Please Senator Kerry tell me this is not true

[Botany]

Kerry parties w/ Gov. Ass in Graber. Please tell me this is not true.
Were we all suckered?

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=19452&mode=&order=0

:grr:


I pray this is an internet rumor.

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. I hope it's not true, too.

Arnold has a way of being part of "insider" meetings. Like an energy company meeting that involved Enron?

[xpat]

2. Why should you be shocked?

Kerry was not some ideal candidate. He was simply marginally less a menace to us and our way of life than Bush is. Beware of hero worship. Politicians have feet of clay.

[Harksaw]

3. He can't even be a guest at a Republican's party now?

Come on. You can be friendly with someone and disagree with their political philosophy.

[Dhalgren]

6. It is the idea that Kerry couldn't be bothered with fighting

against the voting irregularities in Ohio, couldn't be bothered with standing up with Conyers and Boxer, et al, couldn't be bothered with making sure that the vote count was conducted fairly - but managed to party down with Arnold and Denis Miller, both of whom have been his party's sworn enemies for years. Yeah, "come on"...

[Ganja Ninja]

13. Right! Kerry should have been working with Conyers not ...

partying with the GOP. Classify him as AWOL along with all the Democrats that didn't protest the Ohio electoral votes.

If the Democrats have anything to do with the Bush's rip-off of social security I will never vote for any of them again. I've had it with this crap!

[LittleClarkie]

32. You don't think Conyers took off for Christmas?

You think he was chained to his desk every moment, only getting up to eat and pee, working on the fraud case?

This sorta reminds me of that commercial where a woman looks up and says "I'm cleaning my oven" even though that's not what she's doing. Kerry could say "I've got my nose in the fraud situation" even as he was doing the Christmas thing. He even switched lawyers to one who was more into the fraud situation instead of a generic one who only knew about probate and such. And you're trying to tell me he didn't give a damn, that he wasn't present there? He just wasn't there physically.

I was surprised to find an article in an online Indian newspaper right about the time I thought Kerry was already vacationing in Idaho. It was about him blasting the Bank of England for not reforming their system and/or helping the people who'd lost money quickly enough. I thought Kerry's already gone home for the holidays, and yet there he was, still working too.

It's a both/and thing, not an and/or thing.

[Dhalgren]

57. Oh no, Kerry was only concerned with the "fraud situation"

if it would "change the outcome of the election" (Kerry's quote). Otherwise, he just thought that someone (who knows) should "Look into it". Conyers can take as long a vacation as he fucking likes, he can hob-nob with whomever he chooses (probably won't be Republicans and upper-crust Dems, though) - his actions have said what it is he stands for. The problem, here, isn't that Kerry likes to joke, party, and "swing" with Republicans (I mean there is no accounting for tastes), it's that he does his partying while his country burns. That's the point.

[LittleClarkie]

68. If he was only concerned with the fraud situation

if it would overturn the election, he wouldn't still be involved in at least one lawsuit there. He wouldn't be talking election reform legislation.

Some people here were only concerned with the fraud if it would overturn the election. It wasn't about Kerry, it was about a clean vote. As such, he had to stay out of the way. If he'd have been there front and center, it would indeed have appeared that he was only concerned with the fraud if it would change the election.

He also wouldn't have given money in Washington and Louisiana if he only cared about his own race and its outcome.

It's weird. He doesn't get credit for what he does do, and he gets crapped upon for imagined motives for things he doesn't do. I wish we had more behind the scene facts. But even then, half here wouldn't believe them.

[Dhalgren]

72. In his own email he said

he would not join in the Jan. 6th action because his lawyers had determined that "it would not change the outcome of the election". His words, not mine. If you and Mr. Kerry and the "centrist (right) Democrats do not believe we are at war with the radical neocon fascists, but instead are simply in the political "game" as in "politics as usual" - that's fine. But, if that is the case, then you all will always be talking "apples and oranges" with those of us who recognize the situation for what it is - a civil war, not yet as bloody as our former one, but a war, none the less.

