and Democrats "forgetting" about African Americans.... (NPR's News and Notes)
you can access the show to listen here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=11&prgDate=06-21-2005&view=storyviewMr. Gordon:
I listen to your show during my lunch break almost every day of the week. Today I was running errands, so I heard parts of the Downing Street Minutes discussion with the congressman Charlie Rangel, and then the commentary about the Downing Street Minutes in which the commentator said at the end, to paraphrase, no matter what your political affiliation, the contents and the supporting evidence around this issue should concern us all. Then you mentioned you would have an alternative view tomorrow, which is fine.
But when you opened your roundtable with words like Democrats holding “mock” hearings in the Basement of Capital Hill calling for impeachment, your tone and attitude and, dare I say your words, conveyed that you thought that they had gone off the Deep End. I have two points to make about the roundtable, so I will stay on this topic first.
Representative John Conyers was deeply disturbed when the Downing Street Minutes came to light. Representative Conyers first released a letter to President Bush, which at first 88 congress people also signed (this then went to 93). In it he asked a few simple questions, which were simply ignored by the White House and its staff. So, Representative Conyers then put the letter on his website*, and gathered over 500,000 signatures from the American People, along with 13 additional members of congress, and delivered them to an aid between the gates of the White House (as no one else would receive them). They wouldn’t even give him the courtesy of opening the gate. Allow me to repeat myself: over half a million people signed this letter.** He had scheduled a hearing about the Minutes (in which Republicans were invited, just as they were invited to the hearings about the voting irregularities in Ohio, and which, both times, they refused to participate), however, Republicans denied his request for each room he asked for. He was then going to hold this Judicial Committee hearing at the DNC, but at the last minute was able to use the small room in the basement, with the DNC as an overflow place. Ironically, an unprecedented 11 floor votes came at the same time as the hearing, which made it difficult for members to participate for the first hour and a half.
How do I know all of this? Because Representative Conyers had to write a lengthy rebuttal to one reporter’s article about this day. He happened to then CC it to RawStory, which published it in its entirety.*** I strongly urge you to read this letter.
My second point concerns what happened and was discussed after this introduction. Somehow the topic became about how the Democrats have lost their way. The discussion then turned on how the Democratic Party has forgotten about African Americans. I agree, Kerry and his team could have probably done more to embrace the African American Voters – however, Get Out The Vote was in lots of areas, mostly urban and rural.
But it wasn’t that voters chose not to vote this time. How many chose to vote but couldn’t because of the obstructions put into their way? What about the Secretary of State of Ohio, J. Kenneth Blackwell, who happens to be African American, and who said things had “gone smoothly” in Ohio, immediately after the election, and continued to stay on this talking point when they obviously did NOT. What about the people in urban areas (many of them African American), who waited for hours to vote (over 2hrs in many places), yet, when they got to the poll book table, they were told they were in the wrong place, and had to go yet in another line, which they did -- if they had the time.**** View this video. Show each member of your panel this video. Each time I see this movie I cry. What happened that day, even if was in one place (it wasn’t) was WRONG. What about the 63 machines in Cuyahoga County that were in a warehouse even when polling places called for more machines? What about the 18 questions that Representative John Conyers asked Secretary State of Ohio, Mr. Blackwell, which never were answered? What about the 109 page report that Conyers put together (which again, includes these questions), which methodically points out the voter suppression and other irregularities in Ohio?***** It has just been published, though anyone can access it for free on line, and has been able to since its release in January. Have you read it? Has your panel? Why not review the video and the report together for one show.
What about Barbara Boxer and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones who stood up to say on record that the voting suppression and disenfranchisement in Ohio were wrong? What about the other members of the House (over 25) who did the same? What about the thousands of American Citizens, who called, faxed, emailed, and otherwise notified Senators and House Members that something was wrong with the election, and that the electoral votes shouldn’t be certified?.
What about the recount in Ohio which was effectively obstructed by the Secretary of State, as well as numerous Board of Elections, so as not to be a true recount? ****** What happened in Ohio unfortunately wasn’t isolated, other states had similar difficulties, but it was important – both for the illegal ways that people were told not to vote (via fliers with false information as well as phone calls, among other tactics), as well as for the fact that Ohio “determined” the outcome of the election. With 88 districts and 11,366 precincts, the results could have changed with only 11 votes per precinct. Oh, but in my upper/middle class/mostly Caucasian/mostly Republican/excellent schools 3 years in a row District, (West Chester, Ohio) there was at least 23 machines in just a one and ½ mile strip. So, we didn’t have long lines, or people bothering us at the polls. And, because the majority of people in this neighborhood have more flexible jobs, even if we happened to have to wait, we weren’t threatened with being fired if we didn’t show up for our shift on time. We just “flex-timed” it and worked later that night. This is democracy?
When I heard the day after the election about the long lines all over Ohio, I was ANGRY. It doesn’t matter the color of your skin to see that people of all races were disenfranchised in Ohio, and not just in a little way. I was literally sick. I wrote all kinds letters to NPR shows, to the ACLU, to large papers, to call out that something was wrong. And unless we do something to FIX IT, it will stay wrong. This doesn’t mean just trying to get more people to vote – they DID try to vote. This means educating communities about the right to vote, about acknowledging that they are mad or disillusioned and might have given up for next time. This doesn’t mean just blindly accepting a bill called “election reform” without understanding it, and it’s about making sure that there is a provision for verified paper ballots, even if it is an electronic voting machine. This means holding the people Accountable that created this mess in Ohio (and elsewhere), but this cannot be done if we (and the media) just let them off of the radar.
So…I understand that it might be easier to blame the Democrats for not “being there” for the African American community prior to the election. I understand that the Rally in Ohio on January 3rd sponsored by the Rainbow Push Coalition wasn’t widely known, even though there was over 500 people present (and at least 7 news cameras). I understand that unless there is a “smoking gun” nothing will be done about voting irregularities. But I do not for the life of me understand how voter suppression and disenfranchisement, which is visible, which is horrible, which is a large part of the problem (not just in Ohio, but elsewhere) was completely and utterly ignored today, and instead, the issue becomes that the Democrats aren’t doing enough.
Yes, this Caucasian female has a lot to say about this, because, frankly, if we don’t talk about it, it WILL happen again. I don’t want that, not in my America. If we are going to go to other countries to help them become “democratic” in their government, we very well better start looking at home, first, and we better start all working towards free and fair elections.
Kind Regards.
XXX
1234 pissed off lane
notmyamerica Ohio
References
*
http://www.house.gov/conyers/** Letter to President Bush, with the additional signatures (including Senators) here
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/letters/bushsecretmemoaddsigners61505.pdf***
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Congressman_Conyers_hammers_the_Washington_Posts_D_0617.html**** Go here, to choose the video type of your choice,
http://www.VelvetRevolution.us#020505*****
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/ohiostatusrept1505.pdf******
http://www.votecobb.org/edit:clarity
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