From: senator_obama@obama.senate.gov
To: dog-tired@comcast.net
Subject: Message from Senator Barack Obama
Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 20:07:10 +0000
Dear Margot:
Thank you for your recent communication expressing your disappointment in my support for Alderman Joe Moore (49th Ward) in the recent City Council elections.
Over the years Alderman Moore has made a significant contribution to Chicago City Council and his ward. My support for Joe has been based on his commitment to public service and his hard work on behalf of the residents of the 49th ward. Although the recent election was close and hard fought, I trust that all in the 49th ward can look forward to effective service by Alderman Joe Moore.
Some constituents have called for an investigation into the procedures of the local election boards because of the narrow margin in the run-off election. In late April, the challenger, Don Gordon, filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that he should be declared the winner because of "fraudulent votes" in 22 precincts. As a United States Senator, I have no jurisdiction over the state court system.
I do share your view of the importance of election reform. I have introduced S. 453, the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007, which I am pleased to report has gained significant momentum since the November 2006 mid-term elections. The bill criminalizes deceptive misinformation campaigns and other types of efforts to misinform and intimidate voters. Specifically, S. 453 prohibits anyone from knowingly distributing false information regarding the time, place, manner, qualifications, restrictions and requirements for voting. It also outlaws false statements regarding an individual's endorsement of any candidate running for federal office. This provision is targeted specifically at an incident in Prince Georges County, Maryland, in which the Republican candidates for Governor and U.S. Senator distributed flyers in predominantly African-American neighborhoods claiming falsely that the two nominees had received the endorsements of severa l prominent local African-American political figures.
The bill imposes stiff penalties of up to $100,000 or five years imprisonment, or both, for those found guilty of violating the law. It also provides voters with a private right of action to seek relief from deceptive practices, and requires the DOJ to conduct immediate investigations into allegations of this type of fraud. Finally, the Act extends its purpose beyond mere deterrents and punishments by establishing a process for reaching out to misinformed and intimidated voters with correct information so they can cast their votes. While the various types of voter suppression targeted in S. 453 would either be prosecuted by attorneys at the Civil Rights or Criminal Divisions of the DOJ, the bill also provides optional authority for the Attorney General to create a "Voter Integrity Task Force."
I am pleased to report some significant developments in the effort to get this legislation pas sed. The House version of the bill, introduced by Rep. Rahm Emanuel (R-IL), was approved by the House Judiciary Committee in mid-April. It is my understanding that the bill will be taken up for debate by the full House, and a vote will be held on final passage, in early June. Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to hold a hearing on S. 453 on June 7, 2007, which brings us one step closer to passage on the Senate side. I am becoming increasingly optimistic that we can get this bill signed into law by the end of the year.
Protecting the right to vote has been a career-long focus of mine. Before joining the Senate, this issue was a central aspect of my work as a community organizer in Chicago, as a civil rights attorney ensuring compliance with voter registration law, and as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago. My commitment to protecting the rights of all voters in this country has only been strengthened by the new opportunities for in volvement afforded by my position as a United States Senator. I assure you I will take full advantage of that privilege.
I am optimistic that progress can be made toward ensuring that in American elections all eligible voters are able to cast their ballots free of any interference or intimidation, and have confidence that their vote will count. That is why I am also supporting legislation that includes requirements for "verifiable paper audit trails," also known as VPAT or "paper trails." Paper trail systems provide voters with a paper receipt of their electronic vote, and that receipt becomes the primary record of that person's vote. The receipt is deposited at the polling sites and is then used in the case of an audit.
Thank you again for writing. I value the informed comments of my fellow Illinoisans.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
Margot Hackett's response
Dear Mr. Obama,
My communication to you did say I was dissapointed in your choice to endorse Mr. Moore. However the bulk of my communication was to inform you of organizations, such as the Edgewater Rogers Park DFA, who are opposing Don Gordons right to file this suit and clearly don't support the right for fair and honest elections.
As a senator, you have no jurisdiction over the state court system. But as a chicago native and a United States senator, you could clearly take an active stand in allowing this case to proceed. You could take a stand on everyone's right to a fair and ethical election process You could take a stand on organizations, such as the SEIU and Acorn, that spread very slanderous literature, acusing Don of being a republican, a racist and a homophobe. You could take a stand on mail fraud, postcards with the return address of an active Rogers Park citizen, from a nonexistant group "Republicans for Gordon", mailed to lower income citizens as a scare tactic. You could take this stand regardless of political ties or endorsements, because it is the right thing to do. As a prominant lawyer, United States Senator and Presidential Candidate, your word carries a great deal of clout.
