King County Democrats

Tuesday January 11th - Legislative Certification
RALLY AT THE CAPITOL!

On Tuesday, January 11, 2005, the State Legislature will certify Christine Gregoire as Governor. Republicans, furious their candidate lost the election, now want to throw out all of the 2.8 million votes cast. Instead, they want taxpayers to foot the bill for a "do-over."

Join us in telling the Republicans to stop trashing this election and join Christine Gregoire in moving this state forward!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2005 - 10:30 AM
State Capitol, Olympia, Washington

To RSVP or for questions, contact Chris Hayler at chrish@wa-democrats.org or 206.328.2969.
Posted on: 1/6/2005 6:56:04 PM by suzie2004@comcast.net
URL for more info:

1 Comment(s)

Memo to Dino "Do-over" Rossi: SUE or SHUT UP

A message from David Groves of the WA State Labor Council
Enough is enough, Mr. Rossi. Despite all your I'm-a-successful-businessman assurances that you can take or leave politics, you refuse to concede an election the law says you have lost. Instead, you flout the law, you make wild accusations about "mystery voters" and fraud without evidence, you encourage conspiracy theories about a "stolen election," and try to bully your opponent into an unprecedented do-over election -- not provided for in state law -- so you can have another chance. We know, we know. It's Republican Party boss Chris Vance - not you - who's handling the unsavory, politically distasteful task of daily news conference "bombshells" and "outrages" about voting irregularities. But you, Mr. Rossi - and only you - have the power to call off your laughably hypocritical flip-flopping attack dog, and leave the "we were robbed" whining to talk radio where it belongs. Your consolation prize is that you will forever be the hero of these radio hosts and their faithful listeners so desperate for proof that they are victims of some liberal conspiracy. Oh yeah, and you will preserve your dignity. As you have been urged by just about every newspaper in the state -- supporters and opponents alike -- if you have evidence of election fraud, go to court. That is your right, even your obligation, under the law. Failing that, all this destructive hyperbole and selective outrage based on half-truths and innuendo serves no purpose other than to undermine the state government and all of the people who really won their elections. Until a court says differently, Mr. Rossi, you are not one of the winners. As your political party's denizens so nobly proclaimed as they impeached a president for lying about his sex life, "We are a nation of laws." Unless you have sufficient evidence of fraud that our courts decide to throw out the election results, the law says you lost. You are the loser. Christine Gregoire is the winner after a transparent hand count, led by the Republican Secretary of State and observed by both parties. The election process and subsequent recounts followed state law, and that law -- which you supported when you were a state senator -- says the hand count is the final count. You lost. As it turns out, you never should have been declared winner in the previous machine counts. Had King County election workers not mistakenly -- and illegally -- excluded legitimate ballots in the first place, Gregoire would have been rightfully declared winner all along. Isn't it the Democrats who deserve to be outraged at King County's screw-up that cost (almost) them $700,000 and is now being used by you and your party to question the legitimacy of the real governor-elect? Instead, it is you and Boss Vance who have both taken the low road, questioning the competence and impugning the character of King County election officials and those of other counties. You sit silently as your party operatives imply -- or explicitly accuse -- these election officials of botching or even stealing the election. Votes have been checked, double-checked and triple-checked under the watch of thousands of Democratic and Republican county auditors, observers and elections officials, giving ample opportunity for counties to correct any errors. Yes, mistakes happened. But both parties had an opportunity to analyze those mistakes, challenge ballots counted or excluded, and argue in court why those mistakes should be corrected. Both parties celebrated victories and suffered setbacks in those legal challenges. But now the time is up. The Republican Secretary of State and county auditors of both parties have certified and publicly expressed confidence in the results. You lost. When it didn't suit your political interests, you and your party operatives didn't give a crap about election irregularities and potential mistakes you now sight daily as "bombshells." For example, where were the partisan election volunteers you trotted out yesterday -- the ones who say they witnessed "hundreds" of King County provisional ballots improperly placed in tabulation machines -- when you were ahead in the count? Apparently, your party didn't want to risk undermining public confidence in the election when you were ahead. And what time today can we expect your "bombshell" news conference about Anne M. Witte from your hometown of Sammamish, who somehow cast her ballot despite dying in February? (See story at SoundPolitics.com.) Given that her obituary describes her as an "active Republican," we won't hold our breath waiting for that one. Unfortunately for you, the time to call attention to possible mistakes, and have them corrected, has come and gone. The election result has been certified, and you lost. We can understand how frustrating it must be to lose an election by such a small margin, but as you pointed out when you were erroneously declared the winner, "The election is over. It's time to move forward." Instead, you have asked for a do-over election. The governor-elect has declined, and Democratic leaders who control both houses of the state legislature say it won't happen. That leaves you two honorable alternatives: Take your case to court or concede the election. If you allow your party to continue trying to undermine public confidence in the law and in the state government, you bear the responsibility for that dishonorable course of action. Clearly, your party bosses appear happy to continue on this course. Having lost additional seats in the State House of Representatives and control of the State Senate, they are demonstrating that they would rather be "pouting obstructionists" (as one Seattle newspaper put it) than an minority party of honorable opposition. You have the opportunity to preserve your dignity and demonstrate your respect for the rule of law. If you allow your party to continue on this destructive course on your behalf, that opportunity will be gone. P.S. You lost. ------------------------------------------------------------------ David Groves Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO dgroves@wslc.org -- (206) 281-8901 DAILY labor news at www.wslc.org
Posted on: 1/8/2005 12:06:09 AM by robdolin@wuxx.com
URL for more info: http://www.wslc.org