Ed Martin Demands Action from AG Chris Koster

I just got the following in an email from the Ed Martin for Congress campaign:

Campaign Requests Action by Koster, Carnahan Over Election Irregularities
“Robin Carnahan must answer why she failed to maintain database and Koster must investigate St. Louis Election Board misconduct”

St. Louis - In November, Missourians faced unexpected trouble and questionable conduct by election officials. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s statewide voter database failed for most of election day resulting in election day chaos that forced some voters to cast ballots provisionally or being turned away from the polls. In addition, an election official with the City of St. Louis has now admitted to conduct that appears to violate state and local law.

The Ed Martin for Congress campaign has, in keeping with its commitment to fight for the rights of citizens, continued in its efforts to hold officials accountable. To that end, the campaign has asked Attorney General Chris Koster to investigate the admissions by St. Louis Election Chair Eileen McCann that she inappropriately hired a security firm that was also under contract with candidate Congressman Russ Carnahan. The campaign also requested that Secretary of State Robin Carnahan explain to citizens why she failed to operate the statewide database.

“Citizens place their trust in election official like Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and Election Board Chair Eileen McCann and, then these official violate that trust, the integrity of our democracy is threatened” said Ed Martin. “We need a full investigation and a frank explanation of what went wrong and why so we can begin to rebuild the trust. Democracy needs it and Missourians deserve it.”

Ed Martin Concedes

This morning, Ed Martin (R) called Russ Carnahan (D-MO) to congratulate him on winning last Tuesday's election. Martin has alleged voter fraud in the election; however, today he has acknowledged that to the extent that voter fraud occurred in Missouri's Third Congressional District, it does not account for the 4400 vote margin in the race. With almost 49% of the vote, Russ Carnahan will continue to represent the district.

Martin also updated his website with a post entitled election day review - final report which reads in part:

In the early hours of Wednesday, November 3rd we learned that a slim lead our campaign enjoyed disappeared in a surge of votes. At the time we understood that these votes were coming from as few as three precincts from the city of St. Louis. On its face this sudden end-of-night surge was suspicious. We understood that St. Louis had finished reporting. Mathematically, several thousand votes from a small number of precincts was implausible.

Given the history of St. Louis and the state of Missouri where our Secretary of State has refused to take responsibility for compelling local boards of election to purge voter rolls of ineligible registrants, voter fraud looms large in the mind of voters. A sudden wave of votes is easy to associate with an unscrupulous few who might have a few thousand votes on standby in case an election was close and their candidate needed help.

...

Since Wednesday afternoon we have learned that the votes were not from three to seven precincts in the City, but rather included unreported votes from the northwest precincts of St. Louis County encompassed by Missouri’s Third Congressional district. In light of this new information, the implausibility factor evaporates along with my concerns about voter fraud in that late surge. And, although I have concerns about other incidents and improper conduct on election day, I no longer believe these concerns are sufficient to continue our review of what has occurred or delay agreeing that this election is over.

...

Finally, after asking for input, we have heard from hundreds of citizens about problems with voting or voter registration. These problems are real and far too common – or so it seems. The heart of our republic is a voting system that works fairly, with regularity, and which inspires confidence. I fear that the legion of problems threatens the integrity of our voting system.

Our campaign was about empowering people to get involved in politics to change the course of our nation by stopping one-party rule in Washington. This has been accomplished by other victories even as we came up short. Our campaign also sought to instill confidence in the citizens that their voices and votesmatter. Mishaps and misconduct like we saw last Tuesday threaten this confidence. In the coming weeks and days, I will continue to seek to highlight the importance of protecting our voting system and will ask you to assist me in this effort.

Thank you to all and thanks be to God for the blessing that is the United States of America

Ed, thanks for running and best of luck in your future endeavors!

Stephanie Rubach: We Plan on Taking Over the Black Caucus

Stephanie boils down the vision for the 2010 midterm election. There's still work to do, so don't get cocky. Get out there!