As to Mr. Moore's successes in his ward, I ask you Mr. Obama, when was the last time you took a stroll down Howard Street or Morse Avenue? For that fact have you ever been within the boundaries of the 49th ward outside of Loyola University? Joe Moore grandstands on issues that will get him press, Big Box, CTA reform and the like. But an alderman's first and foremost responsibility is his ward. I invite you sir to a guided tour of our ward any time you like.
Sincerely,
Margot Hackett
BLOGNOTES: You gotta hand it to him, Senator Obama can REALLY filibuster. Even to a average citizen like Margot.
15 comments:
thanks for doing this Margot
Moore's supporters don't live here
one of the clearest ways to challenge them in their beliefs is to ask them to go for walk
WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHERE THE SENATOR GETS HIS INFO ABOUT OUR GREAT GOOSE LIVER ALDERMAN- PROBALY NEVER WALKED DOWN HOWARD OR MORSE AVE.
PS MARGOT YOU ARE A DREAM BY SHARING THIS WITH US
I'm not a Moore supporter or a fan of the 49th ward DFA group (I did vote for Dean in 2004).
That being said:
The 49th ward DFA never Gordon doesn't have the right to file suit. They publicly disagreed with his decision to file suit and opposed his suggested remedy (throwing out thousands of valid votes based on selective allegations of unproven vote fraud).
(Given their prior endorsement of Moore, that's neither a surprise nor intrinsically interesting).
er, never said Gordon... sorry for the bad edit.
I did not read the lawsuit, but most complaints have the catch-all request: "and any remedy this court finds just," or something to that effect. Gordon's remedy is merely a suggestion, a request. The court is under no obligation to give him his requested remedy.
The DFA's letter did not merely attack his requested remedy, but blasted Gordon's "divisive" lawsuit altogether. In my estimation, talking more about their letter only gives it undeserved credibility.
The original letter written was a follows, a cut and paste with some additions of a letter Beata Riedlmayer posted on the bench.
Dear Senator Obama,
I'm a big fan, but I am quite distressed about the runoff election in the 49th Ward of Chicago. You endorsed Mr. Moore. Now the opponent, Don Gordon, has asked for an investigation of the election process. Various Moore supporters, including Democracy for America - Edgewater/Rogers Park, are asking that the challenge be rescinded. They are, in fact, using the group to send letters to all and sundry as the Steering Committee. They did not consult the local membership about this.
There are many reasons to believe that there were serious problems with this campaign and with the election itself. There is a picture on one of the local blogs, showing Joe Moore shaking hands with a senior citizen -- while she is voting!! Isn't his very presence in room with voting booths in use a clear example of electioneering?
I participated, as a poll watcher in both the February and April elections. In both elections I personally witnessed counts of illegal electioneering. The incumbant shaking hands and introducing himself to election judges within the polling room, polling locations with signs and or banners for the incumbant displayed within the 100 foot boundary of the poll, election judges endorsing Moore to voters within the 100 foot boundary and I strongly suspect that the polling location I worked on election day was not cunsulting the early voter list as they checked voters in.
The first election had 5 counts of election fraud that neither Lisa Madigan or the board of elctions have chosen to investigate.
I am asking that, although you support Joe Moore, you speak out to encourage the investigation to proceed. If there were no serious violations, and the count was fair, nobody has anything to worry about. I'm sure you know about the charges that voters were imported, that voters stating they lived in buildings that are vacant were allowed to vote, and so forth. The allegations were not made lightly. The 49th Ward, and the rest of Chicago, deserves to be informed -- by a thorough investigation -- whether the outcome is fair.
I respectfully urge you to support the democratic process, and stand up for the right thing. You represent us nationally, but your local voice is also powerful. Please join us in asking that the facts be laid open.
Barack doesn't know that Rahm is a Democrat?
Wonder how Rahm feels about that.
That aside, with the whole US Attorney thing blowing up, the election/voter fraud issue is a political dead duck.
Just like down here in the 46th, you'll have to hold on until 2011 to take another shot at getting an alderman with a clue.
Everyone who wrote to Sen. Obama about that mailer got the EXACT same response letter. I got mine today.
I agree though, Obama should take a nice long walk thru the CrackFactories around here.
Awesome letter for calling BO out on the carpet. Thanks!
While I applaud the efforts of our political leaders to protect everyone's right to vote, what about fighting to prevent those who vote fraudulently? In an effort to protect voter rights we've got the functional equivalent of a system that protects criminals, victims be damned. The present system gives full protection to fraudulent voters and none to those who cast their votes legitimately.
I wrote the CBOE and Lisa Madigan's office about a specific voter (and ex-resident) who attempted to engage in voter fraud on 2/27. This person was thwarted by a knowing election judge. That's the rare bit of good news. The bad news is that neither CBOE or Madigan's office wrote me that they would investigate.
