Republicans win (again) in Washington governor race
Republican candidate Dino Rossi won for the second time in Washington; first with the election and now with a recount of votes. Democrats are pulling a "Florida": demanding that the votes be recounted until they show a win for their candidate, Christine Gregoire
As the AP details:
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Republican Dino Rossi came out ahead in the recount for Washington governor Wednesday by just 42 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast, and the Democrats are expected to demand yet another recount that could drag on past Christmas.
Democrats need to do the right thing and concede. Becoming the party of "count the votes...until we win" will only do further damage to their reputation. Democrats seemed determined to do just that, though:
But even before the last big surge of ballots was tallied, the Democrats had signaled they would seek a hand recount in at least part of the state if Gregoire ended up on the short end. Democrats said afterward that they were still weighing their options.
In addition, the Democrat practice of "inventing" votes when none are present is running strong. Democrats insist that ballots that contain no vote for governor be examined to "determine the intent of the voter". Which means that ballots should be counted for the Democrat candidate unless they are perfectly filled in for the Republican candidate. Such tea-leaf reading is not scientific and only introduces human error into the equation. Democrats seem unwilling to admit that there are voters who refuse to vote for either candidate and also seem determined to insist that most of their voters are not smart enough to correctly fill in a ballot.
In 2000 President Bush refused to demand a recount in New Mexico, even though the vote margin was tiny. Even John Kerry eventually conceded in the 2004 race instead of demanding numerous recounts.
Even though our system is not perfect, there are enough measures in place and being planned to ensure fair elections. Continuing to dispute them only weakens the confidence of voters and suppresses turnout in future elections.
It is time for Democrats to put the good of the country first. It is time for them to concede the race for governor in Washington.
As the AP details:
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Republican Dino Rossi came out ahead in the recount for Washington governor Wednesday by just 42 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast, and the Democrats are expected to demand yet another recount that could drag on past Christmas.
Democrats need to do the right thing and concede. Becoming the party of "count the votes...until we win" will only do further damage to their reputation. Democrats seemed determined to do just that, though:
But even before the last big surge of ballots was tallied, the Democrats had signaled they would seek a hand recount in at least part of the state if Gregoire ended up on the short end. Democrats said afterward that they were still weighing their options.
In addition, the Democrat practice of "inventing" votes when none are present is running strong. Democrats insist that ballots that contain no vote for governor be examined to "determine the intent of the voter". Which means that ballots should be counted for the Democrat candidate unless they are perfectly filled in for the Republican candidate. Such tea-leaf reading is not scientific and only introduces human error into the equation. Democrats seem unwilling to admit that there are voters who refuse to vote for either candidate and also seem determined to insist that most of their voters are not smart enough to correctly fill in a ballot.
In 2000 President Bush refused to demand a recount in New Mexico, even though the vote margin was tiny. Even John Kerry eventually conceded in the 2004 race instead of demanding numerous recounts.
Even though our system is not perfect, there are enough measures in place and being planned to ensure fair elections. Continuing to dispute them only weakens the confidence of voters and suppresses turnout in future elections.
It is time for Democrats to put the good of the country first. It is time for them to concede the race for governor in Washington.