"John D. Giorgis" wrote:
>
> Well, it looks like Gore is determined to win this election in any way possible.
>The Gore camp is attempting to conduct hand recounts in the most heavily Democratic
>counties, that way, as soon as there are enough "new" Gore votes to put him over the
>top, he can call for a stop to the recounting, and declare himself the winner.
>
> Consider the counties Gore has selected for "hand counting."
> Broward: 68% - Gore, 31% - Bush
> Dade - 53% - Gore, 46% - Bush
> Palm Beach - 62% - Gore, 35% - Bush
> Volusia - 49% - Gore, 42% - Bush
>
> This is grossly unfair. The reason we have machine counting in the first place is
>that it minimizes human error, and also because errors are counted in a non-partisan
>way. A Republican ballot is just as likely to not be completely punched as a
>Democratic ballot.
>
Recounts aren't done on a whim. If there is deemed a good reason for a manual
recount then it should be done. Florida law provides for it and it has been
done at least a few times before so there is precedent. If there is a good
reason for votes to be counted in other places, then it should be done there
as well. Might I also point out that Bush has already beinefited from a
partial manual recount in Seminole county. Is it their contention that it's
OK for them to get a manual recount but no one else should be able to?
> If we are going to do a hand recount, it must be done for the entire State. But,
>does anyone want to see a hand recount of 6 million ballots? Does anyone seriously
>believe that would somehow be more accurate, and less prone to error? Does anyone
>want to put the country through this.
>
> Gore needs to stop, and he needs to stop now. Tuesday at 5pm, Florida will certify
>that the recount has produced a Bush victory of less than 1,000 ballots.
Bush needs to let the process proceed in the proscribed manner. His going to
court to stop the process is exactly the kind of thing he was railing against
earlier. I'm getting the impression that he and brother Jeb know something we
don't.
>
> Despite the fact that many absentee ballots went to Israel and other Democratic
>voters, pretty much the same group of people voted for *Bob Dole* by a margin of 54%
>- 44% over Bill Clinton. Clinton won Florida that year. It is exceedingly unlikely
>that Gore will receive more overseas ballots than Bush.
Unlikely but not impossible, here's a few reasons why: 1) The presence of
Lieberman on the ballot may have inspired a high turnout of Israeli/Florida
dual citizens. 2) Dole was a war hero, Clinton avoided the draft. Gore was
an enlisted man and went to Viet Nam. Bush effectively avoided service (Air
National Guard and he apparently came and went as he pleased). Note also that
enlisted men outnumber Officers 6-1 and tend to be more liberal.
>
> Should Gore pull off a miracle upset in these ballots, I am sure the Bush camp will
>concede. Until them, it is time to call the State for Bush, and let the Bush camp
>begin making preparations, and to put an end to the fomenting of divisiveness.
>
No one but the Bush camp is saying it's time to call the state. The manual
count has started and I will be surprised if Bush's desperate foray into
Federal court will stop it.
Doug