An Invitation to Black Americans to Vote Republican (Updated)

Republican candidates of all races need and want blacks to vote for them. The video above intertwines photos of a few black Republicans from our country's history, with is of the fourteen black men and women who are seeking election to Congress this coming Tuesday. On one level, this video is a repudiation of President Barack Obama's statement: "They're counting on young people staying home and union members staying home and black folks staying home." But the real aim is to inspire blacks to leave behind a Democrat party that has failed them and "vote republican for the very first time."

Closing frame from the video

Update: Thanks to Kevin Jackson for some editorial suggestions on the video! OperationBlackStorm.org was where I learned about all the great black Republicans running this year. Here's the first version of the video.

Update 2: In addition to Kevin's suggestion, I got some good feedback from Chris who wrote in part: "I love it except for the references to Frederick Douglas and Black's history with the Republican Party. The Republican brand is in the tank when it comes to African Americans and it's been like that for a long time - and will continue to be in my opinion." In response, I've posted Take 3 above. This version does not include any of the historical figures. The second version is online here.

The thing I struggle most with in producing a video like this is knowing what to cut out. I always start with a basic concept. In this case, that concept was sketched out on October 1st in National Review and two days later at RealClearPolitics. The video earlier this month of Obama saying that Republicans are counting on blacks staying home, really annoyed me because I'm counting on Republican candidates winning over blacks. As you can see, the "basic concept" is really multiple concepts that may be inter-related. The hard part is boiling that all down into (ideally) 60 seconds.

Chris's comment reminded me of two things. First, the weekend before an election, no one wants a history lesson. And, second, ironically, a history lesson about Tip O'Neill's only defeat:

[Tip O'Neill] ran for and lost by 150 votes election as North Cambridge city councilman, his only political defeat. Before the vote he was surprised when longtime neighbor Mrs. O’Brien said: Tom (he was called Tom at home), I will vote for you, even though you did not ask for my support.

Stunned, O’Neill said, “Mrs. O’Brien, I have lived across the street from you for 18 years, have cut your grass summers and shoveled snow from your walks winters. I didn’t think I needed to ask for your vote. Mrs. O’Brien said, “Let me tell you something, Tom–people like to be asked.”

O’Neill took this lesson to heart, the origin of his oft-repeated maxim he made famous: “All politics is local.” Tip learned early that a politician serves at the pleasure of his constituents; that voters have names, faces, minds, and opinions; that they have problems they want your help on; and that they expect you to ask for their vote. (Editorial 1995, Nolan 1994)

The video above hits this point harder than the prior two. I removed the history lesson and adjusted the score.

BTW, if you want the elephant I created for the video, you can download a black and white JPEG or SVG (Adobe Illustrator) version. Feel free to print up some flyers to handout to friends and family asking them to vote Republican! I've created flyers/business cards that you could hand-out at polling places (observing all local laws, of course). You could either tailor this MS-Word version to the races in your district or you could use the generic "vote conservative/vote republican" message on this PDF version.

Mayor Francis Slay and Ed Martin

The St. Louis American's Political Eye column seems to think that Democrat Mayor Francis Slay has all but endorsed Republican Ed Martin:

Politics, it is often said, makes for strange bedfellows. The 2010 midterm elections are making for quite the strange bedfellow matchmaker.

Take as evidence these photographs of Ed Martin, far-right Republican candidate for Congress, buddying up with Mayor Francis G. Slay this weekend at the Columbus Day Parade in St. Louis.

And then further down:

Slay campaign communications operative Richard Callow tends to be more talkative. So we asked him.

We asked, “What is this supposed to mean about the mayor's professed support for Russ Carnahan? I need to check my calendar, but it seems like Nov. 2 is awfully close to be playing those sorts of footises with someone you are trying to beat. Unless, of course, you aren't really trying to beat the person you say you are trying to beat.”

