Reply #10: The ironies of this: [View All]

1) the system wasn't broken when Rossi was 261 votes ahead (on the initial count) or 42 votes ahead (on the mandatory machine recount), but became somehow irretrievably broken when Gregoire became 129 votes ahead (on the paid-for-by-the-Democrats hand recount, as provided for in state law).

2) if the system is irretrievably broken, rife with error, fraud, and general bad karma, then WHAT FUCKING GOOD DOES IT DO TO DO THE SAME THING OVER AGAIN? Repeating the same thing over and expecting a different result is the very definition of stupidity.

Nothing in state law permits a revote. We don't have a "do-over" provision. An election can only be invalidated if there is hard evidence of either fraud or widescale error that would reverse the results of the election, which they do not have. What they have is picayune bullshit. The recounts were all carried out in accordance with state law. Recalls are VERY difficult in this state - much more so than California. They won't get a revote. What they will do is poison public discourse and public opinion of the electoral process, quite unfairly. There is zero evidence of deliberate fraud. Zero.

Unfortunately, this is going to achieve their desired result of getting people to a) not trust the process and thereby not vote, and b) give that right-wing religious zealot Rossi political credibility and name recognition. If the state party doesn't start fighting back in the court of public opinion, this is going to cost someone - most probably Maria Cantwell - dearly in 2006. My only hope is that we can out Rossi for what he is - he'll have no chance in a Senatorial race if people know his true beliefs and positions. His antichoice beliefs and suchlike aren't as important in a Governor, but they sure as hell are in a Senator.