Democracy for New Mexico

Open Letter from Rep. John Conyers

On January 10th, Rep. John Conyers, who has been pivotal in the effort to research and document the Ohio election horrors, released this open letter to those who have fought hard to support his efforts and those of so many others. Can we thank this man enough? And guess what? He supports Howard Dean for DNC Chair and wrote this letter of endorsement, as well as his open letter here:

Dear Friend:

I want to thank you for the time and energy you have already given to help me in my pursuit of the truth about the 2004 Presidential election, particularly the truth about what happened in Ohio. I also want to let you know what I will be working on in the coming months.

I believe what we achieved on January 6 will be a seminal event in the history of progressive politics, and significantly advance the cause of electoral reform.  For this challenge to Ohio’s electors to have occurred, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the internet activists, who spread the story of my efforts and supported me in every way possible. I am also thankful to the alternative media, including talk radio and blogs that gave substantial attention and investigation to these matters when all but a handful in the mainstream media refused to examine the facts. I cannot thank all of you personally, but you know who you are.

With the exigency of January 6 behind us, I wanted to let you know what I will be doing in the coming months. First, my investigation of Ohio voting irregularities is not over. In an effort to get as much information confirmed and circulated in advance of January 6, many valuable leads still need to be pursued and I pledge to do so. Substantial irregularities have come to light in other states during the course of this investigation and I will also pursue those leads. While there has been powerful opposition to my efforts and personal attacks against me as a result of my efforts, I want to assure you I remain steadfast.

Second, there are other matters involving wrongdoing by Administration officials that I will continue to pursue. Among other things, I will continue to seek answers about the role of senior Bush Administration officials in outing an undercover Central Intelligence Agency operative. I will also continue to examine the sources of the fraudulent case for the Iraq war, which intersects with the outing of this operative.

Third, I intend to develop and introduce legislation in a number of areas. Most importantly, I intend to introduce comprehensive election reform legislation in the coming weeks, and I will fight for its passage at the earliest possible moment. I intend to hold further hearings on this issue. I will also continue to fight the job loss and the loss of retirement security that has so negatively impacted working families in my district, and I will fight the economic policies of this Administration that are the cause of these serious problems. Finally, the Judiciary Committee will also be at the center of the efforts to oversee the U.S.A. Patriot Act and ascertain which, if any, provisions should be renewed. I expect to lead the fight against a number of provisions that I believe compromise our civil liberties.

Again, thank you for all you have done. I look forward to working with you on these and other important matters in the weeks and months ahead.

Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.

Helpful One-Stop Progressive Site

The American Prospect has an excellent side project and website called Moving Ideas: The Electronic Policy Network, Connecting You to the Progressive Community. Click on the link above to explore this one-stop progressive policy and action center that has input from numerous think tanks and progressive activist organizations. You can also sign up for email updates and action alerts. A great resource for anyone interested in progressive policy, news and activism.

Thank Dems Who Voted to Contest Ohio's Electoral Votes

If you'd like to thank the 31 Democrats in the House and the ONE Democratic Senator who voted to contest Ohio's electoral votes, here's an easy way to do it. Links to their websites are listed below, on the continuation page of this post.

Here are links to the statement against certification by and a post by on his vote from the DFA Blog for America.

Is it just me or was it completely frustrating to have so many Democrats in the Senate give speeches in support of the Ohio challenge and then turn around and vote to accept the electoral college votes? Are Democrats really that afraid of "offending" Bush? Given their behavior yesterday, what else can we think?

