Hi and yes Im around-
Although Im emotionally exhausted , I feel the need to post something about today, before I fully digest in the comming days. my thoughts are this:
BEFORE I BEGIN I PERSONALLY THANKS GEORGIA10, RENEINOHIO, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THIS SITE WHO HAVE SO DILLIGENTLY SOUGHT OUT THE WRONGS COMMITTED IN OHIO AND ELSEWHERE. ALSO-CONTESTTHEVOTE.ORG WHO GOT PETITIONS SIGNED TO HEKP PERSUADE BOXER (ANY OTHERS-LET US KNOW)-
1. Rep. Pelosi did what she had to do in order to protect her democratic members. she demanded respect to these men and women. I thank Pelosi for granting them such diginity.
2.I am currently in a state of some joy that this actually happened, but I also feel terrible sorrow. Every single African-American representative who stood today proved that it is our African-american brothers and sisters who are the true spine of the party in the congress. Each speech drove me to tears. Im emotionally raw.
* A few particular representatives hit a strong note with me:
Rep. Jackson Lee of Houston. Her speeches are always of the highest quality. I have heard her speak many times. It is a shame our party does not have her more in front. She speaks straight from the heart. In perhaps the most emotional part of the contest (and I believe he most revealing) she was given the floor for a remainder time of 2 minutes. Her words came with great power, and then Hastert interupted. Time "up" or whatever from him. She flashed with great rage and said something very similiar to this:"I came here as a slave, I now want the right to vote. " She threw the papers to Hastert. This image replays in my mind over and over again.
*Rep.Tubbs of Ohio. A woman of great courage. A woman whose heart carries great pain for what happened in her own district, in her own state. When she launched her objection her voice was filled with great emotion. It appeared she was started to cry a bit when she touched on the fact that her parents did no raise a fool. My heart breaks.
*Rep. Maxine Waters of L.A.-Once again she proved to be one of the most tenacious , strong willed and eloquent Democrats in America. Period. She susinctly stated the wrongs committed by Ken Blackwell. She uttered briefly that its such a shame: he is black and is involved in matters that have thwarted his own people from voting. Such a sad truth-a black man is involved in supressing other blacks men and women for the sake of power.
*Rep. Lewis of GA-a stirring impassioned speech, one that deserves to go in the annals of great speeches given in the well of the House.
*Rep. Kucinich of Ohio-a great speech on what is wrong with our voting system in this nation. My admiration of him has risen much since the primaries.
*Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr of Ill.:His speech I call the "solution" speech. He knows exactly what we as Democrats and Greens must do: reform the system. It must be a constitutional right to vote freely and fairly. It is high time our constitution guarenteed this very right and PROTECTED it. His ideas should serve as the guidepost for the progressive movement on the issue of the right to vote without any due harm or obstruction.
*
Of course, Sen Boxer of Ca. was the one who had something that so many of those in our party have complained we lack: a spine. She said in an interview today that she did what she did because she believes the election was not free nor fair. She also said she was haunted by 2000, ashamed she did not speak her conscious and protest the vote.
--In the Senate it was clear Boxer was supported by her Democratic senators.
- I praise Sen Clinton of NY. Her speech I found was moving. She rose for massive election reforms. Remember in 2000 she called for an amendment ending the electoral college. Too bad no one adhered to her remarks then. One hopes that her remarks are heeded now. Some thought she would skip out the session because of her 2008 ambitions. She didnt. She stood. She rose.
- I do praise Sens. Lautenberg and all of the other Democrats who supported Boxer's and the others' concerns. The question remains-will they now fight for election reform immediately? I pray so.
*However, I do not appreciate Sen. Dayton's comments. Its bad enough that the repubs today lip synched Fox, antagonized the opposite side of the aisle, and down right humiliated the objectors. We do not need our own doing such harm.
*Additionally, there was a great racial tension in the House. One by one, white GOP reps stood and called the contestors "sore losers" and "fools." Perhaps the allegations deserved to be reversed on THEM-"If your administration did not have the poorest relations with blacks maybe members of the black caucus would not have fought you again in an election contestation." I was shocked that no Democrat said-"The Republican Governor candidate in Washington state will not concede even after a full recount. The GOP chair of Wash. has openly threatened Democrats with violence in the streets if they did not get at least a re-vote." Ah-but we are Democrats and deserve no redress.
*One other remark, and this is gut emotion-I am very angry with Sen. John Kerry. Cspan said he was in Iraq, back in a day or two. How wonderful! Too bad it took place when his constituents from the election, who fought for him to be president, were left hanging. Rep. Tubbs fought hard in her district to have record black turnout for Kerry. They came out, but were met with hurdles that no white faced: searches for ids and men in "suits" challenging their right to vote.
I firmly believed all the disenfrachised at least deserved a show of support from Kerry, and I mean real support, not a vague email to his "supporters". And, for him to state while in Bagdad his disavowel of the challenge taking place in DC, undercut our fellow African-american representatives who were contesting a slate of electors who were tainted by the supression of black voters. And boy did the Repubs use Kerry's words-over and over again they drilled it. I felt so sad for our black brothers and sisters who out of courage and conviction stood and protested GOP supression and fraud tactics. They were undercut by Kerry, undercut by repub reps who called their challnge "friviolous" and a "publicity stunt." This wasnt a stunt to them. **This was dead serious, yet they were treated like a joke by the repubs and by the media.
* This is a great tragedy. I, and so many others, fought so hard for the electors of Ohio to be contested, and when it actually occured, few in the media covered it with much descency and respect. Add all this up, plus Kerry's statements overseas to me was an afront.
I,and I hope you, will continue to persue the investigations ongoing in Ohio. I hope we all will apply the same pressure you did over the past weeks in order to have a senator join the contestation and have Ken Blackwell and all the other repubs who committed acts of fraud, obstructed the law, and repressed blacks at the polls sent to grand juries and indicted in the comming months. The least we can do is fight to throw the GOPers into prison who committed illegal activities in Ohio and elsewhere against blacks, college students and others. I pray this at least will be done.
I'm going to bed-tired and worn. I fear for my country as another 4 years of Bush and GOP control. How many boys are going to die in Iraq because Kerry did not "win"? How many more millions will lose health insurance? What will happen to our Muslim friends and their civil rights? What will happen to gay Americans with men like Sen. Coburn and other homophobes who pledg to deprive gays of civil rights? Let us pray for our country.
My thoughts for now,
Art
