THE WINNER

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST,Petr
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:01 PM

My question is what if the vote in Florida comes out even. Now that we are in the electoral twilight zone, somebody must be operating that improbability drive, it wouldnt surprise me. Then what? flip a coin?

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST,Petr
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 08:38 PM

My question is what if the vote in Florida comes out even. Now that we are in the electoral twilight zone, somebody must be operating that improbability drive, it wouldnt surprise me. Then what?

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 05:49 PM

New ThreadHERE

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: DougR
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 04:54 PM

Hmmmm. CNN reports the race is really tightening up in our neighboring state of New Mexico. Less than two hundred votes separating Gore and Bush now, with Gore in the lead. Oregon and Iowa, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin are looking better for Bush too.

Looks like MSNBC and CNN are going to have a lot to work with for the next week or so.

DougR

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: DougR
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 04:26 PM

Well, thank you, Guest Stackley, that's nice of you!

I'm pleased to have you for a friend.

DougR

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: MiriamKilmer
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 02:28 PM

This is well over one hundred messages. I suggest we move to "What a bunch of incompetents" - which is also on the subject of the Palm Beach County ballots, and let this thread die.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: MiriamKilmer
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 02:23 PM

Hey Charlie, thanks for your clear explanation at blue clickie.

I hadn't read that hen I posted my brief explanation. I LEFT out the part about all the holes having to be on the same side because I didn't understand, having only heard the excerpts Tim read to me, and not carefully studied the article myself.

I'm impressed with your thoroughness and your thoughtfulness.

In case anyone was serious about not knowing what the Virginia Greens are, it's the Virginia branch of the Green Party.

The debate about the Palm Beach County ballots is proceeding on a number of threads. Could we perhaps designate one of them as a no-flames thread? Nah... it would never work.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST,Stackley
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 02:17 PM

For a self-proclaimed man of honor, Rodney, you seem quite comfortable with surmise, innuendo, and unsubstantiated allegation. Take care- it could come back and bite you one of these days. Of course, you're free to believe whatever you want.
Cheers.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: DougR
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 01:48 PM

I think your definition of personal attack is a bit skewed, Guest Stackely, Greg F, (whoever).

I don't recall making any negative personal attacks on Vice President Gore. If so, they were unintentional. I have made it clear that I don't agree with him, and I don't like him. I've made no secret of that. One is not allowed to express an opinion, I take it, if it is contrary to yours. Oh well.

I note that you do not hesitate to make personal attacks on folks like Rush Limbaugh, The House Impeachemnt Team and Governor Bush. You got a special license, no doubt.

DougR

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Bert
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 01:47 PM

Florida's Governor Bush... I'd forgotten that - Isn't he the guy that defaulted on that 4 1/2 million dollar loan?

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: The Shambles
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 01:37 PM

Oh sorry!! I have put this on the wrong thread........

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST,Stackley
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 12:23 PM

I have wondered for sometime about your age. With maturity comes the realization that in order to get your point across one does not have to use personal attacks.
DougR

An interesting observation, Rodney! What age do you figure that makes your hero Rush Limbaugh,or the House Impeachment team, or Dumbya and his handlers... or, gosh, even YOU! with your attacks on Gore?

Bring this up with the Republican Party, where it might do some good.

I'm not attacking you, Rodney- I'm attaching your conveniently elastic definitions of "fact" and of "morals" and of "integrity". Re-read your old posts. Or perhaps you are too self-deluded for that to matter.
Cheers.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: DougR
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 11:46 AM

I have wondered for sometime about your age, Guest Stackely. With maturity comes the realization that in order to get your point across one does not have to use personal attacks. Something that you have not yet learned.

And I do thank you for your comments, even though they are meanspirited and very personal. You have every right to express the opinons you do ...as I do.

DougR

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: MiriamKilmer
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 11:30 AM

An article in the Washington Post states that Florida Law requires that the hole be placed to the RIGHT of the Candidates name, and that all the holes be on THE SAME SIDE of each candidate's name.

