Posted on 09/27/2004 7:13:07 AM PDT by JesseJane
Election 2004: Democrats aim to prevent repeat of 2000 election fiasco
By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press June 14, 2004
HOLLYWOOD — Recalling the contentious 2000 election, Democrats urged party activists on Sunday to find legal observers, push early voting methods and remain vigilant of any problems during the upcoming November election.
Party leaders and activists discussed ways to prevent a repeat of the 2000 election in Florida, in which George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by 537 votes after a 36-day recount was halted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Any way we cut it, these people are going to try to steal this election," said U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar. "The only thing we can overpower them with is accuracy and numbers."
Party officials suggested voting absentee as one way to avoid relying upon touchscreen voting machines in certain counties. The machines have been criticized by some Democrats for failing to have paper printouts of individual votes.
Hastings said local activists should try to find attorneys or law students willing to work on the issue for free and not rely on John Kerry's presidential campaign or the eventual Senate nominee "to do what we can do for ourselves."
But Kerry's campaign said they were actively engaged in voter protection. Steve Zack, Kerry's campaign general counsel in Florida, said the campaign had "the best lawyers in America" working to stop more polling place problems.
"We understand that now is the time to plan for any and everything that could possibly happen. And I can assure you that the Kerry campaign is ready for anything that could possibly or would happen," said Zack, an attorney who worked on the Gore recount team in 2000.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said party activists faced "an extra special burden and responsibility" because Florida is among the top battleground states in the nation. Polls show a tight race between Kerry and President Bush in the state.
The session showed evidence that many state Democrats remain bitter about the recount. One participant asked the activists in the hotel ballroom to look toward a television camera and yell: "George Bush — we will not let it happen again."
But Bush campaign officials in Florida said they don't want another 2000 election either, noting months of work to build an extensive grassroots network in Florida to help re-elect the president.
"We're doing it to make sure that it's not as close as it was last time," said Bush campaign spokesman Reed Dickens. "So their wish is going to come true."
Democrats wrapped up their weekend Jefferson-Jackson gala, which featured North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. The potential Kerry running mate visited a church north of Miami on Sunday, offering a message of racial equality.
"It's 50 years since Brown v. Board of Education and we still have two public school systems," Edwards said, referring to the Supreme Court decision that banned segregation in public schools. "We all know it. If you live in an affluent community in America today your child will get a great public school education, but if you don't, it's different, isn't it?
"We're going to do something about that with John Kerry as president of the United States. We're going to have one public school system that works for everybody," Edwards told members of the Antioch Missionary Church of Carol City.
Associated Press Writer Brendan Farrington contributed to this report.
Foreign observers to treat U.S. like a third world delinquent [Alcee Hastings in charge!]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1201158/posts
Foreign Observers of US Vote Threaten 'Catastrophe,' Group Warns(Alcee Hastings to play prominent role)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1202843/posts
The American Policy Center (APC) is warning of a "catastrophe," in part because Florida Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings, labeled a "disgraced federal judge" by the APC, will play a prominent role in the election observing. Hastings was elected July 9 as president of the division at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that will be charged with the task.
Hastings became Florida's first African American U.S. District Court judge in 1979, nominated by then President Jimmy Carter. But nine years later, Hastings was impeached by the U.S. House for taking bribes from the federal bench and for perjury. The U.S. Senate subsequently convicted Hastings on the charges and removed him from office.
"He is one of only a handful of judges ever to be impeached in the history of the U.S.," APC said in a press release.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1202843/posts #27
Translation:
Now that we have the verdict, the trial may begin.
So much for impartial observers...
Do you have an email for this guy?
I'd love to give him a pice of mi mind.
Then he gets elected to the House. Go figure. It's the "Marion Berry" effect. If "whitey" don't like our guy, well them we do. What idiocy.
Hastings is an insane racist.
I thought convicted felons could not vote? Alcee Hastings.........Sheesh! Putting Hastings into any position of comment on elections is liken to Charles Manson administrating a maternity ward.
Uh huh. And how, pray tell? (I assume he's dissing tuition tax credits).
Looks like another case of Democrat projection. They frequently accuse others of precisely what they themselves are doing.
Wink, wink eh, Alcee? Democrats are so predictable.
Oh yeah, we need a lecture from a impeached, bribe-taking judge. Stuff it Alcee.
Sorry crush, I don't....
I know Hastings has a website, but I just don't have it handy at the moment...
TY FKA!!
He and Carter both? Is this a pattern forming way ahead of election day to plant as many seeds of doubt as possible in the sheeple's minds?
We know that most leftists are lunatics.
No need to republish their lunacy here on FR.
Just my opinion.
I was just thinking the same thing.
An impeached federal judge, though he may now be a Congressman, really has no moral ground to criticize the GOP.
You're welcome, Jesse.
http://alceehastings.house.gov/
The truth SHOULD BE reported. This is the oldest democrat trick in their files. It call for spreading slime over everybody else to divert attention away from their own intentions.
Anyone with any knowledge of any election in the past 60 years knows it is the democrats who cheat, lie, slander and commit fraud. It is not the republicans and it never has been.
For the democrats to act concerned about voter fraud is like a child molester acting concern about the welfare of children.
Projecting just a little bit, ar±>àbu, Alcee?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.