I almost blogged this excellent townhall.com piece yesterday from Michael Barone about the 2000 election and how it reverberates today.:
2000 changed everythingMichael Barone
Sometimes a decision made in the heat of partisan battle has reverberations for years to come.
One such decision was the one of Al Gore's campaign to selectively challenge the results of the 2000 election in Florida by demanding hand counts of votes cast in three counties -- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. The latter two produce huge majorities for Democratic candidates, and the election officials in charge of the hand counts were Democrats. In other words, Gore sought new counts only in areas where he was likely to gain votes and would not take the risk of a statewide hand count, where those gains might be offset by others for George W. Bush.
We know now that, thanks to the news media consortium that recounted ballots in every Florida county, recounting under any method and any criterion they tested would not have overturned Bush's exceedingly thin plurality. ...
[Barone hits several nails squarely on the head. He goes on to talk about selective recounts in the state of Washington and how it has backfired and is killing the Democrats. -ED]
Gregoire has been inaugurated as governor. But an examination of King County records shows about 1,800 more ballots cast than names of voters who asked for them. Republicans have brought a lawsuit asking that the election result be set aside and a new election held.
By a 53 percent to 36 percent margin, voters believed that Rossi had really won, and by a 51 percent to 43 percent margin, they favored Rossi in a revote. A Survey USA poll showed 62 percent favoring a revote.
A selective recount, of the sort Gore sought in Florida, has made Gregoire governor, at least temporarily. But it has cast a pall of illegitimacy over her far greater than that cast over George W. Bush by the Florida result.
I didn't blog it because while he hits it out the park, I did not have much to add. But you should read it, it was very impressive piece.
In fact... If you believe today's Chicago Sun TImes, it so impressed Jesse Jackson that he plagiarized it.
Partial recounts a totally bad ideaBY JESSE JACKSON
Sometimes a decision made in the heat of partisan battle has reverberations for years to come.
One such decision was the one of Al Gore's campaign to selectively challenge the results of the 2000 election in Florida by demanding hand counts of votes cast in three counties -- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. The latter two produced huge majorities for Democratic candidates, and the election officials in charge of the hand counts were Democrats. In other words, Gore sought new counts only in areas where he was likely to gain votes and would not take the risk of a statewide hand count, where those gains might be offset by others for George W. Bush.
We know now that, thanks to the news media consortium that recounted ballots in every Florida county, recounting under any method and any criterion they tested would not have overturned Bush's exceedingly thin plurality. ...
I, for one, am glad brother Jesse has returned to the flock. I'd prefer he did not plagiarize conservatives, but if that gets him thru the painful transition process and helps him find his conservative voice, then I guess I'll give him a pass.
Update For the humor impaired, the Sun-Times mistakenly ran the story with the wrong byline, Jesse did not plagiarize it.
I saved a screen cap for when the Sun Times wakes up.
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Comments (16)
Paul, You've got t... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Clive Tolson | February 22, 2005 6:57 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Paul,
You've got to believe this is reprehensible?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/21/164929/948">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/21/164929/948">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/21/164929/948
1. Posted by Clive Tolson | February 22, 2005 6:57 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 06:57
2. Posted by Jay Tea | February 22, 2005 7:02 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"Never ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."
My hunch is someone at the newspaper accidentally printed the wrong piece under Jackson's name. This is too flagrant, even for Jackson.
But damn, it is funny...
J.
2. Posted by Jay Tea | February 22, 2005 7:02 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 07:02
3. Posted by Paul | February 22, 2005 7:13 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
That Kos would run that? Not surprised at all.
Jay DUH- Don't tell me you are humor impaired as well.
3. Posted by Paul | February 22, 2005 7:13 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 07:13
4. Posted by De Doc | February 22, 2005 7:21 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Paul: don't be too hard on Jay. In a world where forgeries get reported as authentic news; in a world where it's the Kossacks and their ilk who are using homosexuality as a badge of shame; in a world where Howard Dean gets the DNC chair...
why WOULDN'T bald-faced plagerism be believable?
