''Follow the Money''

Today's P-I traces the money trail supporting the "revote" effort and it leads back to one of the Supreme Court Justices who will hear the case in court. The Seattle Times story, "Gregoire sworn in; GOP holds applause," focuses on the GOP reaction to the innauguration and what Gregoire and her friends are saying.

In the Rear View Mirror: Ohio Vote Challenge

"So, how do we make sense of it all? What does the final tally of 31 house Democrats and 1 courageous Democratic Senator mean?"-from "Zack is Back" posting on on Free Speech Zone, one of the sites hosting the startling video footage of voter suppression in Ohio on November 2. Executive Summary: "By the very, very least, election reform is going to happen, the Democrats are situated to benefit from and lead that effort (lots of info on that, for another time), and the likelihoods of the Republicans stealing a 3rd election has been reduced (but not eliminated). And, if the Republicans fight reform, they will be hurt and further exposed, and it will only strengthen the case we'll be making against them in 06' and 08'. Further, a burgeoning coalition of progressives, civil rights leaders, labor unions, and more is emerging, and certainly has been heartened by the impact just a small number of us can have. Networks are forming, and people are slowly becoming more aware of what happened on Election Day and who was responsible. If knowledge is power, then by definition, we must be getting more powerful." Too bad Congressman Jim didn't feel this was a coalition important enough to show up and support with his vote.

''blogPAC call liveblog w/Dean'' (UPDATED)

Dean chats with the Big Bloggers, on MyDD. Update: AMERICAblog has "Audio of our conference call with Howard Dean on Wednesday." Another voice in the conversation about the direction of the Dems: "Currently, Democrats like Pelosi and Emanuel sound confused, not reasonable. Indeed, adrift is a word that comes to mind. Confusion and drift are ways to kill, not grow, a political party. But it appears to be the path of spooked Democrats after the Nov. 2 election loss."-from Thursday's commentary in The Boston Globe. Update: I had a chance to hear the audio of the Dean conference call and it's worth a listen.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I keep getting asked, 'What's the mandate?' Well, what was the mandate for President Bush?" she said. "We have to move on. We cannot allow the closeness of the election to prohibit us from being bold. That is what George Bush did."-from the story in Thursday's Washington Post, "In Wash. State, Democrat Takes Office Despite Suit.'

Be a Stand Up Democrat, Continued (UPDATED)

There's this post on Kos, "WA ST Dem Party Chair Candidates Speak!" from a meeting of the Dems in Port Angeles. It seems "fair and balanced." From Mainstreet Moms Operation Blue comes "Help support Howard Dean as the next Chairman of the National Democratic Committee" with tips and information. The LA Times has, "Dean Seeking Democratic Chairmanship." Not so "fair and balanced." On that subject, this one from mediachannel.org is about building up alternative media, rather than enriching the existing outlets: "Covering Elections There, Miscovering Them Here." The Hill has, "Kerry weighs in on DNC pick, putting down marker for '08." Sounds like what my dog does at the off-leash park. Update: If you want to know what misinformation the Rovians are spreading regarding the absentee ballots in King County, check out this post on Kos, "Righty blog spreads bad info on WA Gov election," that counters the "tossing about of serious wrongdoing coupled with dubious sourcing and fact checking." Update: The DNC is holding its Western Regional Caucus Chair Candidate Forum on January 22 in Sacramento. Info: Radison Hotel 500 Leisure Lane, Off of Highway 160 Sacramento, California-- Contact: Bob Mulholland, CA Democratic Party, 916-442-5707 or bob@cadems.org. We have been invited by Sonoma4Dean to showup and be part of the proceedings. If you can go, please let me know and let's arrange for some California bloggin'! "Torture in the Senate," from truthout.org has this: "U.S. senators now face a clear-cut choice: Will they go along with President Bush and confirm Alberto Gonzales as his new Attorney General. Or will they take a strong, principled stand against America's use of torture." You know what to do. Ted Kennedy says, "Democrats Need Progressive Agenda."

''Dean for DNC Chair'' (UPDATED)

"Howard Dean is the only candidate running for DNC chair who is a progressive reformer, opposed the war in Iraq, raised millions and millions of dollars from small donors, has both held executive office and practiced internet-based "netroots" activism in his campaign, and who believes in change from the grassroots/netroots up. Howard Dean is not afraid to fight back when the GOP cheats, slanders, and distorts. Howard Dean can handle the TV disinformers, the talk radio thugs, the Freeper punks, and whatever Swift Boat-type liars the RNC drags out for their next round of dirty tricks."-from the statement today by the Progressive Democrats of America. Update: Trippi's for Simon, Zephyr is for Dean, blah, blah, blah.-from MyDD. For the record, this guy is for Dean. More blather on Kos.

