This Election Is NOT Going to be Over on Nov. 3...
...no matter the result.
From the Associated Press:
Kerry Looks to Avoid Gore Recount Errors
Thu Oct 21, 12:54 AM ET
By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry, bracing for a potential fight over election results, will not hesitate to declare victory Nov. 2 and defend it, advisers say. He also will be prepared to name a national security team before knowing whether he's secured the presidency.
In short, the Democratic presidential candidate has a simple strategy for Nov. 3 and beyond: Do not repeat Al Gore's mistakes.
The Democratic vice president prematurely conceded the 2000 race to George W. Bush in a telephone call, 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.
That's it, blame the voters for a sense of inevitability. That's just plain stupidity on the part of this "reporter". The voters had nothing to do with the recount, once the balloting was over. Never mind that the recount showed Bush won...the data produced inevitability, not the voters.
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.
"Few could have predicted it"??? Name one person who did...
Not this time, promise Kerry's advisers. If there is doubt about the results, they will fight without delay.
Define "doubt"...you mean if Kerry loses?
"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."
How is the Kerry campaign going to make sure everybody can vote? I guess the same way they're going to enable paraplegics to walk again.
The prospects for another contested election loom with every poll showing the race neck and neck.
Hmmm...wonder why they would think that?
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. Every battleground state will have a SWAT team within an hour of its borders.
Ahhh...that's why.
The Kerry campaign has recount office space in every battleground state, with plans so detailed they include the number of staplers and coffee machines needed to mount legal challenges.
Sounds neato...how anal!
"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.
Nothing gets the electorate motivated like 10,000+ lawyers breathing down their necks. Good for them, everyone knows lawyers need work...they suffer so.
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.
I hate to tell them, but again, the voter is done with the process once the balloting is over. If they "persuade" every fucker in this country that Kerry is the winner, it won't change the count.
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.
That's funny, I haven't seen them point out any of the many irregularities on the Democrat side...such as trading crack for fraudulent signed voter cards, or thousands of Ohio ballot cards being returned as "No Valid Address". They must have missed those.
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.
So THIS is the bastard responsible for that mess.
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.
Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, are among those frequently mentioned as possible members of Kerry's Cabinet. 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.
Great...the guy who DIDN'T fight terrorism under Clinton and the SENATOR who called Bush "brain-dead" are going to take over the fight against al-Qaeda...I feel better already.
Amid the tumult of the 2000 recount, Bush sought to make his presidency appear inevitable 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.
Again...the voters' impression of inevitability was IRRELEVANT to the goddamn recount. This reporter needs a good punch in the face, just for being an idiot.
Kerry's advisers say Bush would have a natural political advantage in a re-count 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.
*PUNCHES REPORTER IN THE FACE*
From the Associated Press:
Kerry Looks to Avoid Gore Recount Errors
Thu Oct 21, 12:54 AM ET
By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry, bracing for a potential fight over election results, will not hesitate to declare victory Nov. 2 and defend it, advisers say. He also will be prepared to name a national security team before knowing whether he's secured the presidency.
In short, the Democratic presidential candidate has a simple strategy for Nov. 3 and beyond: Do not repeat Al Gore's mistakes.
The Democratic vice president prematurely conceded the 2000 race to George W. Bush in a telephone call, 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.
That's it, blame the voters for a sense of inevitability. That's just plain stupidity on the part of this "reporter". The voters had nothing to do with the recount, once the balloting was over. Never mind that the recount showed Bush won...the data produced inevitability, not the voters.
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.
"Few could have predicted it"??? Name one person who did...
Not this time, promise Kerry's advisers. If there is doubt about the results, they will fight without delay.
Define "doubt"...you mean if Kerry loses?
"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."
How is the Kerry campaign going to make sure everybody can vote? I guess the same way they're going to enable paraplegics to walk again.
The prospects for another contested election loom with every poll showing the race neck and neck.
Hmmm...wonder why they would think that?
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. Every battleground state will have a SWAT team within an hour of its borders.
Ahhh...that's why.
The Kerry campaign has recount office space in every battleground state, with plans so detailed they include the number of staplers and coffee machines needed to mount legal challenges.
Sounds neato...how anal!
"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.
Nothing gets the electorate motivated like 10,000+ lawyers breathing down their necks. Good for them, everyone knows lawyers need work...they suffer so.
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.
I hate to tell them, but again, the voter is done with the process once the balloting is over. If they "persuade" every fucker in this country that Kerry is the winner, it won't change the count.
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.
That's funny, I haven't seen them point out any of the many irregularities on the Democrat side...such as trading crack for fraudulent signed voter cards, or thousands of Ohio ballot cards being returned as "No Valid Address". They must have missed those.
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.
So THIS is the bastard responsible for that mess.
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.
Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, are among those frequently mentioned as possible members of Kerry's Cabinet. 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.
Great...the guy who DIDN'T fight terrorism under Clinton and the SENATOR who called Bush "brain-dead" are going to take over the fight against al-Qaeda...I feel better already.
Amid the tumult of the 2000 recount, Bush sought to make his presidency appear inevitable 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.
Again...the voters' impression of inevitability was IRRELEVANT to the goddamn recount. This reporter needs a good punch in the face, just for being an idiot.
Kerry's advisers say Bush would have a natural political advantage in a re-count 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.
*PUNCHES REPORTER IN THE FACE*