Callow wrote right back: “You probably missed this tweet from @SMGregali: ‘Walking in the Columbus Day Parade with Mayor Slay & Cong. Carnahan.’”

The EYE wrote back: “And he probably hoped we would miss the cozy photos. Some mouths have two sides – some tongues, two forks.” As former Comptroller Virvus Jones likes to say, What it is, it ain’t.

 As Editor at 24thState reported in September, someone—presumably Mayor Slay or someone close to him—has registered the domain: www.SlayForCongress.com. Maybe someone should ask Callow about that. Maybe someone already has.

Obviously, a Democrat like Mayor Slay has to go through the formalities of fund raisers for Russ Carnahan (D-MO). However, Slay can also see that the Tea Party tide might well wash Russ from office. Having served as Mayor of St. Louis for nearly ten years, it's not surprising that he might look to move on to Congress in 2012.

During those years of service, Mayor Slay would have worked with Russ's opponent Ed Martin as Ed served on the St. Louis City Board of Election Commissioners. While serving on the Board, Ed took an active role in renewing the Board's commitment to free and fair elections. A lot of people have forgotten that. And I don't think Ed talks about his work improving the integrity of St. Louis city elections as much as he should.

St. Louis city had serious voter fraud problems prior to Ed's service. John Fund is quote at Heritage.org: "...in St. Louis it was discovered that voter rolls included 13,000 more names than the U.S. Census listed as the total number of adults in the city." Meanwhile, RottenAcorn.com's tally of vote tampering reports: "Of 5,379 voter registration cards ACORN submitted in St. Louis, only 2,013 of those appeared to be valid. At least 1,000 are believed to be attempts to register voters illegally."

By cleaning up city elections, Ed Martin burnished the credibility of subsequent elected officials, including Mayor Slay. So it's hardly surprising that Slay has a soft-spot for Ed.

Here's a video of Ed Martin at McArthur's Bakery from August 2009 talking about vote fraud and his work to mitigate it when he served on the St. Louis City Board of Election Commissioners:

Illinois May Disenfranchise Military Voters

WLS-AM 890 is reporting that the Justice Department is investigating whether or not the state of Illinois has disenfranchised military voters:

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the state of Illinois missed the deadline for mailing absentee ballots to members of the military and other overseas American voters as part of a new federal overseas voting law.

Cris Cray, Director of Legislation at the Illinois State Board of Elections, says not all of Illinois' 110 jurisdictions were compliant with the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE).

The law requires every state to mail their absentee ballots 45 days prior to Election Day to overseas troops, government employees and other Americans who want to vote from abroad.

Clearly the military community needs more organizing if it wants its votes to count!

Get out there!

The midterm elections are upon us. It's time to move beyond the Tea Parties and take an active role in getting conservatives elected. Congressional campaigns are busy calling voters and canvasing neighborhoods. Go volunteer on one this weekend! If you're in the St. Louis area, Robyn Hamlin and Ed Martin could use your help or you could volunteer at the St Louis Tea Party headquarters. Over on the western side of Missouri, Vicky Hartzler is in a tight race against Ike Skelton and Jacob Turk has an uphill battle in Kansas City.

Harvard Needs a Few, Good Signatures

Scott Brown (R-MA) is circulating a petition to return the Reserve Officers' Training Corp (ROTC) to Harvard University:

Sign this petition to tell Drew Gilpin Faust, the President of Harvard that it's time to accept The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) on campus.

By signing this petition, you agree that:

ROTC (The Reserve Officers' Training Corps) is an honorable service to the United States of America and that all students wishing to serve in ROTC should be allowed to exercise their service on the campus of Harvard.

Register to Vote by Wednesday 10/6

The last day to register to vote in Missouri is next Wednesday, 10/6/2010. If you are not yet registered or would like to check your registration, please do so soon at the Missouri Voting Rights Center.

