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Today, I and three other outraged Democrats who reside in Palm Beach County planted ourselves outside the South County Civic Center to participate in the first public appearance of Teresa LePore, ballot mistress and Republican hero of Election 2000.

We held signs, sang about freedom, were yelled at by some and congratulated/thanked by others. We were videotaped and interviewed by three local TV stations and CNN, as well as four local newspapers.

What has been most unsettling, disconcerrting, and curious about LePore has been that she has never once accepted any responsibility for putting Palm Beach County residents through a deeply disturbing voting experience.

One would hope that an elections offical would do everything possible to remedy her "mistake", if indeed it is a mistake, once it was discovered her ballot had misled upwards of 19,000 people. But LePore, who led the canvassing board that manually recounted the ballots in Palm Beach county, tossed away all votes containing a dimpled, pregnant, or hanging chad, complaining she couldn't determine the intent of the voter.

She also voted along with our illustrious, camera hungry Judge Burton to take Thanksgiving off. Now, I don't know about you, but if I had made as egregious an error as Ms. Lepore supposedly made, I would have done everything in my power to make it right. Yet, as the court ordered recounts, Ms. Lepore and Judge Burton consistently agreed with each other in discounting many hundreds of ballots that third canvassing board member Carol Roberts insists were clearly intended for Al Gore.

They also agreed to take the holiday off, despite being given a short time period to complete a recount of many thousands of ballots. Were we then surprised that they somehow could not complete the recount? Not a bit.

Were we surprised that Cruella de State, GW's buddy, refused to allow the late submission of numbers? Of course not. There were, and continue to be, many people taking orders in this fiasco. Who are the leaders? You know. We all do.

When we, as class action participants in the butterfly ballot lawsuit, had our lawyers attempt to secure phone records from Katherine Harris to ascertain whether, at critical junctures, there were calls to Austin, she apparently refused to turn them over. There simply wasn't time to subpoena and show the truth.

We in Palm Beach are outraged that thousands and thousands of voters were disenfranchised by LePore and the canvassing board. We believe she owes 19,000 citizens, and Al Gore, an apology for costing the Democrats the White House.

Furthermore, we believe a proper investigation is in order. We ask the country to stand with us in support, in demanding that the truth be found, and justice be served, for the thousands in our county who were disenfranchised.

Our online petition calling for a federal investigation in Palm Beach county returned over a thousand names in only a few days. And as we write this, emails are pouring in from across the country and as far as Greece, demanding a federal investigation.

Our signs read "Le'Poor' Choice for an Elections Officer," "LePore, Apologize to Us and to Gore," "Voter's Intent: ? --LePore's Intent: W," and "Theresa LePore, Were You PAID OFF?!" We sang about freedom and truth, while news crews surrounded us and sheriff's cars encircled.

LePore herself was 25 minutes late for her own event- When she did arrive, we followed her, singing and carrying signs. Later when she emerged we followed her again, news crews running alongside, while we sang "All we are saying... is give us the truuuuth."

The experience of being a small committed group of protestors is one that we will each remember for years to come. There were several hundred participants in this forum, and while we were only a small handful, we received a tremendous amount of support from the crowd.

People were commenting that they hated this woman they didn't even know, some said she should be drawn and quartered, others simply that she was astoundingly inept. A few expressed sympathy for her, though even many of these people seemed to have some lingering question about what really transpired.

Time will tell. In time, those who know will squeak. In the meantime, we a small group of protestors can tell that we have begun to awaken the consciousness of our community. The sign that received the most attention was that of a 19-year old college student, asking simply "Teresa Lepore, were you paid off?". This sign infuriated a few, but caused many to say, "Fixed. It was fixed. With a capital F."

We wonder. We have to wonder. When a highly-paid elected official, in response to a citizen's question, "was this ballot previewed or tested" responds with "there wasn't time", one must begin to question. If one doesn't, one is missing something very obvious.

Whether or not Ms. Lepore was being encouraged in devious activity or simply inept, her astounding lack of compassion or awareness of what she has created leaves the public with a sour taste in their mouth. People know they were cheated, they just don't understand the details.

For us, protesting her forum, we know that we have managed to say what they may be only wondering at this time. And that is the role of the visible protestor - to make external that which is held in the collective conscience of our society.

We told the CNN executive, there in his fancy silk suit, that people were no longer watching CNN, that too many felt their reporting was totally one-sided in the election coverage. We told him almost all of the people here were angry, because their votes didn't count. He grimaced, then said, "well, we'll put you on our news tomorrow."

We feel satisfied, knowing that while it may take time to unravel the threads holding her flimsy story together, we will be here, and there, and everywhere that justice is being denied. We cannot turn our backs on the truth, for in the truth is our salvation. And without the truth, we cannot trust our government. Trust is the foundation of a democracy, and something precious was stolen in this Election 2000.

We cannot wait for our leaders to restore that trust, especially the current administration. We must be the ones to restore and reclaim what was stolen, because it is ours and we want it back. We must stand together and take back our country, and our democracy, NOW.

Why? Because we are the people. And our Declaration of Independence tells us that when our government becomes unresponsive to the voice of the people, we must alter or abolish it.

Don't forget your obligation to society, people. Don't forget that the little voice in the back of your head, or your heart, or your belly, is there for a reason. Listen to that little voice, and follow through with your gut instincts. While many across the nation have not been close enough to feel its' presence, there is a cancer amongst us. And we will hold a microscope to be sure the exact cells are identified and addressed.

Protesting not only helps to identify the cancers amongst us in our society, but it helps keep us healthy and release the toxins that can poison our systems. Let it out, share your truth.

To date, several weeks after the Supreme Court appointed our President to end the chaos created by the Republican Party, we are seeing the work of "the great uniter" in action. How do you like what you are seeing?

As Lois Frankel, Minority Leader of the Florida Legislature, has said, the fingerprints of our leaders are all over this mess. While they may have been pretending to stand in the background, their touch is everywhere.

And we will stand with those leaders who are demanding justice, and we will never tire, nor go away. Because our presence is a continuous reminder that, as we sang Ms. Lepore as the television cameras filmed, "we who believe in Justice shall not rest.... we who believe in justice shall not rest, until it comes".

Where do you fit
in this world?