Posted on 09/11/2004 7:17:03 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) suggested Saturday night that Republicans may attempt to suppress black voter turnout to help President Bush (news - web sites) to victory in November.
"What they did in Florida in 2000, they may be planning to do in battleground states all across this country this year," the Democratic presidential nominee said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Congressional Black Caucus (news - web sites). "Well, we are here to let them know that we will fight tooth and nail to make sure that this time, every vote is counted and every vote counts."
Kerry has a team of lawyers to examine possible voting problems to try to prevent a repeat of the 2000 election disputes. He also has said he has thousands of lawyers around the country prepared to monitor the polls on election day.
"We're not going to stand by and allow another million African American votes to go uncounted in this election," Kerry said. "We're not going to stand by and allow acts of voter suppression."
The Massachusetts senator criticized the president for failing to meet with the caucus since his first month in office and for what he said was a failure to meet the Biblical standard set by the Good Samaritan to help others in need.
Bush-Cheney spokesman Steve Schmidt said the campaign would not respond to Kerry's "baseless, divisive attacks" until Sunday. "Today is a day of remembrance," he said.
Earlier Saturday, Kerry recalled the good works done in memory of those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes that killed nearly 3,000 people.
"While Sept. 11th was the worst day we have ever seen, it brought out the best in all of us," Kerry told families of Massachusetts victims during a memorial at the Boston Opera House. He delivered the same message in the weekly Democratic radio address.
"In the years ahead, we will share its lessons with our children and grandchildren," he said. "We will tell them that on Sept. 11, ordinary men and women became heroes at a moment's notice — and so can you. We will tell them that we were strong because we took care of each other — and so can you."
At 8:46 a.m. — the moment three years ago that American Airlines Flight 11 hit the north tower — Kerry was visiting a memorial to Massachusetts victims. He laid white lilies at the memorial, located in Boston's Public Garden, then attended a private breakfast with families of the victims before the memorial service.
The two hijacked planes that crashed at the World Trade Center originated at Boston's Logan Airport. Victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (news - web sites) included nearly 200 people who either lived in Massachusetts or had ties to the state.
Kerry also issued a statement Saturday calling on Bush to release a 2001 report by the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board that reportedly recommended a major restructuring of the U.S. intelligence community, including establishing a single intelligence director.
The board's chairman, retired Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, was national security adviser under Bush's father and President Ford.
"The White House has held this important report under wraps for nearly three years while resisting efforts to strengthen the intelligence services that are essential to preventing terrorist attacks and protecting our nation," Kerry said in the statement. "What is the White House hiding? Why shouldn't the Congress and the American people be able to fully consider General Scowcroft's recommendations?"
He's not going to win it, but it's still funny to watch him scrape and moan while in his grave, like some bad B movie zombie.
Yeah! Like the Dems didn't try to supress the military vote!
How many blacks are hearing this patronizing babble and saying "Oh, no. Not this crap again"?
The Democrats are trying to fix things so that if they are unable to steal this election, they can accuse the Republicans of stealing it.
The Dems are up to their ears in third world election tactics. I believe they are deliberately attempting to destroy the election proccess and our way of life.
Win.
Republicans suppress votes?! Which party is fighting like hell to keep Ralph Nader off the ballot? I guess the Democrats only want to count every vote when it counts for them!
Heh.
What this means is that the Kerry campaign is worried about voter turnout from blacks.
They are nervous.
VERY nervous.
I understand that, but keep in mind that he is already counting on getting a huge turnout in those cities from blacks.
The only reason Gore came so close last time is Donna Brazille did an unprecedented job turning out minority voters. If F'n doesn't at least match that effort, he has no chance at all to win.
This kind of speech tells me that he isn't sure he is going to get it. Otherwise, he would be distancing himself from the Black Caucus and reaching out to the undecideds.
Jesse is bucking for Secretary of State in a Kerry adminstration.
is she working on his campaign? i've seen her as a demo talking head but am not sure. maybe im putting to much credibility into the likes peepee ditty,jackson, and sharpton and the fact that they can ignite the black vote. this week i was in N.O. during kerry's visit. the hotel had a lot of the southern baptist there. i should have asked some of them what they thought of kerry? blown chance.
By not counting spoiled ballots. Ths is the same way you supress the elderly Jewish vote.
Kerry continues to suppress the average voter into a stupor with his blithering idiocy.
Please don't ask.
Speaking of Lurch, he seems to be increasingly intoxicated at each rally. Did anyone happen to catch him during today's 9-11 memorial tributes? I swear you could smell his breath from the TV screen.
The real tragedy is the Kerry can say something like this and get away with it. The CBC is not going to challenge him on it because they are just as bad as he is when it comes to demagoguing on race. Dan Rather is not going to challenge him on it, and in fact may even forge some documents to "prove" it was true.
The sad fact is that by being allowed to get away with making remarks like this, Kerry has debased the election process and the entire country.
And the NAACP is re-running the James Byrd dragging commercial, I guess.
The is absolutely NO PROOF that Republicans attempted to suppress the black vote on FLA.
God help us if this man gets in the White House.
Ah,heck, didn't you know that "Evil Conservatives Industries, Inc." has a special, super-secret gizmo they've snuck into every voting booth in the country that can tell the exact instant a black person casts a vote? The gizmo sucks away that vote and **** FOOM **** it disappears into a secret garbage can equipped with one of those double-action shredders that grind the stuff into confetti.
A speech like the one Kerry gave tonight seems entirely inappropriate on a day set aside to remember the nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their lives only 3 years ago.
Instead of talking about that, he instead decides to talk about an election from 4 years ago.
That's really all you need to know about this election.
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