An Open Letter to Senator Obama and the Democratic Leadership: On Election Night, DO NOT CONCEDE!
"Eight years is too much" is how Barack Obama explained why we must win the coming election and begin to restore America. But, even if we receive the most votes, will we win the election?
DO NOT CONCEDE!
Both of the last two elections were conceded by the Democratic presidential candidate. The 2004 election was handed to George Bush while votes were still being counted in closely-fought Ohio. While the 2000 election was contested to the Supreme Court, it too was ultimately conceded to Bush "for the good of the country." Some good.
Numerous politicians, investigators and authors, including Robert Kennedy, Jr., agree the 2004 election was stolen, not only in Ohio but in several other battleground states. Tactics included purging of legitimate voters and the use of nefarious voting software--but when even these actions did not yield the required numbers, Republican election officials simply changed the vote tallies in several states, all without a peep from the Democratic Party.
DO NOT CONCEDE!
In the time since the last general election the public has learned much about these scandals, which have led some states to reject electronic touchscreen voting (and which caused the infamous Diebold voting machines corporation to hide behind a new corporate name,) yet the Democratic Party seems to have learned nothing.
THREE STRIKES AND WE'RE OUT!
If we cannot afford another Republican administration, we cannot afford a third concession in the face of election fraud. Already there is evidence of massive fraud such as voter purging and caging of Democratic voters, and "flipping" of votes in early voting on electronic touchscreen machines. It is reasonable to once again expect further manipulation on election night by some Republican operatives and election officials, as was seen in 2004; should we also expect our Democratic Party leaders and candidates to repeat history, by once again conceding in the face of such blatant fraud?
Senator Obama, we need you, our Party and all candidates to stand firm, come what may on election night. You ask us to work for you, contribute to you--and to have your back; we ask that you promise to have our back: We ask that you PLEDGE TO STAND FIRM, AND NOT CONCEDE THE COMING ELECTION in the face of election irregularities, no matter how long it takes to contest such fraud, while there remains any doubt as to any part of the process. Be assured, Democratic voters will be more--not less--energized if we see you promise to stand firm.
Senator Obama, if there is any reason to contest the election, DO NOT CONCEDE!
Signed: (Titles for identification purposes only)
Gore Vidal Author
Bob Fitrakis, Professor of Political Science, Columbus State Community College Attorney; Editor of The Free Press (freepress.org)
Mark Crispin Miller, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University Author of Fooled Again, How the Right Stole the 2004 Election
Tim Carpenter Director, Progressive Democrats of America
Mimi Kennedy, Chair, National Advisory Board, Progressive Democrats of America
David Swanson, Co-Founder, After Downing Street
Lila Garrett, Host of Connect The Dots, Pacifica Radio KPFK (90.7 FM); Member PDA National Board; Emmy Award Winning Writer/Producer/Director
Eric Bauman Chair, Los Angeles County Democratic Party
Garry S. Shay Member, Democratic National Committee (CA) Lead Chair, Rules Committee, California Democratic Party
Jo Olson, MD Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party
Mal Burnstein Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party
Medea Benjamin Co-founder, Global Exchange and CODEPINK
Jodie Evans, Co-founder, CODEPINK: Women for Peace
Marcy Winograd, Executive Board representative, California Democratic Party, 41st AD Former Chair, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles
David Earnhardt Filmmaker, "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections"-
Dorothy Fadiman Filmmaker/Producer, "STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote"-
Don Goldmacher, Chair, Election Integrity, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party
Michael Jay, Progressive Democrats of America, Special Projects Former Delegate, California Democratic Party, 42nd AD
Sheri Myers, Director, "Wake Up and Save Your Country"
Robert A. Feuer Former Chairman, Stockbridge, MA Town Democratic Committee
Thomas Patrick O'Shaughnessy Region 3 Vice Chair, Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair, Irish American Caucus, California Democratic Party
Howard Jennings PDA-Virginia, State Co-Coordinator
Sarah Stott Chapter Chair, PDA-Virginia
Lisa Pease Co-editor, "The Assassinations: Probe Magazine on JFK, MLK, RFK and Malcolm X"-
Cindy Asner Former Delegate, California Democratic Party Member, National Advisory Board, Progressive Democrats of America
Julie Lopez Dad President, Santa Monica Democratic Club Chair, 41st AD Committee, Los Angeles County Democratic Party
Dr. Bill Honigman PDA California State Coordinator and Orange County Chapter Leader Delegate, California Democratic Party, 73rd AD
Rob Kall Publisher, OpEdNews.com columnist, Northstar Writers writer, Huffingtonpost.com president, Futurehealth, Inc.
