| Topic: |
Science > Abortion |
| User: |
"james g. keegan jr." |
| Date: |
29 Dec 2004 05:16:42 PM |
| Object: |
Rule One: Count Every Vote |
Rule One: Count Every Vote
12/27/2004 @ 11:20am
Politics is a game played by rules. And the most important rule
regarding close elections is that you don't win by being conciliatory
during the recount process. Indeed, the only way a candidate who trails
on election night ends up taking the oath of office is by refusing to
concede and then confidently demanding that every vote be counted --
even when the opposition, the media and the courts turn against you.
That is a rule that Al Gore failed to follow to its logical conclusion
in 2000, and that John Kerry did not even attempt to apply this year.
Both men were so determined to maintain their long-term political
viability that they refused to fight like hell to assure that the votes
of their supporters were counted. That refusal let their backers down.
It also guaranteed that, despite convincing evidence that the Democrat
won in 2000, and serious questions about the voting and recount
processes in the critical state of Ohio in 2004, George W. Bush would
waltz into the White House.
Maybe someday, if the Democrats really want to win the presidency, they
will nominate someone like Christine Gregoire. Gregoire is the
Washington state attorney general who this year was nominated by
Democrats to run for governor of that state. She is hardly a perfect
politician -- like too many Democrats, she is more of a manager than a
visionary; and she is as ideologically drab as Gore or Kerry.
But Gregoire had one thing going for her, and that was her determination
to win.
When the initial count showed her trailing Republican Dino Rossi by more
than 200 votes, she refused to accept the result. Certain that there
were Democratic votes that had yet to be tallied, she demanded a
recount. The second review showed her trailing Rossi by 42 votes and --
as in the 2000 fight over recounting presidential ballots in Florida --
the Republicans accused Gregoire of traumatizing the state by continuing
to demand that every vote be counted. "It's time to move forward,"
chirped Rossi, who ridiculed Democratic demands for a fuller, sounder
recount. Rossi claimed that Gregoire wanted to count and recount the
ballots until she was declared the winner.
In a sense, Rossi was right.
Gregoire did want to keep counting until she won. But, of course, that
is the point of the recount process: If you think that the votes are
there to assure your victory, you keep demanding that they be counted
and tabulated. This is the fundamental rule that neither Gore nor Kerry
ever quite got.
As Christmas approached, the pressure on Gregoire to back off was
intense. But the Democratic gubernatorial candidate and her supporters
continued to press for a full review of the ballots -- paying more than
$700,000 for another count and going to court to defend the principle
that every voted counts and every vote must be counted.
Two days before Christmas, with a go-ahead from the state Supreme Court,
Gregoire got a full count. That reversed previous results and gave her a
130-vote lead over Rossi.
The fight may not be over yet. Rossi is crying foul. But the likelihood
is that, in Washington state, the Democrat, not the Republican, will be
taking the oath of office in January. There are two reasons why this is
the case. First, Christine Gregoire got more votes. Second, she demanded
that they be counted.
http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1&pid=2090
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| User: "Sam Stone" |
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| Title: Re: Rule One: Count Every Vote |
29 Dec 2004 11:46:41 PM |
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james g. keegan jr. wrote:
Rule One: Count Every Vote
Rule Two - unless they're repeat voters.
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| User: "The other Donald" |
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| Title: Re: Rule One: Count Every Vote |
29 Dec 2004 11:58:50 PM |
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"Sam Stone" <sirian@mental.org> wrote in message
news:5DMAd.7710766$6p.1212829@news.easynews.com...
james g. keegan jr. wrote:
Rule One: Count Every Vote
Rule Two - unless they're repeat voters.
Absolutely. All those minorities that voted in 2000 had better not vote
again in '04.
--
-Donald in Austin
AA #2104
Apatriot #22
Atheist FF/EMT
.....and ordained minister
Stork pin recipient: May 1, 2003 -Madelyn
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| User: "Sam Stone" |
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| Title: Re: Rule One: Count Every Vote |
31 Dec 2004 02:41:27 PM |
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The other Donald wrote:
"Sam Stone" <sirian@mental.org> wrote in message
news:5DMAd.7710766$6p.1212829@news.easynews.com...
james g. keegan jr. wrote:
Rule One: Count Every Vote
Rule Two - unless they're repeat voters.
All those minorities that voted in 2000 had better not have voted
twice in '04.
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| User: "The other Donald" |
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| Title: Re: Rule One: Count Every Vote |
02 Jan 2005 10:50:42 AM |
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"Sam Stone" <sirian@mental.org> wrote in message
news:XPiBd.5698265$yk.861982@news.easynews.com...
The other Donald wrote:
"Sam Stone" <sirian@mental.org> wrote in message
news:5DMAd.7710766$6p.1212829@news.easynews.com...
james g. keegan jr. wrote:
Rule One: Count Every Vote
Rule Two - unless they're repeat voters.
All those minorities that voted in 2000 had better not have voted
twice in '04.
Altering the words that someone else posted is indicative of your stupidity,
and you've done it twice. Aren't you capable of formulating a reply on your
own, or is this the best that a stupid ***** like you can do?
Tell ya what....I don't give a *****.
My New Year's resolution is to killfile the dumbasses.
<plonk>
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| User: "Sam Stone" |
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| Title: Re: Rule One: Count Every Vote |
30 Dec 2004 12:04:35 AM |
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The other Donald wrote:
"Sam Stone" <sirian@mental.org> wrote in message
news:5DMAd.7710766$6p.1212829@news.easynews.com...
james g. keegan jr. wrote:
Rule One: Count Every Vote
Rule Two - unless they're repeat voters.
Absolutely. All those minorities that voted in 2000 had better not vote
again in the same election.
.
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| User: "The other Donald" |
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| Title: Re: Rule One: Count Every Vote |
30 Dec 2004 12:18:44 AM |
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"Sam Stone" <sirian@mental.org> wrote in message
news:GTMAd.5612277$yk.848823@news.easynews.com...
The other Donald wrote:
"Sam Stone" <sirian@mental.org> wrote in message
news:5DMAd.7710766$6p.1212829@news.easynews.com...
james g. keegan jr. wrote:
Rule One: Count Every Vote
Rule Two - unless they're repeat voters.
Absolutely. All those minorities that voted in 2000 had better not vote
again in the same election.
Lame.
.
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| User: "The other Donald" |
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| Title: Re: Rule One: Count Every Vote |
30 Dec 2004 12:19:08 AM |
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"Sam Stone" <sirian@mental.org> wrote in message
news:GTMAd.5612277$yk.848823@news.easynews.com...
The other Donald wrote:
"Sam Stone" <sirian@mental.org> wrote in message
news:5DMAd.7710766$6p.1212829@news.easynews.com...
james g. keegan jr. wrote:
Rule One: Count Every Vote
Rule Two - unless they're repeat voters.
Absolutely. All those minorities that voted in 2000 had better not vote
again in the same election.
Lame.
.
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