'The last man to concede...'Can you guess who?

"On November 3, just hours after Democratic vice-presidential hopeful John Edwards made a national announcement that he and John Kerry were not going to concede until all the votes were counted, Kerry grabbed the spotlight and conceded -- before all the votes were counted. It would be another two months before Kerry got around to emailing his millions of stunned, exhausted, and much poorer supporters to let them know that, although he was committed to "ensuring that every vote in this election is counted," alas, he wouldn't be joining the protest of the Ohio Electors."-from the article on "The Smirking Chimp" today.

Wednesday: Make That ''GOVERNOR GREGOIRE'' (UPDATED)

"OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Democrat Christine Gregoire was certified as the governor of Washington state on Tuesday, while outside the Capitol her supporters traded jeers with protesters across a line of state troopers."-from P-I story tonight, "Gregoire certified as governor of Washington." Update: Wednesday morning's P-I has this story by their Olympia crew, "Lawmakers approve election." The Seattle Times has, "Two sides rally on eve of inaugural."

''How Bush Really Won''

"A really thoughtful piece, " is how they described this article in the current New York Review of Books this morning, on Air America's "The Al Franken Show." It's also kinda long, as befits the publication it appears in. The author, Mark Danner will be their guest today in hour three, after 11am Seattle time on 1090 AM, or online here.

Dean to announce bid for DNC chair (UPDATED)

Today's the day, from CNN. Update: MyDD continues its coverage of the "Race to February 12" with "DNC Chair Cattle Call: Atlanta Southern Caucus Edition." Lots of details there on Dean's agenda from Georgia's Blog for Democracy site. Update: For the other side's agenda, see "The DLC’s Plan for Destroying the Democratic Party," from Dissident Voice. Compare and contrast, and then talk among yourselves. Update: For the other side's agenda, see "The DLC’s Plan for Destroying the Democratic Party," from Dissident Voice. Compare and contrast, and then talk among yourselves. Here's the official announcement, "I'm Running."

''Disenfranchised Soldiers and Palace Pachyderms'' (UPDATED)

Susan Hu, our resident Kossack, posted this commentary last night on the latest turn of events in the "ruckus" over Gregoire's imminent inauguration and the Rovian's attempts to drag our soldiers overseas into the fracas. Susan covers all the bases, even this one, using the word "wryly" to describe one of our posts. Wryly-"combining, or expressing a mixture of, mild amusement and irony." Update: The Tacoma News Tribune and The Olympian fill in some details. The Olympian story has quotes from Gregoire: "A Look Ahead in Her Own Words."

''Democrats fight back GOP effort to delay Gregoire certification''

This AP headline is the story line bouncing around Seattle tv news, describing how the Dems in the state Senate narrowly beat back an attempt by the Repubs to postpone for two weeks the certification of the governor's race. The House, which has a larger Democratic contingent, is expected finish the job on Tuesday. It's good to see the words "Democrats fight back," isn't it? What happens after the legislature confirms a Gregoire victory is the only unanswered question, as of tonight. A court in Chelan County will hear the GOP challenge and "Some Republicans are talking about a walkout or boycott of the inauguration," according to another story in tonight's online Seattle Times story, "New beginning" as lawmakers ring in new session."

Pay Five Bucks, Talk with Congressman Jim (UPDATED)

"A Call To Action: Forum with Congressman Jim McDermott and the Progressive Community. Sunday, January 30, 1:00-3:00 PM (Doors open 12:45). Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 1st Ave - 1st & Clay ($5 donation suggested for room rental).Let's get SET for action! Join Congressman McDermott and other experts in discussing 3 urgent and strategic issues needing action: Social Security, Elections, Taxes. Sponsored by: Progressive Democratic Caucuses of WA - 46th LD"- Update: I am told by the 34th District Dems that our Congressman will be appearing Wednesday, January 12, at the Hall at Fauntleroy at 7 PM. "Our 7th Congressional District Representative, Jim McDermott will speak to us on the status of the Bush Administration's plan to weaken, and eventually eliminate, Social Security." No charge. The Hall at Fauntleroy is located at 9131 California Ave SW, in West Seattle. I am assuming this meeting open to all good Dems, but I have been unable to confirm this, despite my best efforts today. The number at the Hall is 206-932-1059. Update: Bill Schrier, Webmaster of the 34th District Democrats flashes the green light for visitors: "All 34th District Democratic organization meetings are public. Gee, even republicans and independents are welcome as long as they don’t cause a ruckus!" Ruckus--"a noisy and unpleasant disturbance." Show up, but no ruckus here please!