The ballot in Palm Beach County was illegal four years ago, and it's still illegal. Nobody bothered to contest it four years ago when 15,000 ballots were double-punched and thrown out. That was - um - unwise. The election in that case was not so close that those 15,000 votes would have made a difference. This time it does make a difference. The mistake should be rectified, regardless of whose fault it was, how stupid they were, and whether or not it changes the outcome. Anybody can make a mistake. We all do stupid things on occasion. Being unwilling to correct such errors is the height of - well, never mind. As Auntie Em said, "if I were not a Christian, I would tell you just what I think." (paraphrased)

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST,Bob S. again
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 10:26 AM

If you don't know by now, the Palm Beach ballot is the same as used in Chicago. They didn't hava a problem with it.

Bob S.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST,Stackley
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:35 AM

Careful, dont' try to confuse these folks with facts.
DougR

ROFL!! That is hysterical coming from you Rodney. You wouldn't know a fact if it reared up on its hind legs and bit you in the ass. Facts are slippery little buggers with you arent they? If something supports your viewpoint its a fact; if not its an opinion. Same with lies. You see nothing wrong with you or your team telling them- but its reprehensible if the other side does it. Morals and integrity are situational considerations for you.

Are you serious with this nonsense, or do you do it just to take the mickey? Oh, sorry, I forgot:"Alex: I don't flame...DougR" If you say so, Rodney, it must be true, and that's a fact.
Cheers.

PS: Dont bother to thank me for my comments.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST,Bob S
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 05:13 AM

NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE 11/09/00 9:00 a.m. The Palm Beach Legal Precedent No cause for Dem squawking. By Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute According to some Florida Democrats, the particular layout of ballots in Palm Beach was confusing to voters, and resulted in mistaken votes for Buchanan which were actually intended for Gore. The Florida judiciary has already addressed the issue of post-election claims about ballot confusion, and the precedent is unfavorable to those who want the election overturned. In the September 10, 1974, Republican primary in Pinellas County, several losing candidates brought a post-election suit against county election officials. (Pinellas sits on the Gulf Coast, and includes St. Petersburg.) At issue was the longest ballot in Pinellas County history. To save space so that every candidate and issue could fit on the voting machine, the election officials had created a ballot on which the list of candidates for some offices appeared on two lines. In a particular race, for example, the first three candidates, listed alphabetically, appeared on one line, and the last two candidates, alphabetically, appeared on the next line. A lawsuit demanding a new election was filed by candidates who appeared on the lower line and lost. The Florida trial court agreed. But on October 15, 1974, the Second District Court of Appeal unanimously overturned the trial judge, and let the original election stand. Nelson v. Robinson, 301 So.2d 508 (Fla. Ct. App. 2d Dist., 1974). The Court of Appeal explained: Keeping in mind that we are talking about a claim made after an election, and not one which may have been enforceable before, if a candidate appears on the ballot in such a position that he can be found by the voters upon a responsible study of the ballot, then such voters have been afforded a full, free and open opportunity to make their choice for or against that particular candidate; and the candidate himself has no constitutional right to a particular spot on the ballot which might make the voters' choice easier. His constitutional rights in the matter end when his name is placed on the ballot. Thereafter, the right is in the voters to have a fair and reasonable opportunity to find it; and as to this, it has been observed that the constitution intended that a voter search for the name of the candidate of his choice and to express his of the candidate of his choice without regard to others on the ballot. Furthermore, it assumes his ability to read and his intelligence to indicate his choice with the degree of care commensurate with the solemnity of the occasion. The Court of Appeal also cited a U.S. Supreme Court case in which the high Court explicitly and unanimously affirmed a Pennsylvania federal court which had ruled that an unfavorable location on the ballot was not a form of unconstitutional discrimination against a candidate. Gilhool v. Chairman & Com'rs., Philadelphia Co. Bd. of Elec., 306 F.Supp. 1202 (E.D.Pa.1969), aff'd 397 U.S. 147 (1970). In Palm Beach this year, the ballot form was approved beforehand by Democratic Supervisor of Elections Theresa LePore. This fact relates directly to the Florida Court of Appeal's point that "it has often been held that one who does not avail himself of the opportunity to object to irregularities in the ballot prior to the election may not object to them after."

