Raw Story: Blackwell bragging about helping 'deliver' Ohio for Bush

[VTGold]

New headling on Raw Story - story at 10:00pm ET it says:

"New controversy swirls around Republican Ohio Secretary of State bragging about helping 'deliver' Ohio for President Bush... 10PM ET"

http://rawstory.com/

[proud patriot]

1. " QUACK "

I'm nicking for Malloy "Quack quack"

[VTGold]

2. Thank heaven they feel so bullet proof - makes them sing like birds n/t

[slor]

13. Dodo birds n/t

[FreepFryer]

3. as the chairman of the Bush Cheney OH Reelection Campaign

I am sad to say this does not seem like news to me.

Despite the incredible conflict of interest in his dual role, which has been listed as an issue of Arnebeck's suit and Rep. Conyers's report, it's just the kind of thing he would have said in rallies, etc. This alleged event being after the election doesn't completely erase this for me, but..

If, however, he bragged about HOW he did it, well now a hey hey now a hey, that's a different story.

What do other folks think?

[impeachthescoundrel]

4. CanariesRUs

[FreepFryer]

6. What do you mean, I don't understand ya!

But yes, the swallows and songbirds are chirpin' away! Good things afoot!

[lostnfound]

7. I agree, but guess we'll know when we read the letter nt

[Lostnote03]

38. This is not an innocent statement imo......

.....just as Congressman Kings slight of tongue is indicative of bravado, Blackwells remark carries with it a suspiciously harsh tone that conveys "win at all costs".....it must be very comforting to Rove to KNOW that he has judicial redress checkmated.....

[FreepFryer]

58. Oh, it's far from innocent. And very damning! t/c

[Pam-Moby]

5. yes thanks but on what channel?

[lostnfound]

8. Not on any channel -- on rawstory.com nt

[Pam-Moby]

19. ok thanks

[VTGold]

9. Raw Story website.... rawstory.com

[goodboy]

10. I thought wally o'dell said that...

[McCamy Taylor]

11. How else is he going to get GOP contributions? He has to brag

[Brundle_Fly]

12. brad has a little more

http://www.bradblog.com/

REVEALED: Blackwell Letter Takes Credit for Bush Win!
Language Reminiscent of Diebold CEO Promise to 'Deliver' Ohio to Bush!
2004 Recount Still Ongoing When OH's "Unbiased" Election Arbiter Credits Self with 'Stopping' Kerry 'Disaster from Happening'!

RAW STORY will shortly publish an explosive and partisan letter from Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell in an EXCLUSIVE set for later tonight!

Full details of the stunning letter have been embargoed until 10pm ET, but the written claims composed by Blackwell to supporters -- even while the recount of votes in Ohio was still ongoing! -- should continue to rock the vote as Congress gathers this Thursday in joint session to determine whether Ohio Electors were legally seated (or not).

more at link....

[VTGold]

14. oooh! I can't tell you how much I want to see that man squirm n/t

[FreepFryer]

15. Jeez.

[Quakerfriend]

16. THx for the tid bits, brundle fly!

Ship of fools, going down sooner or later, hopefully sooner!

[AmerDem]

17. wonderful timing

Just before the 6th. Can't wait until RawStory posts the story.

[fooj]

18. Their timing is impeckable...

Almost makes you wonder what else they've got in their bag of tricks...



WHAT ARE THEY HIDING???:think: :think: :think:

[BarbinMD]

20. Holy- Moly

I don't think my heart can take much more...and I'm healthy! :P

[seshers]

21. Is it 10 yet...

YES. I shouldn't be drinking coffee.
:bounce:

[rawstory]

22. DELAY -- sorry

pushing it hardest. it's a seven page letter, bitch to convert all to gif for presentation, etc.

[AmerDem]

23. np

I just keep refreshing your home page. Thanks for the update.

[KaliTracy]

24. thanks for the heads up.... n/t

[henslee]

27. Wow. Rawstory posts? Cool What next? Time? Buzzflash? Drudge?

;)

[pbartch]

48. I just emailed the RAWSTORY story about SOB Blackwell

to Buzzflash.

Also about 50 people, DEM message boards on Yahoo and I included Media Sources..........

abc
cbs
nbc
Keith
even e'Fen Fox!!!!!

[chomskysright]

131. e mailed to these OH papers....

[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],

[VTGold]

28. 7 pages - yum

[bones_7672]

25. so far, sounds like "much ado about nothing"

the State Chair for ANY candidate has to work to "deliver" their state for their candidate. That kind of statement contains NO admission of wrongdoing. This had better be more than the feeble grasping for straws that the VAST majority of "LOOK AT ME - I'VE GOT THE SMOKING GUN" threads are.

[AmerDem]

26. Oh really

"This had better be more than the feeble grasping for straws that the VAST majority of "LOOK AT ME - I'VE GOT THE SMOKING GUN" threads are." and just what if it isn't up to your liking? What do you plan on doing?

