A Foreign Perspective on Florida
Question:
BRAVO!!!!!
Response:
<< It’s the votes, stoopid. Exactly! (And spelled with the aptitude of a Bush!!:-) Truer words were never spoken. It’s all about votes, and why some rich boy–who lied to Texans about not having any designs on the Presidential post in order to get re-elected for governor while collecting monies to build a presidential campaign war chest; lied about not having been arrested for alcohol-related incidents then hid behind his children to exonerate himself for this dishonesty; passed legislation in TX limiting litigation damages against insurance companies just after filing his own personal suit; and has a disturbing propensity for public utterance of the a-word– would be so invested in denying voters the right to have their votes counted properly. Frankly, I think we all deserved to have our votes go to better candidates this year.
Response:
A FOREIGN PERSPECTIVE ON FLORIDA 1. Imagine that we read of an election occurring anywhere in the third world in which the self-declared winner was the son of the former prime minister and that former prime minister was himself the former head of that nation’s secret police (CIA). 2. Imagine that the self-declared winner lost the popular vote but won based on some colonial holdover (electoral college) from the nation’s past. 3. Imagine that the self-declared winner’s ‘victory’ turned on disputed votes cast in a province governed by his brother. 4. Imagine that the poorly drafted ballots of one district, a district heavily favoring the self-declared winner’s opponent, led thousands of voters to vote for the wrong candidate. 5. Imagine that members of that nation’s most despised castes turned out in record numbers to vote in near-universal opposition to the self-declared winner’s candidacy. 6. Imagine that hundreds of members of those castes were turned away from the polls by state police operating under the authority of the self-declared winner’s brother. 7. Imagine that six million people voted in the disputed province and that the self-declared winner’s ‘lead’ was only 600 votes. 8. Imagine that many of the communities used out-of-date, inaccurate voting machines "for financial reasons." 9. Imagine that the self-declared winner and his political party opposed a more careful by-hand inspection and re-counting of the ballots in the disputed province or in its most hotly disputed districts. 10. Imagine that the self-declared winner was himself the governor of a major province, which had the worst human rights record of any province in his nation (and led the nation in executions). 10. Imagine that a major campaign promise of the self-declared winner was to appoint like-minded human rights violators to lifetime positions on the high court of that nation.
Response:
End all the fuss – leave Clinton in office. At least he gave us something vaguely interesting to talk about. Before you buy.
Response:
A FOREIGN PERSPECTIVE ON FLORIDA 1. Imagine that we read of an election occurring anywhere in the third world in which the self-declared winner was the son of the former prime minister and that former prime minister was himself the former head of that nation’s secret police (CIA). Perhaps you feel the head of the CIA should be disqualified from running for the office of President. I suppose you would then expand that disqualification to the rest of his extended family. Does the name Kennedy ring any bells? I doubt it. 2. Imagine that the self-declared winner lost the popular vote but won based on some colonial holdover (electoral college) from the nation’s past. Imagine the loser of the electoral vote using his popular victory as a foundation from which to contest an election after he stated his support for the electoral college before election day. By the way, the state of Florida declared GWB the winner – not GWB himself. Don’t let the facts get in the way of your opinion. 3. Imagine that the self-declared winner’s ‘victory’ turned on disputed votes cast in a province governed by his brother. Oh lookee here – guilt by association. I suppose you want GWB to concede a close race simply because his brother was duly elected governor by the citizens of Florida. 4. Imagine that the poorly drafted ballots of one district, a district heavily favoring the self-declared winner’s opponent, led thousands of voters to vote for the wrong candidate. Imagine that those poorly drafted ballots were designed by democrats, approved by both parties, published in advance, and mailed to registered voters in advance of the election. Imagine that a certain percentage of votes are routinely disqualified all over the country as a result of voter error, and that the percentage of disqualified votes in Dade county was lower than most of the other counties in Florida. 5. Imagine that members of that nation’s most despised castes turned out in record numbers to vote in near-universal opposition to the self-declared winner’s candidacy. It’s the votes, stoopid. Not the race, color, gender, or ethnic origin of the voter – no matter how much you want this to be a dividing issue. 6. Imagine that hundreds of members of those castes were turned away from the polls by state police operating under the authority of the self-declared winner’s brother. See above. 7. Imagine that six million people voted in the disputed province and that the self-declared winner’s ‘lead’ was only 600 votes. Imagine you making this argument if Al Gore was the winner by a similar margin… not. 8. Imagine that many of the communities used out-of-date, inaccurate voting machines "for financial reasons." Imagine how desperate you have to be to somehow insinuate that the use of aging voting apparatus was deliberately orchestrated by the GOP (in Democratic controlled counties, no less) with the intent of altering the outcome of a national election. 9. Imagine that the self-declared winner and his political party opposed a more careful by-hand inspection and re-counting of the ballots in the disputed province or in its most hotly disputed districts. In the absence of fraud, why would pregnant and dimpled chads be counted as votes in selective Democratic counties when the same standard does not apply to heavily Republican counties. Imagine. Dad
Response:
Filed under: Human Rights
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