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 02:22 AM

The Palm Beach County ballot may well have been illegal, at least insofar as it violated statutory requirements for a ballot layout set down in the Florida codes (Title IX, Chapter 101). On paper ballots, candidates must be listed linearly and the holes placed to the right of their names. On electromechanical ballots, which is the sort of ballot used in Palm Beach County, where hole punches are then read mechanically, the holes may be to the right or left, but a linear arrangement is still expected--and this was not the case in the "butterfly" ballot. Moreover, the two major parties (i.e., Democratic and Republican, with the governor's party on top), must occupy the top lines of the ballot, with minor parties below. The Republicans had the top. The Reform Party was beneath. The Democrats were bemeath the Reform Party.

Having established that the ballot did not meet the statutory requirements, it is next necessary to show that the failure to conform created a result that caused the will of the electorate not to be represented. The 19,120 double-voted ballots and the number of Buchanan votes huge beyond statistical probability are indications that the form of the ballot created confusion and probably caused misrepresentation of the voter's will. It was not merely that the voters were incompetent; the ballots were badly designed. (Could one file a complaint under the ADA provisions, I wonder?)

Then we'd have to show that this matters. Normally, voting irregularities might affect final tallies, but rarely do they amount to enough votes to change the final outcome. In this case, they change the final outcome not merely for Palm Beach County, but for Florida as a whole, and for the entire nation, which is being asked to trust in the Electoral College system, and which will potentially give a majority of its electoral votes to a candidate who did not receive a majority of the poplular vote. Under the circumstances of the electoral vote countermanding the popular vote, the nation outside of Florida must be assured that the result in Florida was legitimate. Otherwise, it will have cause to see President as having assumed the office without legitimacy or authority. And that lack of faith in the process would spell the ultimate demise of the system.

How long can this go on? The good news is that there's a deadline--the second Tuesday of November, 2004.

--Charlie Baum

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: DougR
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 11:46 PM

I'm sure Florida's Governor Bush is going to be greatly impressed with hundreds, perhaps thousands to email from folks outside Florida.

No, Murray, it is not.

Miriam: Careful, dont' try to confuse these folks with facts.

DougR

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: harpgirl
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 10:20 PM

...my family has lived in Palm Beach County for over thirty years...my father was a City Councilman in Riviera Beach for eight years. The county is largely democratic and has many older Americans as well as a large black population. But, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if there was a conspiracy to keep this ballot in operation despite a clear awareness that many voters would be confused by it.

The people with real power in this county are rich white Republicans, who are arrogantly disdainful of the majority of individuals in the county, both politically and personally. Remember, Henry Flagler sponsored a picnic on one end of Palm Beach and proceeded to burn down the black section to rid the Island of black citizens! That is the legacy of Palm Beach County!

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 10:05 PM

Why not just hold a 24 hour lying competition with Bush versus Gore, and then give the presidency to the one who is the biggest and most convincing liar? This would follow in a time-honoured political tradition, and would help to maintain the existing system for at least another 4 years.

We could then do the same in Canada.

After all, they say that every time the USA sneezes, Canada catches a cold...

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Tinker
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 09:56 PM

The issue for me is not which of the two wins, although I DEFINATELY have a STRONG preference. But can we leave the spins and the games?
The "Legal" rules followed to whoever's own benefit don't impress.Let's just clean house district by district. Each of us can work to assure that our own district respects and handles each ballot as if the eyes of the world will be watching in the morning. This race proves the possibility.

No, I know history doesn't hold a lot of hope for universal integrity. But, locally one district at a time we can try. Right now both sides are fighting for themselves. But as a voter the integrity of the system seems more important to me.