Investigate Racism in the Obama Justice Department

Andrew C. McCarthy at National Review Online calls for an investigation of racism in the Obama Justice Department:

The department dismissed the Panthers case despite the fact that the government had already won it, due to the defendants’ contemptuous default. The dismissal occurred despite the fact that career prosecutors judged the case to be exceedingly strong. Nevertheless, Holder’s top staffers have maintained for months that the rationale for the dismissal was a good-faith disagreement between low-ranking civil servants (i.e., career prosecutors) about the correct construction of the Voting Rights Act.

Previously:

• Christopher Coates Will Testify Friday on New Black Panther Case
• Perjury at the DOJ in the New Black Panthers Case?

Purple People Beaters "Cleared"

FOXNews.com is reporting that the FEC has dismissed a complaint against SEIU:

Despite a finding by the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) general counsel that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) violated election law when it required local affiliates to contribute to its political action fund, the FEC’s full board nonetheless quietly voted to overrule its staff attorney and dismissed the original complaint -- clearing the way for the union to squeeze its locals to amass a $9 million war chest for the next election.

Christopher Coates Will Testify Friday on New Black Panther Case

Pajamas Media is reporting that Christopher Coates will testify about New Black Panther case despite being pressed by DOJ not to:

In a dramatic development that could shake the political leadership of the Justice Department, career lawyer Christopher Coates has sent a letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights offering to testify Friday on matters related to the controversial New Black Panthers voter-intimidation case....

Ten months ago, Coates, the award-winning former chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division, was subpoenaed by the Commission to testify about the case. He was subsequently instructed by DOJ officials to ignore the subpoena. Within the past hour, commissioners were informed that Chairman Gerald Reynolds had spoken with Coates and that the chairman would reconvene the Commission’s ongoing hearing on Friday at 9:30 a.m. to hear Coates’s testimony.

The Civil Rights Commission has sought to obtain Coates’ testimony on Justice’s dismissal of the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case in Philadelphia. In a recent request to Justice, the Commission agreed to limit initial questioning of Coates to accusations made by former career lawyer J. Christian Adams about statements and other actions by Julie Fernandes, an Obama administration political appointee, if DOJ produced Coates.

The DOJ refused.

Perjury at the DOJ in the New Black Panthers Case?

Pajamas Media is reporting that Records Show DOJ Lied About New Black Panther Dismissal:

Judicial Watch made an explosive announcement today about the Justice Department’s stonewalling in the New Black Panther voter intimidation case dismissal. Forced to bring a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit after DOJ rebuffed its public records request (so much for transparency), Judicial Watch obtained a privilege log from the DOJ last week.

It shows — in a rather dramatic way — that the DOJ has been untruthful about who was involved in the dismissal of the case.

In July, I complied with a subpoena and provided testimony to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. I did so in part because inaccurate statements had been made about the case by DOJ officials. Some of these statements falsely claimed that ethical rules mandated the dismissal of the charges against the New Black Panthers. This was nonsense.

But the real whopper? DOJ’s claim — repeated over and over again — that career civil servants were wholly responsible for the spiking of the case.

Today we learn, from the Department’s own records, that this claim is demonstrably false.

The privilege log produced in the FOIA litigation contains stunning entries. They show regular discussions and deliberations between the highest political officials inside the DOJ, including the deputy attorney general and the associate attorney general, about what to do with the case. This contradicts numerous statements made to Congress, the Civil Rights Commission, and to the public.

Some of these statements were under oath.

DOJ Inspector General will investigate Obama voting rights record

Michelle Malkin is reporting on a breaking story: DOJ Inspector General will investigate Obama voting rights record:

Just obtained this letter from Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine to members of Congress informing them that he will open up a review of the Obama administration’s selective enforcement of civil rights laws by the Voting Section office of DOJ.

Ed Martin Votes in Missouri's Republican Primary

On August 3rd, Ed Martin went to the polls to vote for both himself and for Prop C on the Repulican primary ballot. Martin is running to represent the Republican party in November and ultimately Missouri's 3rd Congressional District after defeating Russ Carnahan in the general election. Prop C is Missouri's effort to further the cause of healthcare freedom and repeal Washington's recently passed healthcare reform.

