Lytel: "The End is Near: The Coming Constitutional Insurrection"

December 26, 2004

"The End is Near:The Coming Constitutional Insurrection" - By David Lytel
The End is Near: The Coming Constitutional Insurrection
© 2004 By David Lytel

If it is true that wisdom grows only from truth then the newspaper-reading public in the nation’s capital is being starved of the food they need to be wise citizens. After more than a month of avoiding the single most urgent question before the American people – whether the presidential election was conducted lawfully and the actual winner awarded with the victory – the Washington Post has taken up the issue with appalling results, lending what credibility it has left as an objective news source to the White House’s cover up of crimes against democracy. In an effort to appear “even-handed,” which is to say to not provoke Bush and his cabal from damaging the company’s ability to get government approval for its mergers, acquisitions and license renewals, the Post hides the most salient fact: There are considerably more reported cases of vote suppression, fraudulent vote casting and fraudulent vote counting than George W. Bush’s margin of victory in Ohio. In all likelihood the surveys of voters as they left the polling places are accurate and considerably more people went to the polls that day to vote for John Kerry both in Ohio and nationwide. Should he be re-inaugurated on January 20th Bush will once again be securing the greatest prize the American political system has to offer, the presidency, through fraud, deception and illegal activity aided by a willfully ignorant press.

The commercial news media parrots the Bush “explanation” of the widespread misadministration of the 2004 election and is prepared to accept it as uncritically as it did Bush’s deceit on weapons in Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s involvement in the attacks of 9/11 or a host of other outright lies they have carried on Bush’s behalf. They tell us that the fraud and deception used to maximize the vote totals of the party in power and minimize the votes of opposing parties are merely random “glitches” or “irregularities” and that the only recourse is to fix the system in time for the next election, but they are wrong on both counts.

The misadministration of the election was deliberate and purposeful and we have more than one course of action to return the nation to the proper path right now. There is overwhelming evidence that the misadministration of the election was nonrandom. There are disparities between the number of people who signed in to vote at polling places on election day and the number of votes recorded on the machines in Ohio and Florida. The original records of who showed up to vote have been deliberately destroyed in Volusia County, Florida and elsewhere.

Virtually all of Bush’s statewide victory margin in Ohio comes from just 9 counties. In Warren County, for example, officials closed the vote counting to outside observers for the first time anyone can remember, on the advice of the national Department of Homeland Security, which now denies it. The county emergency services coordinator, however, reports he was told that Warren County, which is suburban Cincinatti, was a ten on a scale of ten as a likely target of terrorism. Warren County has nothing in it Al Qaeda cares about but it is the single most important county in the nation to Bush’s re-election, being the last polling place in the state to close and providing a third of the margin he needed to claim victory on election night.

None of this passes the simple test of randomness – it is literally impossible that chance could produce errors that all point in the same direction, giving votes to Bush.

We do not have to suffer another four years of an illegitimate presidency since the Constitution provides us with two ways of successfully challenging Bush’s reinauguration. First, there almost surely will be a Constitutional challenge to the legitimacy of the electors from Florida, Ohio and potentially other states as well. I was involved in the drafting of the written challenge available to Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings and the other brave Members of Congress who challenged Florida’s electoral votes in 2000, when there was no one alive who had ever experienced a Constitutional challenge of electoral votes. Now, however, I can say I have a pretty good idea how to succeed this time. Kerry must be told that he is not authorized to “accept” a fraudulent election on our behalf, and I suspect that once the dimensions of the conspiracy to steal the election in 2000 become known Al Gore will regret having done so four years ago.

This time we can and will have widely recognized public advocates, a great legal team and leaders in both the House and Senate who are widely respected by their peers and the public.

