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.]…
Without your enthusiasm, generous support and vote, I’m afraid the President would have lost…
…And an unapologetic liberal Democrat named John Kerry would have won.
Thankfully, you and I stopped that disaster from happening!
[…]That’s why in the late hours of Election Night, I was truly pleased to announce President Bush had won a critical and clinching victory here in Ohio, on the belief that it was statistically improbably for Senatory Kerry to recover.
[…]I have never shied away from giving the liberals fits. And I’m sure that with all of the potential voter-fraud we prevented during this last election, they will be looking to get even with me in my next political campaign.
…After much thought and prayer, I am asking for your personal support in my campaign to become the next Governor of Ohio.
As Secretary of State, I have been sued almost 30 times since this summer because I stood up for the rights of voters like you and against liberal trial laywers and activist judges who wanted to give this election to Senator Kerry.
I don’t compromise for the sake of winning kudos from the media, and I have been accused on more than one occasion of having “rocked the boat” in Columbus against the express wishes of the liberal special interests.
[…]My Christian parents taught me that if I did what was right, nobody could ever deny me the success I strived for.
When the ACLU and other members of the radical left worked to stop me from cracking down and prohibiting outrageous ways to commit voter fraud, I fought back and won.
** I never bowed to political pressure and stuck to my guns. I was completely vindicated when I prevailed before the Supreme Court and the federal appellate court.
[…]I can assure you that John Kerry’s liberal allies here in Ohio are hoping to throw my campaign under a bus as soon as they can, and I will need every penny I can to fight back.
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…
OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE
State-Wide Appeal
Urgent Action Requested
Personal Attention Please
Dear Friend,
As the Co-Chairman of Bush/Cheney ’04 in Ohio, I want to say thank you for helping deliver the great Buckeye State for George W. Bush.
Without your enthusiasm, generous support and vote, I’m afraid the President would have lost…
…And an unapologetic liberal Democrat named John Kerry would have won.
Thankfully, you and I stopped that disaster from happening!
My friend, not only would a Kerry victory have been a terrible result for Ohio — it would have been a horrible outcome for the families and taxpayers of America.
That’s why in the late hours of Election Night, I was truly pleased to announce President Bush had won a critical and clinching victory here in Ohio, on the belief that it was statistically improbable for Senator Kerry to recover.
I have no doubt the strong campaign we helped the President run in Ohio — coupled with a similar effort I helped deliver for State Issue One (the Marriage Protection Amendment) — can easily be credited with turning out record numbers of conservatives and evangelicals on Election Day.
Needless to say, I was proud to have been a leading spokesman for the campaign to pass State Issue One by 62-38%. We were able to constitutionally define marriage as a union between one man and one woman despite the active opposition of Gov. Taft, Jim Petro and other Republican leaders.
And, I drew great satisfaction in hearing liberal members of the media credit the Marriage Protection Amendment as single most important factor that drove President Bush over the top in Ohio.
I have never shied away from giving the liberals fits. And I’m sure that with all the potential voter-fraud we prevented during this last election, they will be looking to get even with me in my next political campaign.
That’s why today, I’m writing to ask for your help…
You see, after much thought and prayer, I am asking for your personal support in my campaign to become the next Governor of Ohio.
If elected, there is no doubt in my mind that I would be the most pro-taxpayer, pro-family, conservative Republican Governor in the history of the Buckeye State.
After the last few years of skyrocketing state spending and, in my opinion, unconscionable tax increases, I’m excited to offer the voters of Ohio a clear choice.
We can either change course in this state by cutting taxes, reigning in government spending, and reaffirming a culture of life and traditional moral values…
…Or, Ohio can choose to elect another member of the “insider club” who will do nothing to stop the bleeding of jobs, hemorrhaging of industry, and decline in moral values hitting rust belt states like ours.
My friend, clearly I am hoping you will join with me today and elect to change course by supporting my campaign for Governor of Ohio.
Leadership and courage like President Bush displayed in the aftermath of 9-11 are far too rare in American politics today.
And it’s something I promise I will give you from day one of my campaign for Governor.
