Feingold just sent me an email saying he doesn't respond to

[saracat]

any mail from addresses outside WI! And I hear Leahy has said he won't contest as Kerry conceded. Anybody else heard anything?

[still_one]

1. the democratic party as we know it is dead

[seito]

9. sigh

:eyes:

[Freddie Stubbs]

49. Because a Senator's office won't respond to people from other states?

It's not Senator Fiengold's job to represent people from states other than Minnesota. Each Senator's office receives a budget according to their state's population. Senators from smaller states simply don't have the resources to respond people from every state in the union.

[Hippo_Tron]

50. He's from Wisconsin actually

But yea I understand what you are saying. I wrote Durbin a letter about how he should run for minority leader but I didn't expect a response.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. I received the Feingold e-mail also. n/t

[Elise]

3. That's pretty standard

My senators won't respond (with substance) to anyone outside the state either.

[dkofos]

54. They will if there is money involved.

Fucking assholes

[Vektor]

4. Leahy is just making excuses...

...he wouldn't have done it anyway, then.

[noamnety]

5. That's standard

I've gotten that from Hillary before, on a different issue, she only responds to her constituents.

[Zan_of_Texas]

22. Yeah, well.

I happen to know that members of Congress eagerly accept $$$$$ when you send it from out of state. They also eagerly accept $$$$$ when corporations send it from out of state.

So, let's get this clear -- they just refuse to accept mail from out-of-state -- would that be, because there's no $$$$$ in the envelope???

[Scout1071]

6. Well then.....WI DU'ers.....you are needed immediately

If Feingold will only hear from people who reside in WI....we need to figure out a way to get the people of WI to demand it.

[shraby]

7. I've yelled at him.

Wisconsin Dem here.

[joevoter]

10. I have been emailing Local Labor Unions

asking them to pass on the request to email/fax their Senators. I just googled for each state and focussed on teacher and nurse locals. I only email the Prez and VP as to not spam members. I don't know how well it has worked but worth a try.

[Scout1071]

21. Great Start JoeVoter

Keep it up. And don't necessarily limit to those unions. Plenty of good ol' union boys didn't vote for * either. As a matter of fact, I spent part of election night with a tavern full of Union voters.

[Chimpanzee]

64. I've emailed him 10 times - no response - I'm from WI

[New Earth]

8. i got that too.

[Sir Craig]

11. Well, that pretty much screws military personnel...

...from WI who are stationed outside of the state. I'm a Californian stationed in NE right now, and I would be mighty pissed if Boxer or Feinstein disregarded my communications simply because my messages all had "NE" on them...

[Patchuli]

47. Californian here, I've emailed CA senators

and received no responses whatsoever. I had previously emailed Feinstein and Boxer re: the 2000 no stand ups and received unsatisfactory answers.
You know, they want our votes but they don't always want to follow
through with the job apparently...

[saracat]

12. Is it a waste of time to email them then? Do they delete our emails and

ignore our faxes?

[intheflow]

18. They might delete and ignore, but

it is still important for all people to write, email or fax them. If they only heard from their constituents, they could write off everything as a localized abnormality. Getting swamped with correspondence from all over the country and the world places the issue a much broader context.

[meganmonkey]

13. I got a weird Feingold response too

(btw - I do not live in WI)
Dear Friend,

Thank you for taking the time to e-mail me and let me know your
thoughts on matters of concern to you. Hearing from Wisconsinites is
my most important source of information and one of the things I enjoy
most about my job.

Due to the high volume of non-constituent Internet mail and "spam"
this account receives on a daily basis, I unfortunately am unable to
respond to your message by e-mail, ..blah blah blah...

[GetTheRightVote]

14. I will always try anyway, atleast they must know they are getting emails

:kick:

It is up to them if they wish to ignore them..........

[saracat]

15. Oddly enough, one who responded to me , from another state

prior to the election was the supposed "do nothing" John Edwards!

[Jo March]

56. saracat, I always get a response from Edwards

I've emailed him several times on other issues and I always get a response. :)

[Verve]

16. I'm a constituent of Feingold's and he sent me a canned response today

saying he would only respond to constituents and only if their addressess were in the emails. He will not respond to mass emails.

