Form letter sent from an assistant. Someone else may have posted one of these, but a quick scan didn't show one, so I included mine.
I sent the following note 9 days ago to Pastor in response to this: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001337.htm "Subject: You Really Showed Brad Blog
What a terrific job you did demonstrating ignorance and arrogance. Here is a non-form e-mail. I suspect the other six writers of all those messages will write you as well.
Your Commission is a joke, with a stacked deck and deliberate omissions from many organizations and people who have done significant work in the area of election integrity. Conyers not being involved is particularly telling of the Commission's contempt for the truth.
Is this unique enough for you? Your comment that there are maybe 6 or 7 people sending notes demonstrates just how ignorant you are on these issues. One in five Americans believes there were problems in the 2004 election, and there are thousands of citizens trying to get at the heart of the matter through hundreds of organizations.
Oh, and maybe you could get some real professors in there who have done modeling demonstrating just how messed up our system was in the last election. Those who understand math.
Of course, having Baker in there just about says it all, now doesn’t it?"
WHAT I GOT BACK WAS THIS, TODAY:"Thank you for your recent comments about the need for election reform. The Commission on Federal Election Reform was established to achieve that goal.
Common Cause (www.commoncause.org) and the Election Protection Coalition (www.electionprotection2004.com) registered hundreds of thousands of complaints related to the 2004 presidential election. Public confidence in the electoral process is low, and reform is needed. This was underscored by a meeting convened by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and other groups in December 2004. I was invited to testify and remained for the entire day. The audience was deeply concerned about the state of the electoral process, and many advocated change.
After the hearing, I spoke with President Carter, who said he would favor establishing a panel to examine U.S. election reform. As you may know, he co-chaired a Commission with President Gerald Ford in 2001 that made recommendations that led to the Help American Vote Act (HAVA). I worked with both of them on that Commission and, indeed, worked with President Carter on election-monitoring projects for seventeen years at The Carter Center. As President Gerald Ford was not able to Co-Chair this panel, we consulted with Republican leaders who spoke with President Bush. They proposed former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III. President Carter has worked with Mr. Baker many times and is extremely pleased to work with him again. With such highly-respected Co-Chairs, we expect that Congress will take our recommendations seriously.
We solicited suggestions for other members of the Commission from a wide range of groups, and the Co-Chairs selected the members. It is comprised in roughly equal numbers among people who have served or were elected as Republicans and Democrats (though none are incumbents), and roughly one-third as non-partisan leaders. We understand the objections that some people have regarding individuals on the Commission, but we believe that the best way to promote real reform is to do so through a group that has broad credibility in Congress. You can read the bios of the members at www.american.edu/Carter-Baker. The Center for Democracy and Election Management at American University is organizing the Commission with the support of the Carnegie Corporation, the Ford Foundation, and the Knight Foundation.
Our current challenge is to look beyond the partisan perspectives and fashion proposals that address the problems in a practical, democratic, and effective manner. We would greatly appreciate your ideas as we carry out this work. Please send them to cdem@american.edu, or mail them to 3201 New Mexico Avenue, Suite 265, Washington, DC, 20016.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert Pastor
Executive Director,
Commission on Federal Election Reform"
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