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Obama Must Learn From Kucinich's Election Theft Impeachment

by: Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman  |  The Free Press

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Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) holds up a pocket size version of the US Constitution. He introduced 35 articles of impeachment against George W. Bush. Among the charges are the election theft by the Bush campaign in Ohio during the 2004 election.
(Photo: Getty Images)

    Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has introduced 35 articles of impeachment against George W. Bush. Two of the articles deal with the fact that Bush was never elected, and in fact stole the election of 2004 in Ohio. They should serve as a cautionary notice to the Obama campaign that this year's election could also be stolen.

    Kucinich's courage in introducing these articles is underscored by the fact that the Congress should have removed Bush from office years ago. From lying to the world to perpetrate the war in Iraq, to violating the Constitution on scores of basic civil rights and liberties issues, to fostering a regime based on unprecedented corruption and robbery, George W. Bush would be known as the worst president in the history of the United States if in fact he had been elected president.

    But these articles of impeachment contain charges that come directly from the independent reportage on the stolen 2004 election that appeared first at www.freepress.org and in other non-corporate and internet-based media throughout the United States. Ironically, though these facts have finally penetrated to a proposed Congressional indictment of the nation's chief executive, they have yet to be reported in the "mainstream" corporate-owned media.

    Kucinich's Article 28 charges Bush with "tampering with free and fair elections," along with "corruption of the administration of justice." Article 29 charges him and his staff and political cronies and underlings with "conspiracy to violate the Civil Rights Act of 1965" (co-author Bob Fitrakis, attorney-at-law, helped draft these Articles 28 and 29 based in part on information that was first posted at www.freepress.org).

    Many of the specific charges leveled in the bill of impeachment can be traced directly to conflict of interest charged raised in Ohio by grassroots election protection activists before, during and after the 2004 voting. Bush deserves impeachment, Kucinich writes, for "willfully allowing his agent, Ohio Secretary of State John Kenneth Blackwell, the Co-Chair of the Bush-Cheney Re-election Campaign, to ensure that uncounted and provisional ballots in Ohio's 2004 presidential election would be disproportionately concentrated in urban African-American districts."

    The impeachment document also notes that "in Ohio's Lucas County, which includes Toledo, 3,122 or 41.13% of the provisional ballots went uncounted under the direction of George W. Bush's agent, the Secretary of State of Ohio, John Kenneth Blackwell, Co-Chair of the Committee to Re-Elect Bush/Cheney in Ohio....In Ohio's Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, 8,559 or 32.82% of the provisional ballots went uncounted....In Ohio's Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati, 3,529 or 24.23% of the provisional ballots went uncounted."

    In our numerous conversations with Rep. Kucinich since the Ohio-centered theft of the 2004 election, he has made it clear that he fully understands the depth of planning and coordination that went into the hijacking of the presidency. Based on sophisticated coordination between Blackwell and White House consiglieri Karl Rove, the GOP launched a high-tech blitzkrieg on the electoral process. Their tactics ranged from removing more than 300,000 registered Ohio citizens from the voter rolls, to short-changing inner city precincts of needed voting machines, to rigging electronic vote counts, to calling a phony Homeland Security alert to several score other tactics, many of which continue to surface.

    The tragedy of this impeachment is that it did not occur in 2004, when the independent media filled with the first revelations of what really happened in Ohio. Two new election protection documentaries, David Earnhardt's UNCOUNTED and a new release coming from Emmy-award winner Dorothy Fadiman, make the experience even more indelible. The Bush catastrophe is now winding down, having exceeded all expectations in its destruction of the fabric of American law, economy and ecology. But if Barack Obama allows history to repeat itself yet again in 2008, this nation will plunge even deeper into the depths. The only way to avoid that is to proceed with this impeachment in all its potential force. At very least, this Congress must thoroughly expose and act on what was done to our sacred democratic process in 2004. As we have since learned, the world cannot afford to have this happen again.

