There is just. No. Way. That these returns are accurate. I am reminded

[Blue_Roses]

of election 2002. I remember watching Jeb Bush give his "2nd term" acceptance speech thinking there is no way this guy won this many vote. Also, Ron Kirk. For those in Dallas county remember they had to close down the polls because of "recalibration" problems? People who voted for Ron Kirk found that the screen jumped to John Coryn. Voter fraud. Blatent

[bullimiami]

1. same here.........nt

[OneBlueSky]

2. I agree 100% . . . this stinks really bad . . .

how does someone with Bush's record and a job approval rating in the low 40s pick up an additioal 3.5 million voters? . . . doesn't . . . make . . . sense . . .

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Problem is, how do you prove it?

[MajorFlaw]

4. Complete agreement here. This was the sixth time I have voted in a

presidential election; I know what it looks and feels like when my candidate is defeated by an obviously inferior opponent--this ain't it. Perhaps we made a mistake by briefly believing that the voting part of the election, as opposed to the now mandatory litigation stage of an election, was anything other than a public pretense, a mistake similar to believing that the "debates" were anything more than joint press conferences.

I expect Kerry to fight this out everywhere and anywhere that voting issues can be legitimately be raised. Screw the "gentlemanly concession," I am not prepared to accept four more years of shrub without a fight simply because the talking heads on tv want to call it a night and go home.

During the early part of the campaign, Kerry invited shrubco to "bring it on," well, they did. I am sure that the K-E campaign had discussed how to deal with this possibility/probability; shrubco committing voting fraud is certainly not a great shock to me. I want my candidate to continue fighting; not out of frustration, but because democracy requires it. Now we will find out what kind of stuff John Kerry is made of.

[Ohio rules]

5. SO you are pleading " I've been Disenfranchised"?

Just count the votes

[MajorFlaw]

7. Personally and directly, no--K-E carried my state by about 20 points.

But if we now have to approach every election assuming that the Rethugs will steal a few votes here, prevent some people from voting there, and end up with a dishonest victory, the democratic (notice the small "D") portion of our nation's history is over. I can deal with losing; I've done it before and will most likely have to do so again. If shrub had legitimately won enough votes to win, I would accept it.

To respond to your question more directly, I am pleading that some people have certainly been disenfranchised which, by extension disenfranchises me and violates the due process and equal protection provisions of the 14th Amendment to our Constitution. If everyone who is entitled to vote is offered the opportunity to do so, those who choose to vote are permitted to do so and their votes are honestly counted, I will deal with the result whatever it is.

[Z_I_Peevey]

6. Radical truth telling is our only hope

Since 2000, we've all somehow agreed to live with the polite fiction that VNS was wrong in Florida, and that Bush* won by 537 votes. We all (well, almost all) politely went along with that fiction in 2002.

Democracy cannot live any longer under this polite lie.

[DARE to HOPE]

8. YES, radical Truth telling, indeed!!

I actually heard Tom Brokaw tonight, well before the exit polls were overturned by "actual votes," ADMIT that Bush HAD NOT won Florida in 2000! I couldn't believe it, four years late, but he said it!

And now this.