[blm]

67. And you believe everything you hear? Kerry "partying with the GOP"

is your claim....anymore details? Are you sure he was giggling with Dennis Miller and not ripping him a new butthole over his irresponsible attacks?

[DemBones DemBones]

75. Why were the Kerrys even there? They should have a little more loyalty

to the cause than that. This was not just a politics as usual year for our country but the most important election in decades.

But they've got their millions, don't they? If the going gets really tough in the U.S., John and Teresa can easily afford to go anywhere they want to.

Maybe next time we ought to nominate a hungrier candidate.

[blm]

81. It was an ANNUAL party they have attended for many years which included

most of their friends. Why is that so unfathomable?

Most of their friends are the blood supply for liberal causes and progressive politics and have been for decades. Those new to activism and donating seem to be the ones complaining the loudest. Not you, DB DB, but many of the young ones who haven't grasped that there have been others fighting and donating since the 60s and 70s.

Environmental causes/research and health clinics for the poor have been built and advanced greatly by these same people who have targets drawn on them now here at DU.

Should all Dems stay away from any Republican? Would anyone prefer that NO Republican be influenced by Democratic priorities? Would anyone prefer that California NOT have stem-cell research, benefits for gay couples, or alternative fuel research?

Better some Democratic influence than NO Democratic influence.

[Botany]

11. Sure, but it makes me bitter

I worked my ass off for Kerry in Ohio and to hear about him schmoozing w/ the
same people who did nothing but attack him and "my values" so quickly after the election makes me furious. We have to stop this good old boy or beaten wife stuff.

The Boxer Rebellion needs people with a spine.


To me it seems like Kerry did a flip flop


:kick:

[KurtNYC]

4. Doesn't seem to be a rumor

P.S.: In other news of historic holiday parties, John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry were at Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver's Christmas do in Sun Valley. The former candidate, largely AWOL post-election, was seen in intense conversation with Dennis Miller.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/06/DDGAB9AA831.DTL

:grr:

[sandnsea]

5. Let's see

Arnold is married to Maria who is the niece of Ted Kennedy and cousin to Bobby Jr. and an invitation to a party on that basis shouldn't be ignored. But that couldn't possibly have anything to do with anything, if it's even true at all.

[Dhalgren]

9. This is only if you believe that what is going on in the US today

is just politics as usual and that the Republicans in charge right now are just good Americans who have a slightly different political agenda than ours. Yeah, Republicans and Democrats have always been able to "socialize" together, because neither disrespected the other. That is no longer the case, today. Republicans want to destroy Democrats - they spell it out in so many words anytime you wish to hear. If there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats, except "politics as usual", then Nader was right all along and has been given a bad rap...

[Senior citizen]

18. Nader wasn't given a bad rap.

There was no gift involved. It was bought and paid for, like all propaganda. Something like $70 million of the money we contributed to the Democratic Party went towards the payroll for operatives assigned to vilifying Nader, and towards efforts to keep him off the ballot. And no, there's not a dime's worth of difference between the corporate parties--or between the corporate candidates for that matter.

[LittleClarkie]

23. There's less than a dime's worth of difference between Ralph

and a damn hypocrite.

He took the Republicans help and he took the Smear vets money. Why do these two things not taint him. They sure taint him in my eyes. I admired him, and the Smear vet money alone tells me that he's either gone nuts or darkside.

Oh sure Ralph, maybe they just support your cause :eyes:

[Senior citizen]

43. When the supposed good guys spend $70 million attacking you,

you can't be blamed for taking help from the supposed bad guys.

Let's see--did the Smear vets say Kerry wasn't a fighter? I guess I should have listened to them.

As for the pukes, they had the election rigged, so they didn't care if Nader was on the ballot or not--in fact that made it easier for them to switch votes.

Face it--trying to keep somebody off the ballot is not democratic. But it is worth $70 million if all you have is a war candidate and the guy you're trying to silence is a peace candidate.

I voted for Kerry, which means I voted for Abu Ghraib. I wish I had ignored all the anti-Nader vitriol on DU and voted for Nader, just because he is anti-torture.

You guys won. You vilified Nader and glorified Kerry, and you got exactly what you deserved--four more years of torture. I only wish I had cast a protest vote for Nader, because he was right all along.

