Stolen Election 2004: Thursday Update

I traveled to Washington for the House Judiciary Committee Democratic forum on Ohio election problems.

The event was broadcast by C-Span and Pacifica Radio, and there were a dozen more cameras capturing every word. Here are 30 minutes of video highlights and text highlights from William Rivers Pitt and Nero Fiddled.

My favorite moment was when John Bonifaz of the National Voting Institute resoundingly declared if a recount shows Ohio should have sent

"a different set of electors, that set of electors will meet, and will cast their votes for President. And if that happens, the U.S. Congress will receive the votes of two competing slates of electors. One slate will be chosen by Mr. Blackwell. The other will be chosen by the will of the people."

Of course, if that happens, "we the people" will have to exert our will by surrounding Congress on January 6 when they decide which Electors to accept - and which President to inaugurate - taking our cue from the people of Ukraine. 

As for Rove-controlled media coverage, if you rely on the Washington Post, the event didn't happen (Demand an explanation from Michael Getler ombudsman@washpost.com 202-334-7582. If you rely on the NY Times (which didn't think American Democracy important enough to send its own reporter - write Daniel Okrent public@nytimes.com), the event was completely insignificant.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, convened a hearing to examine accusations of voting problems in Ohio. Many of the election complaints, such as disparities in vote totals and a shortage of voting machines in Democratic-leaning urban precincts, have already been cited and explained.

Cited - yes! In a 34-point letter that Conyers sent to Ken Blackwell, seeking an explanation. Explained - no way! Blackwell didn't respond to Conyers' letter, and didn't attend the hearing despite being invited. Instead, his mouthpiece issued a two-sentence dismissal, showing his utter contempt for Democracy:

"Ohio had a great election. There were issues with long lines but I think you'll find the entire country experienced delays,"
spokesman Carlo LoParo said, dismissing reports of Election Day irregularities.

One key person who did not testify at the hearing was Clint Curtis, who wrote a computer program in 2002 to "flip the vote" at the request of Florida House Speaker Tom Feeney. BradBlog says Curtis was in the room and "swarmed afterwards." While in DC,

Curtis met this morning with a U.S. Senator's office to discuss what he claims to know about a certain aspect of his case. We're being purposely vague on details here, as we've been asked, so as not to spook anybody out there in particular.

Curtis also met with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government (CREW), the group that filed the ethics complaint against Tom DeLay. If Curtis has the goods, CREW has the lawyers to expose it and demand accountability.

Curtis did begin to tell his story to a national audience through interviews on Air America Radio's Unfiltered and the Thom Hartmann show.

Far away from the limelight, former Congressman Dan Hamburg (D-CA) and his wife Carrie Hamburg were arrested in Columbus after attempting to deliver a letter about voting irregularities to Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.