Reply #66: TRANSCRIPT - EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID >>>

[garybeck]

John Kerry
Interview - Ed Schultz, 12/21/05
Excerpt concerning election issues

"We brought a couple of lawsuits in Ohio, we were working there on the issue of what happened to our voters, with Mr. Blackwell and others, and the involvement of the machines. Well here we are now, with a Florida election official who has publicly refused to use those machines because they can be hacked, and the company for months and months and months was denying any possibility of hackability. Now you even have the New York Times in one of its editorials acknowledging that these machines indeed can be hacked, and obviously the Diebold company is in trouble for a lot of other reasons. So, this is something that really has to be followed up on. You can't leave the voting integrity of America and the rights of citizens to know what happened to their votes in proprietary hands. It's simply absurd to believe that could be the case. And so I believe there's not just the issue of survielance and not just the issue of accountability for violation of people's rights in terms of the organizations and their right to assemble, but also the fundamental right in our democracy to be able to have your vote count and be counted, is still at question, and we have to stay on that one."

I am glad to see him talking about this and committing to "staying on it."

I would take one issue with something he said however. It was not he, or the Democratic party that brought the lawsuits in Ohio. It was the Greens, the Libertarians, and a handful of unpaid lawyers, who put their guts and reputations on the line and stood up for our democracy while Senator Kerry was busy conceding and running from the counting of electoral votes in the Congress. The Democratic Party did get involved in some of the lawsuits but by and large they did not lead the way by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, if you talk to the lawyers involved, they will all say that the Kerry camp was fighting against them and asking them to drop their case.

I suppose that's water under the bridge now, but we are still dealing with the after affects of a stolen election. Nonetheless I hope and pray that Mr. Kerry is serious when he says "we have to stay on that one."