Posted on 02/03/2005 6:14:05 PM PST by rockrr
The hearing is being held in Wenatchee, situated in a red county, away from the liberal population center of Seattle.
Have you been listening to Mr. Carlson, or have you read a profile of the judge?
The libs accused Rossi of "judge shopping" (why wouldn't they ;'}, and that may be true. The fact is, because Chelan County is one of the counties named in the various suits, it was every bit as legitimate a locale as King (County).
BTW: Judge Bridges is a straight up, no nonsense guy who will be as close to impartial as any of us could want.
I live east of the Cascades so I don't hear very much reporting on what is going on. KVI only streams from 6 to 9 in the morning and 3 to 6 in the evening and if I don't get into their site just before those times, I can't get on. To busy I guess.
Does KIRO have an online stream?
Right now I am watching PBS Washington State Legislature. They showed when Gregoir made her first speech and how the Republicans just stood there and never clapped. One of the panel is a Republican named Brad Benson who says he believes Rossi won, but if Gregoir remains, I can work with her. She is a real nice women. GAG ME WITH A SPOON
Now they are talking about needing more taxes and Republican Shirley Hankins says we need more money and these initiatives are hurting us.
To many RINO REPUBLICANS.
Possible that she did make it up.
The untold side of this story is that the headliner on the 11 O'clock news THE NIGHT BEFORE any news of "death threats" was a story about people in the Democratic party who were complaining that Rossi still had 24 hour protection from the SP.
They thought the expense was a waste, we need the money for the chilrun...
Thanks, I'll bookmark that one also.
You may be right that she is lying about receiving a death threat. However, personally I wouldn't be surprised given the anti-gun agenda she supports and how riled up some gun owners have gotten. She could actually be a legitimate target. Be that as it may I would never advocate any such action.
Besides, "Talk show radios" don't kill people, people do. LOL
So I'll go by that same standard--unless Gregoire can PROVE prove that republicans did such a thing, she/the democrats probably did it themselves.
No that's why I'm asking how Mr. Rossi ended up filing in that district. I really don't know much, only that Mr. Rossi was contesting the out come and that they found hundreds of illegal votes. That's it, that's all I know.
Rose...here's an update....
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA+Election+Challenge&dpfrom=tsto
Thursday, February 3, 2005 · Last updated 5:46 p.m. PT
Friday hearing to determine future of Rossi's election challenge
By REBECCA COOK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SEATTLE -- Could the fate of the Washington governor's election really hang on a question of sentence structure?
Possibly, yes.
On Friday, Chelan County Superior Court Judge John E. Bridges will study sentence structure, along with many other legal arguments, as he considers motions to dismiss the Republicans' legal challenge to the governor's election.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi and the state GOP are challenging the election of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, saying the results were tainted by so many errors and illegal votes that the courts should throw out the results and order a new election.
Democrats are defending the election results, saying Rossi doesn't have enough proof to nullify the election and that a revote would be unconstitutional.
Gregoire, who took office last month, won by a mere 129 votes after a hand recount of 2.9 million ballots. Rossi, a real estate agent and former state senator, had won the original count by 261 votes and won a machine recount by 42 votes. But to his dismay, the third and final count flipped the victory to Gregoire.
Over the past month Gregoire has been busy trying to solidify her hold on the governor's office. She's laid out her plans for health care, improving government efficiency and job growth, while working aggressively with the Legislature - and trying hard to ignore the legal challenge to her legitimacy.
Meanwhile, Rossi and his supporters have been steadily beating the drum for a revote. The state Republican Party alleges that hundreds of felons voted illegally. Many Republicans in Olympia are quick to mention "Gov. Rossi" at every opportunity.
Friday's hearing will determine whether Rossi's case will go forward. Rossi sued the state and all 39 counties in his election challenge, filed in Chelan County Superior Court.
The state Democratic Party intervened in the case and on Friday its lawyers will tell the judge why they think the case should be dismissed.
One of their main arguments is Democrats believe election contests have to go through the Legislature, not the courts. Republicans disagree, though they've filed an election challenge with the Legislature just to cover all the bases.
The state constitution says contested elections for governor "shall be decided by the legislature in such a manner as shall be determined by law."
"Through this sentence, the Constitution imposes a mandatory duty on only one branch of government - the Legislature," the Democrats' motion to dismiss says. "This is the only plausible answer to the question of which body may decide an election contest for Gov.."
The Democrats' brief analyzes the sentence structure in further detail.
The Republicans' response argues just the opposite, saying the words "as shall be determined by law" clearly delegate the task of election challenges to the courts.
More grammatical discussion ensues, including case law on the use of antecedents.
"This Court should give the words of the Constitution their plain meaning," the GOP brief says. Plus, the lawyers add, "It makes good sense to have election contests in the impartial and nonpartisan courts rather than in the legislature."
On that point, at least, the secretary of state and many legislators agree. Attorneys for Secretary of State Sam Reed, a Republican and a defendant in the lawsuit, agree that the proper place for the election challenge is the court, not the Legislature.
The Republicans' court filings include floor speeches and e-mails by Democratic legislators explaining that they would not delay certification of Gregoire's election because they believe the courts, not the Legislature, should handle the election challenge.
In a typical e-mail, Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Mukilteo, wrote to a constituent pressing for a revote: "I believe every election should be decided by the voters. But if there are concerns that fraud or gross errors occurred, the impartial courts should look into the allegations, not the partisan Legislature."
However, the judge will probably care more about what the state constitution - not the current Legislature - has to say about jurisdiction.
At Friday's hearing the judge will also consider the Democrats' motion to dismiss the case based on improper venue, or failing that, to change the venue to Thurston County Superior Court or the state Supreme Court.
Republicans dismiss that motion as a stall tactic. Attorneys for the secretary of state say the judge might as well keep the case in Chelan County since it's already gone this far.
---
Many of the court filings in the election challenge are posted on the secretary of state's Web site: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/recount.aspx.ec
I can't believe she didn't know that. The court hearing is tomorrow.
Revote or revolt. Either way the Dems lose. They have nobody but themselves to blame for this ridiculous position and it might just cost them more than the Governor's seat.
You ahouldn't. The U. S. Supreme Court has spent over 200 years evaluating the Constitution's "sentence structure."
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