[Eye_on_prize]

48. good points all. me a former Green/Naderite too.

this makes me sick to my stomach.
:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[paulk]

51. "the good guys"?

Why should the Democrats be considered the good guys by Naderites?

Nader cost the Democrats the White House in 2000 - his intent was specifically to hurt them. For a commited Democrat, Nader, and his followers, are the enemy, not allies.

And as for you - anyone who could say that a vote for Kerry was a vote for Abu Ghraib is certainly not on my side. I, too, wish you had cast your vote for Nader. I don't want persons like you on my side. I would rather have the knife coming at my chest than my back.

[Senior citizen]

62. That old canard again?

No, Nader did NOT cost the Democrats the White House in 2000. In fact, Gore won. Even in Florida. That's why the Supreme Court stepped in to stop the recount.

For a committed (read: paid) Democrat, Nader and his followers are the enemy. For a committed democrat (small "d"), that is a lover of democracy, the corporatocracy, the corporations, the corporate parties, and the corporate candidates are the enemy.

A vote for a pro-war candidate, was a vote for Abu Ghraib, a vote for war-profiteering, a vote for human rights abuses, a vote to dismantle social programs, a vote to destroy our economy (except for the wealthy, who have their illicit gains stashed safely offshore), a vote to strip us of our civil rights and destroy the Constitution, and a vote for the continuation of business as usual. What part of human rights, civil liberties, corporate responsibility, true representation, and peace, do you view as a knife coming at your chest?

[paulk]

71. Nader's agenda

How the Great Crusader used the Green Party to get his revenge
Ralph Nader, Suicide Bomber
…
Later I was introduced to Nader's closest adviser, his handsome, piercingly intelligent 30-year-old nephew, Tarek Milleron. Although Milleron argued that environmentalists and other activists would find fundraising easier under Bush, he acknowledged that a Bush presidency would be worse for poor and working-class people, for blacks, for most Americans. As Moore had, he claimed that Nader's campaign would encourage Web-based vote-swapping between progressives in safe and contested states. But when I suggested that Nader could gain substantial influence in a Democratic administration by focusing his campaign on the 40 safe states and encouraging his supporters elsewhere to vote Gore, Milleron leaned coolly toward me with extra steel in his voice and body. He did not disagree. He simply said, "We're not going to do that."

"Why not?" I said.

With just a flicker of smile, he answered, "Because we want to punish the Democrats, we want to hurt them, wound them."

There was a long silence and the conversation was over.
…
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0418/levine.php





You call Kerry a "pro war candidate" - yeah, it's the usual uber lefty drivel. What nonsense.

"A vote for a pro-war candidate, was a vote for Abu Ghraib, a vote for war-profiteering, a vote for human rights abuses, a vote to dismantle social programs, a vote to destroy our economy (except for the wealthy, who have their illicit gains stashed safely offshore), a vote to strip us of our civil rights and destroy the Constitution"

You're talking about the Democrats, right?
LOL

That's the knife - that ivory tower "good is the enemy of the perfect" crap. Nader helped a Republican get elected - he took money from Republicans. He took money from the Swift Boat Liars. He's a destroyer - not a builder. He thinks he's up on the mountaintop throwing thunderbolts.

He's a rich man - 8 years of Bush aren't going to hurt him. What a hypocritical sack of shit Nader is.

[Senior citizen]

73. You're talking about Kerry, right?

"He's a rich man - 8 years of Bush aren't going to hurt him."

Nader has spent his entire adult life working to protect people from corporate greed.

The pukes didn't sign NAFTA, a Democrat did. The pukes didn't gut welfare, a Democrat did.

There's not a dime's worth of difference between the two corporate parties. Nader is a decent man and the people vilifying him are just corporate shills.

If you don't recognize that corporatocracy is the problem, you're part of the problem.

[paulk]

74. that's weak

Kerry was trying to turn Bush out of office, remember? Nader, on the other hand, was trying to get Bush elected.

Helping elect Bush is a strange way to "protect people from corporate greed"...