In my opinion, President Bush handily defeated Senator Kerry because the American public discerned which candidate had a better track record of leadership on the issues most important to them.
That’s why I’m confident when the hard-working people of Ohio look for a leader to put in the Governor’s office next election, they will choose a leader with a proven record like mine.
In 1998, I personally led the opposition to the sales tax increase that was defeated by Ohio voters 80% to 20%.
In 2003 I led the campaign to repeal the massive 20% sales tax increase rammed down our throats by the legislature.
In 2004 I stood along among state-wide elected officials in actively campaigning for the adoption of State Issue One to protect marriage.
And in 2005 I promise you right now I will lead the effort to put a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot to limit the out-of-control growth of state government.!
My friend, you can see that I am a man of action and principle.
As Secretary of State, I have been sued almost 30 times since this summer because I stood up for the rights of voters like you and against liberal trial lawyers and activist judges who wanted to give this election to Senator Kerry.
I don’t compromise for the sake of winning kudos from the media, and I have been accused on more than one occasion of having “rocked the boat” in Columbus against the express wishes of the liberal special interests.
Well. I’ll promise you this much…
…Elect me to the Governorship of Ohio and I will no longer just rock the boat hen it comes to protecting your interests — I will literally DRIVE THE BOAT to reform Ohio from top to bottom.
I didn’t get where I am today by following the crowd.
My Christian parents taught me that if I did what was right, nobody could ever deny me the success I strived for.
When the ACLU and other members of the radical left worked to stop me from cracking down and prohibiting outrageous ways to commit voter fraud, I fought back and won.
I never bowed to political pressure and stuck to my guns. I was completely vindicated when I prevailed before the Supreme Court and the federal appellate court.
By now I trust you can see that I am not intimidated by the challenge of running a successful race for Governor.
My friends and family know that I am a determined man when it comes to getting things done — and getting them done right.
That’s why I hope you will lend me a hand today.
I know that to be elected Governor and put an end to Ohio’s economic and cultural slide, I need to earn the support of dedicated activists like you.
I don’t particularly like asking people for money, yet I realize that the bible states for a reason “Ask, and you shall receive.”
Today, I am asking you for your support in my race for Governor.
And, I’m asking you to show your support by making the most generous financial donation you can make to my campaign today.
The most I can receive in this campaign is $2,500. If you can send this amount today, I would surely appreciate it. But if $1,000, $500 or $250 is the most you can send, I ask that you send it right away.
I can assure you that John Kerry’s liberal allies here in Ohio are hoping to throw my campaign under a bus as soon as they can, and I will need every penny I can to fight back.
So if $2,500, $2,000, $500 or $250 is more than you can send, I hope you’ll send at least $100, $75, $50 or even $35 today.
Whatever the amount, please send it today. Your check should be payable to Ohioans for Ken Blackwell.
I am proud to be a conservative Republican known for rocking the boat.
And with your help, I intend to provide fresh, new leadership and bold reforms to Ohio as your next Republican Governor. But I know I will not get there alone…
…Like President Bush, I will need a strong campaign with the finances I need to define any liberal opponent that challenges me in this race.
As Co-Chairman of Bush/Cheney ’04 in Ohio, I counted on you to help us win the Buckeye State in 2004.
Now I’m counting on your support to help me win the Governor’s office in our next statewide elections.
Please lend me a hand today. Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
[signed] J Kenneth BlackwellKen Blackwell
Ohio Secretary of State
P.S. I will be checking my mailbox daily, so please rush your contribution of $2,500, $1,000, $500, $250, $100 or even $50, $35 or $20 back to me today.
It’s time we stopped losing jobs and industry and changed course here in Ohio. That’s my mission, and I hope you will join me today. I ask for your support, and pray you will be as generous as your means allow. God bless you for your support.
P.P.S. My friend, I’ve enclosed a PLEDGE OF SUPPORT and a self-addressed return envelope so you can send your gift back to me. Please respond in the next 14 days! Thank you once again.
UPDATE: 1/8/05 “Blackwell Letter Asks for Illegal Donations!”
