> Herewith is some practical advice on action that every citizen can take
> in the event that the Florida recount confirms the election of George
> Bush, but Al Gore fails to concede.
>
> We all know what is going on in Florida, and that the election hinges
on
> the outcome. I am writing you today to prepare us all for what we
> consider doing if what I think is going to happen actually does. The
> recount, which will be finished by 5 p.m. Thursday or Friday, will
> likely show Bush to be the winner once again, with only a few thousand
> overseas ballots to be counted. Those ballots will be overwhelmingly
for
> Bush, a minimum of 60% and probably closer to 75% if history repeats
> itself. If the count goes this way, the Republicans have won this
> election.
>
> This is when something critical happens. Either Gore bows out
gracefully
> or he doesn't, and it appears that he won't. These are people wedded to
> power who will only go down kicking and screaming. They will use every
> legal maneuver in the book to steal the election. (In 1960, when
Richard
> Nixon had every right and reason to challenge the election results he
> didn't for the sake of the country. Expect no such noble behavior this
> time.) What will they try? One bet is to find a friendly judge to
throw
> out the Florida results on a flimsy premise. They are already floating
> this as a trial balloon in the form of the allegedly "confusing"
ballots
> in Palm Beach County. I have seen the ballots - they are not
confusing
> in the least. Indeed, they are identical in form to the punch-card
> ballots used in Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, in this very
> election. What's more, it is just as likely that Palm Beach County
> voters who wanted to vote for Bush inadvertently voted for Nader. All
> parties approved the form of ballot before the election. The
> form-of-ballot issue is a mere pretext for an effort a judicial
> invalidation of the Florida election.
>
> While I hope this scenario doesn't come to pass, I fear that it will,
> and it will only have disastrous results for the country. The election
> fight could drag on for months and actually be decided by a court! If
> this comes to pass the vision of our Founders and the blood of patriots
> will have been betrayed.
>
> Personally, I don't intend to stand for this, and I hope you won't
> either. The good news is that we are not without voice.
>
> HERE IS WHAT MUST BE DONE: if the vote count affirms Bush's election,
we
> allow a short grace period to see the reaction of the Gore camp. If
they
> have not graciously conceded after a few hours, we must bombard the
news
> media and our public officials AT EVERY LEVEL with phone calls of
> outrage that demand Gore's concession. I mean literally millions of
> phone calls. We must jam their phone banks with calls. There are
> millions of us so it shouldn't be too difficult. (While you're at it,
> send e-mails to your local newspapers as well.)
>
> If it becomes widely reported - and it will - that there is a
> groundswell demanding that Gore back down and not embarrass the
country,
> it will be very difficult for Gore to withstand the pressure. He will
> have to relent.
>
> Here are some places to start:
>
> The White House:
> telephone (202) 456-4114
> FAX:(202)456-2461
> e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov <mailto:president@whitehouse.gov>
>
> The Vice President's Office:
> telephone:(202) 274-5000
> FAX:(202) 456-2883
> e-mail: vice.president@whitehouse.gov
> <mailto:vice.president@whitehouse.gov>
>
> Vice President's Senate Office: telephone: (202) 224-2424
>
> Senator Tom Daschle (Senate Democratic Leader): (202) 224-2321
> Also: (202) 224-5556
>
> Representative Dick Gephardt (House Democratic Leader): (202) 225-2671
> Also: (202) 225--0100
>
> Also, be sure to call your congressmen and both your senators. All
these
> numbers are easily located on voter.com. You can also contact them
> through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard:
>
> U.S. Capitol Switchboard (all Senators and Representatives): (202)
> 224-3121
>
> Another office to call is that of Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley (the
> brother of Gore's campaign manager, Bill Daley):
> Telephone: (312) 744-3300
> FAX: (312) 744-2324
>
> If you've never made a call like this, there's no reason to be shy.
They
> get opinion calls all the time and are set up to take them. In fact
they
> like calls. It helps them tell which way the wind is blowing.
>
> Some media contacts:
>
> Boston Globe
> (617) 929-2000
> Matthew V. Storin, Editor
> (617) 929-3049
> e-mail: storin@globe.com <mailto:storin@globe.com>
>
> Boston Herald
> Andrew Costello, Editor
> (617) 619-6400
> e-mail: acostello@bostonherald.com <mailto:acostello@bostonherald.com>
>
> Chicago Sun-Times:
> (312) 321-3000
> Michael Cooke, Editor in Chief
> e-mail: mcooke@suntimes.com <mailto:mcooke@suntimes.com>
>
> Chicago Tribune
> (800) 874-2863
> Howard A. Tyner, Editor
> e-mail: ChiEd@aol.com <mailto:ChiEd@aol.com> <mailto:ChiEd@aol.com
> Bruce Dold, Editorial Page Editor
> e-mail: bdold@tribune.com <mailto:bdold@tribune.com>
>
> Los Angeles Times
> (213) 237-7935 (opinion department)
> (213) 237-4511 and Fax: (213) 237-7679 (letters to the editor) (202)
> 293-4650 (Washington bureau)
> www.latimes.com <http://www.latimes.com>
>
> New York Post
> (212) 930-8000
> John Mancini, News
> e-mail: jmancini@nypost.com <mailto:jmancini@nypost.com>
>
> New York Times
> (212) 556-1234
> Joseph Lelyveld, Executive Editor
> Letters to the Editor
> fax: (212) 556-3622
> e-mail: letters@nytimes.com <mailto:letters@nytimes.com>
>
> Philadelphia Inquirer
> (215) 854-4500
> Letters to the editor:
> Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com
<mailto:Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com>
>
> USA Today
> (703) 276-3400
> Karen Jurgenson, Editor
> www.usatoday.com <http://www.usatoday.com>
>
> Washington Post
> (202) 334-6000
> Fred Hiatt, Editorial Page Editor
> e-mail: hiattf@washpost.com <mailto:hiattf@washpost.com>
>
> Time
> e-mail: letters@time.com <mailto:letters@time.com>
>
> ABC
> http://abc.go.com/abc/help/contact.html
> <http://abc.go.com/abc/help/contact.html>
>
> CNN
> (404) 827-1500
>
> CBS
> (212) 975-4321
>
> MSNBC
> e-mail: World@MSNBC.com <mailto:World@MSNBC.com>
>
> NBC-Nightly News: e-mail: Nightly@NBC.com <mailto:Nightly@NBC.com>
>
> NBC Today Show: e-mail: Today@NBC.com <mailto:Today@NBC.com>
>
> I'm hoping none of this will be necessary, but I fear otherwise. As
> Edmund Burke said, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. This
> e-mail is just to prepare you for the battle that should be engaged.
>
> PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL MESSAGE TO EVERYONE YOU CAN THINK OF. IF
> WE HARNESS THE POWER OF THE INTERNET, BY TOMORROW MILLIONS OF US WILL
BE
> READY!
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Dec 03 2000 - 20:29:53 PST