If this is any consolation, it sounds to me like he might be getting bombarded with our emails. I guess we'll have to keep it up until he reacts to them.

[Verve]

52. Several Weeks Ago, I did receive a letter from Feingold since I am

a constituent. I was very disappointed. It was obviously a form letter and basically talked about how he could only help election problems in Wisconsin and that if I had a specific election problem I needed to go through the right channels of filing a complaint.

I say we continue emailing him. The least we can do is be a thorn in his side, especially for his admins that are getting bombarded with all this email. Hopefully, he'll listen eventually.

[RaulVB]

17. Feingold can kiss "his probable presidential run"...

Good bye!

There is no place for Democratic "politicians" like him in this new reality that "*" has created.

And while at it he can kiss my...too!

[serbach]

20. I'm curious...

...as to why you'd say that. What is this "new reality?"

Steve Erbach
Neenah, WI

[RaulVB]

23. One party regime

A totalitarian system where the opposition will be, eventually, silenced by legal (or illegal) means.

You don't think that a regime willing to invade a country without legal justification or to use electoral fraud to remain in power will take a second to ask "the opposition" to work with them in "a bipartisan fashion", do you?

That was the "old America..."

Regards.

[sybylla]

29. If you think Feingold will be party to that kind of system

you're not paying attention. He's your best bet to lead the opposition.

[RaulVB]

32. Feingold doesn't fit the profile of a revolutionary leader...

And the criminals won't go down without fighting to stay in power.

Nothing short of a revolution must take place to produce real change.

[sybylla]

59. Like I said

you're not paying attention.

[RaulVB]

62. Well, I would say...

You are not reading what I write and since you have the answer...

[Freddie Stubbs]

31. Senators and Representatives are there to represent their constituents,

not people from other state or districts. They simply don't have the resources to respond to people from all over the country.

[madison2000]

19. I emailed Feingold with my address and got an email saying that

I would get a letter. I have never NOT gotten a response from him, so I expect that he will come through.

I would still think of him as one of the most likely Senators to step forward on the election fraud.

BTW a lot of people talk about him running for president, but I don't think he's really considering it.

[LittleClarkie]

25. I have heard many stories about Feingold going out of his way

for his constituents.

Good man.

[Greybnk48]

26. From Wisconsin

My response from Feingold said that I would be receiving a letter soon addressing my concerns. It also said that if I felt my concerns were time sensitive, I should send a personal email now.

[LittleClarkie]

24. That's automatic from the Webmail address

if the bot can see that you are not in their state, you get the automatic email. Got the same from Clinton and Kerry as I tried to campaign for Kerry as Minority Leader.

I can try Feingold for you.

Everyone should try THEIR Senators. Better if coming from constituent.

[sybylla]

27. The response you received is pretty common

among legislators. They don't have the time and money to respond to non-constituents especially if they get a lot of mail. It doesn't mean they didn't get your message. The lack of response doesn't mean they don't care about the issue.

Please, mail away. I'm pretty sure Senator Feingold is listening.

[w13rd0]

28. My "Senators" are Bond and Talent...

...sending anything to them is completely pointless.

[Carolab]

30. Call him n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

33. Then wright to the two Senators from YOUR STATE

You have two of them.

[VTGold]

34. Leahy responded with the following:

Along with a bunch of bunk about HAVA - and the reasons for the existence of the EAC, he said:

"In addition, as you mentioned, Congressman Conyers has called for an investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office to look into these matters, and I will also certainly continue to pay close attention to this important issue."


Neither this way nor that but at least it isn't a "dream on chickie"

[Mr.Green93]

35. What happens

if we do get a Senator or two to stand with Conyers Jan. 6th.? Is the election void? Or what?

[PaganPreacher]

60. Election is not void....Bush is re-elected.

If one senator and one representative (or 100 senators and 435 representatives, you get the picture) challenge a particular state's electors, both houses have 2 hours to debate, then vote to accept or refuse the challenge. If a simple majority of each house vote to accept the challenge, that state's electors are removed from the vote totals.

If the challengers cannot raise a simple majority to support their challenge, then the electors are included.