Link to Senator Barbara Boxer's website, the lone Senator who voted to contest Ohio's electoral votes:

Barbara Boxer CA

Senate Roll Call

Links to websites of the 31 Members of the House of Representatives who voted to contest Ohio's electoral votes:

House Roll Call

Corinne Brown, FL
Julia Carson, IN
William "Lacy" Clay, Jr., MO
James E. Clyburn, SC
John Conyers, Jr., MI
Danny K. Davis, IL
Lane Evans, IL
Sam Farr, CA
Bob Filner, CA
Raul Grijalva, AZ
Alcee Hastings, FL
Maurice Hinchey, NY
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., IL
Sheila Jackson Lee, TX
Eddie Bernice Johnson, TX
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, OH
Carolyn Kilpatrick, MI
Dennis Kucinich, OH
Barbara Lee, CA
John Lewis, GA
Edward Markey, MA
Cynthia McKinney, GA
John Olver, MA
Major Owens, NY
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Donald Payne, NJ
Jan Schakowsky, IL
Bennie Thompson, MS
Maxine Waters, CA
Diane Watson, CA
Lynn Woolsey, CA

Boxer's Statement in Electoral Vote Debate

Click for the transcript of Sen. Barbara Boxer's objection to the certification of the electoral votes.

Also here's the voting roll call for the House vote on the objection to election certification. It lists the 31 Democrats who voted to object. In the Senate, only Barbara Boxer voted to object. Many members in both the House and the Senate did not vote on this matter.

Senators Clinton, Obama and Dodd to Stand with Boxer?

In the clearing stands a Boxer and a fighter . . . (apologies to Simon and Garfunkel).

Will Pitt's FYI at Truthout has this to say:

Right now, several other Senators are preparing statements of Support for the Boxer/Tubbs-Jones challenge, and a number of House members will also rise in support. There is every expectation that Senators Clinton, Obama and Dodd will be among those offering statements of support.

Reps. Waters, Conyers and Kucinich will be among the House members who stand. Though Rep. Conyers was the main impetus behind this process, it was decided that Rep. Tubbs-Jones should be the one to make the official challenge, as she is a representative from Ohio, where the dispute is centered.

There is a rumor floating around that one of the Senators to rise in support will be a Republican. That is not in any way confirmed.

The process will begin to unfold at 1:00 PM EST (11 AM Mountain). Cheney, in his role as President of the Senate, will rise and ask if there are any objections. Tubbs-Jones will then announce her objection, and state that a Senator has signed her objection. The joint session will then adjourn, and there will be two hours (perhaps less) of debate on the issue. At the conclusion a straight up-and-down vote will take place on whether or not to support the objection. Almost certainly, the objections will be defeated along party lines.

Boxer Comes Through

House Democrats to challenge Ohio electoral votes
California's Boxer to join in objection in Senate; Kerry won't

Thursday, January 6, 2005 Posted: 10:15 AM EST (1515 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Citing massive irregularities on Election Day, a handful of House Democrats and one senator plan to attempt to block Ohio's 20 electoral votes from being counted when a joint session of Congress convenes Thursday to tally results from the 2004 presidential election.
[. . .]
House Democrats involved in this year's protest worked for weeks to enlist the support of a senator, and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, agreed in a letter Wednesday to join the effort. "I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election," Boxer wrote to U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio.

"I will therefore join you in your objection to the certification of Ohio's electoral votes."

Click to read more of this CNN story. Note that the joint session of Congress meeting to certify the election will be televised on CSPAN today at 11:00 AM MST.

From NOW:

Please send the attached letter to your senators to urge them to join Sen. Boxer - and yes, even if you think they won't do it, send the message anyway. They need to know that their constituents noticed that they did not stand up for the democratic process.

But don't stop there - for many weeks to come, Senator Boxer will be excoriated in Letters to the Editor and on Talk Radio (yes, Rush Limbaugh has already started in on her) and WE MUST RESPOND. Take a minute to write a single paragraph to your local newspaper's editor, or call a radio talk show to praise Sen. Boxer and all of the House members, Democrat and Independent, who took a stand for democracy.
*****************
One way to reward the courage of Sen. Boxer would be to contribute a few bucks to her PAC.

Report Claims Sen. Boxer Will Contest Election Results

From The Nashua Advocate via Democratic Underground:

Boston's "Rally for the Republic" Draws Hundreds; Keynote Speaker David Lytel Asserts Sen. Boxer Will Contest Election

At a Monday-night rally in Boston's Fanueil Hall which drew hundreds of highly-energized progressive protestors, one of the evening's keynote speakers, RedefeatBush.com's David Lytel, asserted that Senator Barbara Boxer of California will in fact contest the results of the presidential election in Ohio along with, at a minimum, U.S. House Representative Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH).