When the Congress meets in joint session on 1/6 there will be a written challenge duly signed by at least one member of each house and they will return to their respective chambers to conduct a time limited debate. Can we actually win a challenge against the electors of Ohio, Florida and other states? Yes. If we have about 80 House co-sponsors by January 3rd or so then the House Democratic Caucus will stand united and we will have Nancy Pelosi as our leader. The historic decision on the continuation or termination of the Bush presidency will then rest with the most lonely and abused faction in the House – moderate Republicans. Look to Sherry Bohelert and Chris Shays and people like that to see what they will do. Not all Republicans back Bush or the brutal tactics he and his cronies are prepared to use to remain in power. With a dozen or so Republicans joining House Democrats the Bush presidency would be over and democracy restored. A similar dynamic will play out in the Senate if we have five or so co-sponsors before the session begins.

And if that doesn’t work there is another way. Article 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment sets out penalties for massive vote suppression, since that is one of the problems the union faced after the Civil War. Northerners feared precisely what ended up happening – that the white elites in the South would take advantage of the increased number of citizens they now had once slavery was over but that they would not permit the freed slaves access to the ballot so they could successfully secure representatives they could trust. It says that if the right to vote in an election for president is “in any way abridged” then the representatives of that state will be reduced in proportion to the scale of the vote suppression. While this applies to representation in Congress, it also applies to the office of Elector, even though people only hold that office for a single day to do just one thing – vote for president. A Federal lawsuit backed by 550,000 affidavits from a state would be sufficient to reduce the number of electors from that state and as a consequence the number of electoral votes it has to cast on January 6th. Happily, the Internet makes it possible to put up a form necessary to produce a legal affidavit on Monday and have well over 550,000 of them from multiple states on the next day. Bold and messy, but plausible.

The treasonous conspirators behind the unlawful theft of the presidency must stand trial if the nation is to heal and usher in a new era of democratic revival. Our deepest commitment is to democracy and to the rule of law, which must be able to produce a just outcome if our political system is not to bleed to death from the loss of legitimacy. While the commercial news media is now reporting that something happened, the giant institutions protected by the First Amendment must now dust it off and take it out for a ride speaking truth to power once again. Just as the story of the fires in Charles County were not reported as an unexplained personal tragedy, the damage to our democracy is being done by arsonists. Worse, they appear to work for the fire department, and we need the news media to do its job and secure the truth for us so we may act widely as citizens.

David Lytel is the founder of ReDefeatBush.com, a political action committee. He lives in Washington, DC.


Permanent Link to this Post posted by Ray Beckerman @ 4:27 PM

A Proposal by Asa Gordon
I received this in my email box. I don't know if it's accurate or not, but if any readers know, I would appreciate your input
---------------------------------------------------------
The Douglass Institute of Government:
A Call for 47 "Faithful" Presidential Electors to Democracy

"This is the most amazing proposition that has ever been brought forward by a non-lawyer and it will, and if it is accurate it could change the whole outcome of the voting process in the United States, and we will take that under consideration ... we, we eagerly embrace your suggestion."
_ Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Dec. 8th, 2004, Congressional Hearings on Ohio Voting Irregularities.

47 "Faithful" Presidential Electors Who Can Make History
Asa Gordon
Exe.Dir. DIG

There are 47 Democratic Presidential electors in 15 red states (states where Bush received the popular vote) who can elect Kerry president "by the rule of law", without a recount in any state, and in the bargain democratize the Electoral College. There is no constitutional provision or federal law requiring electors to vote in accordance with the popular vote in their states. Some states have such requirements, others do not. There are 15 unbound red states that have no such requirements in state law.

The "faithful" 47 must exercise their will independent of their party's leadership. That leadership is committed to disproportionate two party dominance over the voting rights of the citizenry. That leadership is willing to stand by and allow the willful disfranchisement of nearly 10 million democratic voters. These democratic votes for Kerry range from a low of 26.38% in Utah to a high of 49.11% in Iowa.

The "faithful" 47 must insist on their proportionate right to be represented among the unbound state presidential electors in the electoral college vote of January 6, 2005. The "faithful" 47 may have to bring civil action to enjoin Vice-President Cheney from presiding over any presumptive acceptance of "winner take all" electors from states that have no "winner take all" statute. They may be required to evoke the mal-apportionment penalty under the second section of the Fourteenth Amendment to reduce their state's electoral and congressional representation if their votes are "denied ... or in any way abridged" in the electoral college.

