Kerry criticizes election outcome

[TXTink]

ha ha ha…hey Amanda..thanks. I will pay you if you post that I am 20 or 21 everyday…reading that made me feel young again.

I hate to admit it but I am an “old man” as my two sons like to say.

I don’t know where you got 20 from I don’t list my age…I don’t list anything about me don’t you know there are “nuts” on the internet? I’m not even from New Jersey.

I hope and pray that there will be peace in the world so my sons (7, 13) and future generations will not need to know/see the horrors of war. I hope that eventually Iraq will be free and able to stand on it’s own. It will be a BIG plus for the Middle East don’t you think?

OUR brave young men and women are fighting and yes dying for freedom. Not just freedom for Iraq but I feel freedom for the world. I think OUR president said in his speech yesterday …”with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world”. (yes I sallow everything he says..hook, line and sinker)

I would be scared **** to be fighting in Iraq. That is why I will always say that OUR armed forces are the bravest thing going. I thank them for it.

..and don’t think my family doesn’t know the horrors of war…the link below is to my Memorial Day thread about my uncle…..

You have got to see where my Uncle and his buddies live…….


God Bless America…God Bless our BRAVE men and women!


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Good for you Charlie! I get so angry reading stupid questions like the one put to you that I want lash out at the poster. You handled it very well. I too have family and friends serving in Iraq, and I am very proud of their service to our country.

 

[ThAnswr]

Well I was trying to educate WWTBAM Fan with my reply, meaning that just cuz SOME republicans didn't see the need for election reform didn't mean ALL republicans felt that way, but sure yeah Charlie could get something from that too! Oh and thanks Amanda!

Well let me tell you what seems to happen everytime a Democrat talks about voting reform. We're told:

1) it's sour grapes for 2000

2) there's no problem except for the stupid voter who doesn't know how to fill out the ballot,

3) it's none of your business how votes are tabulated in the electronic voting machines

Etc, etc., etc.

 

[septbride2002]

Good for you Charlie! I get so angry reading stupid questions like the one put to you that I want lash out at the poster. You handled it very well. I too have family and friends serving in Iraq, and I am very proud of their service to our country.

I'm sorry that you think my question was "stupid" let me introduce myself - "Hi, my name is Amanda. And typically when I post a question it is because I really want to know that answer and am not trying to be an ignorant witch. You should be proud of the family and friends you have serving your country, just as I am with my family currently serving. Yes I have cousins and uncles over there just like everyone else. I don't really appreciate you insinuating that my questions was "stupid" considering I typed it in the most polite and non-judgemental way possible. I even went on to answer why I would ask the question. I hope now that you know a little bit more about me that you will actually take the time to consider not everyone is out to trap someone else in a statement but really are just asking the question to ask the question. There is no need to "lash" out at anyone. Nice to meet you too."

~Amanda

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Well let me tell you what seems to happen everytime a Democrat talks about voting reform. We're told:

1) it's sour grapes for 2000

2) there's no problem except for the stupid voter who doesn't know how to fill out the ballot,

3) it's none of your business how votes are tabulated in the electronic voting machines

Etc, etc., etc.

And that is stupid, as Americans we should ALL care about the voting process and make it as fair for ALL Americans as possible, no matter how daunting the task seems.

And let me vouch for Amanda, when she asks a question, she really is looking for an answer.

 

[ThAnswr]

And that is stupid, as Americans we should ALL care about the voting process and make it as fair for ALL Americans as possible, no matter how daunting the task seems.

You would think the need for voter reform would be no-brainer. Nope.

Bring up voting reform and some loon brings up punch-card ballots and why can't the stupid voter punch the card in the right place. Nevermind, the question that should be asked, why is anyone in this country subjected to these stupid little cards with damn near unintelligible holes in it?

Btw, after the debacle of 2000, billions were allocated to reform the voting system. Too much of that money was spent on touch-screen voting machines that have no paper trail and manufacturers claiming we have no right to see how votes are tablulated because the software's proprietary. Unbelievable, but true. And there are some here who defend that.

Do you want to know how I'd reform the system? Junk every new invention to cast one's vote. The old pencil and paper ballot makes more sense than what we have today.

Btw, reforming the voting system is not a daunting task. Irradicating polio was a daunting task. Putting a man on the moon was a daunting task. The only thing holding up voting reform is the will to do so.

 

[KarenC]

And that is stupid, as Americans we should ALL care about the voting process and make it as fair for ALL Americans as possible, no matter how daunting the task seems.

ITA! I have a tremendous respect for the collective wisdom of the American people. As long as every person who wants to vote gets to vote, and every vote gets counted, our country will stay strong.

