My letter to Jim Jeffords in response to his ridiculous statement.

I went to the website of Jim Jeffords today to see what position, if any, he had on the EC contest. My, what a bunch of nonsense he had written. Seems the fundies have him back in their clutches.

http://jeffords.senate.gov/~jeffords/press/05/01/010405ohioelectors.html

My letter:

Dear Senator Jeffords,

I plead with you to rethink your statement on the contest of the Ohio Electoral votes.

You said:

"A challenge to the Ohio Electors will not fix the problems at hand."

No, it will not immediately solve the problems, but it will call the general public's attention to them. Mainstream media is paying no mind, as it stands.

You said:

"We know that such a challenge will not affect the outcome of the election, and I fear it will only further polarize our political landscape."

Our political landscape has no chance at reunification. Democrats (real, unelected Democrats) are stark, raving mad at this administration for their abuses on us and the Constitution. This will not change because our elected officials refuse to stand up for us. In fact, it will only worsen the situation.

You said:

"John Kerry has conceded this election, and we must now move forward in a constructive way."

John Kerry conceded before anyone knew the extent of disenfranchisement and fraud in the 2004 election. The same excuse was made for not challenging the 2000 election on Gore's behalf...have you really seen any constructive, forward movement? I've only seen further polarization, personally.

You said:

"I believe the investigation by the non-partisan Goverment Accountability Office will provide needed answers."

Perhaps, but will citizens really understand what we need, and can we trust you and your fellow Senators to make it happen? We were promised the same things in 2000. We got HAVA, but our votes didn't count again. Do you really want to further erode the public trust by doing nothing, when the time is absolutely right for action?

You said:

"In Congress, I will work to reform and clarify existing law, and push for the creation of a paper trail for electronic voting and a national standard for provisional ballots. These reforms are needed to assure that these problems are not repeated in future elections."

See above response.

You said:

"People must have the utmost confidence that their votes will be counted."

This kind of statement is a true insult to the people of the United States of America. Why should we have blind trust, when our votes continue to NOT COUNT? If they didn't in 2000, and they didn't in 2004, when will they? 2008? And how will we know when our right to vote is finally protected? It is quite a lot to ask of us to simply wait and see. Are you prepared for a revolution? In the words of John Locke,

"If a long train of abuses, prevarications, and artifices, all tending the same way, make the design visible to the people, and they cannot but feel, what they lie under, and see, whither they are going; 'tis not to be wondered, that they should then rouse themselves, and endeavor to put the rule into such hands, which may secure to them the ends for which government was first erected."

Please reconsider your decision, as democracy as we know it is at stake.

Sincerely,

Mycatforpresident

refuse to grow a backbone I'll scream. You'd think the pinheads would know it has nothing to do with the legal outcome of a contest. Sheesh!

his right to change his mind when he switched to Independent? I feel Jeffords is running a bit of a hypocrisy game at this point.

I guess he issued his statement after getting flooded with pleas to stand up tomorrow. What a chicken.

What a great quote:

"If a long train of abuses, prevarications, and artifices, all tending the same way, make the design visible to the people, and they cannot but feel, what they lie under, and see, whither they are going; 'tis not to be wondered, that they should then rouse themselves, and endeavor to put the rule into such hands, which may secure to them the ends for which government was first erected."

Many words can become timely again, as these so poignantly have.

Thanks mycat!

is the same kind of namby-pamby drivel that all of our politicians use to be "statesmanlike" rather than being willing to stand up for what's right. Winning the next election seems far more important at every turn than doing the right thing.

Basically, all politicians are terrified of the people, and those in power understand that they'd be thrown out very quickly if the electorate were really engaged and well-informed. Which is why they do everything possible to keep us ignorant and unengaged in the political process. It works to their advantage most of the time that only about half of eligible voters actually vote.

that they work for US, not the other way around. Statesmanship is great when using it to quietly work in the interest of the people. But it's worthless when used as an excuse to remain an ego-driven career politician.

and Vermont has one of the most engaged electorates in the country. Sweeping statements such as you made in your post about all politicians are virtually content free. Jeffords is engaged with the Vermont citizenry. He appears frequently on VPR call in shows and holds town meetings. His staff is responsive. How soon you all forget what Jeffords did.

we could say some, or most. But I think overall, it's fair to say that politicians benefit from an uninformed electorate. I personally haven't forgotten that Jeffords stood up to the Repug powers that be. I just wish he'd stand up again now, when it really counts for all of us.

and elected officials need to remember that. the people have created a movement already. she can find some integrity and stand up for our right to vote, or be a part of the problem.

both her comment she hasnt heard anything about the election fraud of 2004, and bills comment "won fair and square" isnt going to cut it

I called his office yesterday and they encouraged me to read his statement. I was pissed after reading it and I intend to call him back today. If you don't mind, I will paraphrase your comments when I call. Thanks.

but feel free to use whatever is helpful.

I could never write anything like that! Excellent.