Posted on 10/20/2004, 2:17:14 PM by Pikamax
Kerry Aims to Avoid Gore Recount Mistakes
Email this Story
Oct 20, 7:49 AM (ET)
By RON FOURNIER WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John Kerry has a simple strategy if the presidential race is in doubt on Nov. 3, the day after the election: Do not repeat Al Gore's mistakes.
Unlike the former vice president, who lost a recount fight and the 2000 election, Kerry will be quick to declare victory on election night and begin defending it. He also will be prepared to name a national security team before knowing whether he's secured the presidency.
"The first thing we will do is make sure everybody has an opportunity to vote and every vote is counted," said Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter. "We will be ready to hit the ground running and begin a fresh start in this country, given that so many critical issues are before us."
The prospects for another contested election grow with every poll showing the race neck and neck.
Gore prematurely conceded the 2000 race to George W. Bush, then had to retract his concession after aides said Florida wasn't lost. He never declared victory, an omission Kerry's advisers - many of whom worked for Gore - now believe created a sense of inevitability in voters' minds about Bush's presidency.
Gore didn't plan for the legal showdown, though few could have predicted it before Election Day. And he watched as Bush seized political advantage during the 36-day recount by publicly discussing a transition to the White House.
Not this time, promise Kerry's advisers. If there is doubt about the results, they will fight without delay.
Six so-called "SWAT teams" of lawyers and political operatives will be situated around the country with fueled-up jets awaiting Kerry's orders to speed to a battleground state. The teams have been told to be ready to fly on the evening of the election to begin mounting legal and political fights. No team will be more than an hour from a battleground.
The Kerry campaign has office space in every battleground state, with plans so detailed they include the number of staplers and coffee machines needed to mount legal challenges.
"Right now, we have 10,000 lawyers out in the battleground states on Election Day, and that number is growing by the day," said Michael Whouley, a Kerry confidant who is running election operations at the Democratic National Committee.
While the lawyers litigate, political operatives will try to shape public perception. Their goal would be to persuade voters that Kerry has the best claim to the presidency and that Republicans are trying to steal it.
Democrats are already laying the public relations groundwork by pointing to every possible voting irregularity before the Nov. 2 election and accusing Republicans of wrongdoing.
On Election Day, Whouley will head the so-called "boiler room," probably in Washington, that tracks vote counts and ensures Kerry doesn't concede too soon. Whouley was the aide who, after noticing Florida was too close to call in 2000, called Gore's team in Tennessee and told them to put the brakes on the concession speech.
Campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill will be with Kerry in Boston, where they will field Whouley's calls.
Jim Johnson, who headed Kerry's vice presidential search team, former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman and longtime Kerry aide David McKean lead the team planning Kerry's transition to the White House.
Aides say the transition process is behind schedule, but Kerry will be ready to name a national security team shortly after the election. They say he has candidates in mind, but is reluctant to discuss the transition while campaigning.
The advisers spoke on condition of anonymity because Kerry wants the focus to be on his campaign for now.
The plan to quickly name a national security team is partly practical (at a time of war, continuity is necessary) and political, aides said, because if there is another recount Kerry will want to show he's ready to take power.
Amid the tumult of the 2000 recount, Bush sought to make his presidency appear as a matter of time by leaking word of his national security team and bringing news cameras into his transition meetings. Gore and his staff were more reluctant to talk about the appointment process.
Kerry's advisers say Bush would have a natural political advantage in a recount in this election because he is the president, with a national security team in place and a public relations spotlight that comes with the White House.
---
Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler, traveling with Kerry's campaign, contributed to this report.
Well, anything works better than actually winning the election.
It's gonna be hard for him to repeat Algore's mistakes when he loses by 5 points in the popular vote, and only gets about 220 EVs.
So even if he doesn't win Kerry will claim victory and subvert the entire election process..... Like we say he doesn't care who he hurts... He will say and do anything for political points...
This is a very dangerous game the idiot dims are playing.
Kerry's plan.. Divide the country and piss people off even more than Al Gore did.
Guess I better stock up on Zantac.
Translation: "We're not going to screw up the fraud this time. And if we do, we'll sue."
AS Hugh Hewitt said (book's title) "If it isn't close, They can't cheat."
I think it will backfire. If Bush wins by a comfortable margin and Kerry claims victory, I believe all those who voted against him would and should rise up and protest.
Kerry could care less what is good for the country and thus lacks the class that Nixon showed.
This is getting so weird. It sounds as if the election will go to whoever has the best public relations team, the most lawyers and the most convincing story. Screw the actual voters.
LOL, kool-aid drinkers speak.
Gird your loins fellow FReepers. The winner of this election will not be determined until January. Even if Kerry loses big, he will still claim voter fraud and all hell will break lose.
1. GW Bush is the President and will be on Nov. 2-- as CiC, he'll do any ordering that is needed.
2. All of Kerry's blustering will never help him, for I'm positive that the voters of America will unanimously vote for Bush.
If Bush wins, we can look forward to another huge court battle by a sore loser.
When GWB is reelected, I do hope Kerry declares himself president and sets up his cabinet. It will be a sight to behold a coup d'tat attempt in this country. I think it will be the end of the dems.
This article is so insulting to us, so incredibly blatant in its disregard for law, so, well, revolutionary if you ask me.
Cry "Havoc", and let slip the dogs of fraud.
AP's very own DNC shill reporter "Ron Fournier" strikes again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.