See this:
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Posted on 10/30/2004 4:19:46 PM PDT by Utah Girl
Richard Nixon would have captured the 1960 presidential election but for five states he lost by 5,000 votes or fewer – Missouri, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico and Hawaii.
Gerald Ford would have retained the presidency in 1976 but for two states he lost by no more than 5,600 votes – Ohio and Hawaii.
Though the 1960 and 1976 elections were close, though they turned on a few thousand votes in a handful of states, the outcomes were faithfully accepted by the American people, by Republicans and Democrats alike.
That's because neither Nixon or Ford demanded that the votes be recounted in the states in which they lost by narrow margins. And neither Nixon or Ford insisted they were denied election because of voting irregularities in some state or another.
Then there was the 2000 election.
George W. Bush and Al Gore went to bed on election night uncertain whether they had won or lost.
Later, when all of Florida's voting precincts had reported their tallies, Bush had eeked out victory in the Sunshine State, pushing him over the top in the Electoral College.
But Gore refused to accept that he lost Florida, that he lost the presidency, by so small a margin. He refused to put the national interest before his own selfish interest.
He dispatched his lawyers to the Sunshine State to contest the election. And his lawyers used every legal maneuver in their arsenal to overturn Gore's defeat – challenging the manner in which Florida conducted its balloting, claiming that certain voter blocs were disenfranchised.
The result is that a portion of the populace refuses to this day to accept the outcome of the 2000 election (despite a post-election ballot review by a consortium of media organizations that concluded, unequivocally, that Bush won Florida no matter how the votes were counted or recounted).
It is because of the Gore precedent, because he tried to win the 2000 election in the courts after losing at the ballot box, that this nation remains so bitterly divided between Republicans and Democrats.
And the nation is likely to remain bitterly divided following this year's presidential election. Because John Kerry is already gearing up to contest the outcome of the election even before voters go to the polls on Election Day.
In fact, lawyers for the Democrats already have filed some 35 lawsuits in some 17 states. And if Kerry goes down to defeat on Election Day, there almost certainly will be an avalanche of lawsuits claiming that the Democrat somehow was cheated out of the presidency.
Of course, Kerry and his fellow Democrats profess that their lawsuits are motivated only by the noble desire to defend every American's constitutional right to vote. They maintain that they simply want to ensure that every vote cast in this year's election is properly counted.
But the reality is that the rash of election-related litigation precipitated by Kerry and the Democrats is doing lasting, perhaps irreparable, damage to the democratic process in this country.
Indeed, Doug Lewis, executive director of the Election Center, a nonprofit organization, told the Associated Press this week that all the legal wrangling is "disastrous for fundamental faith in the system" by which presidents have been elected since this nation's founding.
"Pretty soon," he said, "You get people saying, 'Shoot, then why bother to vote?' There has been such a concerted effort to beat up on the system itself that people need to step back and understand that if you destroy the very process by which your candidate gets elected, then what have you gained?"
I think it is time for a moment of grace in this year's presidential election.
John Kerry and George W. Bush ought to take a few minutes out of their schedule to have a heart to heart chat, much as Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy had six days after the 1960 presidential election.
The Democrat and Republican should agree to accept the outcome of this year's presidential election, no matter how close, no matter which of the two candidates comes out on top. They also should forswear any post-election lawsuits. And they should urge their supporters to do the same.
If Kerry and Bush were to evince such statesmanship, they not only would do much to restore faith in the American electoral system, they also would do much to promote civility between all but the most rabid Democrats and Republicans.
That would be a great service to this country.
Sure hope the pubbies are watching out for rat tricks in Hawaii -- that being the last place polls are open.
It's a little late, since Kerry's team has already started with the lawsuits and convinced some Dems they'll be disenfranchised.
But, the author is right...it is needed to restore credibility to the election process. But the dems sued each other during the primaries this year, so I don't hold out much hope.
Hard to believe that we'd pine for the days of Nixon in order to see integrity and love of country over self-interest after an election.
As the Texas Judge would say, they can both whistle Dixie up a tree!!
"The Republican the Dems despised the most, Nixon, was urged by many to contest the 1960 election because of obvious voter fraud. But Nixon refused, saying that it would take months and tear the country apart, leaving us weak to our enemies in the meantime."
I still believe that was part of why 9/11 happened.
Hit us while we're divided in an attempt to conquer.
