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On 20 Nov 2004 14:27:36 -0800, (Tinkerntom) wrote:
Galen Hekhuis wrote in message . .. On 19 Nov 2004 17:23:43 -0800, (Tinkerntom) wrote: It is the core, that is important, and yet the Dems still don't get it. It was said for months before the election that they were lacking core issues.... But who wasn't listening then? Are you listening now? Can you accept what I say just because I say it, or because it is true fact, the Dems lost!! Sorry to use this post in particular, but it kind of touched on something that seemingly most people are not aware of. I know many pundits and newscasters say so, but according to the US Constitution (which I think is rather binding in this case) the election is NOT over. To be sure, many of the ballots have been cast and counted for the popular vote, but the election is not over until early January, I think it is the 6th when the VP (Cheney) reports the results of the electoral college or something like that. As far as votes that remain to be counted, among those that remain are the absentee ballots from the troops overseas. I find it to be somewhat ironic that many of those who urge that folks "support the troops" are frequently among those who seemingly do not care that the military absentee votes are considered to be insignificant. The most common reason I hear for such disenfranchisement is that it "wouldn't change the outcome anyway." The hell it wouldn't! It might well add to Bush's tally, and make a serious increase in the mandate he claims. On the other hand, it would be rather telling if the troops in the field overwhelmingly didn't vote for Bush. Either way, we won't ever know anything about it unless people insist that their votes, along with every American's vote, is counted. If our troops are dying overseas for (among other things) the right to vote, the very least we can do here is insist that their votes be counted. One thing we can do at home as Americans to ensure that troops (fighting for freedom -- remember?) will not have died in vain is to insist on free and fair elections here. Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA Guns don't kill people, religions do Hi Galen, I appreciate your reminding us of this point of order. We live in a Constitutional Democratic Republic. Law and Order rules the day. We do not run our country with tanks on the street corner politics, and town square coups. We count votes. Sort of arcane, but it works. I expect that all the votes will be counted, so that all the votes will count, even the absentee votes of the troops. But in considering the current tally, and the remaining to be tallied, even John Kerry conceded that he could not win the election. In conceding, he promotes a smooth continuation of the Democratic process. The electoral college was established to assure this process as well. If all our computers crashed, and all the chads got hung, the process would continue to all of our mutual benefit. Would we be confortable while the wheels creaked and growned under the weight, probably not, but we would survive to vote another day. We do not live in a pure democracy where each vote is applied directly to the tally for electing our President. We have been taught from grade school the virtue of Democracy, and that sells good in public opinion, and POP politics. One of the processes going on in our venue, is the democratic popular vote, but it is only a part of the process. The electoral college was established in a time when instaneous, and simulteously reported results were not possible. Now with all our gadgets, it seems it should be possible, but the reality is that things still don't work out the way they should. So that part of the process is still necessary, and works. I look forward to Jan 6, or 20th, when you give your concession speech, if you want to wait that long. I think you might misunderstand. I am not advocating that any results be changed or even overturned. I am not advocating the abolishment of the electoral college or anything like that. What I am trying to convey is that it is critical for this democracy, any democracy, to have fair and accountable election procedures. E-voting machines and tallying machines are extremely susceptible to being hacked. The very least we can do to honor those who died fighting for freedom is to demand that their votes be counted. Not "expect that all the votes will be counted," we should *insist* that they be counted. But there is more that needs to be done. If things continue the way they are, we may wake up one morning with the likes of Zarqwai reported to have most of the electoral votes (courtesy of some hacker with a warped sense of humor) and us with no way to prove absolutely no one voted for him. Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA Guns don't kill people, religions do |
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