LOL, You might find a friend in Walt Star.

[KittyWampus]

30. How Do You Know It's NOT Walt Starr

:D

As for me, I'll take proof of in appropriate and overtly partisan hackery any day of the week.

[seshers]

29. OR...

you are totally wrong and IT'S HUGE.

[Turn CO Blue]

74. But it is beyond the pale

that some states will allow their Secretaries of State (some elected, some appointed), which all should be non-partisan and unbiased in that role -- to also be the State Chair for a particular candidate or party.

It is without a doubt an utterly ridiculous, unethical, complete CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

[SicTransit]

75. it is a conflict of interest

but it is not illegal in Ohio. So I don't quite understand the excitement - it was known that Blackwell was a Secretary of State as well as chairman of Bush campaign in Ohio. It is not uncommon for chairmen of successful campaigns to brag about it. What's new in this?

[BradBlog]

97. Not illegal, but...

...Ever hear of the *appearance* of impropriety?

The recount wasn't even done before he composed that incredibly partisan letter.

And of course he says in it as well, "I was completely exhonerated by the Ohio Supreme Court"...Is that the same court he's now ducking in regards to giving a depo for an outstanding lawsuit alleging Electoral Fraud on his watch?

Not good. For him.

(And congrats to RAW STORY for breakin' another good one!)

Brad
The BRAD BLOG
http://www.BradBlog.com

[SicTransit]

100. if there is an "appearance of impropriety" -

then there was that same appearance for the last year or so - however long Blackwell has been chairman of Bush's campaign. This is not news, so the excitement over the letter is a bit overblown. What exactly is new in this letter that was not known beforehand?

I would also dispute the "appearance of impropriety" per se. Blackwell, Secretary of State of Ohio, worked hard to re-elect Bush. Richardson, governor of New Mexico, worked hard to elect Kerry. Just as an example, (see http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/6235.html). Is there an "appearance of impropriety" in Richardson's behavior? Joe Manchin, West Virginia's Secretary of State, actively campaigned for Kerry - is that an "appearance of impropriety"? Those guys are some of the highest representatives of their party in the state - do you expect them to take no role in their Presidential candidate's campaign?

[NVMojo]

93. Rove flew to Nevada with the chimp last year to meet with our Governor

and SOS and AG, all who worked his campaign for Bushchimp ....The Governor was awarded with special recognition for his efforts at the National Repuke Governor conference at the end of November. US Senators John Ensign (repuke) and Harry Reid nominated our AG for a high federal judgeship. We are waiting to see how Bush rewards the SOS.

I think it is all inappropriate and we haven't even begun to look at Rove and how he coordinated things regionally and within swing states.

[Farmgirl]

31. Looks like the story is up...up, up and away!!

http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=528

[Malikshah]

32. Kick--for it being posted---

www.rawstory.com

It's up!

[Not a Sheep]

33. Here's the link to the story ........

http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=528

[AmerDem]

34. Great read

can't wait until Blackwell's campaign letter is posted. This info will surely be used on the 6th.

[Melissa G]

35. Kick for Raw Story! n/t

[FreepFryer]

36. Good stuff! Conyers' team WITHIN the story shows you the case being laid

Two more days!
Two more days!

Whatever happens from all this, we must all promise to do much more this year than we did last year to 'give those conservatives fits', as Blackwell so scummily put it.

[RevCheesehead]

37. I swear, the man's hubris will be his downfall. (n/t)

[pbartch]

39. THIS IS SOOOOOOO DISGUSTING. He belongs in PRISON.

ACTUAL LETTER TO BE RELEASED SHORTLY. PREPARING FOR WEB DELIVERY
Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell boasted of helping “deliver” Ohio for President Bush and said he was “truly pleased” to announce Bush had won Ohio even before all of the state’s votes had been counted in his own fundraising letter, RAW STORY has discovered.

The letter, which was received by a Butler County resident Dec. 31, is a plea to support Blackwell’s campaign for governor. The resident has asked to remain anonymous.

In apparent disregard for his nonpartisan role as Ohio’s chief election official, the Republican Secretary and chairman of Bush’s Ohio reelection campaign slammed Senator Kerry as a “disaster” who would have reaped “terrible” and “horrible” results on both Ohio and the United States.

Further, Blackwell’s use of the word “deliver” finds striking resonance with another controversial fundraising letter sent by the CEO of voting machine manufacturer Diebold Walden O’Dell in the summer of 2003 when he said he was “committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.”

Blackwell’s campaign office confirmed that they that sent the letter but offered no further comment.

“Without your enthusiasm, generous support and vote, I’m afraid the President would have lost,” Blackwell wrote, “And an unapologetic liberal Democrat named John Kerry would have won.”

“Thankfully,” he adds, “you and I stopped that disaster from happening.”

