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Departments Election Issues The last man to concede... by Sheila Samples January 29, 2005 On November 3, just hours after Democratic vice-presidential hopeful John Edwards made a national announcement that he and John Kerry were not going to concede until all the votes were counted, Kerry grabbed the spotlight and conceded -- before all the votes were counted. Kerry took the money and ran. Seems he couldn't stick around because he and the missus were spending Christmas at a holiday extravaganza in Sun Valley as personal guests of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who just weeks before had fired up the Republican Convention at Madison Square Garden by declaring that "America is safer with George W. Bush as president." According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "The former candidate, largely AWOL post-election, was seen in intense conversation with Dennis Miller." It would be another two months before Kerry got around to emailing his millions of stunned, exhausted, and much poorer supporters to let them know that, although he was committed to "ensuring that every vote in this election is counted," alas, he wouldn't be joining the protest of the Ohio Electors. "I am deeply concerned about the issues being highlighted by my colleagues in Congress and citizens across the country and support their efforts to highlight the need to ensure voting rights," Kerry wrote, and admitted that the "troubling questions" gathered by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich), "have not yet been answered." Kerry assured depressed -- many disenfranchised -- voters that one of his top agenda items in the coming months would be a national proposal to ensure transparency and accountability in the US voting process. He conceded he would use the information "gathered" by Conyers and others to guide his legislation. While we are waiting for the coming months and for Kerry to take a look at his agenda, he suggested we petition the Republican leadership to join us in our effort to act on election reform. Kerry then headed for the Middle East, where he visited with U.S. servicemembers in Iraq before standing tall and resolute in Israel until the last Palestinian vote was counted. Meanwhile, back in the trenches, Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and most dogged of investigators, continued to do much more than "highlight" issues and "gather" questions. Conyers faced stiff and often illegal opposition from Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who is also an elite Bush donor and co-chair of the Ohio Bush/Cheney '04 campaign. Conyers was abandoned by Republican Judiciary Committee members, and ridiculed throughout the media as a looney conspiracy theorist. However, Conyers didn't look back, nor did he change course. He conducting hearings, investigations and interviews that ultimately proved something went terribly wrong in the state of Ohio. The irregularities were so massive and widespread it took Conyers 102 pages to list them. His report, "Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio," was released on January 5, and is a clear indictment of the shameful lengths to which Republicans will go to derail democracy. At the same time, in a buoyant fund-raising letter to Ohians while the votes were still being counted, Blackwell made the case that he should be elected governor in return for saving the Great Buckeye State from "an unapologetic liberal named John Kerry," and for delivering the spoils to Bush. According to the Conyers report, Blackwell's bragging is justified, for at the very minimum, he threw a monkeywrench into the electoral machine. Some of his actions, as well the Republican Party and election officials, just in the runup to Nov. 2 are: Blackwell misallocating voting machines, which resulted in predominately minority and Democratic voters having to stand in line for long hours and disenfranchised thousands, even hundreds of thousands of voters. The conscious failure to provide sufficent voting machines was in direct violation of the Ohio Revised Code, which requires adequate facilities at each voting place. Blackwell restricting provisional ballots. This also resulted in the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of minority and predominately Democratic voters. Blackwell rejecting voter registration applications based on paper weight, thus resulting in thousands of new voters not being registered in time to vote. Ohio Republican Party targeted 35,000 minority voters for intimidation and poll challenges. The Third Circuit Court found such intimidation to be in direct violation of consent decrees barring the Republican Party from such activity. This amounted to a hand-slap after the damage had been done. Ohio Republican Party sending an army of partisan challengers to minority and Democratic areas to disrupt the voting process and to dissuade voters from standing in line while being harassed. Blackwell prevented voters who had requested absentee ballots but did not receive them in time to vote from getting provisional ballots. This likely disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters, and Blackwell's order was found by a federal court to be illegal and in violation of the 2002 Help America Vote Act. Curses! Another handslap... Many people worked tirelessly throughout the media-blacked-out Ohio fiasco, heroically attempting to salvage democracy and to preserve that portion of our Constitution which ensures that every American has the right -- and the opportunity -- to cast a ballot and that each ballot will be counted. There were also those who worked around the clock to get the word out, such as Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfield, Harvey Wasserman, Will Pitt, Sam Parry, Robert Kuttner, Jesse Jackson, and on and on -- far too numerous to mention, but heroes all. Members of Congress who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Conyers and one lone Senator, Barbara Boxer, who courgeously withstood a veritable tsunami of ridicule and criticism to challenge the fraudulent electoral process deserve the heartfelt thanks of all Americans regardless of party. It is significant that neither Conyers nor any of the patriots who stayed until the last vote was counted had a single negative