At http://www.electors.us/ is a table and electoral map of the "Red States" wherein no state official can cite a state statute to preclude presidential electors from insisting on proportionate electoral representation predicated upon the popular split in the vote for their candidate. The unbound "Red States are: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia. This will result in an electoral victory for Kerry of 271 to 267 for Bush. Unlike the "faithless eight" presidential electors who defected in the past to defy their party leadership, the "faithful" 47 can make history by being faithful to the millions of voters they represent.

Asa Gordon,
Executive Director, Douglass Institute of Government
http://members.aol.com/digasa/dig.htm
Chair, DC Statehood Greenhood Party Electoral College Task Force
http://www.electors.us/


Permanent Link to this Post posted by Ray Beckerman @ 4:04 PM

http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/

but I just have my doubts that anything can derail Bushco at this point. I am hoping though.

We should focus on the moderate republicans for our e-mail campaigns. Who are they in the House and the Senate?

The MSM no longer speaks truth, it speaks only what it feels it must in order to survive. It has become an unthinking, unfeeling, consuming organism.

Would love to go to a museum to see the MSM exhibit with the reasons for 'msm' becoming extinct so rapidly!

sp

I mean, this thing is spreading like wildfire amongst both left and right communities.
People are reporting here that they discovered, after spending time with their families, that the average Joe and Jill know about this, despite the virtual blackout in MSM coverage.
This is being e-mailed, talked about at water coolers and Christmas parties and jabbered about online at all hours of the day and night.
Yet, any attempts by the MSM to cover it (KO exception noted) have been half-assed and dismissive.
What's going to happen when Kerry files this thing and it explodes in the American public's face like an over-heated egg souffle? How are the bean-counters in these corporate organizations going to justify their ratings drops as people become more and more aware that the MSM has kept important news from them whilst covering Scott Peterson or Brittany Spears or Anna Nicole Smith?
You'd think that the MSM would realize they should cover their butts for financial reasons, if not for a sense of democracy - but they haven't.

There has to be a missed story of epic proportions and public backlash against the msm. Because of the msm corporate structure financial consequences will drive ALL behavior. The public is actually the key to this and being angry at being dismissed because the msm declared this not a story will be a most magnificent thing to watch. That point about media hubris is ALWAYS included in my conversations on the topic.

A backlash against the media - a long time coming...

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peddle lies. That is, apparent to the masses. If no less a personage than Bill Moyers insists that this is the case, I know people will sit up and listen.

I spread the word to as many people as I can-- and, gratifyingly, most of them don't refute me.

Word has a way of getting around.

"If the right to vote in an election for president is “in any way abridged” then the representatives of that state will be reduced in proportion to the scale of the vote suppression. While this applies to representation in Congress, it also applies to the office of Elector, even though people only hold that office for a single day to do just one thing – vote for president. A Federal lawsuit backed by 550,000 affidavits from a state would be sufficient to reduce the number of electors from that state and as a consequence the number of electoral votes it has to cast on January 6th.Happily, the Internet makes it possible to put up a form necessary to produce a legal affidavit on Monday and have well over 550,000 of them from multiple states on the next day. Bold and messy, but plausible...."

Hello... Democrats... Let's wake up.

The Republicans would be putting a petition like this on-line in an INSTANT if the shoe were on the other foot. (And they wouldn't give a damn about being called "sore losers". They'd just do it.)

It's time to fight back. The media's not going to help us - but the web and the Constitution will. The way to challenge the election is spelled out right there in the Constitution - put together the above-specified legal affidavit, and we have a legal case.

Since digital signatures are legal and binding would it be possible for anyone to create the above mentioned affidavit online? Is a notary required?

It will probably get lost on this one. Try it and let's see who can help! Thanks in advance.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

now let's see what happens!! KICK! :dem:

Unfortunately I live in one of those "Winner Take All States" where the electors are totally pledged to Bush...I've tried to do what I can here...need John Edwards onboard to make a stink before we can get anything going, though. So far....all I know is that Edwards is building a new home outside "Chapel Hill" where they will have peace and quiet unlike the harassment they got from their Raleigh Neighbors when the "Secret Service" called to much attention to their old neighborhood.