Okay Kendall, hold me to it. I will find the time for one more thing. If only cause it's the basis of so many others.

Tinker

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: MiriamKilmer
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 09:47 PM

Hey guess what! My brother (another Floridian) says: "Palm Beach printed the sample ballot in the paper. The sad thing is that there was a similar problem in Palm Beach in 1996 and the idiots didn't learn from it. 15,000 ballots were discounted in 1996... "

And Buchanan had a strong showing there in 1996.

Hmmm.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: DougR
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 09:42 PM

There have been no proven voter irregularities in Florida! There have only been reports of people who cannot read, and cannot distinguish one candidate from another when an arrow clearly points to each one of them.

And Alex, you see a conspiracy because the gap between votes for Bush and Gore has lessened during the recount process? What kind of conspiracy would that be? All those poor Florida bureacrats doing the recount have a vendetta against George Bush? I don't think so. It only takes a majority of one to win the election.

DougR

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: MK
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 08:26 PM

I think at this point in time, given the nasty rhetoric back and forth between both camps regarding possible voting irreuglarities, the will of the people and the popular vote, etc.etc.etc.......that rather than waiting another week to week and a half for the overseas votes and absentia votes to be tallied, we simply put Gore and Bush in the boxing ring for 12 rounds 1 on 1. No ear biting or headbutts allowed. If this results in a draw, then (as some respondent on CNN said last night) each can serve two years as president, and a simple coin flip will decide who starts first.

It's very sad and bittersweet regardless of the winner...who obviously has no mandate from the people.

I was very amused by Nader's remarks at a press conference last night where he accused the Gore campaign of stealing the election from HIM.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 08:23 PM

All day long the parties played a pissing contest over how much pressure to bring to bear on each other, the markets, and the people's passions. I will remember this the next time I vote. But the vote just cast has to be clean, or there will be hell to pay.

The people bear the burden of voting. But the election workers have the burden of making that POSSIBLE. Once you are in the polling place, your vote is in the stewardship of the workers and they have authority there. Whatever you may have seen or not seen of the ballot, it is the worker's responsibility to assume you know ZERO and simply wish to VOTE, and to help you do that with some degree of respect for the integrity of your vote.

I have also been a been a volunteer at a polling place that was overwhelemd by early voter turnout, and I can tell you this much-- no matter how overwhelmed you are, your responsibility is to serve each vote's integrity, period. Where were the observers from each party when these irregularities occurred?

I think I am a pretty smart and assertive person. I have voted before. I have done graphic design... and when I went to vote Tuesday, they handed me a ballot set up like I had never seen before and it took me three tries at getting instructions before I got any I could understand. I can be assertive when it makes sense, but I also have a public role in my community-- and sometimes those considerations have to be put first. So I am not always that willing to seem that dumb in public. I bet I am not the only one.

How many people went to vote but did not feel up to arguing with people in charge who exercised authority over them, as election workers actually do? I am most concerned that there are so many cases being reported that people who knew they had made a mistake were denied fresh ballots. That alone ought to call for a remedy in that county.

So if legalities permit this as a remedy, I am for a revote for those who voted, in this Florida county, and anywhere else there can be irregularities documented. The application of legal remedies should be available in any election, whenever the process matters enough to any citizen that they make sufficient noise about it.

~Susan

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: kendall
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 07:39 PM

Good old Jeb said he would deliver Florida into Dubbyas hands.Wonder what he meant by that?

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: The Shambles
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 07:04 PM

Interesting to see all these Republicans saying that Gore should concede and what damage this is doing etc.

I think that they should maybe be a little careful what they say. As if the recount should now give Gore even a tiny majority, they will then have to practice what they preach.........

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: mousethief
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 06:57 PM

Reform party members "staying loyal" would never vote for Buchanan, who hijacked the party and took it off in a direction completely foreign to the philosophy of its founder.

One website I saw showed that there are only 304 registered Reform Party members left in Palm Beach County, whereas Buchanan received over 3000 votes.

