We will have further details on all of the following later this evening, including some firsthand accounts of the crazy day today on Capitol Hill in and out of loads of Senate offices...

For the moment, however, three quick hits...

MORE LATER THIS EVENING...

John Kerry has just sent a pathetic email to the supposed 3 million members of his email list.

He has said that he will not be "taking part in a formal protest of the Ohio Electors", and urges his supporters to support Electoral System reform.

We, of course, support such reform, but that is for the future. And the way to that future is helped by challenging the enormously flawed election of 2004 tomorrow in Congress' Joint Session.

Here is a portion of Kerry's email [emphasis in the original]:

Yes, Senator. They will ignore it, and we thank you for giving them the opportunity to do so.

As we have said many times on these pages, this issue has never been about John Kerry. (As regular BRAD BLOG readers may know by now, we didn't even vote for him ourselves!) Nor has this ever been about "changing the outcome of the election" as Kerry asserts in the letter.

This is about the very founding principles of the world's most important democracy. Period. Whatever "election outcomes" which may occur in the process of assuring that those principles remain intact is wholly beside the point.

Attempts to reach John Kerry's office via the main Senate switchboard at 800-839-5276 were met with a voice mailbox which was full, could take no more messages, and simply disconnected us.

A call to a direct office number: 202-224-2742, offers a message saying that these are not office hours (though they are, until 6pm ET) and allows one to leave a message after the beep. DO IT!

UPDATE: You can also leave your opinion at Kerry's Boston office: 617-565-8519.

Email can also be sent to Kerry via this webform. [previously broken link, now fixed!]

We have done both ourselves, and have made it abundantly clear that if he imagines he will be receiving support from any of the Democratic base for a 2008 Presidential run --- if he does not stand up tomorrow! --- he is sorely mistaken!

We hope you will join us in making that message exceedingly clear to Senator Kerry.

Please continue, as well, to call the 800 number given above to speak to as many Senators as you can about this issue. It's difficult to get through to many of them right now, as the switchboard is going a bit crazy there right now we are told. We were recently, however, able to get through to Obama's office (and others) to express our firm support of the importance of standing up for democracy tomorrow!

Keep making noise.

Clint Curtis is currently on Capitol Hill now meeting with Senate staffers.

We can report that he has already met this morning with staffers in the office of the following Democratic Senators: Debbie Sabatow (MI), Russell Feingold (WI), Barbara Boxer (CA), Barbara Mikulski (MD) and Barack Obama (IL).

Meetings are scheduled later today with the staffers of these additional Senate offices: Ted Kennedy (MA), Dick Durbin (IL), Patrick Leahy (VT), Ken Salazar (CO).

A source visting the Senate offices with Curtis tells us that so far the reception they've received from each office has been "very positive" and that "things are lit up like a Christmas tree here" with all of the Senate office phones ringing off the hook with callers urging Senators to stand up and object. Almost zero calls coming in advising the contrary as our source describes it.

At the time we talked with our source, the Democratic Senators were in "an issue meeting", and the source tells us that this issue --- the challenge to Electors tomorrow --- is described as "the major issue" being discussed.

There is no way, of course, to know the ultimate effect of all of this, but it is clear that your voices are being heard on Capitol Hill! Please continue to use the links and phone numbers we've made available in this item.

We'll continue to report on anything notable we hear that is happening on The Hill today.

Also, consider this a quick reminder that Curtis will be appearing on radio this evening with Fox News' Alan Colmes at 11pm. Details on that appearance, and a link to listen live is right here.

Democratic Senators -

Need a reminder of the shame you've carried for four long years? Here's a video reminder.

We tried to overlook and forgive that shame in the hopes of national unity and healing. Of course, the fact that so many of us were not wise enough to pay close enough attention to your failings at the time didn't hurt either. (And that the media didn't bother to help us is no small mark of shame for them as well!)

But that was then and this is now, and this time, we won't overlook or forgive.

You very well may win or lose your next election based on what you do tomorrow. We'll leave it to you to decide what actions may lead to which election result. We hope you use your judgement wisely.

Do your job. Support your constituents, your country, "The Rule of Law" and the U.S. Constitution.

Several heroes on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee staff have been working all night (and for the last two months for that matter) doing your work for you. To make it all easy for you to understand while you were out enjoying your holidays, and a full two months of unwinding after a hectic campaign season.

The results of their work on your behalf, and on behalf of the citizens of the United States can be seen here.

There's even an "Executive Summary", so you won't have to interrupt your meetings with lobbyists and lunches with campaign donors for too terribly long in order to comb through the full 102 pages of hard evidence, data and proof that American Voters were disenfranchised and our recent election was flawed beyond any question of a doubt.

