The Nashua Advocate: Ohio Electoral Administration in the Grip of Chaos

[nashuaadvocate]

Here's an excerpt of our recent article:

Chaos in Ohio: Blackwell Says State Republican Chair Is in Diebold's "Hip Pocket"; Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro Rules Recent Blackwell Order Illegal; Blackwell Says Attorney General Is "Playing Politics"

What the hell is going on in Ohio?

To any objective observer, it would seem the state's electoral processes are in an advanced state of meltdown, with former political alliances -- most notably, between the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, and between the G.O.P. Chairman and the Secretary of State -- now strangely and suddenly dissolved.

They say rats try to flee a sinking ship: is Ohio's murky electoral administration about to implode under the weight of investigations into a recent, suspicious presidential election?

[Der Blaue Engel]

1. Yeah, baby!

Flee, rats, flee! Take each other down (as my dear SO would say) "in a blind, sh*t-eating panic"!

This is actually starting to get fun.

:evilgrin:

[Tigress DEM]

23. Got the background posted and more breaking news!!!

Take a look - POST #22 - it made MY day.

LONG LIVE THE LEGAL 4!!!

Attorneys Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Peter Peckarsky and Cliff Arnebeck

[Tigress DEM]

27. http://www.freepress.org

[KaryninMiami]

2. Just sent you a thank you note on the Hitchens post

(was in the PS) but I figured this would get to you more quickly so--

THANK YOU for all of your great work and for not letting this story die.


It was fraud and I will NOT get over it....

[nashuaadvocate]

10. Our pleasure. We love what we do. :-) n/t

[EFerrari]

3. Geezus, this is horribly great. Going to read again & pass it on. nt

[meganmonkey]

4. Perhaps fighting about the governorship?

We know for sure Blackwell is trying to be governor, thanks to his illegal request for campaign comtributions (:P - so there, jackass - you run elections and you don't know the rules?!) and I have heard Petro also has his sights on the governorship.
Hopefully their infighting will help bring the bastards down!

:bounce:

KEEP HOPE ALIVE!!!

on edit: they think they're players but they're just gettin' played

[Amaryllis]

16. YES YES YES! Fight on, you scoundrels!

[loritooker]

5. Thanks, this is great news. They really do seem stupid, don't they! nt

[understandinglife]

8. So did "All the President's Men" -- AND THEY WERE!! (nt)

BE THE BU$H OPPOSITION; 24/7

[enough]

6. Great story.

Hard to believe.

[understandinglife]

7. It's called a 'circular firing squad': expect to see many more of them...

...form in the months ahead.

Bu$h and his neoCONsters "shelter" is beginning to vaporize.

"Boardroom" (non-fundie; non neoCON) Republicans are freaking on Bu$h's emerging fiscal chaos; the vast downside of "Bu$h's big government and war crimes."

It's happening folk. * is all ours and he is going down and a bunch of folk are going to trample each other trying to avoid being charged as co-criminals.

Peace.

TBO;24/7

[corbett]

13. Put Me Down For Two Clips Each

Let the blood flow! I wonder if the Social Security maelstrom is causing such an uproar that KKKarl has decided to leave them out to dry?

[Tigress DEM]

24. I think it's the Blogstorm People and letters to Senators and Reps

Those in power need to know we are watching them so they HAVE to do the right thing or risk not being elected the next time around.

[dogindia]

9. they say deep throat is sick. So what's up with OH.

Is it about time? Or is just wishful thinking. Hitchens and all.
Is the muck being shown the light of day?

gosh.

[Amaryllis]

17. Are we talking the same Deep Throat of Watergate? I keep seeing these

references to DT and don't know what they are. Explain please?

[GetTheRightVote]

29. Yes, the same, they are ill and to be named after death

Kind of sick waiting for a sick person to die.

:kick:

[Amaryllis]

34. Who is ill and who will be named after death?

[Tigress DEM]

25. Read POST 22 - It's about time Blackwell and crew went down.

They were asking, begging to be put in their places.

Long Live the Legal 4 !!!!

I think we should reword all Lawyer jokes to say NeoCons in their honor.

:bounce:

[Al-CIAda]

11. Thanks NA! -eom

[Vinnie From Indy]

12. WOW! That ain't normal!

This NA story was very intriguing and well written. Very entertaining!

[KaliTracy]

14. Petro Running for Governor in 06 -- they are spatting cats at this point

On top of that, Petro has more money.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer
"Republicans are possibly headed toward a three-way gubernatorial primary between Attorney General Jim Petro, state Auditor Betty Montgomery and Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.

In campaign finance reports filed Monday, Petro reported having $2.2 million in campaign funds, while Montgomery reported $1.1 million and Blackwell $224,000."

From a Report about Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman (Dem) running for Governor in Ohio
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050201/NEWS01/502010375/1056

Who here knows anything about Coleman? I've heard brief report about him this week and I like what I've heard so far.

edited for clarity

[Melissa G]

19. I wonder how many single pennies were in that figure for Blackwell?n/t

[KaliTracy]

21. LOL ...........I'm sure donations

are still being sent....