Linda Milazzo Senior Editor, OpEdNews.com Blogger, Huffington Post
Rady Ananda Senior Editor, OpEdNews.com
Jan Baumgartner Managing Editor, OpEdNews.com
Cheryl Biren-Wright Managing Editor, OpEdNews.com
Joan Brunwasser Election Integrity Editor, OpEdNews.com
you've managed to get attention, too bad there is no substance.
Do you have some inside knowledge of election results that would lead you, despite all evidence to the contrary (including basic math, and reason), to think that Obama would be in a position to concede, or is it that you just want to capture the eye with a meaningless tabloid headline?
by
Jayne Lyn Stahl (188 articles, 2 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 72 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 12:09:31 PM
INDEED !! I AGREE WITH YOU WHOLEHEATERDLY ! OBAMA DOESN'T NEED TO CONCEDE !! WHEN YOU SEE IN A COUNTRY THAT THE RIGHT, CENTER AND LEFT ARE BACKING OBAMA, AND MAJORS NEWSPAPERS LIKE NY TIMES, LA TIMES, ETC ARE ENDORSING OBAMA, IT LITERALLY MEANS THAT THE REPUBLICAN BROWNSHIRTS WERE SO EVIL IN THESE LAST 8 YEARS, THAT EVEN CORPORATE-PRIVATE SECTOR OF THIS COUNTRY DESPISES REPUBLICAN BROWNSHIRTS !!
THIS IS THE END OF THE BROWNSHIRTS. I BELIEVE THAT REPUBLICAN BROWNSHIRTS WON'T EVER RULE THE USA, AND THAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WILL FADE AWAY !!
IT IS THE MOST DESPISED PARTY OF THIS COUNTRY !!
.
by
LincolnMarx (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 69 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 1:49:51 PM
One only needs to look at the last two presidential elections and understand that our fight for voting integrity has been met with brick walls at every turn to understand the importance of a preemptive call like this.
Of course, we can hope that it won't come to it, but why not let Obama and the Democratic party know in advance that the people not only won't accept another concession in the event of grave discrepancies but, should they fight for OUR votes we will have their back all the way. Makes perfect sense to me.
I would think it would make sense to you as well, Jayne, since a few months ago you made this comment on your own article:
We can't take another stolen election sitting down.
I for one believe in taking proactive measures. Thanks Linda.
Curious Jayne, why you would want to attack a fellow writer with a comment like "meaningless tabloid headline." Are you leaving similar messages for Gore Vidal, David Swanson, Bob Fitrakis, Harvey Wasserman, Tim Carpenter et al?
By the way, Linda, radio host Nicole Sandler had a rare opportunity to interview Al Gore this morning on air. She specifically asked him about this Do Not Concede letter! (will post the link later).
Anyway, it is obviously resonating with many people. Has spread like wildfire across the Internet and I've seen nothing but comments like "add my name" and "thanks for doing this." A lot of gratitude from people who aren't about to "take another stolen election sitting down."
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Cheryl Biren-Wright (29 articles, 29 quicklinks, 8 diaries, 435 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 1:50:17 PM
Jayne, you can't blame people for being worried...
after what has happened in the past. I went to bed on Nov 4th in 2000 and 2004 relatively certain that George Bush was going to lose.
I expect that this is a going to be a voter tsunami that even the Republican election fraud machine can't touch. But I'm not certain that the outcome is absolutely certain, and I am worried about voter suppression and voter dis-information.
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John R Moffett (83 articles, 17 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 653 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 2:08:23 PM
you forget that Kerry bent over and gave up without an ounce of disputation. Maybe you didn't notice that many fellow writers and senior editors from OpEdNews.com are signatories on this--- who care about this.
So who are you to dismiss this document, this message as unimportant?
Maybe you have other issues that motivate you to write this nasty little missive. Maybe YOU are way off base and out of line.