UPDATE: 1/12/05 “Blackwell Ignores Rule of Law! Twice in Same Letter!”
Oh come on Brad. You keep pulling these rabbits out of your hat, but the rabbits are dead.
Brad: Your readers here are like pets: they have to be fed daily.
What are you going to drum up on Friday, the day after ZERO Senators and ONE nutty Representative challenge the electoral votes?
I bet the following: You will declare victory, tell everybody here they did a terrific job and that next time everybody has to work a little harder.
Keep up the good work Brad! We are all doing our part, I had neighbors and friends in today for coffee and cake, and was able to assist them with emails and calls. it was lovely and we will do it again with pleasure, thanks for the inspiration.
I bet the following: Atty Jim has nothing even coming close to a personal life, otherwise he wouldn’t be staying at a website he hates all day long hitting the refresh button.
Any takers? I think it’s easy money for me. Only way I’d lose is if he is an astroturfer and is getting paid to do it. 🙂
atty jimmo,
Brad Blog informs us of what is out there as it happens and as it changes. Would to God the MSM would do the same. Would you get off his back and let him do his job. Don’t you have a job to do?
atty boy jimmo
You should deeply consider professional help for your masochistic need and insatiable appetite for negative attention. We feel your pain! We’ll do everything possible to ignore you during your psychoanalysis and recovery. Get well soon.
Back to business, Brad. E-mailing, faxing and phoning. Gotta go now.
atty jimmo
As a lawyer, I would expect you of all people to have more concern about the veracity of the election and if all of the procedures were legal. Maybe you have been disbarred?
Sorry, Troll Slayer. You can’t have my money. 😉
The truly PAINFUL thing about this Blackwell letter is that it undercores how blatantly, transparently, grossly deceitful this GOP crowd is and how they can nonetheless (so far) get away with almost every crime they perpetrate, crowing about it as they go.
They sound like a bunch on adolescent hooligans getting together on a Saturday night, mainlining booze and crowing about their latest breaking, entering and trashing of someone’s home. Or someone’s country.
How appalling…
As of last week, I’ve done 4 of the list so far. Felt good. I’m looking forward to Thursday. Rain or shine.
P.S. I think Blackwell will fall. He hasn’t kep quiet.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. What I find apalling is he has the HELP AMERICA VOTE logo on his website, eagle and all.
Thanks for the heads-up, Brad. I sat down with a big stack of airsickness bags and read the whole letter. "Appalling" is RIGHT, Peg. Scandalous!
It will all come out in the wash-you’ll see. Just keep faxing, calling, and emailing and ignore out of work so called attorneys that have no life. We will prevail.
Brad, we love you.
:)Thank you Brad for your wonderful site. I look forward each day to those nuggets you give us. My only reason to write here tonight is to remind all of us that " I KNOW A MAN WHO SITS HIGH AND LOOKS LOW. He knows everthing that has been done. I know for a fact that truth will win out in the end. Depend on it.
Have a great day. There will be much joy acoming!
And I might add, sooner than we know!!
Homer!
Re: Blackwell’s letter
His biblical appeal, "Ask, and you shall receive" should have been extended to the many disenfranchised black voters in Ohio. They simply "asked for" their right to vote, and Mr. Ellipsis blatantly thwarted their attempts through a variety of creative methods, and now has the audacity to tout his successful prevention of voter fraud prior to the election.
Am I a tad naive to question his use of the Ohio Secretary of State letterhead for his personal campaign for governor, prior to the official Ohioan electoral vote?
His outrageous assault on the presidential contender, Senator Kerry, was less than professional; it was "mean spirited," and was the antithesis of a supposed Christian, although he alludes frequently to being one – well, I take that back; his parents were Christians. The letter is not only quite revealing, but it makes one question how in the hell do these narrow minded and marginally "educated" people succeed as they do. Hail, hail mediocrity!
I have another rather base query. Is there a personality test administered to Republican Secretaries of State to identify ambitious sycophants, so if a situation arises that would require blind faith and unfailing loyalty, the likely candidate could be courted in advance? – Just curious. Perhaps Katherine Harris has the answer.
