Reply #7: Olberman on Ohio [View All]

Votes, Steroids, and Shoes

NEW YORK - It’s not exactly Zola’s “J’Accuse.” In fact it seems to have been written entirely in Congressionalese.

But anybody seeking the proverbial laundry list of all the complaints, questions, and oddities of Election Night in Ohio is referred to the fifteen-page letter sent Thursday to Ohio’s Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, over the signatures of twelve of the fifteen Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee.

The document is so calm as to almost neuter the implications of the 34 specific questions John Conyers and his associates pose. It was not composed by a political firebrand. It does not invoke the Cuyahoga County “super voting” precinct numbers, since explained as amateurish accounting rather than political perfidy. Curiously, it does echo John Kerry’s ambiguous on-line statement. “We are sure you agree with us that regardless of the outcome of the election…”

More: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240/

The first letter: http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/ohblackwellltr12204.pdf

The second letter: http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/ohblackwellfollowupltr12304.pdf

And an op-ed from Bush's home town paper:

Ohio — Ground Zero

The spirit of freedom is essential to the American character.

Some experience it with but a mere twinkle in the eye, while others wear it like a chip on their shoulders. Yet there are those who choose to reject the spirit of democracy for myopic greedier pastures. They would discard the creation of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin as immaterial and no longer relevant in a world being redefined by a neo-conservative mold in which Americans act according to government policy, speak according to government propaganda, and think as the government dictates.

During the month of December, Ohio has become ground zero, where rests the survival of democracy as we know it, for this will be the test of whether America will stand for an election riddled with irregularities. The test will determine if the true spirit of honest elections will continue to exist in America or if honesty, like respect and cooperation, has become a dinosaur.

Although the battleground in Ohio might be described as one of abstraction, lacking the smoke-filled sea of asbestos and lead that was ever present at ground zero in New York, its pungency is just as caustic because this battle will determine whether democracy will gasp its last or reign as an icon of truth.

Although some Ohioans might applaud Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell’s fascist sorcery to make impossible a manual recount in time for the Electoral College elite to cast their votes, citizens of the United States from coast to coast condemn it. Take heed. This is not merely an election issue isolated to the state of Ohio. Ohio is not an island.

That state’s decisive posture on the Electoral College makes this a national referendum.

Those championing honest elections look upon slimy efforts to disintegrate the ghost of freedom as abhorrent. Many are joining forces through rallies, marches, and protests to educate America of the potential flight of truth. At the same time, they are extending their voices into Ohio as they descend upon ground zero to attempt to clean up the mess created by election irregularities that are too numerous to even remotely be considered accidental.

The Iconoclast applauds the initiatives of the freedom-fighters who with substantial courage are standing up for rights that would normally be taken for granted. We encourage others to pitch in and help, to be heard, to take back what has been stolen, for this theft carries the stain of treason.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is one among thousands seeking the truth. “We want to know how deep this pattern goes,” Jackson said. “We have been continuing to pursue the outcome of the election with disturbing findings. ... We want a full investigation of these irregularities,” he said Sunday.
The time is now to draw a line in the sand — to give not one inch, one millimeter, one vote toward the cause of skewing this election. This recount, no matter the outcome, conducted properly, is a necessity for democracy to prevail. Without it, America can never trust another election.

http://www.iconoclast-texas.com/Columns/Editorial/editorial48.htm