 

[BuckNaked]

Well let me tell you what seems to happen everytime a Democrat talks about voting reform. We're told:

1) it's sour grapes for 2000

2) there's no problem except for the stupid voter who doesn't know how to fill out the ballot,

3) it's none of your business how votes are tabulated in the electronic voting machines

Etc, etc., etc.

1) I don't think it's just sour grapes, but I believe that is a big part of it. I certainly didn't hear anyone, from either side, calling for widespread reform prior to 2000.

2) I wouldn't say that there is no problem other than the voters, but the voters are a huge part of the problem. Take a look at Florida in 2000, and the number of ballots with no discernible vote or with more than one vote in the same race.

3) It isn't "none of our business" how votes are tabulated, but until the laws are changed or overturned, we don't have the right to look at proprietary computer code.

 

[BuckNaked]

ITA! I have a tremendous respect for the collective wisdom of the American people. As long as every person who wants to vote gets to vote, and every vote gets counted, our country will stay strong.

Change that to "every eligible person that wants to vote", and I'll agree. As for making sure the votes are counted, that's where voter responsibility plays a large part. And I personally don't have any sympathy for people that don't follow directions and then complain about being disenfranchised.

 

[BuckNaked]

Matt Damschroder, the Director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, and who was ultimately responsible for getting the machines out, is a Republican. He is also the former Executive Director of the county's Republican Party.

According to the Franklin County website, a Democrat is the chairman of the county election board. He also serves as the county DNC chair.

 

[robyn323]

amen to that!

 

[KarenC]

Do you want to know how I'd reform the system? Junk every new invention to cast one's vote. The old pencil and paper ballot makes more sense than what we have today.

I disagree. We still have punch card voting in Cook County. We had our own butterfly ballot issues in 2000. We had so many judges to retain, or not, that the lines were very small and the holes of the ballot didn't line up with the lines. I had no idea whether I was kicking out the corrupt or incompetent judges I intended to, or not.

After that election, the county made two changes. No more butterfly ballots. And they put in a card reader that alerts the voter to whether they undervoted or overvoted. If so, they tell you for what race.

So the county still has easy to tabulate voting records, there is a paper trail, and the ballots are far less confusing. I think scantron ballots with an opportunity to validate before the voter leaves the precinct would also be effective.

 

[Microcell]

"Voting machines were distributed in uneven ways. In Democratic districts, it took people four, five, eleven hours to vote, while Republicans (went) through in 10 minutes -- same voting machines, same process, our America," he said.

Okay, what kills me about this and alot of his other statements is that the translation to truth is this:

In general there is more of a congregation of Democrats concentrated in urban areas, thus more more in number for any particular polling place. The Republicans tend to live in suburban or rural areas, and there are less people per polling place, hence the difference in wait times for the two parties.

 

[Southern4sure]

Alabama has the most regressive tax system, the poor pay a higher percentage than the rich. Property tax is low, the sales tax in Mobile is 9%. Yes it is a poor state and the education system is very bad. To say that is was set up to keep the poor down is not racist, it is the truth. I was simply making a statement to explain why I think the voting is done the way it is. I voted for Gov. Riley's plan and still have no idea why the "poor" didn't. And anyone who thinks racism is not alive and well in the South has never lived here. I know we have come a long way from the old Jim Crow days, but we still have so far to go. This if so off topic but there are high schools here that have 2 proms, black and white, with their own kings and queens. How are we going to spread freedom to the rest of the world when we don't extend it to all of our citizens?

I agree with all you say except the voting situation. The voting is screwed up like everything else in the state. Riley inherited the left overs from Singleton and those before him. It was a new concept and the "poor" was scared senseless by the large business/property owners to think the taxes would sky rocket when in truth they wouldn't. I find fault with the high school principal for allowing two seperate proms. That is not the state's fault, its the school board's problem. BTW, don't forget in Mobile if you go out to eat, there is a 10% tax. Just for the record, the "south" cannot be considered racist because a few morons who decide upon themselves to "act" with ignorance and stupidity is a reflection on me (a southerner...and proud of it!) and what I stand for. I have lived my entire 37 yrs in Alabama and there are alot of good, decent and hardworking people that are not racist who look at these few for what they really are: ignorant.

Southern4sure

 

[KarenC]

According to the Franklin County website, a Democrat is the chairman of the county election board. He also serves as the county DNC chair.

If you look at the bottom of this link,

http://www.co.franklin.oh.us/boe/

you will see Matthew M. Damschroder listed as the director of the Franklin County Board of Elections. He is a Republican. He's the county official responsible for the logistical arrangements for voting in the county.

 

[chobie]

love your selective "research". I see Washington State is curiously missing from your list

Speaking of Washington, how are the Republicans reacting to the Democrat being sworn in after the recount?