Change the Party, Take Our Country Back (UPDATED)

This report on the Atlanta meeting is from Tom Baxter who writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "We need to talk to white voters in the South in their own language, but we don't need to change our values," Dean answered. Dean hasn't formally declared his candidacy but asked DNC members for their votes Saturday, and said he'll announce in the coming week." If you've ten minutes and 50 seconds to spare, you can take a look at Tim Roemer, on this video clip from "This Week with George Stephanopoulos", via the Crooks and Liars site (scroll down). It's a long ten minutes and 50 seconds. George uses the blog community to throw his past votes against the Clinton economic plan in 1993, and for the Bush economic plan in 2001, back in his face. By way of a defense, Roemer drops the name of Nancy Pelosi and takes a slap at "those bloggers," for "misinterpreting votes." That is sure to make him popular around here. Washington Monthly has this article, "Fire the Consultants," that asks "Why do Democrats promote campaign advisors who lose races?" The partial answer, if you spent all your time watching Roemer: they tell "... them what they so desperately want to hear: Their policies are sound, Americans really agree with them more than with Republicans, and if they just repeat their mantras loud enough, voters will eventually embrace the party." Some other explanations: "The party has no truly brilliant strategists in positions of power. The electoral system takes care of dead weight when it comes to politicians. The proof is in the political wreckage evident after yet another year of Democratic defeats at the polls. The consultants, however, live on. After pocketing a $5-million paycheck following the election, Shrum is back from a vacation in Tuscany and now advising Sen. Jon Corzine's (D-N.J.) gubernatorial race. Mellman, whose advice helped sink Democrats for two consecutive campaign cycles, continues to line up clients. As for Hansen, his connection to Daschle may not help him now that the South Dakotan has vacated the Democratic leader's office. But don't cry for Joe Hansen—he's the consultant for incoming Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid." Update: If you're curious about the process of how the DNC is organized and how the Chair is chosen, Simon Rosenburg's site will eagerly assist you. The AP wire has "Mass. Dem opposes anti-abortion chairman" which shows up on the P-I site and everywhere else. Oh yeah, they are talking about Roemer, if you are wondering. More on the process here, from Swing State Project. What kind of information on the process, you ask? "The election will be open to the public and votes shall not be taken by secret ballot Charter, Article 9, Sect.12. Roberts Rules of Order is used Charter, Article 9, Sect. 14. Terry McAliffe will preside over the election Charter, Article 5, Sect. 3. Of the five Vice-Chairs, three shall be of the opposite sex of the Chair Charter, Article 3, Sect 1(e). A roll call may be requested by 25% of the voting members present Bylaws, Article II, Sect B, (d)(ii)." That kind of thing, as well as other links and facts.

Another Casualty of Iraq War: WA Absentee Ballots

"As far as I know, I would be willing to bet a large amount of money that 95% of the people in my platoon, company and battalion did not receive a ballot," Marine Cpl. Ted Lester of Snohomish County e-mailed from Fallujah. "The other 5% did, but they received them burned beyond recognition and about 4-5 weeks too late." Lester said that the mail system in Iraq "is a joke" under the best circumstances, that one mail truck was blown up a week before the election and that it was difficult to get information about where to send write-in ballots."-from today's Seattle Times story, "Feds threatened suit over military ballots." The Olympian reports, "Rossi's fight could enter federal realm--Lawyer cites equal protection elements of Bush-Gore case." It's always heartening to see Republicans asking the federal government to protect their civil rights, when they fear they may be denied at the state level. Update: "Republicans, left with minorities in both chambers, may have heartfelt concerns about the validity of Democrat Christine Gregoire's electoral victory but should be careful to confine their activities to perfecting the polling process, and not political gamesmanship. Undermining the governor's credibility will serve only to undermine credibility in government in general, including the Legislature."-from an editorial Monday in the P-I, "Democrats must lead."

