Kerry and Conyers to be on AAR on Sunday 12/25 2 pm EST

[MH1]

Found at DailyKos
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/12/24/82538/583

Kerry and Conyers for Christmas (or Hannukah, as the case may be)
by David Bender
Sat Dec 24, 2005 at 08:25:38 AM EST

I wanted to let Kossacks know that my guests on our special holiday edition of Politically Direct on Air America Radio tomorrow are Senator John Kerry and Congressman John Conyers. Topics include Kerry's response to Mark Crispin Miller's assertion that he's privately said the 2004 election was stolen and Conyers' House resolutions that would censure Bush and Cheney for...well, the list is too long to post here.

You can stream Politically Direct live at 2:00 PM Eastern, 11:00 AM Pacific at http://www.airamericaradio.com or it will be archived starting Monday (after the meal has worn off) at http://www.airamericaplace.com. Click on "Audio Archive" and scroll down to "Politically Direct."

Enjoy the show and thanks for listening!

* David Bender's diary :: ::

[ginnyinWI]

1. archiving works for me!

I don't think I'm going to be able to be online at 1 p.m. local time, if my RW parents are here--yet it will still be a very nice Kerry Christmas present! :) :) :)

Kerry Christmas, everyone! :hi:

[ProSense]

2. Thanks for the alert. This ought to be an excellent program. n/t

[MH1]

3. Kick

for anyone who is actually reading today. :-)

Kerry Christmas to you all!

[Luftmensch067]

4. Listening to it now -- it's awesome! n/t :-)

[ProSense]

6. This is strategy and it's fascinating!

That's what I love about Kerry, he keeps working on every issue---from energy to healthcare to small business to foreign policy---with the same level of intensity.

Love the breakout about redeployment of forces from Iraq, the difference between his plan and Murtha's is time and approach. Democrats are united in call for drastic change in policy.


Never said the election was stolen---would never say something that he doesn't know to be true.

Acknowledge problems including vote switching.

Problems confirmed by GAO and Conyer's report, hackability confirmed by FL election official.

Involved in lawsuits in Ohio and even Florida. Spending a lot of money supporting groups who are looking into the problems. The "smoking gun" evidence has been absent.



This is very rough. I really wish I could get a transcript of this.

[zann725]

9. Thanks for the alert. PacTime, I still have time to listen. However

I am SO disappointed he did not at least ALLEGEDLY say, what they said he said...about the CLEARLY STOLEN election. Aw come on, JK...it IS Christmas...give us at least a tiny "gift"...

Besides, from all the "experts"(statisticians AND computer experts), the "Smoking Gun" HAS to be there again and again. Out of all the clues, at least one MUST BE irrefutable. The way Shrubco has alienated the CIA, etc...I keep hoping a "tape" of Election Night inside the WH "war room" will mysteriously appear. My REAL hunch is JK knows he can't successfully challenge (and win against) Shrubco.

[karynnj]

10. It likely to be exactly what he said:

he doesn't lnow for a FACT that it is true - he lists everything that is known to have been a problem and which could be a problem going forward. Statisticians can (and some have said) that the descrepancies of the reported vote vs the exit polls are unlikely to happen by chance - but they do not prove there was cheating.

Kerry is totally correct in not making a charge this serious without solid, cold proof.

[TayTay]

11. Remember, it's not JK's fight alone.

I think, if you read between the lines on these statements, what Sen. Kerry is saying is that he DOES place some credence in reports that there was a lot of fraud going on last year. He said that he has spent time and money on this and is still involved in lawsuits that are challenging the methodology of the vote and how fraud may have been done.

The 2004 election is over. Nothing is going to reverse those results. The fight going forward is to ensure that American democracy itself is safe. It's not done for Kerry or for any other individual office holder, it's done for the American people. This is paramount, it's not about John Kerry, it's about 'We the People,' and what kind of country we want to live in.

John Kerry cannot be a lone 'official' voice in the Senate speaking out on this. That marginalizes the issue and makes it about John Kerry. (This is to be avoided at all costs, it actually harms the issue and pushes fraud to the background and makes it easier to ignore. This is where the odious phrase 'sour grapes' actually has meaning, and not in a good way.)

This is actually quite a dilemma. I think JK takes this very seriously, as he should. But there are other people in the structure of the Democratic Party who don't take this seriously enough at all and don't believe that the fraud occurred or that it was bad enough to truly make the results questionable. These people have to be brought along carefully and proof has to be shown them every step of the way. This is tedious and, in some ways, thankless work.

Remember, just because we, on DU and other of the 'liberal blogs' have seen the proof, that doesn't mean that everyone in the Democratic Party has seen or heard it. I think JK is walking a very fine line here, on the one hand he has nearly a 'moral obligation' to speak out strongly and act if he thinks there was provable fraud. On the other hand, if this isn't handled right (and several things in the fraud investigation have NOT been handled right) then he could give other people a reason to turn away and not do anything. (And believe this is just 'sour grapes' on the part of John Kerry. You do understand that that would be cause for even more people to want Kerry to walk away from any future races or positions of power within the Senate and the Democratic Party because he would be perceived as a nut and a tin-foil hat person. That would not be a good thing, IMHO.)