And one more little question: Does the fact that Mr. Ellipsis no longer "rocks" the boat, but now "drives" it, mean that he is courting Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?
Sorry for the unsophisticated and rather feeble rant; I’m simply dumbfounded by it all. Thanks for listening. Keep up the great work Brad and all of the rest of you. Glad you’re there.
IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ! (EVIDENCE OF MOTIVE)
The conflict of interest in having these people like Blackwell in 2004 and Harris in 2000 is just as bad as having blatant agenda partisans developing and controlling in private our voting machines and vote count. This election is per se illegitimate, meaning that you don’t need to dig deep to discover that on the face of it this election needs to be overturned.
There is no transparency and when you have the Ohio Secretary of State and the Ohio owner of Diebold bragging how they are going to help or have helped Ohio be delivered to Bush, then this election is a fraud on its face!
But there is something else very important that Blackwell has delivered to us with his letter:
EVIDENCE OF MOTIVE!
When talking to others and communicating with the House and Senate, please advise that Blackwell’s letter, in the face of all the allegations, has now given us EVIDENCE that he had a personal and political MOTIVE to fix this election for Bush! His request for money and support for his own Gubernatorial campaign in Ohio, on the heels of his work as Secretary of State and Campaign Manager for Bush, is EVIDENCE OF MOTIVE!
No wonder he is avoiding depositions! We need to find out who handles investigating and bringing criminal indictments against a Secretary of State in Ohio, because after reading his letter, I now feel there is PROBABLE CAUSE to open a GRAND JURY investigation of Blackwell and his role in helping Bush win! There may also be grounds for a criminal Federal CIVIL RIGHTS complaint!
FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE AND LET THEM HAVE IT!
Freebird :-))))…and this bird you cannot chain…
I look forward to more nuggets from Homer!
That Moyer guy who runs the Ohio court like a ‘liquor shop’ is a crook too. He is protecting Blackwell. This sucker Blackwell is a f***ing "fraud- pimp". He has f***ing no shame to take bribe and commit fraud. After delivering ohio to Bush he is now collecting the pimp’s commission.
So much fraud in America and so little concern. The Queen of England is worried too. What will happen to the free world?
Conflict of interest means nothing to the "Repigs". Moyers had a duty to recuse himself from the court, but in the typical "Repig" politician way he didn’t. The Ohio Bar should censure him for this conduct. Blackwell as well as our own Secretary of State here in Missouri Matt Blunt who ran for govenor also had a blatant conflict of interest. But maybe I’m wrong and Atty. Jim and Homer can set me straight.
I have been a regular visitor here for a while. Reading more, commenting less. Broke my silence today. Christian Republican fascists seems to be in perfect control of everything. They are controling minds of the people to voting machines. Most people’s brains seems to be frozen like zombies. Believe me things will get worse as these neo-cons take over the country.
Lori –
Loved all of your questions, and looking into at least one of them.
Hot_Cherry –
Thanks for breaking your silence.
SeattleDem –
We love you too 🙂
Everyone Else –
Keep making noise…
The Christian right, is so well organized and focused on their core issue, which unites them in ways the liberal side hasn’t come near to matching.
In the sixties it was first civil rights and then the anti-war movement; fueled by "sex drugs and rock and roll," that united a significant number of folks to the level of activism, necessary to topple a regime like this.
We are so split now, into personal interest groups: gays, blacks, women, environmentalists, etc., that we have lost any power.
Where will we now find our unifying factor?
JB
Can’t help but see that Freebird’s post about motive is true, loud, and clear.
The Ohio election could be compared to a football game where the coach of one team is the referee.
Even the budweiser drinking crowd know that ain’t fair or even close to fair.
JB —
"Where will we now find our unifying factor?"
You’re looking at it. The Internet.
Remember kids… The whole world is talking, to each other.
atty jimmo sez:
Brad: Your readers here are like pets: they have to be fed daily.
>>
So the truth comes out. Jimmo is either a pet too because he has to "be fed daily", or he is an artificial (emphasis on artificial) intelligence module preprogrammed by Diebold.