thing to say to, or about, John Kerry for his hurried and premature exit. Significant because they had to know that by stepping boldly forward and demanding an open and honest vote count, Kerry would have given instant validity to their effort and the media would have been forced to expose the sleazy disenfranchisement of Ohio Democrats, most of whom were minorities. And so, they took the heat and the hits because, for them, democracy was too important to abandon. Honor was too important for any among them to ask Kerry to be the last man to concede... I wonder if Americans know, or appreciate, the gargantuan efforts made by Conyers on their behalf -- efforts to expose the administration's almost feral attempt to seize control of the election, our government and, ultimately, democracy itself. Like most Democrats, on that Nov. 3 morning as John Kerry stood before TV cameras and, with obvious relief, conceded the election before it was over, I was caught up in a vortex of depression, disappointment and outrage. I was half-way out the door in search of a new party -- one that could be depended upon over the long haul -- one that knew the difference between right and wrong and had the courage to stand up for what was right, when I happened to look back. There Conyers was, the last man to concede, doggedly soldiering on for democracy in spite of the absence of his peers, the ridicule of the mainstream media and relentless attacks from Republicans. Today, in a gracious thank-you letter to all those who worked to bring voting irregularities before the Congress, Conyers assured us he "remains steadfast" even though the election is over. He also expressed gratitude to internet activists and alternative media for investigating the voter fraud and for bringing it to light "when all but a handful in the mainstream media refused to examine the facts." Like Kerry, Conyers says he will "introduce comprehensive election reform legislation in the coming weeks, and will fight for its passage at the earliest possible moment." He says he has not forgotten his investigation into the role of senior Bush Administration officials in "outing" Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA operative. "I will also continue to examine the sources of the fraudulent case for the Iraq war, which intersects with the outing of this operative," he promised. So, unable to abandon Conyers, I came back. I am reminded of the words of former vice-president Al Gore, speaking of Kerry at the Democratic Convention in July, "He is a friend who will stand by you. His word is his bond. He has a deep patriotism that goes far beyond words. He has devoted his life to making America a better place for all of us." That may be true, but for me, it is John Conyers to whom these words of praise should be directed. It is John Conyers who makes me proud to be an American, and if I'm ever proud to be a Democrat again, it will be because of him. Nobody had to ask him. John Conyers chose to be the last man to concede. Sheila Samples is an Oklahoma freelance writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. She is a columnist/regular contributor for a variety of Internet sites. Contact her at rsamples@sirinet.net. © 2005 Sheila Samples Email this article to a friend |
Don't forget to check out articles from 2007 and 2008
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Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
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December 4, 2005
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"Poll shock"
November 24, 2005
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"Ohio's Diebold Debacle: New machines call election results into question"
November 24, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
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November 20, 2005
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November 16, 2005
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November 11, 2005
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"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
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"My report from Hocking County, July 5, 2005: An update on Sherole Eaton's unfolding Story"
July 7, 2005
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July 4, 2005
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July 4, 2005
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
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June 28, 2005
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June 28, 2005
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"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
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June 16, 2005
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June 10, 2005
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June 10, 2005
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"Electoral Politics and the War: Lessons from 2004 and What the Anti-War Movement Should do in 2006"
June 8, 2005
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"Optical scan machines hacked in Florida"
June 2, 2005
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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
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"Carter Gets It – But Will His Electoral Commission?"
April 24, 2005
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"Voter Perceptions and Political Deceptions: Federal, Ohio and Knox"
April 24, 2005
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April 17, 2005
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"National Conference on Election Reform Opens with Civil Rights Panel"
April 13, 2005
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"View from Another Planet"
April 13, 2005
Josh Mitteldorf
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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
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March 30, 2005
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"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
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February 22, 2005
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"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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