Why Isn't Kerry Using $50M Unspent Campaign Money to Fund Recounts?

[blitzburgh55]

Transcript..


DAVID COBB: Well, again, the corporate media doing its job to try to manufacture consent, but the reality -- what we know on the ground from citizens on the ground, and in fact providing testimony at citizen-conducted hearings, public hearings, we know for a fact there were screens which had a, quote, jumping screen problem. That is where folks attempted to cast a ballot for one presidential candidate and the screen literally jumped in an attempt to default the vote for Bush. We know, of course, the infamous precinct where less than 700 people voted yet the machines attempted to record 4,000 extra votes for Bush. Of course, the intolerably long lines in low-income communities, especially communities of color, African American communities, which is a function of the allocation of voting machines, decisions made by a republican Secretary of State where too few machines went into African American communities. We know that there are over 92,000 ballots that are literally being discarded, or the so-called spoiled ballots where there was an alleged overvote or undervote. It's the hanging chad problem all over again. We're demanding that the votes need to be looked at to determine whether there was an intent to actually cast a ballot or not. These provisional ballots, and the high number of them are really problematic, because so many were cast because long-time voters simply disappeared from the voter roles. We don't know why. There was an illegal use of I.D. requirements for voters that were illegal under Ohio law. This is just the tip of the iceberg, Amy. We haven't even touched upon the inherent problems with black box voting. I'm talking about reports on the ground flooding in by the thousands of people in Ohio who experienced voting rights violations as they attempted to exercise their right to vote. So, I don't know if this recount is going to result in changing the election results. Frankly, that's not my intent. My intent is to attempt to do two things, really. To raise a cloud over the legitimacy of this election and George Bush. We know that Bush stole the election in 2000. So, I want to just at least raise this point, and the second thing I want to do is to have a healthy discussion and create the political space necessary for that discussion to describe the systemic changes that are necessary so that we, the people, can have confidence in the legitimacy of our elections.


http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/17/1525203#transcript

[hippiechick]

1. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x57054

:hi:


:hippie:

[blitzburgh55]

3. ooops

:hi:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. It's real easy to come out and say stuff like that when no one cares.

[PittLib]

4. welcome!

Are a fellow Pittsburgher? :hi:

[blitzburgh55]

5. Thanks

Yes, born and raised.

[PittLib]

6. Glad you're here.

I'm a transplant of sorts ... but I consider it home. Raised just north, and have lived here for 6 years now.

[WI_DEM]

7. because he wants to use the money for another run at the WH in '08

[Epictetus]

8. Good Money After Bad

The reason Kerry is not spending this money, is that he knows enough not to spend good money after throwing away millions on his campaign. His campaign analysis had the votes down to exactly what his potential vote would be from the provisional ballots, and decided to do the right thing and concede. If there was a chance he would have won, he would still be fighting today.
Remember that his internal polling had the Numbers down to the precinct level, not statewide projections like the pollsters used.
As for the exit polls, the problem as not fraud, not inaccuracies, but using people to collect the exit poll data that were untrained and did not know how to canvass the correct sampling of people. Once the wrong sample was taken at the polls, the data generated from those samples was inaccurate.
Those who are believing that there was fraud and that this election is going to be turned around need to dampen their belief so they won't be broken hearted again.

[a new day]

9. That's not what they said when they were pimping for GELAC

K/E told the grassroots that they wouldn't let another 2000 occur, and the evidence is quite clear enough that that is exactly what is happening. The vote count mechanism in the US is a sham. It cannot be trusted.

And neither can self-serving political hacks, like Kerry. The budget the Green/Libertarian recount effort needs in Ohio is $1 million. Kerry can spare it.


Dear Robert,

Right now I need all of you to join me and make a pledge: the mistakes of the 2000 election will NEVER be repeated again. The day after the election, as the recount began, Al Gore's campaign was already outgunned, outmanned, and outmatched -- we learned one lesson: be prepared. With the race so close in so many states, we need to be prepared for any possibility -- and that means being ready for any recounts.