ReDefeatBush--David Lytel Just Won't Quit

Lytel is a former White House aide to Bill Clinton who has left the Beltway mindset. Tonight, his site has "The CounterInaugural January 20th," and "Vote with Your Mouse: When Kerry Comes Calling Unsubscribe in Droves," as well as "Me and Mrs. Jones, We Got a Thing Going On."

''Votes that count, a promise to keep''

Sunday's P-I Editorial Board "Commentary" reviews the problems in vote counting that have been apparent since 2000 on the state and federal level and the various proposals, unfilled promises and missed opportunities that have occurred since then. They make a series of new proposals and make this observation: "Barely a week before the November election, Reed declared, "We're ready ... We guarantee your vote next Tuesday will be counted correctly." We weren't ready, but we'd better be ready for the next election. And we'll remember who made promises and who delivered." The Oregonian has this editorial Sunday: "Voting postmortem in Washington: Dino Rossi and his supporters have a right to go to court, but it's hard to see the governor's election being voided." They conclude: "And at this point there's no way of knowing which candidate was more seriously harmed by the irregularities alleged by the GOP. It may be a stretch to think the state Supreme Court will void the election. In fact, the judges will wait until Jan. 22, the deadline for filing challenges, before deciding what to do with them. By then, Christine Gregoire will already have been sworn in as governor. Yes, it's a mess, and it doesn't favor Dino Rossi. Perhaps he can take comfort, though, in something the Seattle papers reported. Both quoted an elderly gentleman who admitted following his dying wife's wishes. She died on Sept. 29, and the faithful husband cast her vote for . . . Rossi. Gregoire's winning margin just jumped from 129 to 130." There's a "RALLY AT THE CAPITOL TUESDAY MORNING--LET THE LEGISLATURE HEAR YOUR VOICE. Tell the Republicans it's time for Rossi to concede, and let the legislature know it's time to start moving Washington forward. Here's how you can help: Come to the Tuesday rally in Olympia. Here are the details: Tuesday, January 11th 10:30 AM State Capitol, Olympia Washington Story Pole on the north side of the Capitol Campus. To RSVP or for questions contact Chris Hayler (chrish@wa-democrats.org) or (206) 328-2969."-from the Washingotn State Democratic party.

''The DNC Chairmanship: You can effect the outcome!''

DogFight.04 has this post with a list of DNC members and links to some comments on Kos: "Most of us know that the DNC has a major election in a few weeks. Most of us know that Howard Dean and Simon Rosenberg, even little ineffectual Donnie Fowler, has their hat in the ring. There are many more that I won't pretend to talk about as I'm not versed in their pro's and con's. So how do YOU, an individual Democrat, have a chance to effect the outcome? Simple. Call a DNC Committee member! Call several...get crazy and call them all. Call, write, send a smoke signal...do something! Do your research and make your choice. My current thoughts revolve around Simon Rosenberg and Howard Dean. Little spoiled Donnie doesn't even belong in the game. He is attracting some support because he's a helluva salesman when interviewing for a job...but an empty shirt who is unable to actually do that job. Yeah I'm that against the guy." Update: From "Ex-Rep. Roemer Joins Race for DNC Chairman: Former Rep. Tim Roemer said Sunday that he's joining the race to lead the Democratic National Committee — a move certain to spark a heated debate about the abortion issue." Democratic Voices has "Dean Should Be The National Democratic Party Leader." They say that "While every declared candidate for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee would do a good job, Howard Dean clearly offers some unique qualities and insights that would help advance both the Democratic Party agenda and future electoral prospects. Dean created in 2004 an energy in the grassroots activist base of the Democratic Party that was unmatched by any of the other Primary contenders. He would be a great public face and manager for the national Democratic Party. More than any other contender, Dean has a unique ability to take often fairly moderate positions on issues, in order to help Democratic candidates win elections based on local conditions, without alienating more liberal activists within our broad Democratic Party coalition." The AP has this story tonight, "Silicon Valley sensibilities at play in race for Dem. Party chair: Love him or hate him, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's upstart presidential campaign left the Democratic Party two important and lasting legacies: the empowerment of younger activists and the pioneering use of the Internet for fund-raising and organizing." The Beltway spin is puzzling. While acknowledging that their strategy and tactics have not been successful, the Knight Ridder "news" story, "Democrats divided over direction of troubled party." claims that "Few of the party's luminaries even want the job, and the sole high-profile guy currently voicing interest - Howard Dean, the `03 phenomenon and `04 flameout - is strongly opposed by those Democrats who believe that red-state America would never warm to the party if it had an antiwar New Englander at the helm." What the hell is a "luminary?" And name one for me, please. MyDD has "DNC Southern Caucus Impressions" tonight. Post-game color commentary highlight: "To me the two who stood out greatly were Howard Dean and Simon Rosenburg. Each had great answers and looked the part of a national party spokesman. I'd give Dean the edge due to his ability to reframe the questions and come up with points not made by any of the others on the panel. Rosenburg's answers were good, but they were expected, like telegraphic a punch. He was also very intellectual and lacked some human warmth."