I thought last year that this fight over safe-guarding the election would be around for a long, long time. (Maybe a decade or more.) It is important enough to do right and that takes time, dedication and money. We shall see if we get all three components in place besides just DU.

[YvonneCa]

17. I completely agree...

..with what you say about this being a fine line, and that it's about our democracy, not just about John Kerry. I posted this a couple days ago in another thread:

>>>>

I think he's been gathering evidence for some time now. If you watch his appearances in the past year, you can almost see the transition he's made. I really don't think he WANTED to believe it(the fraud) in the beginning (And, by the way, I didn't either. It's a lot to take in.) But now, it's clear he does. He's a man of conscience. He believes in democracy and the value of citizenship. I don't think his conscience will allow him to just let it go. This is comforting and makes me very grateful.

<<<<<<<<

What comforts me is knowing his character, and that he is a patriotic man and a man who values honor, conscience and duty to country. His words in this interview demonstrate, to me, that he knows the details of what happened in 2004 and he will come forward, if there is proof. Until or unless that happens, I'm willing to trust his judgment. If he does bring this issue forward, with proof, I believe it will be for the purpose of strengthening our election process for "We, the people...".








:patriot:

[Inuca]

5. I only just remembered...

... and am streaming (no AAR here :-( ) now. This is not live, is it? Not that it matters, just wondering....

[Luftmensch067]

7. Yeah, they kept making references that made it sound live, but...

...reports of the excerpts played on Mark Riley's morning show late last week would seem to make that unlikely?

I am confused!

[rox63]

8. I doubt that it's live

These folks are probably all enjoying the day off with their families.

I missed the broadcast, 'cause I had relatives over. And it's not archived yet, so I can't podcast it. :( I hope it will be archived some time tomorrow.

[globalvillage]

12. Hey, this is up now!

http://www.airamericaplace.com/archive.php?mode=display&id=3112

[whometense]

13. THANKS!!!!

I've been waiting to hear it.

[emulatorloo]

14. This is a hell of an interview

I think this is a direct link here:

http://www.airamericaplace.com/upload/aapd122505.mp3

[ProSense]

15. I completely agree. Awesome!

The details need to be in print; we need a transcript. Kerry covers a lot of ground. Conyers' explanation of his call to censure (and the lead up to impeachment) is awesome!

The interviews appear to have been live as Bender mentioned Sunday and expressed holiday wishes to both Kerry and Conyers.

[globalvillage]

16. I have to listen again.

I think that pointing out the terror alerts leading up to the election is a very important topic. There was a recent discussion here about how we counter this if it happens again. I think this is a good preemptive strike.
Great interview. The Senator is kicking ass lately.
We need transcripts of Press, Schultz and Bender.
Any hockey fans out there? Don't they call this a hat trick?

[Island Blue]

21. I just listened and this was a brilliant interview!

I agree with you GV, I think pointing out the pre-election terror alerts (and lack of post-election terror alerts) is a very important. It really makes you wonder what the fuck the news media has been doing for the past year (or before that too of course). This should be a topic of great interest and discussion, but there has been very little presented on this subject.

Senator Kerry was on fire during this interview! (And yes, I think you could call those three interviews a hat trick.)

[blm]

18. Did Kerry and Conyers do the interview together or separately?

.

[ProSense]

19. These were separate interviews.

You must listen if you have the opportunity!

[rox63]

22. Listening now

Thanks for the link. :)

Edit a while later: Wow, excellent interview! :) :) :)

[karynnj]

24. Just listened to it - great interview

His answer on the election "tampering" was fantastic. I hope we get a transcript of it - because it's perfect.

I loved his comment on the "last man to die" question where he said he has asked himself that ("to remain true to himself") and then explained the differences in the situation.

[sandrakae]

20. This was great.

I clicked on one of the links and was able to listen to it. Where can can I listen to Air America Live.

[Luftmensch067]

23. You can stream AAR live from the link at this page

http://airamericaradio.com/

and you can also use the Find a Station menu to locate a station in your listening area if there is one!

[ginnyinWI]

25. just listened

Smart. Smart, smart, smart.
Politically savvy.
Passionate.
Principled.
Honest.
Visionary.
Confidence-inspiring.
Analytical.
I could listen to him talk all day. :)

[whometense]

26. Me too, Ginny.

Me too. :-)

[TayTay]

27. Gawd, those comments about going forward are dead-on.

Just dead-on. (Boy does that ever answer the question, 'What did you learn last time out Senator?') We have to be a grassroots party and talk to people where they live in language that makes sense to them. (Okay, my mantra again is, 'It's all about the people, always.') That makes it all about the people. That is great!

And the Senator would have opted out of the caps in the General Election. That's very interesting.