The legal standard for accepting or rejecting Ohio's electoral votes is, whether the electors were certified in accordance with Ohio state law in force on the day of the election. In absence of a ruling (not suspicions, allegations, or pending civil litigation) that the electoral votes in Ohio were not certified in acordance with existing state law, there is no way that 51 Senators and 218 Representives will vote to disenfranchise Ohio's voters.

However, if a meteor hit Washington, and kept all of the Republicans from going in to work, and the Democrats voted to reject Ohio's 20 electoral votes, the final count would be: Bush 266, Kerry 252.

Result: W is re-elected.


Hmmm... pretty girl, pretty dress.

The Pagan Preacher
I don't turn the other cheek.

[Mr.Green93]

71. Thank you

for the information.

[k8conant]

36. Rockefeller wrote me (snail mail) that we need election reform...

later. :(

I' ve never heard back from Byrd, so I'm blue on the Blue Ridge in West Virginia.

[IndyOp]

37. The Impact of a Letter: FAX for FREE - by Email!

They will *not* ignore FAXes! As for me, I am perfectly happy if they don't kill any trees just to send me a stock letter. I'm not writing them to find out what they think - I'm writing them to tell them what I think.

Posted by ART3 "Go to the deanpeople.com. you can efaxe any senator at any
time. do as many as you want. also, they format your letter, add the congressperson's address etc... the best tool out there. I fax senators everyday with this free tool. blast
em... art"

 Also see posts by DZIKA
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x200009>

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x200009#200077>

:kick:

[IndyOp]

38. Jackson says our emails ARE having an impact and to keep at it!

Read his message:
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x199115>

Also - I wasn't expecting Leahy to do anything. The current photo on his home page is of Condi Rice's courtesy visit to his office. He looks so proud!

Byrd, Boxer, Kennedy... These are my bets!

:kick:

[keepthemhonest]

39. that is hillarious

that you bring up feingold because I received approximately 30 auto responses back from him today, because I have done so much emailing over the weekend for me and for others too.I have not received the 30 or so auto responses from others yet

[loritooker]

40. I think Russ is a great guy. I used to live in WI.

He held informal meetings in my county every six months or so. I got to talk to him directly. I don't think the response you received is atypical; lots of congresspeople only respond to their own constiutents. I am sure he heard you. I also wrote to him, but being originally from WI, maybe his staff didn't feel it was necessary to send me the same response that you got--I got none at all!

[GreenArrow]

41. He may represent Wisconsinites

but the rest of us help pay his salary. He is a US senator FROM Wisconsin. I generally like Russ, but this is unacceptable bullshit.

[ISUGRADIA]

70. Do you know anything about Senate Offices? What do you expect?

A thoughtfully worded responce to every single piece of corespondance they get on the same issue? Here's a little secret: There's a handful of people who have to respond to tens of thousands of e-mails and letters that each Senator gets. It takes time to forward them to the right legislative assistant alone. E-mails are at the low end of priorities because it takes little effort for someone to send out the same e-mail to hundreds of members of Congress.

Constituents have to come first with limited resources, and people who give a shit enought to actual write a letter and post it or send a fax get preference. It doesn't take much to e-mail the 535 members of Congress on the same issue.

[GreenArrow]

74. I expect that respect be granted accordingly to all US

citizens who take the time and trouble to write, not simply constituents. He may represent Wisconsinites on the immediate level, but he represents all of us on a broader, more fundamental level. This is particularly the case on this issue, since it is one with national implications and importance.

Time and expense may be problematic, but I've little doubt creative minds can reach a creative solution.

[Beth in VT]

42. I heard back from Leahy

He said, "Since Senator John Kerry has conceded, I have no
intention of contesting the results of the election."

[corbett]

43. I Received That, Too - It's SOP

Everyone keep writing him and the other Senators, especially Winsconsinites to Feingold!

[mdb]

44. Me to.

He writes about mass e-mails.

[RevCheesehead]

45. Russ will respond by mail to WI constituents.

He has a good track record of replying to his own people, and I have had several letters from him in the past.