Blackwell also noted that he was “truly pleased” to announce President Bush the victor in Ohio even before all the votes had been counted. He adds that he declared the victor on his own personal belief.

“In the late hours of Election Night I was truly pleased to announce President Bush had won a critical and clinching victory here in Ohio, on the belief that it was statistically improbable for Senator Kerry to recover,” the Secretary penned.

<snip>

Rep. John Conyers’ (D-Mich) report on voting irregularities will blast Blackwell for his transparent partisanship Wednesday. RAW STORY has been given excepts of the report.

“Many have strongly suspected that the inexplicable and arbitrary decisions of Secretary Blackwell stemmed from partisan political motivations,” Conyers’ staff report declares. “This suspicion is apparently bolstered by Secretary Blackwell himself in a recently-sent fund-raising letter.”

[Im with Rosey]

59. With any luck, he will be in prison!

Now, just help us figure out how to get him there! I am as disgusted as everyone reading this letter but how can it be used? It seems this is another piece to fit in the puzzle, maybe some ideas... can this be used by Conyers(Our Time's Person of the YEAR)and does this absolutely show evil intent?

[KerryOn]

67. This will do him in big time:

Page 3

"When the ACLU and the other members of the radical left worked to stop me from racking down on prohibiting outrageous ways to commit voter fraud, I fought back and won."

Fry Blackwell, Fry, you right wing Dog!

[AmerDem]

40. campaign letter is up

http://rawstory.rawprint.com/105/blackwell_campaign_letter_105.php

[liam97]

41. Is he really going to get away

with this?

[SicTransit]

53. of course he is

1. It is not illegal in Ohio for the Secretary of State to be chairman of a candidate's campaign.

2. It is not uncommon for chairmen of successful campaigns to brag about it afterwards.

[SueZhope]

46. I read it and words can not convey the feelings inside

:puke: :puke: :puke:

[AmerDem]

49. what a pathetic, grovelling slime ball

and the way he kept using religion and hate to sell was just disturbing.

A man like this watched over the recount that determined the president of our country. WOW, something needs to be done and done fast. :wtf:

[SueZhope]

63. YUP ..you got it

he's a real good Christian alright, trouble is
he seems to be sounding like Lucifer :evilgrin:

Why do people drink this kool-aid? :beer:
This letter is nasty ,insincere and transparent.
The election was not but the letter is.

[DoYouEverWonder]

42. Everybody should download the donation page

and send it back with comments about what we really think about this dufus.

[thingsarelookingup]

43. qualities that will serve him well

I sent Blackwell a scathing email several weeks ago and got on his email list ( perhaps many of you received the donate to my campaign request also). Rather than a check I sent a reply that started with Hell Freezing Over...... you get the idea. I just rechecked the Blockhead For Governor site that his email linked and found the following in his list of accomplishments:

(snip)
... he began his work in using technology to help government fulfill its mission.

Yeah, he delivered Ohio alright ......

[mary195149]

44. I'm having problems

bringing the letter up. Anybody able to open Blackwells's letter?

[borealowl]

50. It's code

It very likely doesn't help us much. They - O'Dell and Blackwell, probably mean exactly what it sounds like they mean, by using the word "deliver"; but the word is sufficiently ambiguous that they can never be nailed on it. Their supporters know what they mean; their opponents know what they mean; but they can claim to the press that their meaning is innocent.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. What a scumbag

grrrr:grr:

[eomer]

47. Soliciting campaign contributions on SOS letterhead...

is that even legal?

[Liberty Belle]

55. No. It's blatantly illegal.

[FreepFryer]

57. Correct. You have identified a point of prosecution! You get a cookie. :)

[Liberty Belle]

66. send it to Conyers and Arnebeck, please!

Love your name, Freepfryer!

[AmerDem]

70. I don't think it's "official"

like any other piece of junk mail it's made to look official. That's my guess

[FreepFryer]

82. Are you saying it's a hoax, or just a chain letter on SoS letterhead?

'Cause the latter would be a serious violation of his office.

And we won't get Ratherized again. At least not if I can help it.

[AmerDem]

84. I was talking the letterhead

Look I have no idea, I'm guessing. To me it looked more like a junk mail title then a official letter head. I have no idea what the laws are or if this was in fact sent out as something official.

[Igel]

127. Question, though: Is it official stationary?

Or just some seal with the man's name and title on it?

[Nothing Without Hope]

133. According to the article editor, it is NOT official letterhead.

Here is the answer to Comment #9 to the Blue Lemur article about the letter, which asked about whether the letter was on official SOS letterhead:

Editor’s Note: According to our information, the letter is not official Secretary of State letterhead and is therefore technically not illegal.

The comments are posted at the end of the article on the letter (which includes a link to a copy of the letter itself):
http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=528

I would have been surprised if even Blackwell had been THAT dumb about this.