It would be nice if Edwards would step up to the plate and talk about the voting irregularites, lost votes and lack of voting machines for "Early Vote" here in NC. Many people were turned away who weren't even in "Minority Neighborhoods" beause of 3 hour long lines at their polling place in the week before 11/2. These folks turned away were in large part Dems because we were told to tell all our Dem voters we canvassed to use the Early Vote to avoid the long lines. Instead voting was chaotic and they had to have police directing traffic so many folks turned out for the "Early Vote" yet many couldn't wait the 3 hours and when their Precinct Provisional ballots had run out...they were told to "come back later" after they had already waited in line for 3 hours...many with tired toddlers in tow. I don't think these folks were all "Fundie Christians" turning out for Bush with "toddlers in tow" who stood all those hours and were turned away.

I want to hear from John Edwards about this...but alas maybe even he can't do anything since NC is a "Winner Take All" state. :-(

I hope there is some serious behind the scenes action going on. If none of what he states above pans out, Revolution is the only thing that'll save us.

I guess this maybe isn´t the place to direct this, but it would be sweet if people from "the Abroad" that would like to show their support and numbers could be acommodated around the 6th.

We would like to all be Americans again.

...I don't fully understand it. Can someome explain exactly who would have to act and what they would have to do. (I love how the Founders constructed the Constitution, with many failsafes and "balances." They built much of it for just this kind of circumstance--usurpation of power!)

The 1877 law put the states in charge of certifying elector slates and Congress ruling on their legitamcy by a vote of both Houses if challenged. There is no friggin' way in hell a Court is going to enjoin the VP from counting these electoral votes, they defer to congress on "political" questions.

These are interesting intellectual exercises but not in touch with the real political world.

...you're right. But prepare to get flamed for injecting a tiny dose of sanity into the ranks of those whom insipidly proclaim I believe! despite all verifiable evidence to the contrary.

But wasn't it those "moral values" that GW swept the country (county, er... counting) with? i mean that's what I heard on the tee vee, so it's gotta be true , right? I really need to fashion a real smart looking tin foil hat for all those lazy poor people. I will get right on it. Charity starts in your own kitchen, btw. Tin foil is cheap.

David,

Et. Al.
It is accurate.

Please, all progressives, join this call to the 47 "faithful" electors that are poised to make history.

This is a call for Democratic Presidential Electors in the Unbound 15 "Red States" to e-mail me their "Affidavits" of injury at electorsus@aol.com with permission for me to add as an exhibit in a Civil Action I plan to file (see http://www.electors.us, Gordon v. Gore, substitute V.P. Cheney) when I return to Washington. However, every Democratic Presidential Elector is encouraged to file in their own state a similar Civil Action in Federal Court, pro-se if need be, this would make it difficult for the main stream media to ignore. Democratic Electors, you may use Gordon v. Gore as a template for your own Civil Action with your own particulars and the particulars of your state. This will cover more Federal Districts.

Indeed Democratic Electors in the bound states, i.e. with "winner take all" statutes should also file Civil Actions making the argument that I made, that their vote is diminished and in effect negated by the denial and disfranchisement of electors that represent their candidate in the unbound states.

Democratic Presidential Electors what have you got to lose but privacy at the gain of possible instant fame, go for it! In the name of Frederick Douglass, "agitate,agitate,agitate".



To learn how any Democratic Presidential Elector and progressives can challenge the electoral college vote on Jan. 6th without relying on Kerry or any Congressperson to act go to:

http://www.electors.us/

Asa Gordon,
Executive Director, Douglass Institute of Government
http://members.aol.com/digasa/dig.htm
Chair, DC Statehood Greenhood Party Electoral College Task Force
http://www.electors.us/

"Mal-Apportionment Penalty Civil Actions"
Douglass Institute of Government
http://members.aol.com/electorsus/map.htm

"A Color-blind Supreme Court?"
By Asa Gordon, February 2004 print issue of The World & I
http://members.aol.com/dignews/fdonct.htm