[PDA] Tell Kerry, Don't Give up on Ohio

[paineinthearse]

I'd like to hear from any Kerry insiders/supporters in the John Kerry Forum. What's the buzz, is this under consideration? What's Kerry's plan?

About a week ago, I sent a message to my junior Senator, but have yet to receive a reply.

==================================

By email.



Dear Friends,

We have learned that the Kerry/Edwards campaign is preparing to withdraw from the Ohio recount case, which is pending in federal court. This move comes as Federal Judge Carr in Toledo prepares to hold a status conference on August 30 on this case, along with two other pending voting rights cases.

When most others stood aside, PDA stood for voting rights and untainted elections in Ohio and in the halls of Congress. We stood to make sure that every vote counts. We have continued to fight together without slowing down.

Yesterday, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. issued a letter to Senators Kerry and Edwards urging that they not withdraw from this case. Here is a link to the letter:

http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2005/08/congressman-conyers-urges-kerry-and.html

The National Voting Rights Institute and its general counsel John Bonifaz, a PDA National Advisory Board Member, represent 2004 presidential candidates David Cobb and Michael Badnarik in their request for a meaningful recount of the 2004 Ohio presidential vote. During the recount last December, NVRI and its clients documented extensive irregularities in the way county boards of election conducted the recount. This included evidence that the Triad corporation had tampered with voting machines prior to the start of the recount, as well as evidence the county election officials had directly violated rules and procedures so as to avoid a full hand count of the ballots.

In late December, Cobb and Badnarik filed amended counterclaims in this case alleging the recount was not conducted in accordance with basic equal protection and due process guarantees under the US Constitution. At stake in this case today is whether the court will grant the plaintiffs declaratory judgment, setting forth the constitutional standard for how recounts should be conducted in future federal elections. This is a critical precedent to set for any future presidential or congressional election.

Please call/write/email Kerry today urging that he not withdraw and that he join Cobb and Badnarik's amended counterclaims on the way the recount was conducted. To contact Kerry/Edwards campaign office, go to:

http://www.johnkerry.com/contact/


In light of the upcoming August 30 hearing before Judge Carr, time is of the essence. If the proper precedent - of creating a constitutional standard as to how recounts should be conducted in regard to due process guarantees - is set in this case, it will help assure that future elections can and will be held without taint or improper interference. Kerry and Edwards must not back away from this all-important struggle. If they do, they will not only be abandoning all those who stood for them in the campaign and all those who fought for a fair counting of the votes, but they will also be abandoning the fight to make sure that elections in this country do not become the murky purview of corporations whose machines and managers cannot be trusted. Please contact them today and tell them to keep standing for the vote.

In peace and solidarity,

Tim Carpenter
http://www.pdamerica.org

P.S. Thank you again for all your work this week with the launch of the People's Petition for an IRAQ PEACE PROCESS. If you have not signed the petition please go to:


http://www.pdamerica.org/petition/iraq-withdraw-petition.php#here

The vigils last night were amazing. Thank you again for all your help and support.

Please continue to support this work by visiting https://www.pdamerica.org/donate.php and making a contribution.

[TayTay]

1. We don't know

We are trying to figure out what the hell is going on and why this isn 't on the PDA forum and the Conyers letter that was mentioned isn't on his blog site. (We wanted to go see this on the sites that are mentioned. Nothing is there. This is just down right weird. Where's the backup and what the hell is going on here?)

There are folks in the Kerry forum who wrote to Kerry anyway and asked him not to pull out of the lawsuit.

Do you have more backup? Folks in the Kerry forum have written to the PAC site and asked. But we would also like additional info.

Thanks!

[Don1]

4. The Conyers letter IS on his blog.

"Third, today I wrote to the Kerry-Edwards campaign, urging them not to drop out of the Ohio recount case. The case is at a crucial juncture, and while we know the case will not alter the outcome of the election, their involvement is needed to allow us to establish important legal principles and precedents that will help insure that every vote is counted in future elections. The Ohio Election Fraud Blog has the letter."
http://www.conyersblog.us/

I agree that the rest is weird. I came up with this explanation myself:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x389773

[paineinthearse]

7. MelissaB posted that for discussion at

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2016491

[AndyTiedye]

2. Sent Email via John Kerry's Website

"The people of Ohio deserve to have their votes counted!
Thousands did not have their votes counted properly last November,
and that needs to be investigated

DO NOT WITHDRAW FROM THE SUIT"

[Mass]

3. Well, I'd like to hear of Carpenter's sources, for my part

This claim cannot be traced anywhere and Conyers's letter is honest enough to put three conditionals in one sentence.

So Is it another case of Bushlike policy. Accuse somebody before he even says he will do something and force him to justify himself one way or the other, or do the accusers have sources.

It cant hurt to write to Kerry (though I would not wait for an answer on this subject). For the rest, can we once again ask for sources from the accusers.

[Fly by night]

5. This is at least the 6th thread on this topic in a week. If you will ...

... go back to the original 2004 ERD threads (posted by DemoDonkey from the Atlanta voting rights march last week), you will see that David Cobb is one of the named sources of this information. There is another very highly-placed source (who DemoDonkey spoke with herself) who has asked not to be named publicly. But DemoDonkey has spoken with me directly and I have absolutely no doubt that both David Cobb and her other source are in an excellent position to know that Kerry was (is?) considering pulling out of the Ohio case.

DemoDonkey's original posts are worth reading and they are still available on the active pages of the 2004 ERD. As for me, Kerry could put an end to this speculation if he would come forth and state that -- hell no -- he isn't abandoning the Greens and Libertarians (and the rest of us) to the Ohio election thieves. Why on earth would that be a problem? I just don't see it.

Kerry may have his reasons for not saying anything at this time and keeping his supporters (like me) twisting slowly, slowly in the wind. But regardless of his unstated reasons, everyone who believes that Ohio was stolen (along with New Mexico, Iowa, Nevada, Florida and other states) should write Kerry and Dean and tell them what you think.

Hell, let's all be Chicagoans for a day and "write early and often".

Regardless of Kerry's final decision, he will hear from me again and I hope he hears from all of us again.

So John, hero or goat? Which will it be?

[paineinthearse]

6. Reason for posting is it was received by email just minutes before.

Perhaps PDA issued another message prior.

Regarding DemoDonkey's earlier post, I searched but could not find. Could you provide a link?

[Fly by night]

8. Links

This one is still on the front page of 2004 ERD, entitled" Urgent, urgent..." (about two-thirds of the way down the page, down past five other Kerry-related threads).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x388217

The other one has David Cobb in the title and I'm not sure where it is now. They are both worth reading.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=388328

[kerrygoddess]

9. WTF? Will Pitt already posted this here.

You know... sorry PITA but you are being one today. STOP propitiating what others who you know have inside info have said to be false.


Fruther more you posted in GDP Conyers new blog post today which really debunks this BULL from PDA so why even go here?