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Rob Kall (892 articles, 4058 quicklinks, 350 diaries, 1925 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 2:21:46 PM
as editor in chief, publisher, and owner of OpEd News, to personally insult one of your own writers, someone who has posted more than 181 blogs to your site, and allow one of your editors to do the same.
What does this say about your editorial policy, your professionalism, your journalistic integrity.
You make your living off the writing off your bloggers, through advertising revenue, and then you have the gall to insult them publicly! You are Shylock times 10.
The comment I wrote was not ad hominem, but Rob Kall--- your attack on me was, and know that this is not going to stop here. I intend to get the word out far and wide about you, your staff, and your practices.
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Jayne Lyn Stahl (188 articles, 2 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 72 comments)
on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 11:51:32 AM
lest we forget, the Dems have a history of backing away from the brass ring.
On the Ohio State U campus, from Kerry's lips to my ears, he promised he would not back down until every vote was counted. He conceded about 1 or 2 AM - within hours of the polls being closed.
When we demanded a recount, Kerry couldn't be found - nor could we obtain one penny of the $15 million (or $30 mn, depending on who you talk to) that was donated to Kerry for a potential recount.
Instead, we Ohioans (and others) paid for it out of our own pockets.
When we officially observed the Recount - we discovered that most counties violated state law and did not randomly pull precincts to recount.
But nowhere could we find Dems to file suit about this...
When we simply went into the counties to photograph the actual ballots, and discovered massive anomalies - which we reported to Sec of State J Brunner (Dem) after she got into office - the Dems STILL did nothing about the 04 election.
So, respectfully, Jayne - yes, we have inside knowledge and reason to suspect the Dems of backing down, AGAIN.... hence this letter.
Did you notice it was initiated by Gore Vidal? Do you sincerely believe he's merely trying "to capture the eye with a meaningless tabloid headline?"
Seriously - this letter is so widely blogged BECAUSE the Dems are known for conceding.
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Rady Ananda (133 articles, 301 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 1239 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 4:44:25 PM
Body language of both him and Theresa when he formally conceded could be construed to say they'd been threatened. That could be...
Others say he pulled out & squirreled away $15M [of OUR money] because he wanted to look clean & fresh for a 2008 run at the Presidency - and that would be despicable imho.
In GNN’s new documentary American Blackout, we detail some of the more egregious examples of voter suppression. As the Conyers Report documents, there is substantial evidence that heavily Democratic (and African-American) precincts in Ohio didn’t have enough voting machines, voters were intimidated and valid votes were discarded. Yet for most on the left, it’s still an open question whether Republican shenanigans actually prevented a Kerry win.
What does Kerry think? In his new book, American Vertigo, Bernard-Henri Lévy writes he met up with a “haggard, ghostly” Kerry a few weeks after his loss. According to Lévy, the defeated candidate faintly whispered in his ear, “If you hear anything about those 50,000 votes in Ohio, let me know.” …
by
AllDems08 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 90 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 5:04:13 PM
And, respectfully, you should identify yourself as being on staff with OpEd News. Responding publicly to a concern about a comment written by one of your bloggers is not merely unprofessional, it shows you to be the amateur you really are.
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Jayne Lyn Stahl (188 articles, 2 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 72 comments)
on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 11:58:05 AM
All the visible evidence suggests that Obama is about to win a massive victory and become President.
All the pollings shows this.
All the evidence supports this.
That said, this was also the case in 2004, and somehow, against all mathamatical possibility and in direct conflict with REALITY, GWB ended up "winning" the election and the Democrat who SHOULD have won the election conceded the race before all the votes were even counted, based on really (REALLY!) bad advice from lawyers whose party allegience wasn't even clear.
That said, if Obama (and all the Americans who support him) were to somehow have a well-deserved and hard-fought victory snatched from his (our) hands, we would HOPE that he would NOT concede, but would rather fight hard and tough for an honest accounting.
We can only hope.
by
Charlie L (2 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 737 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 2:11:03 PM
Charlie: u are wrong, Kerry had less votes than Bush.
Charlie: You are wrong about Kerry having more votes and electoral-votes than Bush, and that as a result of voting-fraud Bush won by land-slide. Go to this website and take a look at the electoral-college map, which states *clearly* that John Kerry had 252 electoral-votes, while Bush had 279 electoral-votes. This time the picture is different. This time Obama has about 353 electoral-votes and Mccain 174.