"Not a dime's worth of difference between the two corporate parties". Well, I'm glad we cleared that one up.


BTW - it's possible to understand that the "corporatocracy" is the problem and think that Nader is, too. Afterall, he's done so much these last few years to strengthen it.

[LittleClarkie]

21. Well, considering Arnold is really a RINO

and the Republicans only love him because he's good publicity...

No, I don't think Kerry is into empty gestures based on showing that he is ideologically pure of heart and would never, ever be seen in the company of anyone we would disapprove of. I didn't think he was just laying around in ash and sackcloth. And I'm sure even Conyers spent time during the holidays with friends and family

I wonder if Teddy was there too. They don't mention that. Of course they seem more interested in furthering the elitist meme than reporting about the party, so if he was there I'm sure they missed it.

It sounds like it was a party that fit reasonably within what I would assume is his circle of friends and acquaintances. As sandnsea pointed out, he's married to a Kennedy.

It also sounds like a bunch of snarky gossip coming from folk who probably aren't inclined to give Kerry any slack. Few ever have been. One time he was reported in a gossip column to be in the company of a young woman at a 7-11. It was his daughter. I kid you not.

[DemBones DemBones]

78. Arnold a RINO? Yeah, right. nt

[sandnsea]

39. Uh, no

If Ted Kennedy or Bobby Jr. asked me to go to their niece's Christmas Party, I would. Period end of discussion. Unless they're DINO's now too?

[Barney Rocks]

61. Bobby Jr spent the

holidays at his estate in Colorado, Ted stayed at his mansion in Boston. Neither of them were in Idaho, I don't think they asked Kerry to the party. Why would they have to?

Kerry and Arnold have been close friends for over 20 years--and that is a well-known fact. It is amazing that people are just finding out about this now--and pretending to be all shocked?

Good Grief!!!

I have seen pictures of Kerry and Arnold on the slopes together that date more than 10 years ago (check out old issues of People mag). I can't believe that all these Kerry fans had no idea they were buds.

[mikehiggins]

7. And this is a surprise because?

Insiders are insiders, dude. Kerry is as much of a D.C. insider as anyone else. Why else do you think he got nominated? Do you really think Iowans and New Hampshire folks are representative of Democratic voters across the U.S.? When push came to shove they went with the "safe", "known" candidate and turned away from men like Dean, et al. So we got what we got, did the best we could with what we had, and had defeat stolen out of the hands of victory.

And our candidate parties with the GOP governor and a second rate comedian.

Where is the surprise?

[flpoljunkie]

8. And Teresa was formerly a registered Republican, until 2001, was it?

So what? And I do hope JK gave Bush ass licker Dennis Miller an ear full.

[Dhalgren]

10. Of tongue?

[flpoljunkie]

15. GETOUTTAHERE!

[AmerDem]

12. scumbag Dennis Miller had more access to Kerry than we did!

:mad:

[katinmn]

45. That is an insult. Miller is a despicable pawn.

I hate what he changed into.

Surely Kerry knew this.

[pauldp]

14. David Cobb was right.

I hate to say it because I supported Kerry and I think he was a good candidate, but he is a member of the ruling elite, and his lifelong membership in that club is more valuable than rocking the boat and standing up and really fighting for this dying democracy. I hope he proves me wrong and he actually passes some sweeping electoral reforms, but I guess we'll see.

[blm]

16. Yeah, Kerry should forget that Maria Shriver has been his friend for 30yrs

along with the rest of the Kennedys who he has known for most of his life.

Let's bash Ted Kennedy gratuitously, too.

And did you know that Rob Reiner is friends with Rick Santorum? And Dean sold Vermont Yankee to BFEE cronies the Koch brothers?

What traitors. Just think what Ms. Samples can do with THAT info.

[Botany]

19. Sure they all know each other but ......

...... it stinks! End of story. To hear about him being chumming w/ Arnold
and Miller right after the election shows no class or respect to people like
me who actually cleaned toilets in his state HQs in Ohio so as to help him.
He could at least give it some time and let our wounds heal. This is salt in
those wounds.

Screw him!

