Reply #28: My letters to Bingaman (NM Dem) and Lott (MS Repub) [View All]

So far, I have written personal letters to Senators in four states where I have lived -- Mississippi, Wyoming, New Mexico and Tennessee. (I wrote about 40 Senators earlier, all getting the same letter.) Seven of the eight Senators I have written personal letters to are Republicans. The only Senator who did not get the attached letters is Frist from TN. I sent him a shorter letter, telling him that just like the Triad officials left "cheat sheets" for Ohio county election officials, I wanted to send him a "cheat sheet" so he could start practicing his responses to two questions he is bound to be asked soon: "What did you know, and when did you know it?"

Tomorrow, I'll write all Representatives from Tennessee, all members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the top 30 Senators targeted to grow some backbone between now and 1/6/05. Here's my letters (I titled them both "Stand against tyranny and the 2004 election theft"):
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Senator Bingaman, (Democrat, New Mexico)

I am writing as a former state official with the New Mexico Department of Health and as someone who hopes one day to return to the mountains around Penasco and Rodarte, in the shadow of Jicarita Peak. I implore you to stand against the 2004 election theft which puts this country in greater risk of collapse than we have ever faced.

We are in the first stages of the second American Revolution. The integrity of our election process is in grave peril. You know it, and very soon, so will all the American people. The evidence for the 2004 election theft is overwhelming and multi-faceted. As I am sure you know, almost half of the New Mexico counties report voting irregularities (most notably, more absentee ballots cast than absentee ballots and more votes cast for President than registered voters). I still hope that the election tampering that occurred in New Mexico will be documented and the perpetrators there brought to justice. However, the many recent efforts in Ohio to obstruct the recount in that state make clear that there is much to hide about the violations of our sacred right to vote freely and fairly in this country. What you do in the next two weeks as an elected leader to overcome the 2004 election fraud and theft will determine your political future and the future of our country.

If you have not been following closely the misdeeds in Ohio, here are excerpts from a letter I received from one of the Ohio volunteers who drove from Green Bay, Wisconsin to western Ohio to participate in the so-called "recount" there. Her letter to me is a chilling documentation of at least three election laws violated with impunity and collusion during the "recount" by Ohio election officials. You will fear for our country as you read these excerpts:
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"Dear Bernie,

"I want to thank you for being the one to hook me up with the Greens for the recount.... It is striking that the volunteers were indeed able to compile evidence of numerous incidents that would lead any rational person to conclude that the Ohio election was riddled with fraud. Let's just begin with the illegal withholding of the poll registries. Ohio state law specifically states that such refusal to permit examination of these documents constitutes prima facie evidence of electoral fraud. Every county board of elections director in Ohio was ordered to commit this illegal act. As far as I know, all complied with this order, thus willingly becoming perpetrators of a crime that counts every American citizen as its victim. It may come as no surprise that every director with whom I had dealings was a Republican.

"The most startling conversation I had was with the county prosecutor, who was present 'to represent the county' at the recount I attended. Also present was an attorney for the Republican Party - whether at the county or state level was not clear - and a representative from the office of Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.... I was told by the prosecutor that the company supplying the tabulating equipment and software was Triad Systems. Much has been written about their Republican connections and suspect activities in regard to the Ohio election, so I won't go into the details here. Here's the real shocker: Triad Systems had a technician in this particular county office the morning of the recount, before it started. He had disassembled the tabulator, and replaced "a switch" that had supposedly malfunctioned. He was lurking in the hallway outside the counting room during the entire recount. One of our volunteers engaged him in a conversation and obtained his name and other information which has been conveyed to the Green Party organizers for further action. The prosecutor, in conveying this information, repeated over and over again that the vendor was Triad. He is a Democrat, and I would say more interested in democracy than some of the other attendees. I phoned this information up to the next level and we are in the process of documenting all that occurred. When I was speaking with our coordinator, I was told that a Triad technician was also busy in Greene County, which has been the scene of several recount melodramas that have been publicized. In this case, it turns out the technician was actually the president of Triad Systems.

"Need I tell you that our observers were denied the right to inspect the voter registry from any precinct in the county, including the one used for the 3% sample? I think this may be a good thing, since this violation of law basically means that no valid recount took place. I can't help but think that these types of scenarios were playing out all over Ohio this week, and that the discovery process in which we were engaged has surely produced enough evidence to establish probable cause in legal terms. I would be very surprised if there were not multiple suits filed at the county level in the coming weeks.

"I hope that my theory is correct - that it does no good to simply elect a new president if the rest of the corrupt Hydra is left in place. This monstrosity has to be taken apart, down to the last remnant, and swept out of office, out of the process, and utterly discredited in the eyes of at least the vast majority of Americans. The only way to do this is to methodically expose the breadth and depth of the corruption of our electoral processes in a comprehensive manner. It's like an enormous jigsaw puzzle, and we need all the pieces to show the picture to the populace at large."

Love, Diana
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This eyewitness account of wrongdoing in Ohio is matched by thousands of similar stories nationwide. Please join us as we fire our own rhetorical opening rounds in the second American Revolution, collectively and with conviction. As a respected Democratic Senator, please announce NOW to Congressman John Conyers and Senator John Kerry your intention to stand in opposition to the highly questionable Electoral College results that will be presented to you on January 6. Please join with your colleagues in the House and Senate to demand an investigation of this election fraud and theft and to block the seating of a second (un)elected Bush administration whose power certainly is not derived from the "consent of the governed" (unless you consider electronic voting machines to be "citizens" with voting rights now).

