebellion" -- led by led by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA and Rep. Tubb Jones -- finally put on the Congressional record the grassroots affidavits and web reporting ignored by Team Kerry. No single significant investigative contribution came from the mainstream media, which proceeded to virtually black out this historic confrontation. In two hours it was over -- for the moment. We wish those Democrats who did stand had been stronger. We wish there had been more of them. But this was an unprecedented Constitutional confrontation. For whatever it was worth, the progressives spoke for the people. They confirmed there might be a future for the democratic wing of the Democratic Party. The Republicans confirmed another fraud. And the mountains moved. The vicious, contemptuous theft of Ohio's electoral votes has been put on the Congressional record. A nation conducting wholesale slaughter overseas in the name of democracy has been forced to face the gaping craters in its own. The movement that made it happen was organized, funded and executed by an unprecedented bare bones, multi-racial, nationwide rainbow of cyberjournalists and grassroots activists, with no help from America's mainstream "party of the people." The Truth that forced this watershed event was unearthed and broadcast almost entirely through the web and a few progressive talk radio and TV stations. Against all odds, we blasted a gaping hole through the hostile wall of the corporate media. We moved those mountains in spite of them and the mainstream DLC Democrats. Where this leads depends on how relentlessly we document, disseminate and then prosecute the capital Crimes of November 2. In 1972 Richard Nixon swept 49 states amidst a ghastly war. But he had already poisoned himself with crimes of arrogance. He was driven from office by those who stood and fought. This election, like 2000, was a curse of its own. No matter how bleak things may seem now, the seeds of victory have been sown for those who will fight for true democracy. Because we have once again proved that together, we can move mountains. -- Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman are co-authors of OHIO'S STOLEN ELECTION: VOICES OF THE DISENFRANCHISED, 2004, soon available through http://freepress.org. Contributions for this book/film project are welcome via http://freepress.org/store.php or by sending a check to the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism, 1240 Bryden Road, Columbus, Ohio 43205. Email this article to a friend |
Don't forget to check out articles from 2008 and 2009
"An open letter to the Election Assistance Commission"
December 25, 2005
John Gideon, Executive Director of VotersUnite.Org and Information Manager for VoteTrustUSA.Org
"Diebold hack proven in county test!"
December 17, 2005
Glenn Yeagley
"Diebold Inc. in a tailspin after resignation of CEO and filing of a class action fraud lawsuit"
December 17, 2005
VelvetRevolution.us
"Orr thinks machines make voting simpler, more secure "
December 17, 2005
Mario Bartoletti
"Diebold "hack test" - Sec. State / Black Box Lawyer square off"
December 10, 2005
Black Box Voting
"With new legislation, Ohio Republicans plan holiday burial for American Democracy"
December 6, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Important daily voting news"
December 4, 2005
John Gideon
"Poll shock"
November 24, 2005
Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services
"Ohio's Diebold Debacle: New machines call election results into question"
November 24, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Diebold attempts to evade election transparency laws"
November 20, 2005
Matt Zimmerman
"Supreme Court stabs another GOP knife into US democracy by upholding ex-felon vote ban"
November 16, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Has American Democracy died an electronic death in Ohio 2005's referenda defeats?"
November 11, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"What John Kerry definitely said about 2004’s stolen election and why it's killing American democracy"
November 10, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Scrap the "secret" ballot - return to open voting"
November 5, 2005
Lynn Landes
"Clarification of NEDA's withdrawal of Ohio exit poll paper"
November 5, 2005
Kathy Dopp
"Clarification of NEDA's withdrawal of Ohio exit poll paper"
November 3, 2005
Kathy Dopp, National Election Data Archive
"Watergate-style money laundering indictments stoke Ohio's stolen election fires"
October 28, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Powerful Government Accountability Office report confirms key 2004 stolen election findings"
October 26, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Did you erase your own vote?"
October 25, 2005
Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, www.VoteTrustUSA.org
"Why can't the left face the Stolen Elections of 2004 & 2008?"
October 18, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Carter/Baker Report can't face how the GOP stole America's 2004 election & is rigging 2008"
September 20, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Two Steps Forward, One Step Back"
September 20, 2005
Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA
"FEMA Chief Brown Paid Millions in False Claims to Help Bush Win Fla. Votes"
September 19, 2005
Jason Leopold
"Ohio recount lawsuit set for trial; election workers indicted"
September 4, 2005
Blair Bobier
"Ohio Governor's ethics violations expose money trail to stolen 2004 election"
August 30, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Diebold's failure in California"
August 7, 2005
John Gideon, Information Manager, www.VotersUnite.Org and www.VoteTrustUSA.Org
"Did the GOP steal another Ohio Election?"