Speak Out; Get Arrested

"Freedom Winter" Bus Rider Arrested in Congress." Her crime was "her alleged spontaneous outcry upon hearing the testimony of Ohio Senator George Voinovich. When Voinovich stated on the Senate floor that Ohio had elected Bush as President, Prof. Wallach allegedly cried out, “No, Ohio didn’t, you lied.”-from the post on the Ohio Election Fraud site.

''Dean, DNC chair candidates stump in South'' (UPDATED)

This is all over the place. "You want to know my Southern strategy, show up," said Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who dropped out of the presidential race during last year's Democratic primaries."-from the AP story. Update: More chit chat from the blogging class: "Investing "Party Capital" and a Poll," from Kos. MyDD has this report from ground zero at this weekend's DNC meeting, "Fowler, Rosenberg, Roemer and Dean most visible, Fowler addresses African-Americans." From the commentary: "First, Dean is electric and on fire and I think he knows it. He received applause repeatedly from the crowd for his remarks which were, I must admit, quick-witted, intelligent, and crafted perfectly for his audience. I'm still not a supporter of Dean for Chair, but his ideas are at LEAST among the best in the field. Every time I see him, I feel better about him playing a role in our party."

Another ''Kenny Boy'' Friend of Bush Has a Problem with The Law

"Ohio Letter Seeks Illegal Contributions," a story from the ABC affiliate in Columbus, details the inability of the Ohio Secretary of State, Mr. Blackwell, to obey the law, again: "The state's chief elections officer, accused of mishandling the presidential vote in Ohio, sent a fund-raising letter for his own 2006 gubernatorial campaign that was accompanied by a request for illegal contributions. Corporate donations are illegal in Ohio. His spokesman, Carlo LoParo, said Saturday that any corporate donations would be returned."

''DNC Chatter ''

New from MyDD: "Two of the newest DNC candidates will be making their debut's this weekend at the Southern Regional DNC meeting in Atlanta. Ex-OH Dem chair David Leland and ex-TX Dem chair Molly Beth Malcolm both are on the official list of candidates set to attend the 1/8 meeting. Nearly four hours has been set aside for the DNC candidate forum. C-SPAN will air the forum on 1/9 at 6:30pm and again at 9:30pm.Reps. Ben Chandler (D-Ky.), Artur Davis (D-Ala.), Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.) have all endorsed New Democrat Network president Simon Rosenberg to be chairman of the Democratic National Committee. They believe that Rosenberg knows how to win in "red" America, and embrace his 50-state strategy. Former Gov. Tony Knowles (D-Alaska) also backs Rosenberg.In DC, Roemer is out and Frost is in, as the favored status quo candidate gaining traction on the Hill.Just when you thought the list of candidates couldn't get any longer, in comes word that women's groups (including NARAL and NOW) are urging Kate Michelman to enter the DNC chair race. This renewed effort to draft Michelman stems from the "outrage" (according to one source) some of these women's groups have at the idea of the pro-life Roemer being considered a top-tier candidate. Michelman is purportedly thinking about it and may have more to say next week. Maybe Howard Dean (who gets backing from an old foe, John Murtha) can be the compromise candidate for the two groups (btw, next week is the announcement from Dean, after the Southern regional caucus trial run). Full post, with links and comments, here.

''GOP Hypocrite of the Week: Dino Rossi''

"When they say every vote should be counted, they mean only the votes for their candidates. Those OTHER votes don't matter and are probably cast by ineligible, poor minority heathens. As a columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer observed, "Republican leaders have to know their shifting positions for a new election plays like a klutzy ballerina with vertigo on a newly waxed floor."-from "A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL." The P-I story, "Rossi files suit for a new vote," has this quote: "Paul Berendt, the state Democratic Party chairman, said the Republicans had presented a weak case that falls far short of demonstrating the widespread allegations of fraud that have been flying for weeks. Republicans are now "sheepishly admitting that there was no evidence of fraud," Berendt said. "It's obvious that the Republicans went judge shopping," Berendt said. "They were looking for a partisan judge and Chelan County is one of the most Republican counties in the state." The Seattle Times story this morning, "GOP suit doesn't ask to prevent swearing-in," puts it like this: "The GOP suit sets up the likelihood that Gregoire will move into the governor's mansion, while across the mountains a small-town judge considers whether she should be tossed from the post." PETER CALLAGHAN, writing in the Tacoma New Tribune, is the sober voice of reason in his column, "Governor’s mess stump ya? Check the constitution." Curious what he says? You'll have to read it yourself, I'm going to bed!