Click for more.

IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT: Call Barbara Boxer Before Thursday Morning About Contesting Ohio

From Lydia Flores, an activist in Central Valley, CA:
"Just came from a group which gathered at Senator Barbara Boxer's Office here in Fresno. There were about 20 of us representing Fresno, Visalia, Porterville and Springville. It was awesome since they had to come to Fresno through the rain.  We were told that Senator Boxer was willing to be the Senator who will ask for the re-election in Ohio provided she sees numbers [of supporters]. One of the activists suggested that we spread the news to call Senator Boxer before Thursday when this concern comes up for a vote."

Okay, let her hear from us!  Please call or fax Senator Boxer at one of the offices listed below and ask her to join Congressman John Conyers and other members of the House of Representatives in opposing certification of the electoral votes from Ohio.  Then send this message out far and wide to your lists. We CAN bring about a fair tally of this election.
Thanks again, Cindy and Jim, CWare@aol.com

* * *
How to contact Senator Barbara Boxer--If the message box for one number is full, try another or send a fax:

in Washington:
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Tel. (202) 224-3553

in Sacramento:
501  I Street, Suite 7-600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel. (916) 448-2787
Fax (916) 448-2563

in San Francisco:
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tel. (415) 403-0100
Fax (415) 956-6701

in Los Angeles:
312 N. Spring Street, Suite 1748
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel. (213) 894-5000
Fax (213) 894-5042

in Fresno:
1130 O Street, Suite 2450
Fresno, CA 93721
Tel. (559) 497-5109
Fax (559) 497-5111 fax

in San Diego:
600 B Street, Suite 2240
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel. (619) 239-3884
Fax (619) 239-5719

in San Bernadino:
201 North E Street, Suite 210
San Bernardino, CA 92401
Tel. (909) 888-8525
Fax (909) 888-8613

PNM Will Match Customer Donations for Tsunami Relief

Public Service Company of NM (PNM) will match donations from customers at this website https://www.pnm.com/ and the contributions will be to the American Red Cross. Click on Tsunami Relief and enter "South Asia Relief Effort" in the "Designate funds to" field. Enter that you are a PNM customer in the "additional instructions" field.

You may also make donations at the PNM Walk-in centers identified on the website.

For any additional information, contact PNM General Administration Office at 241-2700 and ask for Customer Service.

From the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County e-news. If you are a registered Democrat that would like toreceive the e-news, please send your name, e-mail address and County to dpbc@att.net

Last Chance to Urge Senators to Refuse Vote Certification

Passed along from various emails:
On January 6, 2005, Congress will meet in joint session to certify the 2004 presidential election. On that day, if one member of the House and one member of the Senate object to the certification of the vote, then all members of Congress will finally discuss these issues. On January 6, 2001, not a single Senator would join with the Representatives who demanded an inquiry into the Florida recount. This year, let's make our Senators take a stand!

The following seven Senators are some of the most progressive members of the Senate. Please call them immediately, and urge them to defend democracy on 1/6/05.

*SPREAD THE WORD TO PEOPLE YOU KNOW TO KEEP DOING THE SAME UNTIL JANUARY 6.*

Senator Barbara Boxer, (202) 224-3553,
senator@boxer.senate.gov

Senator Dick Durbin, (202) 224-2152,
dick@durbin.senate.gov

Senator Russ Feingold, (202) 224-5323,
russ_feingold@feingold.senate.gov

Senator Tom Harkin, (202) 224-3254,
tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov

Senator Jim Jeffords, (202) 224-5141,
Vermont@jeffords.senate.gov

Senator Edward Kennedy, 202/224-4543,
senator@kennedy.senate.gov

Senator Patrick Leahy, (202) 224-4242,
senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov

Senator Jeff Bingaman, 1-800-443-8658
(Toll Free from NM Only),
senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
Or call staff members in his New Mexico offices.