[KittyWampus]

22. Some People ENJOY Having Salt Poured Into Their Wounds. Gives Em

just another reason to bitch and moan and pretend to be martyrs.

I heard you actually went to a New Years Eve Party.

How callous... after all, we're in mourning for Democracy here on DU.

[Botany]

34. I don't want to bitch at all

Sure the super rich move in circles I can't fathom. Repugs and Dems can be friends,
family, and work together but this just stinks. I am a very small fish in the Ocean of
the body that is American Politics no doubt. But out of respect for our work and out of self respect Kerry should have given this party a pass. I doubt any insider skull n bones one world trilateral commission who had inside info on deep throat and where
the single bullet was fired from went on there. Dennis Miller did nothing but attack
Kerry non stop. Gov. 'roids lied in front of the cheering RNC while giving a speech there in support of Kerry's foe. Time will help. But right now the wounds are to fresh
and to see Kerry partying w/ some who helped cause those wounds is like a kick
to the gut.

[blm]

53. Maybe Kerry was verbally taking Miller to the mat for his for his attacks?

Wouldn't you? Miller and Kerry weren't reported to be laughing.

[blm]

25. He was at the same private party he has attended for many years.

I attended holiday functions with members of my family and friends who I know to be very supportive of Bush and even peripheral BFEE pawns.

I cleaned many an ashtray and empty can, myself, at DNC headquarters in NC. Beat me up, too.

There is outrage and there is contrived outrage. Sorry, but this is a reach and unimportant to what really matters.

I fought against Arnold's candidacy and Kerry was against it, too. But, did you ever think that Kerry and other dems' influence on him over the years has contributed to his stance on stem-cell research and equal rights for gays and funding of alternative fuels? Do you want EVERY Republican to be in lockstep with BushInc and NOT have any proDem influence?

[LittleClarkie]

28. Arnold is governor of a Blue state

He needs to be responsive to his Dem constituents.

As for holiday plans, I spent two days trying to get into Cincinnati Ohio when everyone was trying to get OUT of Cincinnati to spend Christmas with my Republican sister and her very sweet, country mouse Republican inlaws. Parts of it were surreal for me. There I was, in freaking Ohio, with people who voted for Bush. And they didn't have horns. In fact, they seemed quite nice.

No heat in the house as the furnace died and they couldn't afford to fix it right then, so we space heated the house. Nobody spoke about politics, even though they knew because my sister told them that I was a Dem who'd worked for Kerry. It was a lovely couple of days. But still surreal. (Also saw a very pissed off traveler trying to get out of Milwaukee who I swear looked like Howard Dean, but that's another story.)

Speaking of influencing Republicans, my freeper-radio listening brother voted Kerry, probably due in large part to me, his Dem sister. How's that for influence.

[merh]

41. Did you catch their cooties and did they try to force feed you

kool aid? When you look in the mirror, are you leaning more to the right than normal? There are signs, watch for them, it could be some hidden, slow acting chemical reaction that occurs in your brain. If you find Dennis Miller funny, that could be a start. Just be careful, please. :scared: {{{ s a r c a s m }}}

[flyarm]

38. ha! i cleaned bathrooms in his fla hdqtrs!!

i cleaned the bathrooms in his kerry hdqtrs here in fla too..and i fed his underpaid staff, and volunteers on a daily basis too..and i worked typing his data bases for this so called election for up to 15 hours a day..until my hands/fingers hurt so bad i was living on advil ..i housed his head field rep for 7 months....
i was mad but i am over that now..now , i am just numb to it all!

and i agree with that article..i was ready to bail and never do anything again...but now i am more inspired by the great people like conyers and boxer...i will work and fight for people like them...and i will never give up on my democracy..or constitution...or the constitution of my fellow americans or their democracy...i will just be more selective!!
fly

[katinmn]

47. Who he is friends with is not the point.

The point is that millions of us who believed in him were left hanging after promises that every vote would be counted.

I believe JFK doesn't realize the hurt he's caused.

[blm]

52. You could choose to believe the skewed version of this encounter

at a party....I am too well aware of Kerry's longtime attendance at this holiday party to be concerned.