"Democrats Rethinking Election Strategies" (UPDATED)

This report from Utah follows Howard Dean's visit there last week: "The dust has settled on the 2004 election, but Democrats are still thinking about it. On a national level some leaders are going so far as to re-evaluate its emphasis on abortion rights as an issue. But will Utah Democrats get pulled into the fray, just to get votes? Howard Dean helped Utah Democrats raise money this week. The goal: to win upcoming elections. But Dean also has another idea: as a possible party leader next year, he is among those urging the party to embrace pro-life Democrats, a movement toward unity.
Howard Dean, Democatic Party Leader: "We are a party that wants to include people, and I hope we never see an election that the other guys do all the time which is based on dividing us."-from the story on Channel 5, Salt Lake City. Update: From the grassroots activists in Ohio comes this comment from a new article in the Columbus Free Press: "Together, grassroots/Internet activists have just moved three major American mountains."

"Rossi Contesting Washington Governor Vote" (UPDATED)

Republican Dino Rossi and the state GOP announced Friday they will contest the gubernatorial election that gave his Democratic foe, Christine Gregoire, a 129-vote victory. Gregoire, whose inauguration is scheduled for Wednesday, has called the idea of a revote "absolutely ludicrous."
GOP observers say hundreds, perhaps thousands, of King County provisional ballots were fed directly into vote-counting machines on Election Day, when staffers should have verified that they belonged to registered voters."-from the AP story tonight.
Update: "Voting by dead people isn't always a scam," is the story in, surprisingly, tonight's Seattle Times. KING5 TV reports that "The outcome will be challenged in court in Chelan County, although there's no specific indication of a dispute in that county. Gregoire is scheduled to be inaugurated next Wednesday. She has called the idea of a re-vote "absolutely ludicrous." On Friday she pledged to tour the state to begin a healing process after the election that deeply divided voters and the political parties. "It's my job to help the state of Washington heal," she told a Capitol news conference called primarily to introduce an initial round of key appointees.-from the story, "Rossi will challenge election in court." KOMO News quotes the P-I account, saying "our newspaper partner the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Friday that at least eight people who were credited with voting in King County had died before absentee ballots were mailed." The KOMO story, "Seattle P-I: 8 Dead People Voted In Governor Election" focuses on two Washington state citizens who have filed challenges to the governor's election with the state Supreme Court, separate from the challenge Rossi announced today. KIRO TV has this quote from Gregoire, from their story "Gregoire: 'Healing To Be done'": "Gregoire said she understands the angst and anger, but believes the election was properly conducted and valid.
She said a tiny amount of human error is inevitable in conducting an election with so many votes, but that the state's election system fared remarkably well. "Every day, it's a new issue that has been raised," she said. "I have yet to see any proof of any illegality on behalf of election officials. They have operated in a consummately professional way. I see no intent on their part to defraud the voters of the state of Washington." She said some "honest potential mistakes" have been made, but added: "They are not fraudulent. They are not illegal." Gregoire repeated her mantra that, "The election is over, so we need to move forward." She said the continuing angry reaction is "highly unfortunate," and that she intends to try to defuse it, both by traveling around the state and by finding effective solutions to people's most pressing concerns, such as schools, health coverage and the economy. She didn't have a definite schedule or format, but said she'll start her travels early in her term, including during the legislative session that begins Monday."