All of you who have served proudly in the U.S. Congress have to decide whether you stand for democracy at this critical hour or whether you will be labeled by history as, at best, cowards and, at worst, accomplices in the highjacking of our election process. It's your choice. Whose side are you on?

We will take our country back. I can't think of anything in your entire political career that is more important than to honor the courage and the spirit of everyone who has ever fought for free and fair elections, and the right to vote, by thwarting this nationwide election fraud and theft and helping us take our country back. Again, whose side are you on?

Sincerely, (me)
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Senator Lott (Republican, Mississippi)

I am writing as an eighth generation Mississippian, and as a descendant of the first settler child born in Lowndes County. I implore you to stand against the 2004 election theft which now places this country in greater risk of collapse than we have ever faced. I do not need to tell you about the ruthless people who would dishonor our country's most sacred traditions, since you have had to deal with their underhanded ways on many occasions. Now is your chance to help close the door on the saddest segment of our nation's history -- the renegade regime of George Bush and the criminal elements who surround him.

We are in the first stages of the second American Revolution. The integrity of our election process is in grave peril. You know it, and very soon, so will all the American people. The evidence for the 2004 election theft is overwhelming and multi-faceted. As I am sure you know, evidence for widespread election fraud exists in abundance in many states. However, the many recent efforts in Ohio to restrict voting rights there, to artificially inflate Bush's vote total and now to obstruct the recount in that state make clear that there is much to hide about the violations of our sacred right to vote freely and fairly in this country. What you do in the next two weeks as an respected leader to overcome the 2004 election fraud and theft will determine your political future and the future of our country.

If you have not been following closely the misdeeds in Ohio, here are excerpts from a letter I received recently from one of the Ohio volunteers who drove from Green Bay, Wisconsin to western Ohio to participate in the so-called "recount" there. Her letter to me is a chilling documentation of at least three election laws violated with impunity and collusion during the "recount" by Ohio election officials. You will fear for our country as you read these excerpts:
------
"Dear Bernie,

"I want to thank you for being the one to hook me up with the Greens for the recount.... It is striking that the volunteers were indeed able to compile evidence of numerous incidents that would lead any rational person to conclude that the Ohio election was riddled with fraud. Let's just begin with the illegal withholding of the poll registries. Ohio state law specifically states that such refusal to permit examination of these documents constitutes prima facie evidence of electoral fraud. Every county board of elections director in Ohio was ordered to commit this illegal act....

"The most startling conversation I had was with the county prosecutor, who was present 'to represent the county' at the recount I attended.... I was told by the prosecutor that the company supplying the tabulating equipment and software was Triad Systems.... Here's the real shocker: Triad Systems had a technician in this particular county office the morning of the recount, before it started. He had disassembled the tabulator, and replaced "a switch" that had supposedly malfunctioned. He was lurking in the hallway outside the counting room during the entire recount.... I phoned this information up to the next level and we are in the process of documenting all that occurred. When I was speaking with our coordinator, I was told that a Triad technician was also busy in Greene County, which has been the scene of several recount melodramas that have been publicized. In this case, it turns out the technician was actually the president of Triad Systems.

"Need I tell you that our observers were denied the right to inspect the voter registry from any precinct in the county, including the one used for the 3% sample? I think this may be a good thing, since this violation of law basically means that no valid recount took place. I can't help but think that these types of scenarios were playing out all over Ohio this week, and that the discovery process in which we were engaged has surely produced enough evidence to establish probable cause in legal terms. I would be very surprised if there were not multiple suits filed at the county level in the coming weeks."

Love, Diana
------

This eyewitness account of wrongdoing in Ohio is matched by thousands of similar stories nationwide. Please join us as we fire our own rhetorical opening rounds in the second American Revolution, collectively and with conviction. As a respected Republican Senator who has proudly represented many honorable and patriotic Mississippians of all political persuasions and who has faced your own personal run-ins with the reckless and un-American forces now in power, please announce NOW to Congressman John Conyers and Senator John Kerry your intention to stand in opposition to the highly questionable Electoral College results that will be presented to you on January 6. Please join with your colleagues in the House and Senate to demand an investigation of this election fraud and theft and to block the seating of a second (un)elected Bush administration whose power certainly is not derived from the "consent of the governed" (unless you consider tampered-with electronic voting machines to be "citizens" with voting rights now) and whose treasonous behavior may soon destroy the Republican Party as we have known it. As a registered Republican, this concerns me greatly.

All of you who have served proudly in the U.S. Congress have to decide whether you stand for democracy at this critical hour or whether you will be labeled by history as, at best, cowards and, at worst, accomplices in the highjacking of our election process. It's your choice. Whose side are you on?

We will take our country back. I can't think of anything in your entire political career that is more important than to honor the courage and the spirit of everyone who has ever fought for free and fair elections, and died for the right to vote, by thwarting this nationwide election fraud and theft and helping us take our country back. Again, whose side are you on?

Sincerely, (me)