August 5, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Conyers-Kaptur seek special counsel for Noe probe"
August 4, 2005
John Conyers, Jr. and Marcy Kaptur
"Dramatic new charges deepen link between Ohio's "Coingate," Voinovich mob connections, and the theft of the 2004 election"
July 29, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"None dare call it stolen - Ohio, the election, and America's servile press"
July 24, 2005
Mark Crispin Miller, summarized by Mary Anne Saucier, Columbus, Ohio
"Civic Engagement and the Restoration of Community from a voter activist’s view"
July 19, 2005
Terri Zins
"My report from Hocking County, July 5, 2005: An update on Sherole Eaton's unfolding Story"
July 7, 2005
Victoria Parks, Ohio Backbone Campaign
"Handbook for Ohio Voter Activists, Version 2.0"
July 7, 2005
Various activists
"Direct testimony: Presented to Election Assessment Hearing"
July 4, 2005
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Log Cabin Republicans in Ohio"
July 4, 2005
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"With a limp election theft report, Dems prove why they're unworthy"
June 28, 2005
Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitrakis
"Voting problems and uncounted votes in Lucas County, Ohio"
June 28, 2005
Justine Smith
"The DNC 2004 Election Report: An indictment of incompetence"
June 25, 2005
Steven Rosenfeld and Bob Fitrakis
"Corporate control of the election process"
June 22, 2005
John Gideon
"Introduction: Did George W. Bush steal America's 2004 election?"
June 16, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Voter Confidence Committee Calls For Rejection of CA Special Election"
June 16, 2005
Dave Berman
"Activists from 25 states lobby for paper ballots on June 9 and 10"
June 10, 2005
VoteTrustUSA.org
"Fear of riffraff"
June 10, 2005
Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services
"Electoral Politics and the War: Lessons from 2004 and What the Anti-War Movement Should do in 2006"
June 8, 2005
Kevin Zeese
"Optical scan machines hacked in Florida"
June 2, 2005
Black Box Voting
"Does ES&S really want to sell the Automark machines?"
May 28, 2005
John Gideon
"Attack on election board whistleblower and leaked Blackwell threats re-fire Ohio's election theft scandal"
May 23, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Franklin County, Ohio Election Procedures – April and May 2005"
May 6, 2005
Paddy Shaffer
"Carter Gets It – But Will His Electoral Commission?"
April 24, 2005
Kevin Zeese and Linda Schade
"Voter Perceptions and Political Deceptions: Federal, Ohio and Knox"
April 24, 2005
Mike Swinford
"Electoral reform groups call for James Baker's resignation from electoral reform commission"
April 17, 2005
Ilene Proctor
"National Conference on Election Reform Opens with Civil Rights Panel"
April 13, 2005
Abigail Thorton
"View from Another Planet"
April 13, 2005
Josh Mitteldorf
"Democrats! Paper “Trails” Aren’t Good Enough. Count The Damn Ballots!"
April 12, 2005
Lynn Landes
"Democrats, Paper ‘Trails’ Aren’t Good Enough; Count The Damn Ballots!"
April 1, 2005
Lynn Landes, Online Journal Contributing Writer
"Scientific Analysis Suggests Presidential Vote Counts May Have Been Altered"
March 30, 2005
US Vote Counts
"As Blackwell Says, Ohio’s in 2004 was a National Model"
March 24, 2005
Steve Rosenfeld, Bob Fitrakis, and Harvey Wasserman
"Understanding the difference between paper ballots and paper audit trails"
March 20, 2005
Gary Beckwith
"Save Our Democracy"
March 16, 2005
John Irwin
"Republicans maneuvering to get Voting Rights Act killed"
March 10, 2005
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
"Legal filing highlights Blackwell's hypocrisy in Ohio recount case"
March 7, 2005
Blair Bobier
"Selma 40 Years Later"
March 6, 2005
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
"Exit Poll Madness - Analyst Steve Freeman & Company Offer False Choice"
March 4, 2005
Lynn Landes
"Libertarians To Testify in Ohio House: Modernize Ohio's Election Laws"
March 3, 2005
Robert Butler
"The New Voting Rights Movement Begins Here Today"
March 2, 2005
Steven Rosenfeld
"Voting in America"
February 28, 2005
Bob Babson
"The Mighty Texas Strike Force"
February 28, 2005
Nick Mottern - Documentary News Service
"Blackwell presidential election sanctions briefs"
February 22, 2005
Various individuals
"Representative Conyers and others file amicus brief in Ohio Supreme Court"
February 17, 2005
Dena Graziano
"Congresswoman Tubbs Jones Outraged at Blackwell's Failure to Appear During House Administration Hearing"
February 12, 2005
Office of Rep. Tubbs Jones
"Ohio Attorney-General's attack on election protection attorneys draws mountain of documentation on state's stolen election, including new study on exit polls"
February 3, 2005
Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Prominent Statisticians Refute 'Explanation' of 2004 U.S. Exit Poll Discrepancies in New Edison/Mitofsky Report and Urge Investigation of U.S. Presidential Election Results"
January 31, 2005
Bruce O'Dell
"The last man to concede..."
