Time to go home Al

[Tom Friend]

I am no fan of sore losers.
Whiners torque me off, too.
How soon will you "get the clue" and pack it in Mr. Gore? Your BS excuses about wanting to count every (Democratic) vote ring hollow.
Go home and leave us petro-fuel burning dinosaurs alone to enjoy our tire-smokin' ways.

[Ed'94redRT/10]

Hey Joe... what is a VOTE?... therein is the problem... what constitutes a VOTE?... opinions vary and there is no standard... Country needs a standard voting system and procedures for handling exceptions... all absentee votes should be required to arrive on or before election day and be included in the evening counts... Country wide voting system should record your vote and show you the result of your vote and let you confirm that it is correct and then accepts your formal acknowledgement to that effect... Kentucky has such an electronic voting system... yes Kentucky, can you believe that for the Bluegrass State... we at the forefront of technology on this issue!

[Rich Detert]

OK I have to ask you Danny, Why are you for Bush?

Considering that you're 14 and it will be another 4 years before you can legally vote, on what issues are you deciding that George W. is the best man to be president?

It really shows the sad state of American politics that a Republican controlled U.S. Supreme Court is really the entity that decided who was to be the next president.

He is the President Elect now (even if he may not have really won the election), and we should all support him after the inauguration. I just hope he doesn't screw up the country too badly.

The question now is "Will it be partisan politics as usual or will the parties work together".

There will always be a dark cloud over this election. If nothing else comes out of it, there should be a change in the way the elections are done (as in standardizing the voting machines and ALL the laws governing the elections).

As far as anyone out there who thought the votes shouldn't have been recounted I ask "What if it was YOUR vote that wasn't ever counted?"

Like they said on the news "We may never know the real winner of this election, but the loser was the American public."

[GTS Dean]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rich Detert Red 94 RT/10:

It really shows the sad state of American politics that a Republican controlled U.S. Supreme Court is really the entity that decided who was to be the next president.

The question now is "Will it be partisan politics as usual or will the parties work together".

There will always be a dark cloud over this election. If nothing else comes out of it, there should be a change in the way the elections are done (as in standardizing the voting machines and ALL the laws governing the elections).

Like they said on the news "We may never know the real winner of this election, but the loser was the American public."

[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Rich,

The Supreme Court is not controlled by political party partisanship, (excuse the alliteration, please) it is guided by the personal philosophies of each of the individual justices. Remember, it was a Democrat-controlled Senate which ratified the nominations of most of the conservative judges; and, in the case of the liberal Ginsburg, a Republican-controlled Senate.

As for partisan politics - George W. has presided over 3 legislative sessions in Texas as Governor. If he had not won the Presidency, he would do the same thing once again beginning in January as our legislature convenes. He has done an outstanding job of setting aside the ranchor and divisiveness, while building a consensus that would move our state forward without lasting bitterness. If the rabid liberal - Bob Bullock - were still alive today, I feel certain that he, instead of Speaker Laney, would have made George W's introduction to the nation. In any case, it truly speaks volumes for Bush that our legislature could function so well during his tenure as Governor.

As for the conduct of elections in the future, I agree that there will likely be tremendous change in the near future. The Supreme Court pointed to that in their ***7-2*** decision regarding the right to Equal Protection under the United States Constitution. If the Florida courts had applied a UNIFORM STATEWIDE STANDARD FOR RECOUNTS, BEFORE THE RECOUNTS STARTED, this mess would never have gotten to the U.S. Supreme Court. But, they didn't. So this is what we all got.

And finally, for "Like they said on the news" ...
The "news" didn't say it - I believe it was a quote from the Dissent by Justice Stevens. That's a major problem with the election. Too many people wait for "the news" to sort and distort the issues, then happily swallow their garbage - hook, line and sinker.

Dean Word III

[Jason-Middle Tennessee]

I love Liz's reply to the topic.

[Roland L-Ocala, FL]

I've got to jump in here with my two cents worth! First, I did not care for Al Gore's policies, did not think he was honest, aimed many of his tax breaks at target specific individuals, supported the marriage tax penalty, did not want to change basically anything about social security, (Lord knows that something has to be done there to save it), and his position on abortion, to name a few. However, after watching his concession speech last night, I must admit, it was the best speech he has ever given in his life. He was truthful, spoke from the heart, and really made an attempt to begin the healing process after this too long election debacle in Florida. Had he given speeches like that one last night during the debates, even though I did not support him, I belive he would have run away with the election.
On the other hand, George W also gave a great speech last night, and the beginning of it started with the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives (a Democrat) introducing him. That was inspirational all by itself, wanting to show the beginnings of the healing process, and indicating that we can all get along, be you either a Republican, Democrat, or Independent, etc. However, I think my biggest concerns for this country and its election process are as follows;
1) Do not allow the media to "call" a state for one candidate or another until the election booths are closed in Hawaii. And yes, calling a state for one candidate or another does affect the voters opinions in other states in later time zones, I don't care what any media poll shows otherwise, it's just common sense.
2) We need to come up with a common standard for counting votes, no matter which state you live in.
3) We need to update our method of voting, and the first thing to do, is to eliminate the punch card method. I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of hearing about dimples, pregnant chads, hanging chads, marks or scratches on the voting card that show "a clear intent to vote", etc.
4) Take care of the absentee ballot process so that it is easier for a citizen who is out of the country to vote.
5) Make it easier for the military to vote. If the envelopes can't be postmarked due to military regulations, for God's sake, don't call them invalid and throw them away! Make laws to cover these instances.