[peacetalksforall]

17. We dart around trying to find threads in the words and opinions

of many to try to figure out what is going on in our Party and with its leaders to measure what is coming down on us in our own country. This writers' words and opinions are blunt and painful about Kerry. I stand by Conyers. Kerry must stand by Conyers. We'll see.

[EFerrari]

20. There's an issue here about public and private, isn't there? n/t

[LittleClarkie]

26. (Reagan)There you go again(/Reagan)

being reasonable.

Actually Kerry rather liked Reagan too. Said despite their differences that Reagan had always been decent to him.

And I think we're just getting caught up in the snark.

Aren't you in SF? What is the Chronicle like as a newspaper, and this columnist in particular? Believable most of the time or no? Thanks.

[EFerrari]

29. Leah is an email buddy. Her column tries to be apolitical and

imo, she's a lefty. If she wrote it, it's true.

As a paper, the news side is to the right and the editorial page, centrist but lefter.

[mdb]

24. Kerry spends every Christmas at Sun Valley

The Kerrys spend every August and Christmas break in Ketchum and Sun Valley. Kerry was campaigning in New Hampshire and missed last New Year's here, but in past years their New Year's Eve party guests have included such famous second-home neighbors as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood. Other celebrities often visible in local coffee shops include Bruce Willis, Jamie Lee Curtis, tennis' John McEnroe and entertainer Dennis Miller.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-03-20-kerry_x.htm

[EFerrari]

Folks, this lineup is entertainment, not political. I don't thnk he'll

catch their cooties :)

[mdb]

33. You don't have to tell me. n/t

[saracat]

79. OMG! You don't supposeTom Hanks caught something from Clint

Eastwood? Tom is a good Dem and we can't have anything happen to him. BTW, this article is so slanted it implies Kerry raced to the "Holiday" party right after the concession when it appears to have been a New Year's Eve event! Sheesh, people need to grow up!

[Freddie Stubbs]

27. OMFG HE SOCIALIZES WITH REPUBLICANS!!!

What's next? Marrying a Republican? :shrug:

[EFerrari]

30. My brother married a Dodger's fan. Didn't last. lol

[Freddie Stubbs]

37. Kerry married a Republican...

...and converted her.

[Goldeneye]

31. Oh My God!

He was at a party...you mean...no...

If one party trumps everything you've ever done or ever stood for, then 90% of the people in Americans stand for nothing and are totally useless.

[merh]

36. 90% -- Okay, that is extreme - I would say the 49% that voted for

the weed are useless and stand for hate, not nothing! :shrug:

[Goldeneye]

44. I was refering to people who have done stupid things at

parties...I don't think Kerry going to Ahnolds party is any reason for people to freak out.

[merh]

46. Neither do I - I think it is stupid for people to be bothered by it.

Personally, I have found that going to parties with folks from the other side can provide such insight. Alcohol is generally served and their egos let them slip up or brag. Its often a great way to get "insider" information to use to your advantage.

[Goldeneye]

49. So we agree then

good show ;-)

[merh]

50. Most definitely, we agree.

The ones who are having fits over this are either very young or have never worked in politics or the legal field. You are always attending dinners and parties with the "enemy" or your adversary. It doesn't mean you change your beliefs, it just means you attended a party with them. No big deal. :shrug:

[flyarm]

35. I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE..EMAIL FROM BOXER THIS MORN!

I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL AN EMAIL I GOT FROM SENATOR BOXER THIS MORNING, DON'T KNOW IF OUTHERS GOT ONE YET ..WHILE WE WERE ALL SENDING LETTERS BEGGING HER TO STAND FOR THE CHALLANGE IN OHIO..I USED MY MOTHER IN LAWS CALIF ADDRESS SO SHE WOULD READ MY LETTER..AS MOST SEEM TO RESPOND TO THEIR CONSTITUTANTS FIRST..SO I USED MOTHER IN LAWS ADDRESS...I HAVE REMOVED NAMES AND ADDRESS...I HAVE JUST SENT HER A HEART FILLED "thank you"...FLY



January 11, 2005

xxxxxxxxxxxxzx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sacramento, California 95824-3917

Dear Mrs. xxxxxx:

Thank you for writing to express your
concerns about the electoral process.