Hmmm. Can you spell "discrepancy"?

Alex
O..O
=o=

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: MiriamKilmer
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 06:52 PM

That tends to happen when a lot of people are trying to access the site at once. I hope you'll try again, Alex. And I hope you get your merit-pool pay increase this year!

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: mousethief
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 06:43 PM

I tried to use it and it crashed. Sigh.

Just got into a shouting match with my boss over the West Palm Beach ballot. Wonder if I'll get my merit-pool pay increase this year? Naaaah, he wouldn't stoop that low. The Pinkerton Guard days are long over, right? I mean, even Ronald Reagan wasn't anti-labor, was ... I mean, um, ... well, ...

What I really want to see is for every county in Florida, and perhaps even every precinct, the vote on the first count, and the vote on the recount. Seems the numbers are far more Gory now that they're having to be careful and all eyes are on the hands that feed the ballots. Arfully fishy.

Alex
O..O
=o=

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Hollowfox
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 06:31 PM

Thanks, Miriam. I just read this, and posted an e-mail right away.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: MiriamKilmer
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 06:10 PM

Subject: re-vote of the Presidential race in Palm Beach County Date sent: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 17:55:42 -0500

Forwarded from Kirk Ballin :

The election of Al Gore or George W. Bush as President may depend on the resolution of voting irregularities in Florida. Reports from Palm Beach County indicate that a confusing ballot set-up in that county led to thousands of votes mistakenly going to Pat Buchanan instead of Al Gore. And there are reports of other voting irregularities as well. Florida Governor Jeb Bush, brother of George W. Bush, must bear ultimate responsibility for the integrity of the results to be reported by that state. Call on Governor Jeb Bush to ask for a re-vote of the Presidential race in Palm Beach County.

Click here to send an email to Florida Governor Jeb Bush asking for a re-vote of the Presidential race in Palm Beach County: http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?ItemId=9237

------

The deadline is TODAY - I don't know what time.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 05:48 PM

I find myself rather benused that anyone with the remotest interest in folk music and what the whole ethos of folk music is about could actually be rooting for Bush to win. It would have been inconceivable for any folkie in Btitain to vote Conservative, and help put Margaret Thatcher in power. Is the analogy accurate?

Murray

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: mousethief
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 05:47 PM

Ah, Doug has declared the ballot non-confusing, so it's non-confusing, and that's final.

Oh come on, Doug, Bush has been mispronouncing words and making malapropisms all year. Now finally you get upset about it? Oh, brother. If I had made some joke about Gore claiming to have invented the ballot recount, would that have offended you?

The point is not that Gore didn't win, but rather that there are very gross irregularities in the florida voting.

And am I the only one who has noticed that as the recount has proceeded, the difference between the candidates (in votes) has steadily declined? I'm not big on conspiracy theories, but THAT seems awfully suspicious.

Alex
O..O
=o=

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: DougR
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 05:38 PM

Miriam: the arrows look pretty clear to me on CNN.

Alex: I don't flame. I assume the remark about Bush asking for a refill was intended as humor. If so, I think it was in bad taste. And I haven't seen anyone suggest that Gore concede BEFORE all the votes are counted.

If a new election is scheduled everytime someone's candidate does not win, we are going to be involved in constant elections. Perhaps another election should be scheduled for the one in 1996! Bob Dole didn't win that one, and I wanted him to win.

DougR

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: mousethief
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 04:20 PM

Some of the comments here make it look like people think that Gore called for a recount in Florida. He did not. State law mandates a recount if the difference between the two leading candidates is less than 1/2 of 1%. This was an AUTOMATIC recount. Gore had nothing to do with it.