[Scout1071]

51. You have got to be kidding me.

How are these people getting away with this shit?

[GetTheRightVote]

52. We need to send this article/letter to other media to report as well

:kick:

[AmerDem]

54. I think it's a sure thing

that this letter will be brought up come Jan. 6th by Conyers or others.

Talk about conflict of interest and we wont even go into what this man has done prior to the election and during the recount. wow

[pbartch]

77. I sent this letter to ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL THE MEDIA

POSTED IT ON MESSAGE BOARDS AND OTHER DEMS

[VTGold]

56. Ethics aside - I've never read such a poorly written letter in my life!

He sounded downright giddy. Drunk with excitement.

His office said it was legit right? Please, please, please be real! :)

My God what a horrible man.

[AmerDem]

61. it's legit

in the main article it says they acknowledge the letter but wouldn't comment on it.

[AtLiberty]

69. Let's make sure this letter is for real...

...before we make too much of it.

Reads like a parody.

[AmerDem]

71. did you read the main article?

It states that his office acknowledges the letter but wont comment on it.

[borealowl]

62. State letterhead

Wow. That's letterhead, paid for by taxpayers. It's the most blatant misuse of government property for personal purposes I've ever seen! Unbelievable. Did he pay for his own postage? Was the paper paid for by taxpayers? Did they use a government copier? None of that would be legal. Do you remember when they tried to nail Gore for making a single campaign-related phone call from his office?

[AmerDem]

65. I don't think it's "official"

but it was made to look that way like all other junk mail. Then again I'm just guessing.

[bunny planet]

68. I can't imagine that this letter is real. He sounds like such an idiot.

'I'll be checking my mailbox' 'known for rocking the boat'

Is this another Killian memo? What typeface is that anyway?
I hope we will acertain without a shadow of a doubt as to its authenticity before showing it to anyone.

Blackwell has broken the law in Ohio with his actions, the letter would just be icing on the cake anyway. Didn't he deny reasonable and timely access to the public polling records, that's illegal. Whether or not he will be prosecuted for it is the question.

[Terre]

72. EXACTLY!

This was my IMMEDIATE thought when I read through it. It sounds like a middle schooler wrote it.

If anyone has a full size copy of his pledge request form, I'd love to send some "Monopoly" money his way. Whose face should I photoshop into the center? hehe

[Pacifist Patriot]

112. LOL! I thought the same thing.

Whoever is writing for him should be canned. I could have done it in 2 pages, not 5. Then again, if I were writing a letter for Blackwell the content would be VERY different, eh? ;)

[AtLiberty]

60. Is the GOP pulling another Dan Rather?

Is the letter authentic?

[liam97]

64. Dear Rawstory

sure that the letter is authentic...?

[liam97]

73. The article notes that Blackwell's office

confirmed sending the letter

[KaliTracy]

76. Blackwell has made several statements before that are in the

letter -- whether or not that makes it legitimate I don't know...but I assume it was vetted properly before being posted. One statement he's said before is about the fact that he's been sued so many times -- almost like he enjoys it.

I noticed one paragraph here in particular:
"When the ACLU and the other members of the radical left worked to stop me from cracking down and prohibiting outrageous ways to commit voter fraud (he said it Faye, not me), I fought back and I won."

He's referring to the cases directly before the election about Challengers, and Provisional Ballots, among other challenges. Interesting that he includes the ACLU in with "other members of the radical left."



edited for slippery fingers...

[FreepFryer]

83. For the record: Yes, I am a card- carrying member of the ACLU...

"But the more important question is why aren't you, Bob? This is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the questions. Why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a candidate for president, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? If you can answer that question, then, folks, you're smarter than I am, because I didn't understand it until a couple of minutes ago. Everybody knows American isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest." Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free. I've known Bob Rumson for years. I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it." ~President Andrew Shepard, An American President

[KaliTracy]

exactly.... thanx n/t

[mikelewis]

96. Deleted - Cause this guy really hates Blackwell

[Turn CO Blue]

108. I saw that movie again the other day...

and when Andrew Shepard finally, finally gives that speech and takes no prisoners...I was like, OMG, we should have gotten Cahill and Shrum away from Kerry early on. Kerry was capable of that kind of counter (with a good writer to pare down his verbosity) - he must have felt the need to set * down about 20 pegs and he must have been furious during the Swiftboat Vets debacle.

Kerry did great in the debates, but he didn't come close to responding to the war and his "liberalness" in the clear, proud terms that I would have preferred. I would have dearly enjoyed seeing Kerry deliver a couple of knock out punches every time he was standing next to *.

[New Earth]

88. hahaha

i saw that!

[txindy]

78. Blackwell's not the brightest crayon in the box, writing this letter.

Which surprises me not at all.

They're scrambling to cover-up what they've done, but their hubris at supposedly pulling it off is going to trip them up.

