Randi Rhodes and the Election

Yesterday, I listeneded to the Randi Rhodes show and was stunned by what she was saying (I know, I know, I should stop...but she provides me with so much material).

Mere hours after Kerry, the candidate she supported, made a formal concession speech to the American people in which he told us that he would not be challenging the vote because it was clear that we had spoken, Ms. Rhodes was speculating that massive voter fraud in Ohio was the reason Kerry came out second best. This voter fraud, according to her, took place when the votes were electronically transfered to the counting centers or else were part of a massive conspiracy in which the electronic voting machines were designed to tally higher votes for Bush than he had actually received (never mind that 70% of the voters in Ohio used old-fashioned punch card ballots).

I would tend to imagine that the candidate for president would have the most concern with the possibility of voter fraud and, if for no other reason, the fact that Kerry conceeded was a significant reason to believe that no one 'in the know' has indications that there was any sort of significant voter fraud.

After this, Randi took the time to mention that she did not believe that the American people would vote for the same party in both legislative houses and the presidency because "there'll be no checks and balances", a statement that seems to reveal a confused idea of what actual checks and balances are.

Besides, I seem to recall that, when Bill Clinton had to deal with a Republican legislature, there were loud cries that this could never work, that the government would be too divided, that nothing would get done.

Hey Randi...partisan much?

Bush Wins!

I'm not surprised but I am happy.

Disclaimer: I was a little bit nervous...after all, I live in an area that is so liberal that I cast my vote with the full knowledge that it was a vote in protest rather than because it could possibly have an effect.

But I did believe that Bush would win...the polling showed it. Also, less factual, but more convincingly to my way of thinking, too many Kerry voters were really just Bush haters. I could not make myself believe that hatred would choose the next president.



So, last night I was primarily watching Fox News and CNN. You know when it was that I knew, that I really knew, that Bush had won?

Not when Fox News declared Ohio for Bush, although that was definitely a step in the right direction. No, it was when I was watching CNN.

CNN hadn't declared Ohio yet and were explaining why they hadn't. The tortuous explanation they were giving for why the Kerry campaign said they hadn't lost Ohio yet* wasn't the reason I knew, although that was pretty pathetic.

No, the moment I knew was when various commentators on CNN began backpedaling. From reasonably straight commentary about counting votes and comparing numbers, commentator after commentator began saying things like "the man who becomes president will have to work with and be inclusive of the rest of the country" and "this election wasn't really about things like economic issues, it was really social issues, like gay rights.** And that is a difficult thing for the millions of people who are now going to feel left behind and will wonder if they recognize the country they're living in."

When they started saying that, they were conceding defeat, even if Kerry wasn't ready yet.



*At the time, Bush was 120,000 votes ahead with ~95% of the precincts reporting. The Kerry campaign claimed that the remaining ~5% of the precincts would diminish that lead to 50,000 votes without offering any reason for believing that (e.g. the remaining precincts were overwhelmingly democratic). Then, they further claimed that the 250,000 provisional ballots (a number that far exceeded any Ohio official's estimate) would result in at least 180,000 counted ballots and that those would break nearly 2 to 1 in Kerry's favor.

**By the way, WTF? Yes, social issues were important--as were economic issues, foreign policy and terrorism. Anyone who claims, especially after the fact, that a presidential campaign which rarely focused on social issues (and certainly not to the exclusion of the other major campaign issues) was solely about social issues is just deluding himself.

Heinz-Kerry

Just saw this on CNN...John Kerry just voted in Massachusetts while Teresa Heinz Kerry voted in Pennsylvania (in Fox Chapel, to be exact).

The first thought that jumped into my head was how unusual it was to hear of a married couple who had their official residences in different states and that that would tend to mean the couple has a long-distance relationship...not quite the image the Kerrys attempted to give the electorate.

My second thought was how very interesting that the state Teresa Heinz Kerry is voting in just happens to be an extremely important swing state...one that her husband really needs to win.

Gerry's got a prediction!

Gerry has made an official prediction in which he explains his computer program that aids him in making a prediction, the percentage chances of each candidate winning and discusses the number of electoral each candidate might expect to win by, discusses which states are critical for which candidate and finishes up by making a definitive, non-wishy-washy prediction.

I Voted

I stood up. I had my electoral voice heard. It felt pretty incredible to know that, no matter what happens, I took a stand and made a decision.

Last time around, I didn't vote and, when the ensuing debacle happened, I felt as though I wasn't really entitled to an opinion. This time, no matter what lawsuits are filed, no matter which states have recounts, I will be as opinionated as I want to be.

Not that that should surprise any of you.

Grandma H's Vote

When my mother married my stepfather B, I also inherited a step-grandmother, my Grandma H. I love Grandma H very much. This has made the past few years difficult as I see her moving through the beginning stages of Alzheimer's.

She's on medication to help stop the progression of the disease, but nothing can reverse it. Thank G-d, she still knows who everyone is; she hasn't lost any of her personal relationships. Her memory troubles centers around following current events and remembering new things. She has recently moved into an assisted living center where they can help her out.

We recently visited her there and it seems like a very nice place (more like a hotel than the hospital I had worried it would be). I'm happy that she seems happy there, but it is still difficult to hear that she is confused about basic events, both national and personal: both elections and outings with my stepfather.

Speaking of which...

While we were there, my stepfather was reminding her that he would be coming on election day to take her to the polls. She asked him who she was voting for.

This wasn't an idle question. She doesn't know who the president is, she certainly doesn't know anyone in more local offices (and, to be perfectly, selfishly, honest, I would rather she forget politicians than me and my family).

But when she asked my stepfather, he didn't respond that it was Bush v. Kerry or even that it was voting for president. Instead B said "Kerry, of course. It's all right, I'll help you."

So basically, today, on election day, my stepfather is voting twice.

Now maybe, Grandma H would have voted for Kerry. In fact, given her demographic, she probably would have (of course, given my demographic of a woman who is young and just out of college living New York, I probably would vote for Kerry...but I'm voting for Bush). And of course her vote doesn't really matter (nor does mine) as New York is definitely going to Kerry.

But something about the way my stepfather just calmly told her who she was voting for (which she has no doubt forgotten and he will have to 'help her remember' today), the way he didn't even hesitate in his assumption in who she would have voted for had she had any idea of who was running or, worse, that he doesn't care...

I've lost a great deal of respect for him. Also for my mom and my Grandma Ro, who laughed and smiled encouragingly when he said this.

Voting is important. This election is important. But it isn't just the outcome that matters, it is also the process. And taking advantage of an elderly woman's memory difficulties is bad enough. It galls me to realize that if it is happening in one case among ordinary people, it is probably happening elsewhere. But when it is my step-Grandma getting taken advantage of, I'm really pissed off.