I thought that you would be interested in
the following statement, which I made on the
floor of the United States Senate on January 6:

For most of us in the Senate and the House, we have
spent our lives fighting for things we believe in always
fighting to make our nation better.

We have fought for social justice. We have fought for
economic justice. We have fought for environmental
justice. We have fought for criminal justice.

Now we must add a new fight the fight for electoral
justice.

Every citizen of this country who is registered to vote
should be guaranteed that their vote matters, that their
vote is counted, and that in the voting booth of their
community, their vote has as much weight as the vote of
any Senator, any Congressperson, any President, any
cabinet member, or any CEO of any Fortune 500
corporation.

I am sure that every one of my colleagues Democrat,
Republican, and Independent agrees with that
statement. That in the voting booth, every one is equal.

So now it seems to me that under the Constitution of the
United States, which guarantees the right to vote, we
must ask:

Why did voters in Ohio wait hours in the rain to vote?
Why were voters at Kenyon College, for example, made
to wait in line until nearly 4 a.m. to vote because there
were only two machines for 1300 voters?

Why did poor and predominantly African-American
communities have disproportionately long waits?

Why in Franklin County did election officials only use
2,798 machines when they said they needed 5,000? Why
did they hold back 68 machines in warehouses? Why
were 42 of those machines in predominantly African-
American districts?

Why did, in the Columbus area alone, an estimated 5,000
to 10,000 voters leave polling places, out of frustration,
without having voted? How many more never bothered
to vote after they heard about this?

Why is it when 638 people voted at a precinct in Franklin
County, a voting machine awarded 4,258 extra votes to
George Bush? Thankfully, they fixed it but how many
other votes did the computers get wrong?

Why did Franklin County officials reduce the number of
electronic voting machines in downtown precincts, while
adding them in the suburbs? This also led to long lines.

In Cleveland, why were there thousands of provisional
ballots disqualified after poll workers gave faulty
instructions to voters?

Because of this, and voting irregularities in so many other
places, I am joining with Congresswoman Stephanie
Tubbs Jones to cast the light of truth on a flawed system
which must be fixed now.

Our democracy is the centerpiece of who we are as a
nation. And it is the fondest hope of all Americans that
we can help bring democracy to every corner of the
world.

As we try to do that, and as we are shedding the blood of
our military to this end, we must realize that we lose so
much credibility when our own electoral system needs so
much improvement.

Yet, in the past four years, this Congress has not done
everything it should to give confidence to all of our
people their votes matter.

After passing the Help America Vote Act, nothing more
was done.

A year ago, Senators Graham, Clinton and I introduced
legislation that would have required that electronic voting systems
provide a paper record to verify a vote. That paper trail would
be stored in a secure ballot box and invaluable in case of a
recount.

There is no reason why the Senate should not have taken up and
passed that bill. At the very least, a hearing should have been
held. But it never happened.

Before I close, I want to thank my colleague from the House,
Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

Her letter to me asking for my intervention was substantive and
compelling.

As I wrote to her, I was particularly moved by her point that it is
virtually impossible to get official House consideration of the
whole issue of election reform, including these irregularities.

The Congresswoman has tremendous respect in her state of Ohio,
which is at the center of this fight.

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones was a judge for 10 years.
She was a prosecutor for 8 years. She was inducted into the
Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.

I am proud to stand with her in filing this objection.




Sincerely,


Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

================================================
Please do not reply to this e-mail. This is not an active e-mail
address.

If you wish to comment further on this issue or an any other
issue and want to ensure an answer--please complete the form at
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm

[BamaBecky]

40. Well, Well, Well.......

[Stand and Fight]

42. It's Kerry's right to party with his friends.

Nonetheless, it still makes me ill to think he did nothing to further the efforts of so many in Congress and on our site.

[NationalEnquirer]

54. So what.

You folks ever been to DC?
The parties are not nearly at each others throats as you might think.
Honestly, its like professional wrestling.
Off camera, they can be buddy-buddy.
Just how it is.
Thats why when Cheney told Leahy to F off, it was a big deal.

