Suggestions for more national and international coverage

[KaryninMiami]

The only way we will be able to motivate millions to rally so that it truly makes an impact in the world (and on the MSM, we need greater coverage. Bumper stickers, flyers, etc. are a good start. So is telling everyone and sending everyone we know to the thousands of places to learn what really happened and what they can do. But it's still only being viewed as a "small, grassroots effort by liberal, Democratic groups". We need an aggressive plan to get the word out and we need to get it out quickly.

1) We need more national spokespersons. What if we come up with a list of suggestions (not a huge list- maybe 10 names) that we can do a massive letter, fax and email campaign to. I have no idea how to reach them and know that our requests are being heard, but here are some of my suggestions:

- Al Gore (Where is he? Of all people to be silent now!)
- Tom Dascle (what does he have to loose- is election was rigged too)
- Rev. Al Sharpton
- Susan Sarandon
- George Soros
- Oliver Stone
= Danny DeVito
-Walter Cronkite
- Dan Rather (just a thought)

2) We need to find a group to help us raise funds for a massive advertising campaign. MoveOn has money for this but they appear not to want to be really involved right now (my last post asks that we all write to them asking them to be more active). But there are other groups with access to huge mailing lists who could do a campaign like this to raise funds for advertising.

3) We need to link together all of the other groups/blogs/message boards and action groups who are actively working on the election fraud issue. This way, any and all major events, actions and fund-raising campaigns will be more effective.

How did they manage in the Ukraine to have such huge turnout and involvement in their election reform rallying? Was it because they (unlike us) had the US on their side so their media was not blacked out? How did all of those people know to "take to the streets"? We need to explore this and model whatever we do, after what they did to get the word out. I cannot imagine it was via blogs like this that millions went out and demanded a re-vote.


Time for coffee. Welcoming your thoughts!

[noclonyofthechimp]

1. Hello KaryninMiami! I am in Fort Myers Beach and this has been

bugging me for awhile now. I was trying to think how we can mobilize. On December 12th there is a national march going on at all state capitals and when I clicked on the link for FL on this organizations web-site, there wasn't even a coordinator for FL let alone any names of people that were going to go to Tallahassee. I was invited to a DU meeting in Sarasota on the 11th by another member where approximately 20-25 people are expected to gather. I sent her an email last night asking if we might be better served heading to Tallahassee to protest before the electoral meets.

Also, how about if people donate to their local PBS stations strictly to cover the irregularities and get the message out there?

Wanted your thoughts on these ideas?

[KaryninMiami]

6. I agree- Floridians seem to be in a dead stupor over this

OR in total denial- not sure what the truth is. Seems like you and I are on the same wavelength about this. But I do have some friends and colleagues who would mobilize if there was something specific for them TO DO.

I have a mailing list of about 200 that I send updates to regularly but most think I am "overreacting" or a bit "over the top". It's bugging me too and bugging me that their is no organizer in Florida and that no one appears to be going to Tallahassee. Maybe this should have been planned for Miami? Just a thought...

Part of the problem is that there are too many disconnected groups. How can there be no main group in Florida? What's up with that? Has everyone forgotten what went on here in 2000?

I am open to doing anything to get people together but at this point, generating enough interest to move thousands to Tallahassee by next weekend seems a bit unrealistic. Plus, someone up there has to be able to organize a rally. I'm in Miami. I can do my part to send press releases and expand awareness but I'm not sure what else can be done.

As for donating to the local PBS stations- I think they are part of the same MSM machine. Calling into their talk shows, a massive email and fax campaign might help but sending money at this point, is probably not going to make a difference. We need to find ONE REPORTER-- ONE ALIGNED, BRAVE SOUL who will take this on as a feature story. Frontline is a good place to start.

How many are involved with the DU group in Sarasota/Ft. Myers?

[noclonyofthechimp]

9. I am feeling the same way you are. I only have a circle of about 4

people that are here. Another is in Seattle. There seems to be about 20 or so in Sarasota. My neighbor is willing to go to Tallahassee with me, but if you gather who you can and we get Sarasota on board, we are still only looking at approximately 100 when the chips fall. Maybe we can post here to try and gather Floridians and car pool OR would it be more fruitful in Miami?

I hear you on the PBS thing. Are they truly a "Public Broadcasting System" anymore?

[myschkin]

19. brave soul

Why don't you make posters (and hang them around)?

There was one journalist with his story... Alan Waldman, who wrote a GREAT report of the fraud in "Orlando Weekly" (see http://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/Story.asp?ID=4688). He has won many journalistic awards...

Maybe he write an announcement in the same paper (I'm sure he'll do)...