"Aren't I wonderful?! Make me Governor. Psst! Here's what I did and nobody found out!"

[kitty1]

79. This has just hit Buzzflash. Spreading like wildfire. n/t

[SueZhope]

80. heeeeeeeehaaaaaaaa!!!!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
Interesting timing for this letter to hit the fan!!!

[ginnyinWI]

81. What a blatant partisan!

and he contradicts himself. First he says the marriage amendment thingy helped them turn out voters, then he says the people wanted to come out and vote for smirkboy because they knew John Kerry was so bad! Ugh this is so disgusting, I need to take a shower or something.

[rodeodance]

85. Such a blatant statement acknowledging the commingling of his official..."

They always say if you give them the rope they will hang themselves!!


from the Raw story link above:

......“Many have strongly suspected that the inexplicable and arbitrary decisions of Secretary Blackwell stemmed from partisan political motivations,” Conyers’ staff report declares. “This suspicion is apparently bolstered by Secretary Blackwell himself in a recently-sent fund-raising letter.”

Conyers’ report showers scorn on Blackwell for his pleasure in announcing Bush’s victory.

“Such a blatant statement acknowledging the commingling of his official duty to ensure a fair election with his partisan duty to re-elect President Bush, made in a political fund-raising appeal, evidences Secretary Blackwell’s poor judgment at best, and the manipulation of election administration for partisan purposes, at worst,” the report asserts.

The attorney for the Green Party John Bonifaz who has filed suit in Ohio seeking a second recount said he was deeply troubled by the letter.

“I think it’s troubling to see a Secretary of State overseeing an election to act in such a partisan manner about an election that had so many troubling irregularities and is now the subject of a court case,” Bonifaz told RAW STORY late Tuesday.......

[SueZhope]

86. shower might not be enough we need an exorcist n/t

[loritooker]

87. Ugh! I feel like I just read a letter from a bill collector! Yuk!!

[Doremus]

89. May he rot in hell

And it's not Ohioan's you brainless moron.

OHIOANS
OHIOANS
OHIOANS

[rehema]

90. Blackwell Letter is no smoking gun in my opinion n/t

[FreepFryer]

91. Okay so I'm reading the letter... and I don't know if this is a mistake or

A massive, yet subtle, exposure of method.

On the last page of his letter, he writes:

"Like President Bush, I will need a strong campaign with the finances I need to define any Liberal opponent that challenges me in this race."

Does he mean "defy" any opponent? If so, he's confirmed as a member of the 'c-student' club (c also as in corrupt and counterproductive).

Or did he basically tell us what we know - that his tactic in a campaign, like all the other GOP'ers, won't be to define his own position, but to misdefine his opponent's.

Regardless of this trivial but perhaps interesting point, Blackwell's career in politics needs to end for this abuse of trust.

[NVMojo]

95. defining the liberal opponent sounds like the Rove marketing plan

that's what he does, he defines who the others end up being to the public, not who they really are ....bastards!!!

[sarahlee]

92. More Ohio food for thought/research

The following was emailed to me tonight. What do you all think?

--Quote--

The answer to this election riddle happens to be the people who are serving on The Ohio State University Board of Trustees.

The Major Players

Hon. Robert M. Duncan - he was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court. Judge Duncan wrote the landmark order ending segregation in the Columbus Public Schools. He is a former Judge of the Franklin County Municipal Court, Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He is a contributer to The Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which works in the areas of campaign finance, communications and government ethics.

Walden W. (Wally) O'Dell - was appointed by Governor Taft in 2003. As you know chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Diebold, Incorporated, a leading global provider of integrated financial self-service delivery systems, security and services. Diebold employs more than 13,000 associates with representation in more than 88 countries worldwide and is headquartered in Canton, Ohio, USA. O'Dell serves on the boards of Federal Signal Corporation of Oak Brook, Ill., and Lennox International Inc. of Richardson, Texas. He serves as a member of the board of the United Way of Greater Stark County, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC), a member of the Ohio Business Roundtable.

Brian K. Hicks - was appointed to the board of trustees by Governor Bob Taft in 2004. A really nice link between Wally and Ken Blackwell. - Hicks served as chief of staff for Ohio Governor Bob Taft. - Hicks previously served as chairman of Taft's transition committee, - Ohio deputy secretary of state, and - Senior legislative assistant to Congressman Michael G. Oxley.

Hicks has played key roles in a number of statewide candidate, judicial and issue campaigns, including Taft's 1994 campaign for Secretary of State, his 1998 and 2002 gubernatorial campaigns, and the successful Ohio Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign.

Hicks is widely considered Ohio's "most powerful unelected official" (according to the Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Columbus Dispatch),

Hicks was involved in virtually every aspect of managing the State of Ohio for nearly five years. He was responsible for significant policy, management and legislative issues including development of Ohio's operating and capital budgets.

