Con Con 2001?

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Democrats Backed Into a Corner

By Ed Henry
Etherzone.com
December 19, 2000

THE NATION magazine, in its December 25th issue hot off the press and rushed out before Monday’s Electoral College voting, issued a front page challenge that pushes the envelope of freedom of the press and borders on sedition. The headline reads: “Wanted: three republican Electors” followed by the full front page statement below:

“Let us not forget that the candidate who won the national popular vote falls only three votes short of a clear Electoral College majority even without Florida. If on December 18, the day the Electoral College convenes to cast its ballot, three Republican electors decide on their own to vote for him, all the speculation is moot. This particular election, because it is so close and because it has raised fundamental Issues of voting rights, provides the right historic moment for such a gesture.”

Inside, on page 3, the very first editorial continues this front page headline. It goes on to explain how this is the opportune time to raise the question of abolishing the “most undemocratic institution of all—the Electoral College.” Also saying that: “We are not urging them (three republicans) to vote for the popular-vote winner because we support Al Gore. We are urging them to cast such a vote because it would be the right thing to do — legally, morally and politically.”

The article goes on to support the legal, moral and political argument for defection of electorates. The claim that 26 states are bound by law to uphold the popular vote, while 24 states are not.

In reality, we have 50 states with Electoral College slates, plus the District of Columbia which by Amendment 23 to the Constitution is allowed 3 Electoral votes only in a presidential election. Two of these states, Main and Nebraska, split their vote in a sensible manner. Forty-eight, plus the District of Columbia, follow the “winner takes all” rule. And yes, 24 of these states are not bound by a written law to follow the rule.

Of these 24 states not bound by law, Bush took 16 of them and Gore won eight. It would not make sense to attempt to persuade Gore’s states to change their vote although they are liable to do so anyway simply because of disgust with the obvious dirty tricks of the Democratic Party.

Here are the 16 Bush states not bound by law to follow the “winner takes all” rule that they hold and where The Nation magazine would like to see some vote switching:

*Third party candidates not shown.

State	EC Votes	Popular Vote*
		Bush	Gore
Arizona	8	51%	45%
Arkansas	6	51%	45%
Georgia	13	55%	43%
Idaho	4	69%	28%
Indiana	12	57%	41%
Kansas	6	58%	37%
Kentucky	8	57%	41%
Louisiana	9	53%	45%
Missouri	11	51%	47%
New Hampshire	4	48%	47%
North Dakota	3	61%	33%
South Dakota	3	60%	38%
Tennessee	11	51%	48%
Texas	32	59%	38%
Utah	5	67%	26%
West Virginia	5	52%	46%

The Nation, as well as other establishment news media, are advocating that these slated Republican Electoral College members abandon the popular vote in their states, and vote for Al Gore because he won the national vote count by a narrow margin. Won by a margin of something like .003 of the national vote, or much less than one tenth of one percent. Does that make sense to you? Do you see any narrow margins like that in the table above?

Sorry

I really am sorry and saddened by the fact that so many Americans, and particularly the democrats, have had such a rude awakening. That they have only just discovered that we are not a democracy. That in the Constitution left to us by our founding fathers, and sworn to by every representative in our Republic, there isn’t one word about democracy. That the Constitution, and the Pledge of Allegiance for that matter, do not even use the word democracy or any derivation thereof.

Of course, every citizen has the right to vote. There are several amendments to the Constitution which have gradually guaranteed this right to everyone over eighteen who is a citizen. But it wasn’t until 1919 that women finally got the right to vote. And it never was part of the original Constitution where the Electoral College has always had the final say.

I’m sorry if the democratic politicians, liberal media, and spinsters have led so many Americans down the garden path to believing that we were a democracy just because their political party uses the word. I’m sorry that when we have a democratic administration we also run around the world talking democracy and trying to get other nations to set up democracies when we aren’t one ourselves. I’m sorry if people believe that the Democratic Party is the “party of the people” when, in reality, they’re the tax and spend party with thousands of strings attached to everything they give away. That it’s this same party most likely to deny stealing entitlement money, like Social Security surpluses, from the people who need it most and often pay the disproportionate bulk of this tax. The same people who also vote for them. Their own loyal parishoners.

Let’s look at some of the evil uncovered in this latest election.

We all know that Jesse Jackson is an opportunist who will show up anywhere he can get a photo opportunity or air time to complain about racial injustice. But when Congressman Alcee Hastings begins echoing the same story about ballots and instructions not being printed in Creole in South Florida, don’t you start to wonder what sort of people we have in government? After all, you have to be a citizen to vote. And part of becoming a citizen is the requirement of a rudimentary understanding of the English language. What does that tell you about the congressman? Does he not know this? And what does it suggest about possible corruption in getting non-citizens, felons and the like to the polls so they can vote democratic?

How many of you saw the democratic Miami representative in the Florida Legislature who claimed, on the floor, that she had been approached, not once but twice, by people who guaranteed her re-election through absentee ballots? And did she have them arrested? What does that tell you about Miami and this woman in office?

Haven’t there always been stories and jokes about “getting out the vote” in Bill Daley’s hometown Chicago? What does it tell you when the family heir apparent becomes Al Gore’s campaign manager and minority votes in large urban centers of the country end up with 80 to 100 percent turnouts? Especially, when the rest of the country ended up with a 48 percent overall national election turnout.

Obviously, there’s great need for election reform — but is it at the level of the Electoral College?