Be a Stand Up Democrat

This weekend the Washington State Progressive Majority and the state Democrats are organizing to fight back against Republican scare tactics and oppose the re-vote in Washington state. The Dems need volunteer help this weekend to phone bank in support of Governor-Elect Gregoire.If you can dedicate some time from 10am-5pm on Saturday or 11am-9pm on Sunday, please email chrish@wa-democrats.org or call (206) 328-2969. The Progressive Majority folks have his message for you: "The state legislature ratifies election results and they're getting a lot of pressure from the Right to delay this ratification. The Republican Party has spent thousands of dollars on radio ads and they're claiming that they have 10,000 petition signatures for this so-called "Re-vote". We fought for a Progressive Majority in the Legislature for a reason - to ensure that our values will be reflected in the laws that govern our state. I challenge the progressive community to match their 10,000 signatures and beat it. Please take action immediately and send a message to the Leadership of the Washington State Legislature: Click here to oppose the Washington Re-Vote."

''Power Play'' (UPDATED)

"The battle for the “soul of the Democratic Party” has begun, with the opening skirmishes over Howard Dean and reproductive rights."-from the commentary on AlerNet. Chew on this: "If you are a progressive, a populist Democrat, someone who thinks moving the party to the center is a dead end in this political debate, then it may be time to step up and make yourself heard. Not doing so may very well leave the fate of the party in the hands of the “Democratic Establishment” – the consultants, lobbyists, and corporate-funded talking heads and spinners. As the debate for the “soul of the party” heats up, we may yet see a very different Democratic Party emerging from the ashes of 2004." Update: "BlogPAC call w/Rosenberg tomorrow: what would you ask?" From MyDD. The call happened on Thursday, but questions that are asked in the comments section are worth reading. Also, the next time you hear what great a fundraiser McAuliffe was, ask them if they have heard about Dean's success in this arena. Update: The Columbus Free Press has this: Progressive Democrats lead historic voting rights protest: "A handful of progressive Democrats in the House and a lone Senator, Barbara Boxer of California, forced the Republican-dominated Congress to hear two hours of protest Thursday about how the 2004 presidential vote was replete with efforts to disenfranchise Democratic voters and suppress turnout in a strong torrent of tactics reminiscent of the Jim Crow era." Update: Newsweek/MSNBC has "In Defeat, a Victory? The Dems' latest challenge of the 2004 election result may have seemed futile. But those involved see it as a win for morality."

''Dead voted in governor's race'' (UPDATED)

That's the headline for this "exclusive" P-I story that provides one specific to answer the question, which candidate was the beneficiary of this group's political support? "Bob Holmgren said yesterday that he voted on behalf of his late wife, Charlette Holmgren, who died Sept. 29. The West Seattle man filled out his own ballot and hers, and signed both of them."Her vote was important to her," Holmgren said. "She was very strongly against Governor-elect Gregoire." 'I want you to vote for me,' dying wife said," is the headline to the sidebar story. She would have been happy, then, that all of her fifteen minutes of fame will celebrate that sentiment. The Seattle Times story Friday morning, "GOP expected to file suit over Gregoire's win," takes a less startling approach to headline-writing. The article says the suit will focus on "mishandled provisional ballots in King County and lingering questions about why the county shows more votes counted than people voting on Nov. 2." TIME/CNN has this quip about the race, reported by Sandeep Kaushik, whose work usually appears in The Stranger: "As Rossi called for a new election last week, a Democratic spokeswoman scoffed:"This isn't a video game where you can go and feed in more quarters." Update: KOMO News has, "Sec. Of State Presents Election Reform Package," that mentions "all absentees in hand at Auditor's offices by Election Day, rather than mailed on or before Election Day" and other proposals, but nothing about "paper trails" or state-wide procedures and standards. Update: An editorial from the Tri-City Herald says, "Prove election fraud or silence allegations: "Now, it's state Republican Chairman Chris Vance's turn to hint at voter fraud, splattering a lot of mud with talk of dead voters casting ballots and other misdeeds, but failing to reveal evidence for anything more sinister than human error." Update: Robert Jamieson, Jr.'s column in the P-I today slaps down both sides in the fracas: "Republicans are resorting to politics of distortion and half-truths that distract -- and unnecessarily so -- from their reasonable questions about the election process. The Democrats, meanwhile, have turned wimpy, fending off Republican fangs with the ferocity of Little Red Riding Hood." Nevertheless, if you believe the glass is half-full, the Gregoire Campaign is taking reservations for "The 2005 Governor's Inaugural Ball. Info: "Tickets are $75 per person. You may mail your payment to: PO Box 1086 Shelton WA 98584-Phone: (360) 427-6881-Email: IBC2005@hotmail.com. A Letter to the Editor in today's P-I takes Ralph Munro's VoteHere company spokesperson to task: "Jim Adler of VoteHere, claims that his product "provides for a voter-verified paper trail and independent audit -- just like a bank." This claim, opaque as voter-verification software, does nothing that allows voters to ensure that their vote has been counted as it was cast." Scroll down to the "GOVERNOR'S ELECTION" headline there.