(I think when Wally said he will deliver OHIO, he really did mean it. I think O'Dell was a cover for Hicks, while Hicks worked his magic.)

Minor Players, but part of Bush Co. Daniel M. Slane, vice chair. Mr. Slane is part owner of Slane Telcom, a telecommunications company, which builds communications towers for government and private cellular use. He served one year as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Franklin County and two years as a White House staff assistant to President Gerald R. Ford. From 1990 until 1998, Mr. Slane served as vice chairman and chairman of the Ohio Building Authority, which finances, constructs, and manages state buildings. From 1991 until 1999, he chaired the State Board of Building Appeals, which grants variances to the Ohio Basic Building Code. He also sits on the board of directors of Ohio Capital Corporation, which has developed over a half billion dollars of government-subsidized housing projects in Ohio.

Tami Longaberger, chair of the board, CEO of Longaberger Company is the premier U.S. maker of handcrafted baskets and offers other items for the home, all of which reach customers through independent home consultants. Tami was appointed in 2004 by President George W. Bush to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations' 60th Session of the Commission on Human Rights, held in Geneva. She was chair of the U.S. executive committee for the 2002 Helsinki Women Business Leaders Summit.

Douglas G. Borror
Mr. Borror is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dominion Homes, Inc., a Columbus based homebuilder and developer of communities in Ohio and Kentucky. In 2003, Dominion Homes completed and sold over 3,070 homes and currently ranks in the top 30 homebuilders in the United States. This year, Dominion Homes was named to the Forbes 200 Best Small Companies list for the third time, and tenth in the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Top 100 Ohio Companies. He serves on the board of directors of the Huntington National Bank, Columbia Gas of Ohio, and Command Alkon Corporation. He is currently a board member of Capital South Redevelopment Corporation and is on the board of directors for The Wellington School, Recreation Unlimited and the Advisory Board of Goodwill Industries. He is past chairman of the East Central Region of The Young Presidents' Organization, and recently completed a two-year term on their International Board of Directors. Additionally, he is a licensed real estate broker and a member of the Columbus Board of Realtors.

The Young Presidents' Organization
(http://www.ypo.org/membership.html)
Organization is for rich people, the site will never mentions who are their members, it up to individual members to say they are part of YPO, Peter H. Coors is a member and so are a lot of high profile neo-cons.

[ntwkgirl]

94. I faxed the letter to Senators

along with a message asking how anyone who wrote this letter could possibly be capable of overseeing a free, fair, transparent and non-partisan Presidential Election in Ohio.

"Fool me once shame on.....
...
...
you.

Fool me...you can't get fooled again"

-George Bush

Prepare to laugh so hard a little pee might come out

[mikelewis]

98. We should get a copy of his mailing list.

I bet he's sending one of these to everyone who voted for Bush... I mean on purpose

[bj2110]

99. For some reason, I feel floored. This seems like something...

... that will get picked up. But how will it be reported? What angles will be taken, if any?

[bj2110]

101. kick

[wakemewhenitsover]

102. "Unapologetic liberal"?!

[Twist_U_Up]

103. why does he need money ?

I`m sure shrub paid him well. Anyone heard anything of scrubya meeting with this worm on Nov 2 yet ?

I have never in my life seen a person running for office seen such a sniveling letter begging for cash the way blackhole has done here.

It would be pure joy to see this rat doing the perp walk on TV.

[Botany]

105. P.O.S.

Piece of Shit

I live in Ohio and saw and heard election fraud first hand. Blackwell is lower than
worm poop.

:kick:

[Stargazer09]

104. The man is sick!

I have never read such a self-congratulatory letter in my life! I certainly hope that our Democratic leadership will take this letter and run with it, because the thought of more people like him remaining in any sort of political power scares me.

[jn2375]

106. kick

[NYCGirl]

107. What's the big deal? It's a poorly written form letter. Probably sent to

tens of thousands of people, written (badly) by some staffer at a PR firm.

[AmerDem]

113. are you kidding?

Just for starters this campaign letter that smears the "leftwing" and Kerry so viciously is from the SOS that's supposed to be nonpartisan in the election process and over seeing the recount of the election process that just determined the president of our country and you ask, "What's the big deal?"?

The real "big deal" here is the total ignorance of people in our party. What is it going to take to have the sleepers in this party wake up? Good God!

[NYCGirl]

114. He's the head of the Bush-Cheney re-election committee, for crap's sake!.

Didn't we already know that before the election? It sucks, it's unethical, but it's obviously not illegal.

This smells, but it's not going to take anybody down. It's much ado about very little.

[AmerDem]

116. I suggest you read the main article

where Conyer's offices is quoted about this "head of the B/C re-election committee". This letter was released BEFORE the official recount was done and verified (in their minds anyway). That's the big deal. Put away all the talk and evidence of voter suppression and e-voting irregularities and look at this issue alone.