You are only showing me a map of the RESULTS of the stolen election, not the truth of it.
Is it really true that in a precinct in New Mexico, NOBODY voted for President? Or is it more likely that those votes (probably for Kerry) were STOLEN?
There were more votes "spoiled" in Ohio than twice the margin of victory for Bush.
And then there's Colorado.
And then there's Iowa.
And then there's Florida.
And on and on and on. Kerry gave up an election that was his to win.
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Charlie L (2 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 737 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 2:36:44 PM
After what has played out over the last 8 years, the American people have a right to question, protest, demand ~ whatever it takes to make public an oftentimes flawed and sadly, sometimes suspect voting system.
Let's hope this year the vote reflects the voice of the people.
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Jan Baumgartner (54 articles, 138 quicklinks, 10 diaries, 260 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 2:44:26 PM
'Course not. Be sure to check out David Swanson's write-up about the interview I mentioned earlier between Nicole Sandler and Al Gore where he discussed the Do Not Concede Letter that Linda posted here.
in getting a whole bunch of people worked up for nothing. We are all a little on edge. I think this post could have waited until enough results came in to determine whether or not there was cause for concern.
I agree with the premise, but I also agree with Jayne that this was a wee bit premature, and borderline hysterical, given that all indications point to an Obama landslide.
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Robert Sargent (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 26 diaries, 318 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 6:16:17 PM
Is this the pile on Jayne Stahl site? Calm down, Cheryl, we're all on the same side. Let Sarah Palin go rogue; let's not go negative on each other, not now. The polls haven't even closed and you're talking about Obama conceding the election. Can't we wait one day? If there is evidence of voter fraud or disenfranchisement and Obama even whispers concession, much less SHOUT IT OUT, I'll lead the charge to hang him in effigy.
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David Fitzell (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 7:27:35 PM
The open letter does not predict/suggest that Obama will need to concede nor that he will. It is simply a reasonable "preemptive" request since the last two presidential candidates failed to fight for our votes.
Not quite sure why you're telling me to calm down. Jayne accused Linda of producing a tabloid headline for something with no substance and in response, I explained the reason for the letter. Suggested that she, herself, had at least at one time shared a similar opinion.
I then pointed out that former Vice President Al Gore had discussed the very letter Linda posted in a radio interview this morning which I found very interesting.
Yea, I'm definitely out of control. I probably should take a Xanax or two. ;-)
Really, you'll lead the charge to hang Senator Obama in effigy? Yikes.
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Cheryl Biren-Wright (29 articles, 29 quicklinks, 8 diaries, 435 comments)
on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 7:52:59 PM
sorry for the confusion. Rob Sargent is the only one who seems to have gotten this right. This wasn't intended to be a personal slight against the author of the piece, only a suggestion that one remains positive until such time as there is cause to worry about a concessation. I think the petition was a very necessary, and important, step which should have happened after the results of the election were announced, so as not to influence those going to the polls who might think "what the f--- the election is gonna be stolen anyway."
This was in no way, shape, or form intended as a personal attack on the author. I was speaking about the efficacy of the piece. I believe strongly that putting out positive energy brings positive results, not on circulating petitions about how to deal with concession
I know now not to criticize anything anyone writes for the blogs---even if their premise is skewed, they seem to take it personally. Clearly, I would never denigrate Gore Vidal or Al Gore---I'm big fans of both of them, and somehow I guess that they would realize that questioning the efficacy of announcing a petition about how to handle concession on the day of a very tight, and very scary, election is counterproductive. If you call this "dissing," or ad hominem, then even Barack Obama won't be able to rescue the First Amendment with this lack of basic understanding.
Yes, I have problems---I have problems with people who go on the attack for expressing the truth, and acknowledging when one is treated unfairly as, for instance, when the editor of this blog attacked me as "someone with problems." This was unprofessional, and reprehensible, to issue an adhominem attack on an UNPAID blogger who has donated her writing for more than two years for which the owner of this Web site has made plenty in advertising revenue. If this is professional ethics, we're in even more trouble than I thought.
President Obama has a lot of work cut out---he doesn't need to hear folks talking about his conceding when all projected votes gave him a decisive electoral vote victory. Talk about conceding is best when the election is over.
by
Jayne Lyn Stahl (188 articles, 2 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 72 comments)
on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 1:23:38 AM