    Full text of the resolution can be found at: Articles of Impeachment

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    Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman are co-authors of HOW THE GOP STOLE AMERICA'S 2004 ELECTION & IS RIGGING 2008, available via www.freepress.org, where this article first appeared. They also co-wrote, with Steve Rosenfeld, WHAT HAPPENED IN OHIO, from The New Press.

  

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Comments

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OK... why did this take so

OK... why did this take so long? way to go President Kucinich... opps... well maybe in 2016 I Mean Congressman Kucinich damm he would have made an excellent President of the free world!... and his wife is HOT! sizzling HOT!

It's hard to fathom that the

It's hard to fathom that the Dems in Congress could be so corrupt and cowardly as to allow the corporate dictatorship to get away with... EVERYTHING! Guys from Oregon...nothing; John Conyers... nothing; no one speaks up, they just let it pass. We HAVE to replace these GOP bastards, the ones who call themselves "Democrat". We have to organise and make some noise about the elections or something, before it's stolen again, because I have no doubt as of right now, it's in the GOP bag. John Kerry had no intention of being President. He knew what was going on. He said he put $50 mil aside in case the election was stolen, but when tons of evidence emerged, even John Edwards (who woke up alot after all that) noticed, but John Kerry remained silent and let the third parties raise money and challenge on his behalf, yet without his support or that of the Dem Party, it went nowhere. The crooked judges just let them complete their theft, again.

The fact that the articles

The fact that the articles of impeachment have not been seriously reported on the "mainstream" press should be telling (there is a CNN short article today), there will be no serious reportage of it just as there was no serious consideration of the 2004 Ohio irregularities and no voting irregularities will be reported if John McCain somehow defies all odds to win a key state at the last possible moment... media reform won't happen in time for November.

Let us lend our support to

Let us lend our support to Rep. Kucinich and write to our Congressman demanding they stand up for what is right even if it costs them. Our nation is more important than any Congressman regardless of party affiliation.

Suckers stand up and fight!

Suckers stand up and fight! Impeachment the criminal!

Dennis Kucinich is saying

Dennis Kucinich is saying for many American's that which has been muted and muffled. He is the Democrat's "Ron Paul" - standing for an end to the war and the restoration of the Constitution. Regardless of the GOP incumbency, the Democrats have to work within their party to flush out the people who don't have any respect for the popular vote. Democratic voters are routinely disenfranchised during elections nationally. If the popular vote indeed goes to Obama, Democrats within the party need to strengthen their weakest links so the integrity of that election is upheld. I believe Democratic "frenemies" were the reason for the concession of the last two Presidential elections.

Kucinich is fearless. In a

Kucinich is fearless. In a climate where our National terms and conditions are topsy-turvy, Kucinich defends the Constitution. In a climate where most democrats are not democrats but rather collaborators and enablers of the first anti Constitutional government, the nation has ever seen, Kucinich defends the Constitution. Though Bush Administrators call themselves Republicans, they do not support the Republic but rather are strip mining laws and resources that protect the common good and are taking the country apart for profit. Who needs to tell you what "Republicans" are who no longer support the Constitution of the United States but, instead, support the absence of habeas corpus and the practice of rendition and torture?

Arika: wild accusations like

Arika: wild accusations like yours make a bad situation worse. What chance do you think we have to replace hardworking Democrats who are doing their best with candidates you would support? The situation is bad enough without providing targets to persuade honestly confused people to vote Republican, which is exactly what you are doing. re Kucinich, I sure do hope this all finally gets some press.

So, some folks are waking up

So, some folks are waking up to the fact that Dennis Kucinich is the "real deal", a man who walks his talk, a giant redwood surrounded by too much skunk cabbage. Contact your Senators and Representatives. Let them know that you are closely watching how they vote on THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT. This is happening much too late, but better than not at all.