Who in this country wants a system where a partisan political hack has full power to decide how our democracy works? If this has to pointed out to you as being a "big deal" we collectively as a country are on the brink of losing everything. WOW

[NYCGirl]

118. Partisan political hacks RUN THIS COUNTRY.

Democratic partisan political hacks are the ones who've been enabling the Bush administration.

That's why we need reform on all sorts of levels.

[Igel]

128. Yes, and in NY state it's

Democratic "partisan hacks" that run many of the elections. New Yorkers seem content enough with the idea and I haven't heard many DUers complain about it.

The real question is how do you get a non-partisan political hack to run the elections? In states that are "non-partisan" it just means that they don't run under labels. If Kerry and Bush (or Blackwell and whoever his opponents were) ran with no labels, I suspect we'd fairly quickly figure out their partisan allegiances. When I'm at a conference and take off my name tag it doesn't automatically make me nameless. The best non-partisan races can offer is the chance that they'll be a party-independent mix of elections officials, not that the officials will be party-independent; but it also carries the risk that the entire BOE will be of the same political party.

And I'm not sure I want somebody that has no opinion on any of the issues on the ballots actually running the campaign. After all, the same argument that applies to candidates (who wants an election board member who roots for one of those up for election?) applies to issues (who wants a supporter of a given measure to be rooting for its passage or rejection?).

The question isn't whether Blackwell (or Anthony, or whoever) was uninterested in the results; it's whether or not they ran things in a disinterested manner. This letter may provide motivation--although it provides absolutely nothing new; but it doesn't certainly doesn't indicate action.

(And by the way, doesn't every campaign chair at every level use "deliver"? I heard lots of Kerry supporters say they'd deliver various states, as though they were pizzas or something, although I can't come up with a decent, short alternative.)

[AmerDem]

132. bring forward one bit of information

Where an e-voting machine manufacturer is a contributing Democratic supporter like those of Triad and Diebold controlling approx. 88% of the voting machines and vote totaling software that decide a winner of an election. Then bring forth letters written to Kerry like were written to G.W shrub stating they will deliver those same votes to him.

As to your question about how do we get nonpartisans to over see elections and recounts, we start by not allowing a repuke Secretary of State who happens to also be the head of the Ohio B/C reelection committee to hold that position.

Isn't it in the best interest of our country be it if you're Dem. or Rep. to have full hearings to get information from both sides so we can create a national voting system that is fool-proof, standardized and excepted by both parties as being fair and honest? No one loses in a scenario like this. It's pure gain for the country as a whole. So ask yourself why the repuke controlled House and Senate did hardly anything since 2000 to revamp the mess we have?

Now, I have one question to ask of you. Who did you vote for in this last election?

[Igel]

136. Ah, but that's not the issue I was responding to, now

was it? And I stand by what I said. I put principles above partisanship whenever possible--I dislike hypocrisy--and think it's more important to focus on reforming the system (however that works out) than focusing on a single person. Given the absence of any hard facts proving fraud beyond a reasonable doubt, Blackwell's not going to be canned before the next election; and if he were, that wouldn't solve any problem except the one consisting of Blackwell being in office. If I were in Ohio, I might care; I'm in Texas, and leave that to Ohioans. And yes, no doubt people will scream "voter suppression", but unless the scheme for distributing voting machines was different from in 2002 or 2000 and it doesn't look like it was intentional, I don't care.

(Had a long post in the works, but I need to scram.)

I like the idea of standardization in principle, because it's presumably fairer; but I also like the idea of local control, since having one system means a single screw up can be calamitous. In practice, I'm waiting for the proposals. If standardization involves technology, it means just one person ultimately is in charge of how we do things. And for 2008 that would be Bush, in all likelihood, or somebody he appoints, or a repub Congress appoints, or someone elected in a faux non-partisan manner. Explain to me how this would necessarily prevent fraud?

As for who I voted for in 2004 or 1980: My father's 78 and has never told anybody who he's voted for for any office; my mother doesn't know if he's repub or dem (and I can't tell, either), or if he even votes. I'm 45, and I haven't ever told my wife (or anybody else) who I voted for, and I haven't asked her. Such is my family's culture. You won't be the first person I tell, sorry, you don't rate above my wife.

Gotta go.

[AmerDem]

137. nice of you to side skirt the point at hand

I for one will gladly stand and say I'm a lifelong Democrat and proud of it. I voted for John Kerry the rightful winner of 2004 presidential election.

See, it's not so hard . Go ahead you can do it!

[bmoney07]

109. Does Conyers knows about this????????????

:)

[Pacifist Patriot]

111. Yes, Conyer's response is embedded towards the end of the story.

[grumpy old fart]

119. Conyers response in the RAW story

“Many have strongly suspected that the inexplicable and arbitrary decisions of Secretary Blackwell stemmed from partisan political motivations,” Conyers’ staff report declares. “This suspicion is apparently bolstered by Secretary Blackwell himself in a recently-sent fund-raising letter.”