[goclark]

11. Jesse is the only LEADER that has spoken

Everyone else is silent.

At first we thought that a big surprise was coming soon.

Just read a post about Kerry being in NH and he danced all around the voting issues. This really disappointed me because I thought he would have something stronger to say by now.

I love Kerry and that is why I am so disappointed because I thought he was coming to our aid. Don't think that is going to happen.

So, it looks like the only LEADER that we have is JESSE and he can not do this alone.

Kennedy has said nada,Edwards - next to nada, DNC - nada, Move On - next to nada, KO - more than nada but he needs support, Al Franken - minus nada, RANDI!!!!!!! - yes, yes, yes

How do we get our message out without a leader?

The only way that I know is that we must hook up with the Anti War movement sites or the organizers of the New York march during the Republican convention. Now they were doing it! At least CSPAN covered it.

We must have even more folks to MARCH!!!!!

Who organized the New York march?

[berniew1]

13. To get media coverage you need to have good documentation: here is some

Systematic Voter Suppression: STEALING VOTES IN Ohio Urban Areas (by ward/precinct)
Stealing Votes in Columbus
http://web.northnet.org/minstrel/columbus.htm
Stealing Votes in Cleveland http://web.northnet.org/minstrel/cleveland.htm
?
www.votersunite.org/electionproblems.asp?sort=date&sele...

Indications of possible ballot box stuffing in S.W. Ohio counties www.flcv.com/swohio.html
http://web.northnet.org/minstrel/warren.htm

Indications of irregularities or fraud in several Ohio counties
www.flcv.com/fraudioh.html

Favoritism in the Suburbs http://web.northnet.org/minstrel/suburbs.htm

Analysis Indicates Kerry could win Ohio with a "fair process" and fair vote count
http://web.northnet.org/minstrel/uncounted.htm

Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D. 4 Fisher Street Canton, New York 13617 [phone] [e-mail]

[berniew1]

14. Documentation on Florida voter suppression, irregularities

www.flcv.com/flavi04.html

[Laura PourMeADrink]

2. Karyn -- You have great ideas and you are on the same track

as we were last night! Could you please read my urgent posts under the thread "How do we talk to 56 million democrats" and give your thoughts. Maybe you have time to be a team lead on this???

[berniew1]

15. DU has media email list by county; those here can educate Media

There is good summary info on massive voter suppression and irregularities in Ohio and Florida on this thread and elsewhere; and those on this list can educate the Media without resorting to Stars,etc.
DU have a big list of Media emails by state
as well as national media.
on Elections Page
media blaster:

[KaryninMiami]

16. Laura-please contact me- not sure how to email you directly yet.

I'm sort of new here and cannot figure out how to do this. Would be happy to be on your team- we are indeed on the same track about taking action and taking it NOW. Please email me directly at D.U. or at [e-mail]. Thanks!

Karyn in Miami

[myschkin]

3. speaker for us?

What about Leonardo di Caprio? Maybe someone gives him a mail (with all facts) and he may joins us here in DU...

[KaryninMiami]

7. Great- any idea how to reach him?

The key to reaching out to these folks, is to get to them and that's the difficult part. Any ideas?

[kk897]

4. I think it needs to be Sharpton and Obama

Sharpton because he's always in the media and is a particularly strong speaker as well as a rabble-rouser--not to mention former Presidential candidate; Obama because he's a "rising star" and particularly telegenic and has been much in the news. Jesse Jackson being on it is a start, but we need more.

The people primarily affected by the disenfranchisement were Black people, so we need Black leaders to speak out. If people realized that this is a CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE, not a "Kerry won" issue, maybe that would confer more legitimacy upon it.

"Senator" on this board has been calling to change the frame, and I have to agree.

IT'S CIVIL RIGHTS. It's Jim Crow brought back to life. The question is, I guess, was Jim Crow ever dead?

It's not numbers, it's Joe Knapp's maps showing that the distribution of problems in Cuyahoga County were exactly correlated with the concentration of the Black population, that we need to emphasize.

One thing not mentioned about the rally is that the (forgive me, I couldn't hear that well because of the wind) director (? not sure who it was, just caught "NAACP") of the NAACP was there, and he just sounded kind of grim and depressed. He didn't get us fired up. We need Black leaders to get Black people fired up. We need them in the streets. Then white people need to do everything we can to support them. It shouldn't be us coming in on our white horses to save the day, extending our patronizing hand to them, saying "help is on the way." It should be as the Civil Rights Movement was in the 1950s and 60s.