4. Posted by De Doc | February 22, 2005 7:21 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 07:21
5. Posted by Jay Tea | February 22, 2005 7:25 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Paul, gimme a break. This is JESSE JACKSON we're talking about here. If anyone would do such a thing (apart from Joe Biden), it'd be him. He's got more than enough arrogance and hypocrisy to do such a thing.
J.
5. Posted by Jay Tea | February 22, 2005 7:25 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 07:25
6. Posted by Theresa | February 22, 2005 7:28 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Unfortunately, VICTIMHOOD mentalities are very hard habits to break. Just take the whole BLACK REPARATIONS issue. Jesse and Al Sharpton are on that bandwagon.
Here's a funny photochop of Jesse and the whole REPARATIONS movement:
[To answer the question, yes it was racist. And never drop a link like that without warning people it was not safe for work. I deleted it for the racism, not the sex. ED]
6. Posted by Theresa | February 22, 2005 7:28 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 07:28
7. Posted by Rod Stanton | February 22, 2005 7:59 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I am a Nam vet so I adimit my bias.
To me a bigger reason for a new election is the folk who were denied the right to vote. The Dems mailed military ballots late - "accidentaly". Most military got their ballots *AFTER* the election! The Dems and the Trial Lawyers stole this election, stole it with finesse, but stole it none the less. COUNT EVERY VOTE!
7. Posted by Rod Stanton | February 22, 2005 7:59 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 07:59
8. Posted by bullwinkle | February 22, 2005 8:06 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I just can't believe this is anything more than a mistake in attribution by the Sun-Times. It doesn't rhyme.
8. Posted by bullwinkle | February 22, 2005 8:06 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 08:06
9. Posted by julie | February 22, 2005 9:29 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I didn't blog it because while he hits it out the park, I did not have much to add. But you should read it,
How about: CHEATERS! CHEATERS! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF CHEATERS!
Take that, Clive Tolsons of the world!
9. Posted by julie | February 22, 2005 9:29 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 09:29
10. Posted by seePea | February 22, 2005 10:04 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Unfortunately, Mr Barrone got a key piece of his article wrong. See Sound Politics - http://www.soundpolitics.com/archives/003803.html - and keep on reading throught the "Update".
It was not a selective recount , it was (one) county doing own brand of counting.
10. Posted by seePea | February 22, 2005 10:04 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 10:04
11. Posted by peter | February 22, 2005 11:00 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I'm tired of all you people picking on poor Jesse.
It could be that Barone plagerized Jesse and just published it the day before to make Jesse look bad.
These things happen you know.
11. Posted by peter | February 22, 2005 11:00 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 11:00
12. Posted by Jumbo | February 22, 2005 11:06 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Just how the hell did Karl Rove get operatives into Jesse Jackson's camp, AND into the Chicago Sun Times? Damn, he's good! Next we'll find out that Kos actually gets his big payday from KR, and Dean and the DNC just THINK he works fro them. Did Rove learn how to run a network and turn a double agent when he got his secret spook training at Langley? heh
12. Posted by Jumbo | February 22, 2005 11:06 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 11:06
13. Posted by pgg | February 22, 2005 11:15 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I have blogged this entry, but I'm not yet sophisticated enough to know how the Trackback function works. Any help on that would be appreciated.
My entry is here:
Yeoman! Sidecar!
13. Posted by pgg | February 22, 2005 11:15 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 11:15
14. Posted by Chris W. | February 22, 2005 11:51 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Glad to see you've signed up for the BushHitlerEnronHalliburtonOilCheneyImperialistRacistRove conspiracy, Jesse. Dues are due the 19th of every month.
14. Posted by Chris W. | February 22, 2005 11:51 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 11:51
15. Posted by pgg | February 22, 2005 2:07 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I tracked down a print copy of the Sun-Times - this column runs under Michael Barone's byline and photo.
Drat.
15. Posted by pgg | February 22, 2005 2:07 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 14:07
16. Posted by AnonymousDrivel | February 22, 2005 3:50 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Clive "Fill-in-the-Blank" Tolson,
Thy new temporal name is "Irony". You may find it less "scurrilous" than your last.
Plagiarism here,
Plagiarism there.
This reentry to fray?
Your wisdom bare.
16. Posted by AnonymousDrivel | February 22, 2005 3:50 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 22, 2005 15:50