For several years now I've

For several years now I've been hoping someone in Congress would find the courage to bring forth the movement to impeach Bush/Cheney - finally Kucinich did. Then Pelosi stood and said it would be brushed off the table. Maybe that will save the way for Obama to be elected in November. Okay, she is temporarily understood. However, I am wondering if some kind of action could be begun, or if the action can be shelved until we have a Democratic president in office. The important thing here is the promise of impeachment against Bush/Cheney. These two simply cannot go free. Also, I'm wondering why Kucinich didn't make the "short" list for v.p. on Obama's team? If, indeed, Obama is a true spiritual scout, Kucinich would be a great buddy. Or is this steadfast warrior (K, that is) to find a place close by on the cabinet?

Hello Everyone. Finally

Hello Everyone. Finally this is getting some notice. I've tried to email Huffington post, msnbc, and others, the emails were returned. HBO showed "Hacking Democracy" in May, I asked PBS to show it. on DVD. Also "Undetectable Computer Virus" supposedly shows any computer can be hacked leaving no trace. BlackBoxvoting.org and bradblog.com are working for honest elections. We cannot miss this opportunity to elect Barack Obama, and save our great Country. We need honest elections. !!! The machines are the biggest part of the fraud. I think they were pushed on us so those in power can stay in power, they won't ALLOW us to vote them out of office. How's that for a Democracy. Help. God Bless America and protect Barack Obama and his family.

No Justice Without

No Justice Without Impeachment! Thank you, Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, for keeping this in the public conversation. If the Democrats in Congress continue to push aside impeachment proceedings against Bush and Cheney, I’m strongly considering giving my support to a Third Party–likely Nader. As an African American, I have made considerable effort in supporting Sen. Obama. However, if impeachment continues to be “off the table”, so will be my support for Mr. Obama. Many of our nation's Black brothers and sisters are in the prison system for committing far less harm to our society than President Bush and his Neo-Con-men in the White House (who signed the Project for the New American Century manifesto for world domination at all cost). Yet, to those incarcerated, as well as to the larger public, how do we justify our nation’s conduct regarding crime and punishment when the Bush administration has, in effect, usurped our Constitution. Additionally, Speaker Nancy Pelosi should be investigated for aiding the Bush administration, stating in a recent letter to me, “I believe impeachment proceedings against Vice President Dick Cheney will distract us from our mission…”. Well, to Ms. Pelosi and all those who are relentlessly enabling this epic tragedy of senseless death, shattered lives, broken families, mind-numbing abuses of our hard-earned tax dollars, savage corporate exploitation; I say, JUSTICE IS NO DISTRACTION! There is no justice without impeachment! Many in Congress and the Senate had the same intelligence as the White House administration, yet their conclusions were vastly different and, as it turns out, shockingly correct. Most of the mainstream press, which as we now know from Bill Moyers’ insightful PBS documentary, “Buying the War”, rather than giving us the benefit of being watch-dog, instead served as lap-dog to the Bush White House—providing no real means for adequate public scrutiny. The Congressional Black Caucus stood in the House on the eve of the invasion on Iraq and made fact-based, rational, and passionate presentations pleading with the President not to invade Iraq. Sadly, most Americans to this day still do not know about those presentations because the mainstream press never reported that historic event. It is now time for us, all of us, to speak up to our elected officials in the name of justice. Our laws say we are entitled to impeachment proceedings, and our morality demands it. Because we were fooled into war with Iraq, there are so many in this country who weep at the mere sight of the empty chair at the dinner table, knowing their loved one will never return to break bread in the sacred fellowship of family. To me, this issue runs much deeper than race. This is about the essence of justice, coming from the heart of democracy, a democracy which we still strive to achieve. By overriding what polls reveal as a huge majority of the nation favoring impeachment, the Democrats are robbing the American public of a tremendous opportunity to grow in its civic stewardship by learning what really happened to us, and how never to allow it again. They are robbing us of our ability to bring justice to bear against those who perpetrated this monstrous misadventure. And more importantly, the Democrats are robbing our nation of the opportunity to heal from the devastating impact of this massive tyranny and death. Indeed, justice is no distraction. There will be no justice without impeachment!