 

[KarenC]

Change that to "every eligible person that wants to vote", and I'll agree. As for making sure the votes are counted, that's where voter responsibility plays a large part. And I personally don't have any sympathy for people that don't follow directions and then complain about being disenfranchised.

I have no problem changing it to "every eligible person".

I was a National Merit Scholar (just to define my not-stupid credentials) and I had problems with a butterfly ballot in 2000, so I don't think all ballot problems are due to stupid voters. In my case, the holes for the punchcard did not line up with the lines for the candidate. I had to count the candidates, then count the holes, to make sure I was punching the right one. And there were dozens of candidates on the pages. I can remember telling the poll worker as I left that the ballot was confusing. Let's just say I had some empathy for the Palm Beach County voters when I heard about them the next day.

There should be no reason to not try to eliminate common errors with voting.

 

[HoneyPooh]

I think it has something to do with hubris and stupidity

Pardon me????

 

[ashjohnson80]

Amen Bella
The Dems never had a problem with the election "system" as long as they were running roughshod over everyone with their cheating. The cheating continues, but has recently been overwhelmed by the tremendous outpouring of genuine support for conservative principles. The liberals are dying off as a political force and they are in denial over the passing of their forty year stranglehold on politics.

Democrats see nothing wrong with precincts that turn out 120% of their registered voters - they see nothing wrong with precincts that always seem to "discover" a new box of ballots after the first count has been processed, knowing that somehow this "newly discovered" ballot box always has just enough votes in it to alter the outcome of a close election. Democrats see nothing wrong with having thousands of non-existant, or dead, people registered in their heavily Democrat precincts. They see nothing wrong with hauling bums out from underpasses and senile seniors from nursing homes to the polls and then offering to "help" them cast their ballots.

Democrats have been winning elections by fraud forever. They just cannot believe that cheating is not enough anymore = they are being rejected en masse and don't have the sense to realize it.

They think if they can tinker with the system just one more time they can again tilt it their way.

Left Wing Radicals - get used to the cold - you are out in it - until you rejoin decent human conversation, you are going to get more and more lonely out there. Say hello to Michael Moore and George Soros - Hope you enjoy each others' company.

Republicans are truely crazy people...

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Do you want to know how I'd reform the system? Junk every new invention to cast one's vote. The old pencil and paper ballot makes more sense than what we have today.

The optical readers work great--sort of akin to bubble sheets---but large ovals instead of tiny circles and the ballot is read by the machine no matter how it is placed in the machine.

 

[WWTBAMFAN]

I love your selective "research". I see Washington State is curiously missing from your list

The allegations of voter fraud being made the sore losermans in Washington are laughable. Lets let the courts decide these baseless claims. The courts have already spoken as to the most controversial aspect of this contest, the wrongfully disregarded ballots from King County.

Dmadman, do you deny that the only way that a republican can win is by supressing the votes of minorities? For over twenty years, the GOP has been the party of voter suppression and intimidation. Lets look as some more examples as to why the GOP is the party of voter fraud. See http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/12/26/152949/17

Nathan Sproul, the former head of the Arizona Republican Party (and of the state's Christian Coalition), managed a multi-state, Republican National Committee-financed campaign to sign up new GOP voters. In the process, his poorly paid employees, pretending to be non-partisan voter registration workers, reportedly destroyed hundreds if not thousands of signed, but unwanted, Democratic registration forms - serious criminal offenses committed in concert in the furtherance of the GOP's electoral fortunes. A non-Republican "Giuliani" would want to know about every conversation Sproul had had with Republican Party officials over the course of at least a year. Investigators would interview each of Sproul's interlocutors, and warn them - and Sproul - of the additional penalties attached to conspiracy. The investigator's goal is to "turn" conspirators into witnesses in the search up the chain, or to catch bad actors in a lie - an additional charge to hold over their heads. This is how the larger scheme - the criminal enterprise - is routinely fleshed out.

According to the Free Press, a team of 25 men calling themselves the "Texas Strike Force" positioned themselves at a hotel across the street from Republican Party headquarters in Franklin County, Ohio (Columbus), and proceeded to make intimidating phone calls to likely Democratic voters, "targeting people recently in the prison system." These imported Texans' rooms were reportedly paid for by the Ohio Republican Party. A "hotel worker heard one caller threaten a likely voter with being reported to the FBI and returning to jail if he voted" - a crime if committed by an individual, but a much more serious conspiracy if engaged in by the entire interstate flying squad and the Republicans who paid, accommodated and sent them on their felonious mission. There is a raft of conspiracy angles to be worked in this case - angles that could lead...anywhere in the GOP matrix in Ohio, Texas and beyond.

If you want to bring up facts to back your claims about the Washington Gov. race, please do so. I hope they are better than one I have seen so far from the sore losermans in that race.