Posted on 01/04/2005 8:32:32 AM PST by Publius
If you don't win the election on the first count -- demand a recount and litigate until you get the result you want (or the U.S. Supreme Court says enough of this foolishness).
That has become the Democrats new mantra as seen in the past week's certification of Christine Gregoire as governor of Washington following three counts of the ballot; two of which she lost.
The third, a manual recount with dubious ballots suddenly discovered in heavily Democratic King County that were not counted previously gave her the election Now we must stop counting ballots or contesting irregularities, cry the Democrats because they might lose again.
It was Al Gore's strategy in Florida in 2000 until the U.S. Supreme Court quashed the madness. John Edwards and the trial lawyers wanted to pursue this strategy in Ohio until John Kerry, to his credit, overruled them and said this is not the American tradition.
Having lost two presidential elections, the Senate and the House of Representatives, Democrats suddenly have discovered that values matter to Americans. But they have overlooked the fact that Americans don't like sore losers or attempts to change the rules after the game has been played. Democrats in 2000, cried that President Bush was an illegitimate president who stole the election and they would avenge their loss in 2002 and 2004. In both elections, Bush and the Republicans scored resounding successes comparable to only one other president -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Democrats still can't understand how this happened.
Overlooked in this is that Americans expect their political leaders and parties to be as graceful in defeat as they are magnanimous in victory. The greatest example of this was Richard Nixon. In 1960, there was widespread voter fraud in the election in Texas, Missouri and Illinois that tipped the election in John F. Kennedy's favor. Leaders from Dwight Eisenhower to Everett Dirksen urged Nixon to contest the election. Nixon refused. In 2000, Republicans had ample evidence to contest the results in Wisconsin, Iowa and New Mexico, yet refused to do so.
In Washington, it has gone beyond just contesting an election. Democrats are overturning the election results to install their candidate as governor. Their argument is that a manual count that included ballots that had not been counted and mysteriously appeared after the election became in doubt are an accurate reflection of the voters' will. All evidence shows that manual recounts are not as accurate as machine counts (both of which showed the Republican nominee Dino Rossi winning). No matter, argue the Democrats, this last count that shows them winning is all that matters and it's time to move on. Does anyone believe if Rossi had won the manual recount, the Democrats would be willing to concede the election?
Gregoire may well be sworn in as the next governor of Washington, but at a very high price -- not for herself but for the Democratic Party. Her election under such dubious circumstances reinforces the belief of many Americans that Democrats will do anything to win an election -- even steal it.
For a political party already suffering from the perception that it is out of touch with American values, this new perception could be deadly. Most Americans fear that lawsuits over election results will become the norm in national politics and want this stopped -- indeed the Washington theft reinforces the idea.
If Democrats are perceived as the cause for these lawsuits, could further electoral punishment be in their future? In 2006, if they lose more Senate seats and governorships, they might begin to get the message, or, perhaps, they might sue voters. In 2008 they could then nominate Gregoire with the slogan "If at first you don't win, try, try, try again until you get the result you want."
David E. Johnson is the CEO and co-founder of Strategic Vision, a public relations and public affairs agency.
It's another raise in a high-stakes game of poker.
Ping.
Let them have WAAAAAAAshingtoon state. It's going to be a liberal basket-case. We'll pick up the pieces later, when the people get tired of the dems corruption........
Washington is not a democracy.
I disagree. We should fight every last incident of cheating we can, until they finally realize they can't get away with it. Every time we wink, nudge, and look the other way, they are encouraged to do it again.
I was beginning to believe that Rossi needed to call it a day and concede, but now it's been revealed that there were 8,400 more votes cast in King County than there are registered voters. The fraud is large enough to have turned the election. Whatever the political affiliation of those responsible, there needs to be long prison terms for them with Lynndie England as their warden.
Damn right. Expose DIMOWIT corruption so that all Americans can see how morally bankrupt they are. Make the bastards UNelectable for the next fifty years!
Gregoire should be arrested for fraud.
Should we had let them have Floriduh? The only difference between the two states (other than electorial votes) is that the USSC stopped them in Florida.
Damn right. Expose DIMOWIT corruption so that all Americans can see how morally bankrupt they are. Make the bastards UNelectable for the next fifty years!
=====
Yes, aren't they beautiful?? Crime, judicial activism, lies -- all the tools of the left -- and they are truly bankrupt -- a narcissistic bunch of America's losers, totally self-centered, and offering nothing to America but hate, government dependency, and ignorant minds that would put an America-hating Marxist like Kerry in the White House.
America's socialist/liberals -- our finest hour.
Neither is the United States, thank God!
I agree with you, and Rossi says he will fight. I live next door in Idaho. Most of the state is Republican except for King County on the coast. Now in 5 counties they have more votes in the hand count than they have registered voters. We can't let that stand.
Your state is blue......mine is not......
"But I don't want to see Gregorie with panties on her head"
I wouldn't want to see Gregoire wearing panties ANYWHERE! I was thinking more along the lines of the poncho and hood...
Before or after using mental floss?
Gregoire should be arrested for being fugly.
Hey Red Badger
There are allot of folks outside of this state in foreign lands fighting for all Americans that just died that probably didn’t get to vote. WA has one of the biggest military populations in the Nation. We could almost be a super power unto ourselves. Just becasue we have a city full of idiots doesnt mean the entire state is bad.
There can't be any more clear evidence of ballot box stuffing than this. This is exactly how evidence of ballot stuffing would appear. Typically in elections you expect underages, because voters often choose to cannot appear at the pools. Overages are always suspicious.
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.