I am eagerly awaiting his reply to my letter.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

53. I got a "real" letter from him yesterday

Dated Dec 8, in response to my letter asking that he support the GAO investigation. (I think. It has been so long since I wrote that one :( William Proxmire used to HAND sign his letters but this Feingold signature "Russ" is printed...Wonder how many of these he sent out.

Here are portions:
"As you may know, elections are largely administered at the state and municipal level. Federal authorities are involved to a certain extent however, when allegations of civil rights violations or criminal vote fraud occur with result to a federal election.....I also thought you would be interested to know that the Government Accountability Office is conducting a post-election study of systemic election issues (DUH), including voter registration processes, provisional voting, and voting technology. I look forward to reviewing the GAO's study, and I will keep your views on this issue in mind as the Senate conducts oversight and considers legislation to improve our nations election system (groan...move along). An individual's right to vote is one of the cornerstones of our democracy, abd allegations of election fraud should be thoroughly investigated (that's better)."

[bettyellen]

46. JUST WENT TO THEDEANPEOPLE.COM AND FAXED MY SENATORS !!!

i had a hard time finding it, because the adress mentioned omitted the "the"
but it works well! and here it is:

http://thedeanpeople.com/

[angel54321]

48. So easy!! Everyone do it n/t

[in_cog_ni_to]

51. Yup. I just got the same email. n/t

[HootieMcBoob]

55. I got the same reply n/t

[buddysmellgood]

57. Feingold responds to constituents if you provide a snail mail address.

His response has been that so far, fraud has not been proven.
I don't think you'll get any senator to say what they will do on the 6th before the 6th. They don't want to show their hand. It would only give the pukes more time to apply pressure.

[Kashka-Kat]

72. "fraud not proven"?

So Russ thinks fraud has not been proven?

Well, neither has the legitimacy of Bush presidency! That's the problem! That's why the challenge to him assuming office is entirely appropriate at this point.

If fraud by Bush & Co. was already "proven" in a court of law, the whole sorry bunch of them would be in jail (or white collar crime country club) and we wouldnt be having this discussion. If the recounts had been done fairly, if Ohio election officials hadnt widely obstructed and violated correct procedures and ignored discrepancies that shouldve triggered full handcount, then the results wouldve been more conclusive i.e. either the Bush presidency wouldve been thrown out OR it might've taken on more legitimacy.

And besides, there is the reality of possible election fraud at the level of the central tabulators-- the procedures for recount & challenge are woefully outdated and not equipped to systematically look for or correct those types of frauds. Needs to be fixed along with the whole rotten mess!

Why else would there exist this mechanism for challenging elections at the 11th hour-- if not for situations justlike this, where we have just not yet gotten to resolution?

That's kinda how I framed it when I called Russ today (his office I mean) that the challenge to electors is a mechanism that exists for further investigation/ discussion --so let's do it!

[cyn2]

58. I got the same letter from Feingold. n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

61. Feingold's response is very typical and shouldn't be

over-analyzed. Senators get mail from all over the country but their resources though they may be vast are still finite. They respond to constituent mail first and then respond to compelling mail from non-constituents. The response does not mean that your communication will be ignored or tossed out. It simply means you are not likely to receive a mailed response from the Senator.

[art3]

63. FAX LETTERS ONLY

Okay-BIG TIP
Do not email senators. period. do like the other posters here have, including myself. go to thedeanpeople.com and get your letters FAXED to senators. and keep doing it as much as possible. creat a letter, simply sub senators name etc. I worked for a rep. this is the best way-HARD COPIES. mail would be great-but it takes weks for letter to get to the congress becuase of screening concerns. so deanpeople it
art

[genius]

65. Leahy needs replaced. This is one too many betrayals of the voters.

[rdmccur]

66. I got the same response from Hillary

since I'm not a NY resident.
Any DUers from NY. Write Hillary!
If she has any presidential goals she has to have an interest in cleaning up election fraud or she may as well forget about it!

[Kimber Scott]

69. You don't think she could figure that out herself?

She really is a smart lady.

[gizmo1979]

67. I'am from WI

I also got a sad letter from Feingold.He told me to go to then FBI.I think he thought I was nuts!