Here's the deal: if I move and I don't change my voter registration info., I can just keep coming back here to vote, irrespective of CBOE's claims about following up with registered voters. Forever. I know for a fact that there are people on the voter rolls who have not lived in RP for some time and in one case, in decades.
So when will leaders like Obama work to prevent voter fraud instead of working to pass redundant laws that protect candidates but do nothing for the rest of us? Political candidates have been trying to shut down political speech since the 1700s. The courts always strike the unconstitutional laws down. Obama may get his law passed but that doesn't mean it will pass the Supremes. It already looks like they will be undoing McCain's inane campaign finance reforms that only made matters worse.
Meanwhile, we have social security issues, medicare issues, an FDA more interested in stopping people from getting cancer treatment or pain relief but our great political leadership thinks best use of time is to pass laws that prevent them from being called names. No wonder I dislike politicians more than used car salesmen.
Good points Pam.
What a disapointing letter from Senator Obama. Not surprising, but disapointing nevertheless.
About S. 453...the mind sort of boggles. Truth in advertising of political candidates, sponsored by Rahm Emmanuel. Okay, it's obviously much more narrowly written than that. But who exactly is going to do this corrective reaching out to fix misinformation, in what timeframe, under what supervision and who pays for it? Sounds like some correctives may come to the top of the pile, since the clock will be ticking...who decides those priorities? Or would the DOJ be adding lots of additional staff to follow up on them all before election day?
Voters get private right of action for relief? So that means if someone puts a flyer on my front door with a bunch of misinformation on it I can sue? Who do I sue exactly? Holy crap.
Local Board of Elections are supposed to make available correct information about time and place of voting and as long as judges of elections don't put voters off, this should be sufficient. Just because some idiot puts out a flyer saying that their candidate is endorsed by [insert local hero] we need this elaborate bureaucracy to "correct" it? How about people just use their brains instead?
In addition to the constitutional issue, which is not incidental, S. 453 sounds like a plain nightmare to implement and expensive besides for not much substantive protection. There are other much more pressing election reform issues, as we in Cook Co. know only too well.
Thanks Margot for your original letter and your follow-up letter.
Clearly Joe's city-wide initiatives make him a very visible and viable politician in the Democratic Party. It also gets him large amounts of campaign funds and support from outside the ward (Fois Gras money from well-heeled and well-connected annimal rights activist; tons of money from the unions; affordable housing activists who appear to believe that spreading misinformation is ethical if you have the right cause behind you, etc.)
As many have observed, Joe is running for higher office. It is clear from his lack of passion about the ward that this is just a place to park himself (and earn a respectbale salary) while he scores points with Obama and other Democratic leaders.
The strategy obviously working. However, I suspect this election has got Joe's attention.
Obviously, an incumbent with hundreds of thousands fo dollars of campaign funding should be abel to win by a landslide. Clearly we have sent a message that the folks who live here are not happy with the progress of the ward. We look at other Alderpersons and think, "gee, wouldn't it be nice if Howard Street looked like Bryn Mawr?" What is Mary Ann Smith doing that Joe is not?
Unfortunately, although we have sent a message, I am not sure it has been received.
The one really bright spot in Joe's ward office (Kevin Cosgrove) has left. It will be interesting to see if anything changes. I am not optimistic. In my opinion, Joe needs to start taking some steps to show the 49.x% that he actually cares about what we think. Obviosuly, Predident Bush doesn't appear pahsed by his lack of support. Will Joe be any better at listening?
I wrote to Obama several weeks ago expressing my disappointment in his endorsement of Moore (to say nothing of Toddy) and got the same response letter as Margot.
I initially had high hopes for him as a presidential candidate, but connections to people like Rezko and questionable local endorsements like this (traditional a$$kissing as opposed to the "fresh approach" to politics that Obama initially seemed to represent) have forced me to scrutinize his ideas and ethics much more closely.
Either Obama didn't really hear our message or he's chosen to ignore it because it doesn't mesh well with the alliances of the Chicago political machine.
The funny part is that the print piece showing Obama being cozy with Moore showed up in my mail box the same week as the piece with Obama's endorsement of Daley. They just keep pulling our strings folks, and we need to remember we have scissors in our pockets.
Did anyone else get the push email recently from Fagus and Moore about training "boot camps" to be selected as an Obama volunteer or intern from the 49th? Looks like Fagus has been appointed (appointed himself?) gatekeeper for Obama volunteers, since evidently it is "selective" and only some will make the cut. Fagus and Moore as admissions officers for the Obama campaign? Mercy.
Anyway, this prompted a letter (a polite one, I swear) to the Obama campaign asking them if this was their intention. No reply yet, which is not really too surprising.
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