Republican Senators -

You have been given the same package of undeniable evidence that the election system in the world's most important democracy has failed it's promise.

Read it. Or at least the "Executive Summary", since we know you're at least as busy as those Democratic Senators.

But when you read it, ask yourself (as an Emailer suggested to us this morning) that what you are reading was written after the announcement that George W. Bush was the one who LOST the state of Ohio, and the evidence you are reading concerned the failures of the electoral system in Ohio.

Do you suppose if Bush was announced as the loser in Ohio that you might feel any different about the information that has been prepared for you?

We understand politics and political necessity. We hope that you, both Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. Senate, understand that politics is a two-way street. And that it is us, the people, who will ultimately determine your ultimate fate. One way or the other.

Choose wisely.

RAW STORY has just published an explosive and partisan letter from Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell in an EXCLUSIVE which reveals Blackwell's plans to run for Governor, and in which he credits himself for "delivering" Ohio to George W. Bush!

The written plea by Blackwell to supporters asking for funds for his gubernatorial bid --- composed even while the recount of votes in Ohio was still ongoing! --- should continue to rock the vote as Congress gathers on Thursday to determine whether Ohio Electors were legally seated.

Several phrases in particular are reminiscent of the controversial fundraising letter by Walden O'Dell, the CEO of voting machine manufacturer Ohio-based Diebold, Inc., sent to Republicans in the summer of 2003 when he promised his committment "to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

Blackwell, proudly crows, on several occasions, about his role as Ohio's Co-Chair of Bush/Cheney '04 and refers to "helping deliver the great Buckeye State for George W. Bush."

In speaking of his personal role in keeping "an unapologetic liberal Democrat named John Kerry" from winning, Blackwell says, "you and I stopped that disaster from happening!"

More excerpts from the letter are now posted below.

The extraordinarily partisan and combative letter overfloweth with enough far-right Christian Republican buzzwords and phrases to make even Karl Rove's brain spin!

The letter even speaks --- presumably without irony --- of Blackwell's role in "preventing" voter-fraud in Ohio's 2004 election!

The following are some key excerpts from Blackwell's shameless five-page letter which RAW STORY now links to in-full in their EXCLUSIVE.

Most of our excerpts here refer to Blackwell's role in Election 2004, though a few are just thrown in for good Liberal-bashin', God-fearin' fun! [All emphasis replicates the original underscoring and footnotes added to appear as though the various items were underlined or checkmarked by hand.]...

So sayeth the man responsible for a free, fair, transparent and non-partisan Presidential Election in Ohio.

As of this evening, he is also still ducking all attempts by attorneys to take a deposition from him concerning the Election Fraud case filed with the Ohio Supreme Court.

UPDATE: It has been requested that we post the full text of Blackwell's letter. So here it is, courtesy of a BRAD BLOG reader...

We've just received word from the producer of Fox News Live with Alan Colmes on the Fox News Radio Network that Clint Curtis will be appearing live tomorrow night (Wednesday) as Colmes' guest at 11pm ET.

Alan is a regular BRAD BLOG reader, so be nice!

If you don't pick up Colmes' show in your area, you can listen live online via this link.

We will attempt to record the hour if possible to make the audio available later as an update to this item for those who can't listen live. Though we're not always successful at such audio captures, and appreciate anyone else who may be able to attempt same as a backup for us.

As previously reported, Curtis will be in D.C. tomorrow to participate in a number of rallies and attend several meetings on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.

We have also learned that the hearing led by outgoing Florida Democrat, Congressman Peter Deutsch, which had been announced in this news release, likely will not occur as scheduled.

Our sources in the Judiciary Committee have informed us that the Republicans revoked the privilege for Democrats to use the hearing room one they heard what the hearing was to have been about.

Anyone surprised?

UPDATE: 1/6/05 Colmes gave Curtis a good (and very tough) grilling! Happy to hear it! And I think he stood up well to the questioning. I heard no inconsistencies in his story.

The Colmes/Curtis radio interview is now online. Thanks to our pals at CrooksAndLiars.com!

If just half of the people who read this blog every day take the time to call, fax or email U.S. Senators asking them to join Conyers' challenge to the Electoral Results, the Senators will be drowning in calls, faxes and emails.

If you (and I do mean you) have been sitting on your hands hoping that things would get better...somehow...then you too are responsible for whatever it is this country (and world) may become as a result of your inaction.

If you hope to see a change in the results of a horribly tainted election, hope to see George W. Bush's phony "mandate" and self-proclaimed "political capital" be exposed for the opportunistic fraud that it is, or hope to see real Election Reform in the future so that such questionable outcomes like the one we've seen in 2004 simply can no longer occur due to a reliable and transparent election system, then you must act NOW.

Here are a few things you can do today. We recommend you do as many of them as possible:

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