I will ALWAYS loathe Algore for what he did to this country.
He invented the beginning of the end.
If Bush wins, they'll protest the election. If Kerry wins, they'll hold his feet to the anti-war fire.
See this:
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Late last night I was reading a thread about a leftist web site that had plans for "peaceful" gatherings on November 3rd. I can NOT seem to find it today...did any of you see it??
"If the other side would do the right thing, then the author
of this piece would have a point."
Amen.
The other side does the "left" thing at every opportunity.
In '98 the right thing would have been to prevail upon
Clinton to resign as president. In 2000 the right thing
would have been to accept the vote count and forgo the
legal shenanigans.
At least since the election of 1960 the Democrats have
been cheating. It seems the author of this piece would
have us just accept tainted results in order to preserve
some kind of a fictitious national unity all because the
left thinks that to rule is their God given right.
Hogwash.
If, by some dark, diabolic miracle, kerry "wins" this by lawsuits, I suggest we borrow the Dem's "resident Bush" crack and refer to him as Litigant Kerry for four years.
He gets in bed with Mama T-Rex for money.
If that's not self-sacrifice, I don't know what is.
Check out the link at #27, Gram
Come on! Since we are talking about which gang is going to be able to best loot the treasury for the next four years... Ya think the country has any standing in this fight?
Of course, in this case, the Washington Elector who voted for Reagan would have probably voted for Ford, giving him a 270-268 win.
Is that the one you saw?? This is the first one I've seen.
Totally agree. However, if there was a national standardized method for voting in national elections (i.e. must show federal authorized proof of who you are, registration requiring proof of who you are, where you live, etc.) then this might be workable. However, with the rats showing their true colors and litigating their way to the office, I think this is a bad idea.
John Kerry is not capable of sitting down with President Bush UNLESS it is in the position of the victor of next Tuesday's election.
Kerry is the final harvest of the treasonous fruit that has tainted and poisoned what was once a proud political party, a party that is now no different than any other subversive organization, damned and determined to attain and KEEP political power no matter the cost.
One of my favorite sayings (I can't take credit for it) is that "today's Democratic Party IS 'The Enemy Within'" and that may sound shrill and extremely partisan, but the fact is: it is the truth.
Democrats have placed their loyalties and allegiances NOT to the American people, but have sold their collective souls to special interest groups both domestic AND foreign, they worship at the altar of the U.N., they believe that foreign judicial courts should have precedence over the U.S. justice system. They are eager to blame America first for whatever trouble there is in the world, and they are the LAST to give America credit and honor for when our Nation steps forward in the cause of freedom and liberty.
Zell Miller of Georgia understands all too well what has happened to his political party, as do other Democrats (current and former) who see clearly that their Party puts the acquisition of raw political power first, and the best interests of America last.
Prior to 2000, elections were held and accepted as being fair and honest, even if there were irregularities or even blatant instances of fraud. Now, post-2000 and post-9/11, the Democrats are no different than a petulant, spoiled little brat who is demanding, screaming and throwing a fit in order to get their hands on a beloved toy, and if they are not given what they want?
They'll break the damned toy so NOBODY else can have it.
THAT is exactly what the Democratic Party has planned for our Country, if they cannot gather the maximum political power available to themselves, they will destroy our system in order to make way for an authoritarian method, imposed upon us by (who else?) some international body like the United Nations.
Our Republic is danger from Islamofascist terrorism abroad, and from fascist ideologues calling themselves 'Democrats' from within.
We ignore them at our own peril, and that is why President Bush MUST be re-elected. America's future depends on it.
But Al Gore was a professional politician. He even blurted out during the 36 days of 2000 that George W. Bush at least had something to go back to (business), but that he had never done anything else. And look what fat Al is doing now.
Clinton had a brief stint as a college professor, but other than that his life was being a professional politician. And Kerry, except for a short career as a lawyer, has never been anything else but a professional politician.
The Dems have promoting professional political sharks with law degrees, and they'll fight desperately to win because.... that's their whole lives.
Since the DNC has officially declared that they intend to steal as many votes as they can through frivolous lawsuits, the RNC has no choice but to meet all evidence of fraud with merciless legal challenges. Yes, it shouldn't be that way, but the DNC is out of control this election, so pretended the reality is otherwise would be foolish. This article should be ignored. The choice of a lawyer, specializing in frivilous lawsuits makes clear where the DNC stands.
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