Which is not to abdicate my responsibility as a citizen opposed to disenfranchisement. We have to fight it tooth and nail. We have to open lines of communication with Black leaders and community. But we need to find out what specifically we can do to help. We need to ask *them* what they need from *us*, not tell them what we need them to do.

Not sure how to open those lines of communication for people like me, a white woman in a liberal affluent community with few Black people. Honestly, I know very few Black people personally. I do some work with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. And I don't know how to approach Black activists without seeming like a carpetbagger or opportunist or worse at this point.

That was the problem I had with MoveOn sending us (white people) into poor Black neighborhoods, with our official looking clipboards of information, asking "Can I speak to Mr. So-and-So?" No wonder some were greeted with hostility. People in those areas thought we were social workers, cops, probation officers... and why not? Since when did white people ever go into those areas just to talk? And now we needed something from them. What had we ever done for them? I could completely understand their attitude.

I guess I'm just ranting now... sorry... but for me this is a HUGE issue. I'm by nature a shy person anyway, and I don't have that many friends, period. I don't know how to reach out without looking patronizing, without looking naive, without looking, well, stupid. I dunno. I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. Maybe I should make a new thread?

[kk897]

5. replying to myself

Duh, we need leaders from other disenfranchised communities, too; at the rally there were two Latino leaders speaking, for instance. There are many other minority communities we need to communicate with to ask what they need from us. I'm sorry I didn't mention this in my post above.

[KaryninMiami]

8. AGREED

I still could not figure out why Jesse Jackson took so long to get involved and what the NAACP is doing about this. I actually spoke with an NAACP member a few weeks ago who happened to be checking in at a hotel the same time I was. I asked him why they were not involved and how they could stand by and do nothing about this MASSIVE DISENFRANCHISEMENT? He said he knew little about it but promised he would bring it up at his meeting. I was flabbergasted. NOT KNOW ANYTHING? HOW COULD THIS BE?

I agree about the MoveOn program sending people with clipboards into black neighborhoods.

No apologies needed for your ranting. I rant all the time- and am losing friends because of it. But I don't care-- this is a HUGE ISSUE-- PEOPLE (of all colors) Did NOT GET THEIR VOTES COUNTED AS THEY HAD INTENDED. PERIOD. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? WHY ISN'T EVERYONE SCREAMING AND DEMANDING ACTION? HOW COME IN THE UKRAINE PEOPLE CAN GET A RE-VOTE FOR THE SAME REASONS WE NEED ONE AND WE CANNOT EVEN GET IT TOGETHER TO MOTIVATE A FEW MILLION PEOPLE TO RALLY? IS EVERYONE DRINKING THE KOOL AID?

That's nothing. You should see when I really get into it!

KEEP RANTING- we all need to RANT until we get people to listen.

[noclonyofthechimp]

10. I pledge to rant "until the cows come home" In the end they will thank

you. People just feel so defeated. I hear things like, "The Bush cartel is just to powerful." We need to somehow pull some of these groups together.

[kk897]

12. thanks...

Now I've read this thing about Arnebeck saying that the massive civil rights violations and disenfranchisement was actually some sort of *diversion* and that the real fraud took place elsewhere... let me find the thread, unless someone knows which one I'm talking about... it's here on DU and I'll post back when I find it again.

Very interesting argument. Hell... I don't know anything any more. Except, well, whether or not the fraud specifically targeted Black people and other minorities, white people need to ask them what they'd like us to do to help. If they even *want* our help.

I'm soooooo confused right now...

[Hobbes199]

17. This site gets about 2.5 million hits a day...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=105797

[myschkin]

18. kick

[myschkin]

20. bridge

Karyn, I think, Michael Moore has a lot of contact to Hollywood people... I'm sure he knows a lot of important people. So we have to write to him personally and get him for this case. I think it would be best if the mail comes 'formally' as a mail from someone of DU ('media taskforce' or something like that), so he takes it serious (and read and answer the mail). It has to be nice, long and full of informations.

Also, if we have Susan Sarandon (and she "believes" in vote fraud), we have a lot of other Hollywood guys... What about Ben Affleck (too conformistic?) or better Matt Damon? I'm sure he burns for this issue... Or Colin Farrell, he seems pretty rebelic to me...

So we have to start with Susan Sarandon - and Michael Moore.

I'm sure somebody like Jesse Jackson can help us...

Also to get Soros.

[myschkin]

22. here you go

Michael Moore email-addresses:

[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Write it personal and charming... ;-)

[Kralizec]

21. I'll cover NEW MEXICO nt

[myschkin]

23. Related links

URGENT IMMEDIATE MEDIA BLITZ ACTION:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x115227

Full page advertising in NYT:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x115059

[myschkin]

24. kick