The Federal Election Commission has just granted our request to raise funds now to cover recount expenses. Your contribution to Kerry-Edwards 2004 GELAC (General Election Legal and Accounting Compliance fund) will provide the resources to make sure we are prepared to win any post Election Day battles.

Make a contribution to our GELAC fund today:

https://contribute.johnkerry.com

Our GELAC fund also pays for the administrative costs at the campaign -- by paying for these expenses with GELAC funds, the campaign is able to spend more of its limited public funds on critical campaign expenses such as media, candidate travel, and direct contact with voters.

Make our public funds more valuable and make sure we are prepared for any possible recount.

https://contribute.johnkerry.com

Thank you,

Mary Beth Cahill
Campaign Manager

[irancontra]

10. straight up... grrr

We've got to spend every dollar as carefully and wisely as we can between now and November. And as we learned in Florida in 2000, we have to expect the unexpected on and after Election Day. That's why I'm writing to ask for your immediate help on a very special project.

Election Day is several weeks away, but our campaign is already considering our options should John Kerry or George Bush pursue a recount like the famous Florida ballot dispute in 2000. That year, the Bush campaign raised more than $14 million in the Florida crisis, compared to Al Gore's campaign, which raised $3.2 million. We can never again be outspent 4-to-1 in such a critical situation.

Help us get a head start funding our recount efforts:

https://contribute.johnkerry.com

Our campaign is asking the Federal Election Commission whether we could use our GELAC fund to pay the expenses associated with a recount effort. We are optimistic that the FEC will rule by the end of the month. But we can't wait. We need to begin raising funds now.

Your GELAC contribution will also help in other vital and even more immediate ways. It can free up more of the limited public funds we have available to buy media, support candidate travel, and pay for direct contact with voters. Here's how it works. The law allows candidates like John Kerry, who accept public financing, to raise private contributions to cover legal, accounting, and related administrative costs. Without sufficient GELAC funds, we would have to divert portions of our public financing allotment to cover those costs.

That's a step we simply can't afford to take.

Contribute to our critical GELAC fund here:

https://contribute.johnkerry.com

I urge you to help us raise the maximum for GELAC. That way, we can spend our entire general election budget on the things that matter the most. That's our goal. Please act today to help us meet it.

Thank you,

Mary Beth Cahill
Campaign Manager

[ahyums]

14. well the links still work for what it's worth

I wonder if they are still getting money through them? or keeping the active for the potential storm that is to come. Or maybe nobody bothered to put them down yet?

[eowyn_of_rohan]

18. Something is very strange about this.

HAsn't it crossed you mind that he could be being gagged, blackmailed, or threatened? Or his wife? He seemed to be just filled with fighting spirit--but the simmering kind--in his Boston TV interview 2 nights ago (which, by the way was taped and heavily edited, as if to control the message itself). Something strange is up. I cannot believe he would abandon this unless there were extenuating circumstances.

[Epictetus]

19. Kerry's Discharge

Perhaps he has been bribed with his lessthan honorable discharge from the Navy. This was upgraded to honorable after amnesty in 78

[ahyums]

20. I think when you start talking about blackmail you're in full tin foil

suit country, but it was interesting that the tape was heavily edited and the down playing of Ohio. Might be worth remembering that it was a Fox affiliate though

[eowyn_of_rohan]

13. Zogby wasn't well trained?

I am not going to accept what you are saying at this point, and I am trying not to think about the broken hearted part because I think it will be quite bad...But to those of us who believe in our gut, heart and soul that this election was stolen by widespread manipulation of the votes, this fight will NOT stop no matter WHAT Kerry or anyone says or does.

[ClassWarrior]

15. The exit polls were never wrong before the Bush** crime spree in 2000.

NGU.

[irancontra]

11. dupe sorry.

[a new day]

12. Not entirely a dupe

It shows another version of how they were assuring us they'd go to them mat.

Yeah, right.

[googly]

16. Kerry will use leftover funds in 2008 in case he decides to make a run

[Disgruntled American]

17. why would he

kerry job was to lose the election on purpose.

[Epictetus]

21. Maybe

George Soros and Teresa asked for refunds on their money, and he is waiting until the dust settles before he gives it back to them.