I hear that Bush, however, did call for a refill. :)

I fail to see how the fact that the ballot was designed by a Democrat makes it non-confusing. Are you saying you implicitly trust all Democrats to make non-confusing ballots? What a stupid thing to even bring up. If it is determined that the ballot was confusing, then it was confusing whether it was designed by a Democrat or a Rosicrucian. The question is whether the people of this particular district are allowed to have their votes count. If 19k of them were thrown out, because they couldn't figure out which hole to punch and punched both, or punched the wrong one, then they have been cheated out of their vote. All this "it was designed and checked by a Democrat" crap is just special pleading.

And what's this bullsh*t about Gore conceding before all the votes are counted? What if he concedes and then the final vote -- including absentee ballots from overseas military personnel (don't THEIR votes count?) flip the total into his column? He'd look like an idiot. (Okay, bigger idiot.) No, it's best for everybody if he doesn't concede, and Dubya doesn't claim victory, until the vote tally in Florida is OFFICIAL and FINAL.

And finally, Troll, get this through your thick head: it isn't the DUI/OUI/DWI/whatever. It's the lying about it, and then going on to run a "bring integrity back to the Whitehouse" campaign. Get it? He lied through his teeth, then jumped on Gore for lack of integrity. Get it? Get it? Sheesh.

Okay, flame away, y'all.

Alex
O..O
=o=

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Peg
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 03:46 PM

from a friend:

Just got this from the CNN page:

A federal judge has scheduled a hearing for this afternoon to address allegations of voter irregularity in West Palm Beach, Florida, as the state continues its recount of presidential votes. The advantage for Republican candidate George W. Bush over Gore was 787 votes after 53 counties completed their recount, according to The Associated Press.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: MiriamKilmer
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 03:31 PM

My sister from Palm Beach County says: "the sample ballots were perfectly clear. The problem was that when you combined it with little holes you were supposed to poke, the little holes were not where you would have expected them to be. Nor were there numbers next to them. There were little arrows pointing at them, more or less ... Buchanan says no way can these be his votes. I think a good question might be whether those 19,000 ballots were all punched for Buchanan and Gore. Whoopsie."

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Bert
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 02:54 PM

...20 or so thousand people who couldn't figure out a ballot...

Well look at that ballot form! There WERE two holes in the Gore panel. I can understand the logic of assuming that the first hole belongs to Gore rather than to some guy on the facing page.

...If there was a comprehension problem there was time BEFORE the election to bring it up...

It's kinda difficult to resolve such problems before the election if the voters didn't get to see them until they were IN the booth. AND the officials couldn't understand them either.

It doesn't matter whose fault it was but there needs to be some way of fixing such problems; otherwise future form designers will have no reason to restrain themselves from using similar techniques.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: DougR
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 02:28 PM

Peg: the total number of votes in the majority are immaterial. If Bush beats Gore by one vote, he is the president elect. Reminds me of the story I heard about a mother advising her son about sex on the day of his wedding. "Son, just remember this, a drop is as good as a gallon."

Bill D. All I can say is what I hope would happen. If the roles were reversed in Florida, I would hope that Bush would concede. Just as Nixon did to Kennedy, when he had as much reason to call for a recount in the 1960 election as Gore does. The longer the democrats fight this, if the final count shows Bush won (even by one vote)the more the country is going to be in turmoil. Look at what is happening to the stock market today! That might not appear serious to many mudcatters, but it is!

Bush may feel compelled to look into other irregularities in states which Gore carried by small margins, and this thing could go on and on.

If the disputed votes recounted show Bush as the winner, Gore should concede. We do not elect our presidents in this country according to popular vote. Perhaps we should, but that should be addressed after this election is over.

This time I agree with Bart. It's just four years, and then both parties (and maybe even more than two parties) will have another shot at it.