We as a country, can do a lot better than that!

4) Accept the Supreme Court's ruling, and move on. Do not cry "foul" and keep bringing up statements like "Bush stole the white house", or, "Gore is a sore looser" (I think he took it like a man, and he really did set himself up for a run in 2004). The Supreme Court has many times in the past ruled 5-4 on very important issues, don't try to "read into it" anything other than what its decision was, there is no higher authority to appeal to. We are a country of laws, and the Supreme Court is there to make the final calls on the interpretation of those laws.
OK, I'll get off my soapbox now, NEXT!

[2thDr]

Don't you just love the way the liberal media gushed over Gore's speech? Sure it was a good speech, but should it excuse the last 35 days that Gore forced America to endure? Hell no! Why is the media so left-leaning?

[BigsViper]

GTS Dean said it all. I would add that the close election results are not so much an indicator of division within the country, but perhaps an indicator of balance!

[2thDr]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lowcrawler W:
What, exactly, were you forced to endure?


JOE

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Only a Gore supporter would ask that question......the answer is obvious.

[2thDr]

Oh, OK Joe, I'll help you...

We were forced to endure Al's whining, constant liberal news coverage for 35 days, a stock market that dipped pretty badly thanks to the election uncertainty, worldwide critisism and embarrassment, and much more that I don't care to type right now.... I'm sure others could give you a boat-load of gripes about Al's decision to be the first in history to contest a presidential election.....not for the good of the nation, but for his own personal thirst for power.

[BigsViper]

As far as the media myth that algore (similar to egore, Dr. Frankenstein's VP) won the popular election, we'll never know! It seems that when a state has counted enough ballots to determine a winner, and the remaining ballots would not affect the outcome, the state declares a winner and the remaining ballots are not counted (unless a recount is demanded) So if gore won a state by a large margin, some bush votes might have been uncounted, likewise if Bush had won some states by a large margin.

I get angry when people complain that every vote wasn't counted. Trying to determine "voter intent" after the fact is criminal. If the voter didn't knock the chads off the back of the card and make sure that the holes he wanted punched were punched, then he did not follow the instructions and the vote stands as is or an un(cleanly)punched hole doesn't count! My $.02

[Tom Friend]

Since I started this in a rather inflamatory manner, let me continue. Here is what I feel:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>The lawyers won
<LI>We (the voters) lost[/list]

What should be done differently next time?
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Silence the media (broadcast, net, and paper) until the polls close in Hawaii. T.S. the world will wait 8 hours.
<LI>Find a viable third party. It isn't Nader, or Perot. Something of substance, not lunacy.
<LI>Add the "None of the above" option to all ballots. This is for all the idiots who can't believe that an individual would vote for local issues, but abstain from the presidential choice.[/list]

Perhaps we could take that "none of the above" idea a bit further. If enough voters choose that option, all candidates are thrown out and the election process must begin anew.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

[Rich Detert]

I like the None of the Above Idea!

As a rule it seems like the economy gets screwed up whenever there is an election where there isn't a candidate that seems like a sure thing to win. Everybody seems to get nervous about a "New Guy" going into office.

The Feds (Federal Reserve) raise interest rates too much and slowed the economy down.
Everyone worries about what the new President will do.
They need to worry about what Greenspan does he's the one with the real power, what he does has a direct affect on the economy.
Unless I'm mistaken, The media has been saying Mr. Greenspan doesn't like George W's tax cut plan.

[2thDr]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lowcrawler W:
I'm not attempting to argue with the election result or any of that anymore... I"m just sick of people saying they had to 'edure' this huge ordeal, when in fact they didn't really.

"stock market that dipped pretty badly thanks to the election uncertainty" -- that may be the only thing that personally affected any of us. And that might have happened anyway...

You were not forced to watch the 'liberal media's' new stories. Its not like the entire world is pointing and laughing at you. And now that this is all done, according to most poles, foreingers have MORE respect for our country now, seeing how this election contest did not really do anything to America, no warring in the streets, nothing. It was business as usual.

So quit saying you were forced to endure anything. We still had a president the whole time, there is no need to have a pres-elect the night of the election, you personally didn't suffer any hardships (maybe a stock market blow), the country kept humming right along as if nothing was happening... etc.

JOE<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


See, this just proves my point. Al Gore's speech made liberals forget the last 35 days. And if they haven't forgotten it, they are aggressively downplaying it.

[GTS Dean]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rich Detert Red 94 RT/10:


They need to worry about what Greenspan does he's the one with the real power, what he does has a direct affect on the economy.
Unless I'm mistaken, The media has been saying Mr. Greenspan doesn't like George W's tax cut plan.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

There you go again - listening to what the "media" said somebody said.

"The Media" said Greenspan trashed the Republicans' tax cut plan. Please, allow me to quote directly from Greenspan's comments regarding the issue:

"My first priority, if I were given such a priority, is to let the surpluses run." ... "As I've said before, my second priority is if you find that as a consequence of those surpluses they tend to be spent, then I would be more in the camp of cutting taxes, because the least desireable is using those surpluses for expanding outlays." ... "I have great sympathy for those who wish to cut taxes now to pre-empt that process, and indeed, if it turns out that they are right, then I would say moving on the tax front makes a great deal of sense to me."

The key issue here is whether or not you trust Congress to hold the line on spending when there are so many Billion$ burning a big hole in its pocket and there are so many interests fanning the flames to feed on the excess.

Rich, you really ought to read the WSJ and watch Fox News every now and then. Whether you believe them or not, at least you will see and hear quotes in their proper context...