[Tigress DEM]

26. I wonder how many "empty envelopes" he got?

Ohioan’s For Ken Blackwell
ATTN: Ken Blackwell
829 Bethel Rd., Suite 316
Columbus, Ohio 43214

[Amaryllis]

15. This is looking promising ! Let's hope the rats start to rat on each other

[Wrinkle_In_Time]

18. "A rat always knows when he's in with weasels"...

... Little Drop of Poison ~ Tom Waits

[Melissa G]

20. The Nashua Advocate Rocks! n/t

[Tigress DEM]

22. HERE is the BEST News!

Basic background....

Prior to 2004 Election
- Ken Blackwell ordered all voter registrations should be on 80# paper, many had already come in and were not the correct weight - that attempt was blocked.
- Voting precincts were changed several weeks prior to election without proper notification.
- Ken Blackwell promised Bush in writing that he would "deliver the vote" in Ohio. As Secretary of State he was in charge of guaranteeing a fair election process. Oh, by the way, he was the co-chair of the Ohio Republican Committee for Bush.

During Elections
- Precincts were poorly organized and/or provided with insufficient numbers of voting machines creating lines for 1-4 hours and sometimes people had to wait hours just to find out they were in the wrong precinct.
- Voting machines shortages and malfunctions (select Kerry get Nader or Bush) appeared to favor Democratic and Black districts, miraculously bypassing the Republican areas.

Citizens challenged the fairness of the election and their day in court is squashed when Ken Blackwell gets and injunction saying he doesn't need to respond to this "harrassment."

Excuse me? Asking you to verify you complied with federal elections law is harrassing you?

A Democrat in California did that and was forced to step down.

BUT>>>>>>>>>>>

Ken Blackwell and the rest went too far.

In their effort to squash anyone who attempted to get the truth out, they tried to sue the 4 lawyers who stood up for Americans and Ohioans and allowed them to get the evidence in permenant record. So.. it establishes enough doubt that we can push for election reform even if Ohio manages to mangle justice again.

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1138

[Tigress DEM]

28. Tired of being ignored. Going to bed.

[me b zola]

30. Thanks for the link, it was happy, happy news indeed!

There's sooo much breaking news today, it's almost too much for everyone to read through everything. Freepress did a fabulous article, and I am glad that you shared it with us.:hug:

[Tigress DEM]

35. Thanks, sorry I was such a grouch!

My husband has decided that I need sleep like everyone else, so if I'm up after midnight he's become REALLY persistant that I take care of me and let the world turn on its own.

:crazy:

[me b zola]

31. kick

eom

[skids]

32. Corporate warfare?

Maybe I've read too much William Gibson, but it strikes me that Blackwell's comment about the AG being in Diebold's hip pocket may be the most revealing thing going on here. (And if so, he's a dunce for airing it in the press.)

The internal meltdown both in CA and OH might make more sense viewed not as Republican versus Democrat but as Diebold versus Sequoia versus Triad versus Hart Intercivic... and so on. Maybe this is all about corrupt officials trying to get their kickbacks on multi-million dollar deals, more than anything else.

The stock market may be weighing the minds of these companies now. Heck, for all we know, the cultocracy could have given signals that election fraud is a dead-end market -- too much attention on it now. Given how many misguided people consider their portfolio and their posterior to be one and the same, if that were the case, I could easily see chaos ensuing in the utterly shameless rush to "cover your assets." But that's my optimistic side speaking.

[KaliTracy]

33. methinks he doth protest too much.... a similar statement was made

when Cuyahoga went and *tried* to choose their e-machine vendor, and it wasn't the one Blackwell wanted.

From the "Blackwell for Governor Site"
under News Articles

Printer Friendly Version Sunday, March 02, 2003
By: Cleveland Plain Dealer


MAKING A SMART BUY



Making a smart buy

03/02/03

"Assuming Congress appropriates all of the money it promised under the Help America Vote Act, Ohio stands to receive $150 million to revamp its elections machinery before November 2004. "

<snip>

"That`s why it`s good to see Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, this state`s chief elections officer, step up and attempt to impose some calm and order. Blackwell says that rather than simply passing federal dollars - augmented by a small state match - through to the counties, he wants to centralize the purchasing process. He plans to work with an advisory committee of local elections officials to vet prospective vendors and to develop a standard contract for the additional services, including technical support and poll worker education, that will be required to get the new systems up and running. Counties will then choose from a short list of approved vendors.

"It`s a sensible approach. Many smaller counties were afraid they would be unable to negotiate good deals or demand sufficient attention from vendors who might be more focused on large customers such as Cuyahoga County. Blackwell`s bulk ordering should allay at least some of those fears. At the same time, individual counties will retain an element of choice as to which system they buy.

"Cuyahoga County`s Board of Elections was one of those rushing to select a consultant to help deal with potential vendors. But the board`s inept approach - changing one bid upon opening, awarding a contract, then revoking it and ordering up a new round of proposals - has done little to reassure the voting public. The board may yet hire outside help, just as many private companies do when they upgrade technology, but the job description can now be streamlined. "

(apparently originally in the Plain Dealer)http://www.kenblackwell.com/news.asp?formmode=release&id=39

This was when there were I think 4 vendors for any type of electronic machine. Now he has chosen the type and the vendors. So how is it that the Bennett has "a vendor in his pocket" and Blackwell doesn't?