January 29, 2005
Sheila Samples
"Report on Washington DC, January 6, 2005"
January 25, 2005
Avram Friedman
"Arkansas in 2004: Did Bush Really Win?"
January 24, 2005
Max Standridge
"New links"
January 23, 2005
Free Press staff
"Voting Problems and Uncounted Votes in Lucas County, Ohio"
January 23, 2005
Justine Smith
"Plan B: Parallel Elections & Signed Ballots"
January 20, 2005
Lynn Landes
"Open Letter to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro from Representative John Conyers, Jr."
January 20, 2005
Representative John Conyers, Jr.
"Open Letter to Warren Mitofsky and Larry Rosin from Representative John Conyers, Jr."
January 20, 2005
Representative John Conyers, Jr.
"Ohio's GOP Attorney General launches revenge attack on Election Protection legal team"
January 19, 2005
Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"What are they hiding in New Mexico?"
January 18, 2005
Warren Stewart, National Ballot Integrity Project
"In the Shadow of Dr. King, counting the vote remains a civil rights issue"
January 17, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Did the “Liberal Media” Get the 2004 Election All Wrong?
"
January 16, 2005
Gene C. Gerard
"'COUNT EVERY VOTE. EVERY VOTE COUNTS'"
January 16, 2005
Mary Anne Saucier
"Moss v. Bush moves on and movement continues"
January 13, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Rally Continues Drive for Democracy"
January 9, 2005
Mark Huntress
"Estimated vote count in Ohio"
January 8, 2005
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"January 6 Washington, D.C. rally report"
January 8, 2005
Nick Mottern
"Together, we moved three mountains"
January 8, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"What the election challenge means"
January 8, 2005
David Swanson, ILCA
"Progressive Democrats lead historic voting rights protest as Congress ratifies flawed 2004 Electoral College tally"
January 7, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Arnebeck letter to Congress re Presidential Electoral Challenge"
January 6, 2005
Clifford O. Arnebeck, Jr.
"Senator Barbara Boxer, D-CA and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-OH contested the election"
January 6, 2005
Free Press staff
"The "Crime of November 2": The human side of how Bush stole Ohio, and why Congress must investigate rather than ratify the Electoral College (Part Two of Two)"
January 5, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff"
January 5, 2005
U.S. Rep. John Conyers and staff
"Seven key reasons why the vote must be challenged at the electoral college"
January 3, 2005
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
"Ten preliminary reasons why the Bush vote does not compute, and why Congress must investigate rather than certify the Electoral College (Part One of Two)"
January 3, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Verified election contest petitions and documents in Ohio Supreme Court "
January 2, 2005
The undersigned
"Distribution of voting machines by county in Ohio"
January 1, 2005
Andy Shifflette
"Did We Bounce An Election?"
January 1, 2005
Warren Stewart, votersunite.org
"Presidential election congressional hearing transcript"
January 1, 2005
Congresspeople Waters, Tubbs-Jones and Conyers and others
Selected articles from 2004
"Ohio's official non-recount ends amidst new evidence of fraud, theft and judicial contempt mirrored in New Mexico"
December 31, 2004
"Impossible Phantom Votes in New Mexico
"
December 30, 2004
"The 2004 Presidential Election: Who Won The Popular Vote? An Examination of the Comparative Validity of Exit Poll and Vote Count Data"
December 29, 2004
"Ohio GOP election officials ducking notices of deposition as Kerry enters stolen vote fray"
December 28, 2004
"Another third rate burglary"
December 25, 2004
"Hacking the vote in Miami County"
December 25, 2004
"Update from the Ohio Frontlines"
December 24, 2004
"Lawsuit Before the Ohio Supreme Court"
December 24, 2004
"Kerry votes switched to Bush and ballots pre-punched for Bush"
December 24, 2004
"Uncounted votes in Cuyahoga County"
December 24, 2004
"GAO report documents how easy it is to hack the vote"
November 15, 2005
"J30 Election Reform Coalition"
March 21, 2005
"The Un-mighty New Hampshire Jam Force"
March 21, 2005
"Petro sanctions democracy"
March 21, 2005
"Progressives helped concede election by conceding the moral high ground"
March 21, 2005
"We will not concede, or get over it, but we shall overcome"
January 23, 2005
"From Selma to Palm Beach to Columbus"
January 23, 2005
"Movement Heroes"
January 23, 2005
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