Jimmo, here is a motto you can implant into your circuits: "we are the BUSH, resistance is futile".
JB,
"…sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll…" sounds good to me! 🙂
Unity may only come in the form of a new catchall independent progressive political movement that has an overarching name and theme for a party or even a new form of government. I’m writing about just such a movement in a new book, so don’t worry folks, I haven’t been sitting here in a blog wasteland spinning my wheels! Yes attorney Jim, I do have a job! Viva la Revolucion! 🙂
Hey Dredd: How about if we all stop feeding the trolls and get back to feeding the people who might actually help us?
I know it’s hard to ignore the bait, but do you really think it’s anything BUT bait?
I’ve been taken in too, but starting to think adolescent, he is maybe 16-17 y/o, cannot engage in factual debate,(kids hate homework), has crank mentality, out of school for holiday vacation, etc.
Hey Brad:
Just a quick note to let you know that I have long since e-mailed Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington State). I demanded that they join Congressman Conyers in disputing the electors from Ohio. (Yesterday, I followed up with a voice mail at Sen. Murray’s DC office. I am still trying to decide whether to continue with Sen. Cantwell because she is up for re-election in 2006.)
Even I do not expect an overturning of the election, as both houses are solidly neo-con Republican.
HOWEVER, I WILL CONSIDER IT A VICTORY IF WE TAKE AWAY PRESIDENT BUSH’S CREDIBILITY, LEGITIMACY AND ALL OF HIS "POLITICAL CAPITAL" THAT HE CLAIMED.
MrBlueSky
Bellevue, WA
and BIG Brad Blog Fan!
"The House Judiciary Democrats investigating election irregularities in Ohio have issued their final report, titled, "Preserving Democracy: What went wrong in Ohio." RAW STORY has released the entire report in PDF format because it is too long to break out onto individual pages."
http://rawstory.com/images/pdfs/finalreport.pdf
Call me crazy but I don’t think Blackwell’s letter can be considered legal evidence. It can be read as just glee over "winning". It doesn’t prove anything imho.
And listen children, democrats may be "divided" into blacks, gays, women, whatever…of course! We’re different people with differing views on alot of things. That’s fine. The same can be said of Republicans. The problem is that the R’s control the presidency, both houses of congress, the supreme court & the media, AND they have deceit, distortion & repetition down to a science. Ok & maybe we’re a TAD less organized! If I had any faith left in our elected officials ( have they been threatened?bribed? castrated? has Ahnold replaced them all with cyborgs? what?? et tu, Barack? that one is REALLY disappointing. and Kerry in ’08? HA! good luck with THAT, John!!) I would recommend that one of their major talking points should be the right’s mind-boggling hypocrisy. I mean it just staggers the brain! It would be actually laughable were it not for the sad fact that they are dragging our once-proud & respected country through the mud.
And…Homer…wtf??? Are you gonna keep us in suspense?? Do you know something we don’t or are you just pulling our chain, you scamp?
One last thing before I crash here: DAMN, Brad, you’re good! Here I was all ready to burn my voter ID card, or maybe tear it up into little pieces & mail it to Bill Nelson, and you done reeled me back into the fold, got me phoning those sorryass senators again.
I bid you goodnight, all you ACTUAL patriots!
~proudtobepartoftheleftienutcase"2%", haha!~
PEACE.
It’s 11:00 a.m. in FL & I just read that BARBARA BOXER SIGNED ON
Joan,
In a criminal trial over voting irregularities and fraud, evidence of motive would be admissable as part of the evidence in the case. As in all criminal cases, it is about bringing all the pieces of the puzzle together to form a clear picture for the judge or jury. The totality of the evidence creates that picture. Blackwell’s letter is just one more piece in a collection of pieces to solve the puzzle and prove the case.
Unfortunately, you are correct in believing that control of the various branches of government will make even considering prosecuting Blackwell improbable. Not many choices left after that, but I’m willing to give the government an opportunity to change course. A few days or weeks maybe…LOL! 🙂