9.02.2006
Kerry Reignites 2004 Battle Over Ohio (SFGate.com)
John Wildermuth, Chronicle Political Writer
Friday, September 1, 2006
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry jumped back into the 2004 presidential race this week with a scathing letter accusing Ken Blackwell, Ohio's Republican secretary of state, of using "the power of his state office to try to intimidate Ohioans and suppress the Democratic vote'' in the 2004 election.
The letter was sent to 100,000 Democratic donors, asking them to send money to U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, who is running against Blackwell for governor. But it focused on Blackwell as a Republican who must be defeated.
Blackwell, who was co-chair of Bush's 2004 campaign in Ohio, "used his office to abuse our democracy and threaten basic voting rights,'' Kerry said in the letter. "His legacy as secretary of state? Putting partisanship ahead of the electorate's fundamental right to vote.''
Although Kerry was careful not to suggest that Blackwell and the Republicans manipulated the Ohio vote to cost him the presidential election, he shoved a stick into a very angry hornets' nest. It was George Bush's narrow victory in Ohio that secured his re-election, and livid Democrats and the liberal end of the blogosphere have challenged those numbers since election day.
The issue erupted again in June when Robert Kennedy Jr. wrote an article in Rolling Stone magazine asking "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?'' In the piece, he echoed much of the Democratic and progressive left when he said Kerry should be in the White House today.
(More ... Kerry reignites 2004 battle over Ohio / He accuses GOP governor candidate of partisanship) ¶ 20:00
Friday, September 1, 2006
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry jumped back into the 2004 presidential race this week with a scathing letter accusing Ken Blackwell, Ohio's Republican secretary of state, of using "the power of his state office to try to intimidate Ohioans and suppress the Democratic vote'' in the 2004 election.
The letter was sent to 100,000 Democratic donors, asking them to send money to U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, who is running against Blackwell for governor. But it focused on Blackwell as a Republican who must be defeated.
Blackwell, who was co-chair of Bush's 2004 campaign in Ohio, "used his office to abuse our democracy and threaten basic voting rights,'' Kerry said in the letter. "His legacy as secretary of state? Putting partisanship ahead of the electorate's fundamental right to vote.''
Although Kerry was careful not to suggest that Blackwell and the Republicans manipulated the Ohio vote to cost him the presidential election, he shoved a stick into a very angry hornets' nest. It was George Bush's narrow victory in Ohio that secured his re-election, and livid Democrats and the liberal end of the blogosphere have challenged those numbers since election day.
The issue erupted again in June when Robert Kennedy Jr. wrote an article in Rolling Stone magazine asking "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?'' In the piece, he echoed much of the Democratic and progressive left when he said Kerry should be in the White House today.
(More ... Kerry reignites 2004 battle over Ohio / He accuses GOP governor candidate of partisanship) ¶ 20:00