[Blue_In_AK]

55. Infiltration

If Kerry doesn't hang with the Republicans once in a while, how is he going to know what's going on in their teeny, tiny little brains?

[katinmn]

56. Good point. And for better or worse, the lines of communication

must be kept open.

[kerrygoddess]

58. Maria Shriver is a Democrat & a Kennedy!!!!

Sad but true even politicians sometimes leave the job at home to attend social functions.

Maria Shriver is a Dem and a Kennedy and she supported Kerry in the elections.

[Blue_In_AK]

59. And she's married and lives with Arnold...

How's THAT for fraternization with the enemy?

[Barney Rocks]

60. they have been friends for years

just a couple of weeks ago, they were skiing together in Sun Valley. They both have spent Christmas holidays in Sun Valley for years and years and years--and they hang out frequently and attend many of the same parties while they are there.

Once again--if people have really been fans of Kerry for so long (as many people claim)--then I am sure they have known this for decades.

[Vektor]

63. Utter horseshit...

Another smear tactic written by a bitter whiner with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement.

:eyes:

SO over this stupidity.

[Blue_In_AK]

64. Why don't you tell us how you really feel, Vektor? LOL

By the way, I am one who did not think your posts yesterday were all that inflammatory, just misunderstood.

[Vektor]

70. No prob, friend!

I just get really fed up with all the speculation and mudslinging. I don't think it does any good in helping progressive causes.

[sportndandy]

65. Sun Valley is a great place

and both Ahnold and the Heinz-Kerry's have compounds there. It would not surprise me a bit if they all got together to shindig at xmas time, nor would it disturb me.

[mollyd]

66. We should want Kerry talking with moderate Republicans

The democrats are a minority party right now. In order to get anything done they MUST find moderate republicans to cooperate. Why is that hard to understand? There is a growing distaste amoung the more sane of the Republicans for the policies of Bush. We need to encourage and reach out to those folks. Social contacts between different parties has been the norm, and must stay so.

[Democrat Dragon]

69. Keep in mind that

Ahnold, Kenny Boy I, and KKKarl Rove conspired to bring the California energy crisis so that Gray Davis could be kicked out of office and Ahnold would run for govenor. There is some indication that the re-call election was also rigged.

[Laurab]

76. Yup I think it's true..Is this REALLY a discussion topic?

I read it in "People" a few days ago. Something like "Maria Shriver dragged her husband Arnold across party lines to a NYE party at J & T Kerry's house. It's TRUE folks! He's conspiring with the enemy. Attending parties with old friends and their spouses. As someone else posts a lot -

WE'RE DOOMED!

Wait - I attended a party on NYE, too. There were quite a few people I didn't really like there. I even forced myself to hug someone I couldn't stand at midnight. I'm pretty sure there were some rethugs there. Dammit I should have stayed home! I feel...tainted.

This is so silly, really it is.

[DemBones DemBones]

77. Some people don't seem to understand why it's offensive that Kerry

partied with Der Gropenator (R-Stole California) THIS YEAR.

Here's a clue: Kerry asked for, and got, tons of money to help with legal teams to deal with "voting problems." He said he had our back, he would fight for us, etc. Then he just quit. Before all the votes were counted once. That left a bad taste.

Since then, he's partied with slimy Repukes like Ahnold and Dennis Miller. OK, sometimes you have to socialize with people for business reasons. But when they've worked hard to cut your throat? This would have been a good year to stay in Boston for the holidays, rather than socialize with people who regularly denigrate his party and his supporters.

Not that he cares what any of us think, of course.

[saracat]

80. I can't stand Arnold! But that being said, he did really

little on Bush's behalf and WTF has he to do with ANYTHING????? California went blue and it isn't as if Arnold counted votes for Bush or something! He isn't even a "real" politician. If anything the Repugs are trying to "use" Arnold's celebrity for their own end. And guess what? The Dems use Arnold too! As their buffer! I don't like it, but then I don't understand why Maria married the bastard to begin with, but in the greater shere of things this is NO BIG DEAL!