[Kevin Spidel]

68. IMPORTANT

We are about to put this email into the field into each targeted state from the PDA action: I need to collect talking points ASAP! Can you DU'ers help!



Dear Progressive Democrat Activists,

In the aftermath of the 2000 election, we all watched as not one Senator stood up with the members of the Black Congressional Caucus to support the debate of the voter suppression issues in Florida.

If we don't act quickly, it will happen again.

PDA has been working to keep the pressure on Senators to encourage them to take a stand for Democracy and contest the vote. In the public forums/hearings that we've helped to create, evidence is emerging that shows voter suppression and deliberate manipulation of election technology. This is a blatant attack on the core of what American Democracy is supposed to be, and demands action. The irony of this is clear--while Americans are dying overseas to spread Democracy, we're unable to achieve it here at home.

In response, PDA has launched an e-advocacy campaign targeting six Senators who appear to be sympathetic to voting rights issues: Russ Feingold, Patrick Leahy, Tom Harkin, Patty Murray, Richard Durbin, and John F. Kerry.

We have sent over 65,000 e-mails to Congress this month alone concerning this issue. But there's a lot more to be done--while our efforts so far have gotten the attention of these Senators, they're now telling us that they want to hear from their own constituents. That's where you come in--we need those of you that live in the states of these targeted senators to contact them directly, and share a personal story that carries the message we're trying to communicate. The targeted Senators have let us know that form letters are no longer working, so we've included some talking points at the end of this e-mail to help as background for your message.

Please take the time to contact your Senator today. American citizens deserve a proper public debate on the Senate floor on this issue prior to certification. No less than the very basis of our Democratic process is at stake.

Contact Senator Russ Feingold Today! Please call, fax, and email!

Web Site: feingold.senate.gov
E-mail: Contact Via 'Web Form.'

Washington Office:
506 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4904
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]


Main District Office:
1600 Aspen Commons, Rm. 100
Middleton, WI 53562
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Thank you for taking action! More information and facts about the issues in Ohio can be found here: http://pdamerica.org/newsletter/2004-12-23/election.php

In peace,

Kevin Spidel
National Deputy Director
Progressive Democrats of America
http://www.pdamerica.org

[yourout]

73. This cheesehead sent this to Senator Feingold.

Attn: Senator Russ Feingold
Washington Office:
506 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4904

Dear Senator Feingold,


As a lifelong resident of the Great State of Wisconsin I followed and
supported your hard earned rise to the national stage and am proud to say
I voted for Russ. You have proven yourself to be a shining example what a senator should be and I hope you will seriously consider what I have to say with regards to the 2004 election.

Until this year I never considered the possibility of large-scale election
fraud but after much research regarding the results of the Nov 2 election
I am forced to come to the conclusion there are serious problems with the
current system for national elections.

The Ohio fall presidential election was a tangled mess of voter
suppression, vote fraud, vote tampering, and electronic voting equipment
denying citizens their voices and votes. This stain on our democracy is
all the more appalling since the Ohio election results will choose our
president and vice president.

To save our system of citizen rule, I ask you to stand with the House
representatives on January 6th and sponsor or co-sponsor legislation
demanding Ohio conduct a full, statewide manual revote for President and
Vice President to be held on January 15th 2005.

To preserve faith in our system, said revote must be by independently
supervised by the Carter Center for Peace or a similar institution, and be
cast on paper ballots to avoid re-using suspect and compromised electronic
voting and vote counting equipment.

Pursuant to a revote in Ohio, I request you stand in objection to the Ohio
electoral vote when presented to the Congress for certification on January
6th, 2005.

As a Wisconsinite, I require that fair and impartial elections be
guaranteed and protected as the first duty of my elected representatives.
If you do not stand up and act to preserve the integrity of the 2004
presidential election now, not only will you not enjoy my support and vote
in the future, but I will work tirelessly to ensure you are not reelected.
On the other hand, if you stand up for integrity and fairness in our
election processes by denying the Ohio electoral vote, by voting in
support of an Ohio revote, and by working to clean up our election process
here in Wisconsin, I will stand with you and actively support you in the
future.

With gravest seriousness,

xxxxx xxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx, WI xxxxx