Conyers’ report showers scorn on Blackwell for his pleasure in announcing Bush’s victory.

“Such a blatant statement acknowledging the commingling of his official duty to ensure a fair election with his partisan duty to re-elect President Bush, made in a political fund-raising appeal, evidences Secretary Blackwell’s poor judgment at best, and the manipulation of election administration for partisan purposes, at worst,” the report asserts.

[Pacifist Patriot]

110. I find it shocking only in that it highlights the

gross conflict of interest allowed with respect to the position. In my opinion, anyone overseeing any part of the election process should legally required to be non-partisan and completely unaffiliated with any campaign.

His word choice sounds typical, not self-incriminating. I'd be more stunned if he flat out admitted how he'd contributed to delivering Ohio. In comparing himself to the letter's recipient all he is admitting to is voting for Bush and perhaps supporting his campaign financially.

This letter serves as a stellar example of why this situation raises important questions about the validity of an election. No election official should ever have anything to do with partisan politics.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

121. I agree.

This should expose and hopefully propel some sort of change in election laws and how elected state officials (representatives of the people!) are allowed to participate in elections and electioneering.

However, as far as a "confession" of guilt or fraud, there are no such statements in this letter. Boasting about helping to deliver votes is perfectly legal as is campaigning and actually helping to deliver those votes. I personally helped deliver a couple of votes for John Kerry from co-workers in my office. I did not tamper with any votes, of course, but I changed several peoples' minds by forwarding along some of *'s "indiscretions."


Also, btw, didn't Jeb brag about "delivering" Florida in 2000? If no one cared then, I doubt anyone is going to care now.

[unpossibles]

115. far out. although this line struck me as an example

of how far out of touch they are and of how much they spin their lies.

“Without your enthusiasm, generous support and vote, I’m afraid the President would have lost,” Blackwell wrote, “And an unapologetic liberal Democrat named John Kerry would have won.”

perhaps he is not aware what 'unapologetic' really means.

Perhaps he is not aware that our current despot ..er... pResident is about as unapologetic as you can get over the war, over tsunami relief, and over our rights. has he ever admitted an error? Ever?!?

I so want to see these clowns rot in Gitmo for treason to bring down the US.

[katinmn]

117. It was the first thing I read this morning.

Un-fucking-believable! He's certifiably nuts.

Who added all the checkmarks and underlines on the letter? I know some do that to "personalize" the message.

[jn2375]

120. kick

[3smos]

122. authentic? - I'd love it to be but...

it does seem sssssoooo twisted and poorly written. Is there only one person who has come forward after receiving this letter? And you say his office has "acknowledged it", have they said it came from their office?....Is there anyway to further check this out before we are screwed again?

[Name removed]

123. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AmerDem]

124. multi post error, deleted

,

[AmerDem]

125. look what we have here!

LOL, Hey what do you think of all these chest beating cowards that support the war that have their lil coward asses state side while our armed services are in great need for new recruits? LOL. pathetic isn't it, they are as cowardly as that inept fascist fuck that stole two election.

COWARD FUCKS!

[go west young man]

126. Can someone say Freeper alert!

Please head back to your hole you Bush loving sack!

[Igel]

130. It's a reasonable question.

I've said it before. We shouldn't look uncritically at things that support what we want to believe. We should look at those things more critically, since we're more likely to swallow errors that agree with us.

That said, I've gotten campaign stuff (albeit, not much) that just includes a card with my name/address on it. Easier to offset print millions of copies of the text and then print address-card inserts.

Doesn't mean that this is fake or real (I go with real--I think a fraud would say something a bit more incriminating, and probably be better written than most campaign literature). And rawstory should have included a copy of the card -- but no, that would have included the person's address. Hmmm... damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[Nothing Without Hope]

134. Does need to be checked carefully

You are obviously not on "our side," but if you see any additional reasons to assume this letter is a fake, I'd like to hear about them. The possibility needs to be thoroughly ruled out.

Thanks for posting.

[coffeenap]

129. Don't know if the letter is true, but funds are being raised

https://www.rapiddonor.com/kenblackwell/

[Nothing Without Hope]

135. Could you please enlarge on how B's office confirmed this?

Did Blackwell's office state explicitly and for the record that the text of this letter is what they sent out? If they deny it later, is there redress?

And how about the question below in this thread (from the obvious non-Democrat) about the lack of an address on the letter even though it was a window envelope. Can you please address this objection?

Might as well head off objections sooner than later.

Is there is some wording in the State of Ohio's legal code that forbids partisanship in election officials? If not, this may not be illegal, though it is certainly unethical. Conflicts of interest tend to be that way.

Gruesome stuff. They guy does seem to be rather sloppy, so he may not get what he is wanting from the GOP leadership -- they like to cover their tracks and LOOK honest whenever convenient.