There is one possible

There is one possible reason why this option has been "off the table"... Incumbents always have an advantage in a presidential election. If you go after Bush and impeach him; Cheney becomes president and then chooses a new vice who can run in the next election for president himself. [As if the idea of Cheney being president wasn't horrible enough.] Bush is an idiot, Cheney is the one pulling the strings, and men like him never get sent to prison. If the Dems had been able to get a stronger majority elected in the House and Senate, Bush would have been powerless to do anything anyway. Too many people still believed the Republicans fear-mongering and voted for them anyway. The next election will be the real test. Will the people let John McCain scare them into another four years of Bush-esque failed policies? I for one, hope not.

Well said, Ellison! I think

Well said, Ellison! I think you should look at YouTube and find out the truth about Obama. He and Hillary got on bended knee to AIPAC, which wants everlasting war in the desert. He says lots of decent things, but he's not even talking about stolen elections, nor Impeachment, for that matter. He is in all the corporate media, which means he's no threat to them. Look how little air-time John Edwards got, because he was clear that he was a threat to the Powers That Be. So he had no chance, because most people still don't get that corporate media won't tell them the truth, or let it be shown. Most people don't want to know, because they might feel the need to get off their asses and do something!! I'm voting for Ralph. He's the only one I can conscientiously vote for. I just can't vote for someone who's the lesser of two evils. And he (and I am too) is right with you about the prison population. If people just woke up, he could have the chance to help us fix our country. I would vote to retry anyone, starting with Black and Brown people, and keep those in prison who actually committed a crime, and make them rehabs, so when they get out, they are happier, better-adjusted humans who get the opportunity to prove they can treat everyone better. Including themselves! I wish I could do more...

War based on lies, and it

War based on lies, and it goes on. Election based on fraud, and it stands. Presidency based on a stolen election, and he's still in office; etc. ad nauseum. Who needs fascism when tyrants can get away with such colossal crimes in a "democracy"?!

Dennis Kucinich is amazing!

Dennis Kucinich is amazing! He is the man who should be running for President not Obama. But the corporate owned and controlled media knew he was the only real threat to the Bush Regime so they saw to it that he did not get real, factual, democratic coverage. He is so right on. . . Bush was never elected, not in 2000 nor in 2004. If only we could elect honest people to Congress who would investigate those elections. If we could prove that he was never elected then all of his Supreme Court appointments, Signing Statements, Executive Orders, Federal Judge appointments would be null and void and our Democracy would be saved. We also need to investigate the financial investments of Conyers, Pelosi and Harry Reid. For them to claim that they do not support Impeachment because it would "distract them from their mission" is such an obvious smoke screen. Her "mission" seems to be to protect her career. In reality her "mission" is to protect the American Constitution and thereby the American people

Dennis Kucinich is such a

Dennis Kucinich is such a breath of fresh air. He seems compelled to do the right thing - and I was especially glad to see that he included 2 articles of impeachment dealing with the fact that GW was not fairly elected in the 2004 election. Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, who appear in my film, UNCOUNTED: The New Math of American Elections (www.UncountedTheMovie.com) have both spent the last 3+ years documenting the many ways that GW stole that election, and we document many of those instances in our film. Because of the urgency of these issues as we head into the 2008 presidential election, it concerns me that the House Judiciary Committee has indicated that it may wait until after the election to have their hearings. This would be a huge mistake, particularly in the context of the drumbeats we are hearing about our taking action in Iran. The Committee needs to take action now. This is a dangerous administration, and waiting is never a good idea when the stakes are so high. Thanks to Rep. Kucinich for being who he is - and for doing fighting the good fight.