Immigration Reform Rally in Atlanta, GA

From the description on YouTube:

There was an immigration protest in Downtown Atlanta which revealed some shocking discoveries. The speakers spoke almost entirely in Spanish, but a few speakers spoke in English and called for "black, brown, and progressive whites" to stand together and fight the "culture that opposes all things public" A Democrat GA State Representative shamelessly called on the crowd (by definition filled with illegal immigrants), to register and vote! He did not qualify this statement to only include citizens, but clearly was calling for voter fraud.

The Game Clock is Ticking

Bill Hennessy has a great post about what's ahead in 2010 for the Tea Party movement: "We have only 304 days 9 hours 30 minutes until the November 2 elections. Early voting starts as many as 45 days before that." I take a more sports-oriented view in the comment I left there:

My advice is to get involved early. Pick a couple of candidates you like–even at the state house level–and help them canvas in the primary. Game day is November 2nd. Contact a candidate or three and ask about their practice schedule. You need to get out in the primary and over the summer to prepare for the main event.

Ed Martin: On ACORN and Voter Fraud

In mid-August I caught up with Ed Martin at one of his "Ask Ed Anything" sessions. It's taken a while to get the video posted because my computer crashed and other things came up. In the video above, Ed talks about his time on the St Louis Board of Election Commissioners fighting voter fraud in the city.

Ed has been exploring a run for Missouri's third Congressional District. On Wednesday evening (6PM), at McArthur's Bakery, he will announce the results of that exploration.

Previously:

• Ed Martin Announcement, Wednesday, 9/30
• Interview pt 1: Exploring a Congressional Run
• Interview pt 2: Experience and saveAB.com
• Interview pt 3: St Louis Tea Party Movement
• Interview pt 4: Earmarks and Reducing the Size of Government
• Interview pt 5: "Ask Ed" sessions and Term Limits
• Ed Martin announces that he's exploring a run
• McArthur's Bakery
  
• Small Business Protests Cap and Tax
• Conservative Heartland Leadership Conference: Main Event
• Conservative Heartland Leadership Conference: Dinner

Obama's Libertarian Voters Have Buyers Remorse

David Bernstein at The Volokh Conspiracy (via Instapundit) wonders: "how many libertarian fans Obama has left?" Nick Gillespie of Reason made a similar point when he asked:

Question to the folks, including some of the libertarian persuasion (you fools!), who were bullish on Obama back when the alternative was John McCain, the Terri Schiavo of presidential candidates: When are you going to admit that Barry O stinks on ice?

Obama's actions bear little resemblance to his promises. The media provide cover for him, but I wonder if it's possible to quantify that. Is it possible to say that the average Democrat can get away with 30% more broken promises? If you're an enterprising political science PhD candidate, think about formulating your thesis around that question. We all know that politicians lie, but how much lying can a pol get away with when they have a friendly press versus when the press is hostile.

FWIW, I prefer a hounded government to one with a lapdog press. If that's important to you, consider which political party is held to the higher standard and vote accordingly.

Hope or Insight?

The media is one of the least trusted institutions in the country. Many people think that the media openly lies to promote their own agenda. If you are one of those people that does not trust the MSM, would you feel compelled to honestly tell them your preferred presidential candidate? Are you going to be truthful with the WashingtonPost-ABC news poll, CNN/Opinion Research, Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby, or Fox News/Opinion Dynamics? What about Gallup or Rasmussen? Since the two linked articles above are based on polls, what good are they anyway?

I think this is one of the reasons that there's so little confidence in the horserace polls this year.

Update: In light of Obama's historic victory, it must have been hope that buoyed my doubts about polling. The polls proved to be more or less spot on. I'm sure Pollster.com has more to say about that.

Congratulations to President elect Obama!