Posted on 07/08/2004 9:57:50 AM PDT by kattracks
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards, on their first trip together to the state that narrowly put President Bush in the White House after a fierce recount and court fight in 2000, promised Thursday that "every vote is going to be counted" this year.The presidential candidate told thousands of screaming supporters gathered in an airport hanger in Broward County, ground zero in the recount, that he's discovered that Edwards' two young children, ages 6 and 4, were "good at math."
"Those kids really know how to count," Kerry said. "I've given them a special duty in this election. We're sending Jack and Emma Claire down there to help those Republicans in West Palm Beach count those votes."
As the crowd erupted, Kerry boomed: "I've got news for you. In 2004, not only does every vote in Florida count but every vote is going to be counted."
Kerry said elections officials in Florida still are trying to fix voting machines. "I'll make a deal with them," he said. "They fix those machines and we'll fix America!"
The campaign visit to Florida just two days after Kerry chose Edwards as his vice presidential running mate underscored the importance of the state that Bush won by 537 votes over Democrat Al Gore in the disputed 2000 election.
Recent polls show Bush and Kerry locked in a close race in their battle for the state's 27 electoral votes, the largest prize of the battleground states and a 10th of the total needed to win the White House.
Since March, each campaign has spent more than $10 million in television commercials in Florida, where the president's brother Jeb easily won re-election as governor in 2002.
The only Democrats to carry the state in the last three decades are Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Bill Clinton 20 years later even though Florida has about 300,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans.
From Florida, Kerry and Edwards were headed to New York City for a concert fund raiser featuring the Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige, John Mellencamp, Jon Bon Jovi, Wyclef Jean, Whoopi Goldberg and others.
The $7 million the concert raised will be divided between Kerry's campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Last month, a similar concert in Los Angeles raised $5 million.
Oh good! That means with the military vote being counted this election,President Bush will win by an even larger margin this time around.
The problem was that non-votes were being counted.
They're still hung up about Floriduh. Its still not out of their system after all these years. Funny coming from the party that told us to move on after Clinton.
Whew, I am sure glad I've never given ANY of these losers ANY of my money.
yea,every vote will be counted this year, as it was in 2000. duh.
Right and what they don't admit to is that all the Supreme Court ordered was that the FL recounts (which Bush won again and again) had to be certified by the FL Sec State or FL's electoral votes would have been nullified, which would have thrown the election into the House of Representatives. President Bush would have been elected by the House, anyway.
Unless, of course, they're military absentee ballots.
No one should have a problem with having every vote counted. What Al Gore wanted in 2000 was to change the legal definition of a "vote" changed once the election was over. He wanted things which were not, and never have been, considered a "vote" -- e.g., "dimples" -- counted. Count all the votes! Don't count those ballot which do not reflect a legal vote.
I hope they keep right on banging that drum.
I suppose this kind of thing appeals to their deluded base, but I should think many of the voters in Florida would be tired of hearing this nonsense by now.
Maybe they'll not only count the military ballots, but let the folks in the Panhandle finish voting as well.
I hope we have plenty of Republican poll watchers in Broward and Miami-Dade. We can't count on SCOTUS again, I don't think, because they seem to have moved further left the past year or two.
First of all, ALL votes WERE counted, and secondly, it wasn't the Republicans who were having trouble counting.
We've gotten to an age where any lie is acceptable to spew. Kerry knows he's lying. He's simply scum.
Good! This time my vote will count. I was in Japan and voted absentee last year. I was most offended when some RAT POS said my vote didn't count the last time. Now I want to tell the Rats to "Bring it on"...
Kat, ya beat me to it! BTW, just reading this article was beyond belief. Assbreath Kerry STILL has not made one explicit comment on why he thinks he should be Prez. This guy has zero ideas to differentiate himself from his adversary. Un-Effin-believable!
You stated what I was thinking which was "even the military too". I remember how the demoncRATS wanted to eliminate the military vote.
Sort of like a football team that can only win 'away' games, where what they 'really are all about' is still an 'unknown' and once they get to know you, they can live without you.
And that definition kept changing from county to county to improve the Gore totals.
They key here is that the will want to count every vote - at least, the ones they want counted.
Just like in 2000.
And they'll have the lawyers to prove it.
What about the Military vote?
Qualify, identify, verify then vote.
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