DougR

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Jim Krause
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 02:17 PM

As I type this it is 1:51 PM central time (USA) and no one quite knows for sure what has happened, except they got a lotta votes to recount down in Florida. Even if Dubya wins, the pragmatic, some would say cynical side of me says that he's gonna have a long, hard four years of it without a strong majority in Congress and an almost 50/50 split in the Senate. Soddy's Analysis: Four years of you-ain't-seen-no-gridlock like this-here-gridlock. There's always the 2004 election, and don't forget the midterms in 2002. A lot could happen, or not. So, vote early & vote often. Meanwhile, back at the ol' Bar S I think I'll go down to the courthouse and reregister Green Soddy

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Jim Krause
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 01:57 PM

As I type this it is 1:51 PM central time (USA) and no one quite knows for sure what has happened, except they got a lotta votes to recount down in Florida. Even if Dubya wins, the pragmatic, some would say cynical side of me says that he's gonna have a long, hard four years of it without a strong majority in Congress and an almost 50/50 split in the Senate. Soddy's Analysis: Four years of you-ain't-seen-no-gridlock like this-here-gridlock. There's always the 2004 election, and don't forget the midterms in 2002. A lot could happen, or not. So, vote early & vote often. Soddy

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Peg
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 01:36 PM

at this moment; according to the recount in Florida, Bush only leads by 799 votes...

considerably less than the 1800 earlier cited...

it just keeps getting more and more interesting...

peg (who woted for Nader in the "safe" state of Massachusetts)

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: L R Mole
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 12:39 PM

Damn them red herrings. Look what they done to Roosia.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST,PETr
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 12:06 PM

Apparently people in Chicago were so disenchanted with the election that some of them only voted once. Petr.

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Troll
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 12:05 PM

Item: The ballot was designed by the WPB Supervisor of elections; a DEMOCRAT.
Item: Sample ballots were sent to all voters. If there was a comprehension problem there was time BEFORE the election to bring it up.
Item: The Reform party has ALWAYS done well in Palm Beach County. There are well over 3500 independents registered there versus about 100 for the adjoining county.Item: The early media announcment of victory for Gore BEFORE the polls had closed on the west coast caused some people to leave the polls without voting, convinced that their vote now made no difference.
All those who want a recount in Florida had better consider that the Republicans could ligitimately ask for a recount in New Mexico where 68,00 early and absentee ballots were not counted due to a "data glitch" and in Missouri, where polls were kept open past the court-mandated closing time. And this is only two places. There are probably others.

troll

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: Jim the Bart
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 11:52 AM

I find it amusing that all this hub-bub could come down to 20 or so thousand people who couldn't figure out a ballot.

In 1976 we had a close election between two average candidates, Ford and Carter. The country floundered for four years under the Democrats and then elected the opposition candidate(Reagan) for eight years.

In 1988 we had a close election between two blah candidates, Bush and Dukakis. The country floundered for four years under the Republicans and then elected the oppoeition candidate (Clinton) for eight years.

Let Bush and the Republicans have the next four years. The economy is due for a downturn, the Congress is pretty well split up, and Bush is not the type of highly-skilled, energetic, visionary leader who can force things through. He will spend two years trying to gather his strength in the face of a declining economy. The Republicans will lose the House and Senate in two years and begin to move to the right to regain their dubious "mandate". Bush will spend the last two years of his term fighting off opposition from within his party and running for re-election. Nader will force the Democrats to move left, but a strong Centrist candidate will emerge to take the White House in 2004 & 2008. Let's just hope that he (or she???) will not be an alley cat, like good old Bill, or on the road to Altzheimers, like good old Ron.

And it's back to business as usual, here in America.

Love to 'Catters on all points of the political spectrum
Bart

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: sian, west wales
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 04:40 AM

Margo: republic rather than democracy? That sounds interesting! I really don't understand American politics, but I'd sure like a Dummy's Guide explanation of that, for my file!

I'm still amazed that the Media are allowed to publish exit polls before all booths across the country have closed. I supposed they'd base their argument on Freedom of the Press but responsibility should be part of freedom. A fair election should take priority over who grabs the first news bulletin, surely?

sian, west wales

Subject: RE: THE WINNER
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Nov 00 - 04:04 AM

the electoral college is a joke> the candidates are a joke> Fla is a Joke> the media is a joke> your vote doesnt count> these things I know and hold to be true