Let the Debriefing Begin (UPDATED)

"Evidence of Voter Irregularities in Snohomish County, Washington, General Election 2004"---These are not the kind of "Irregularities" Chris Vance is yelping about. David Swanson from ILCA does a quick job of thinking about today's challenge in Congress and answering the question: "What does it mean?" Kos has "Media Coverage of the Ohio Challenge." Air America's Randi Rhodes has posted a bunch of stuff on her site tonight. Update: From Portland State's Daily Vanguard comes, "The donkey that refused to kick: Spineless Kerry should have embraced evidence of election fraud, supported protests." Better late than never, NPR had this audio report on Thursday morning, "Kerry Diehards Hold Vigil in Beacon Hill." From Ray Beckerman's Ohio Election Fraud site: "I believe history will record January 6, 2005, as the day on which the United States of America completed a 4-year descent from democracy into dictatorship, by abandoning the rule of law in its electoral process, thus ensuring that the party in control cannot be removed." Consistent Clarity Department: "Keep Objecting": from John Nichols in The Nation. Update: The Boston Globe story on the Ohio challenge was notable for this quote: "A similar objection by Democratic House members after the 2000 election failed to move forward because no members of the Senate joined them, in an episode depicted in the movie ''Fahrenheit 9/11." Several members of Congress -- including Boxer, whose objection to the Ohio tally allowed yesterday's debate to begin -- said that scene in the Michael Moore film played a role in persuading them to speak out on the vote this year, after election irregularities emerged in Ohio." Here's the "It's the Media, Stupid!" story of the week, from Consortiumnews. It's not just chance that the current #1 on Yahoo's Most Popular Photos is this one of Barbara Boxer. Steve Freeman, of the Center for Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania, who wrote one of the dense statistical analyses of the exit poll "discrepancies," has this commentary in the San Francisco Chronicle that even the layman can understand. Update: Like some other Air America programs, Friday morning's "Al Franken Show" spent the first half hour debunking GOP objections to the Ohio challenge in Congress yesterday. If I run across a link, it'll be here. Otherwise you'll just have to trust me on this one.

Congressman Jim AWOL on Ohio Challenge

In spite of noises and a letter he signed earlier, our 7th District Congressman did not vote "yes" in support of further examination of the Ohio misdeeds. In fairness, he may be on a "fact-finding trip" somewhere and wasn't present. Maybe he's showing Kerry around Bagdad, a city Jim has visited previously. Here's the Honor Roll from the House vote. You may have to scroll down as there is no permalink. The Senate version is easy to remember by heart: Boxer.

''Democrats to Force Debate on Ohio Results''

AP just put out this story, reporter Senator Barbara Boxer's official announcement. Update: "The Boxer Rebellion," from truthout's Will Pitt. Update: "The Boxer Rebellion," from truthout's Will Pitt. I received the following information for viewing the Ohio challenge in Congress today, scheduled for 10 AM: "http://www.cspan.org and you can listen or watch. They may be overwhelmed so also try cnn.com, msnbc.com, etc., etc. Also try http://www.airamericaradio.com -- you can listen online." This message also said that Sens. Clinton, Obama and Dodd would be joining Barbara Boxer in supporting the challenge. Update: Send Barbara Boxer an email thanking her for her courage and vision and send an email to Senator Reid and Congresswoman Pelosi urging them to take a leadership role in election reform. Will Pitt is blogging as the roll is being called in the Senate. So far, only Senator Boxer has voted to uphold the challenge. Senator Cantwell has now voted "no" on the motion. In the House, the Rovians are accusing Boxer and her supporters of being in the "Michael Moore wing of the Democratic party" who are aiding the terrorist enemies of America. Failing to demonstrate consistency with their allies in Washington state, the Rovians are encouraging their colleagues in Congress to "put the vote behind them" and get to work on the issues they were elected to address. Update: Today's vote marks "Kerry's Last Flip-Flop," according to this commentary on Consortiumnews.com. A Costco-size free sample: "Time and again, Democratic leaders have asked their grassroots supporters to get organized for one more campaign. Then, those same Democratic leaders pull their punches and try to squeak out electoral victories by the narrowest of margins. That strategy created, in Elections 2000 and 2004, the opportunity for the Republicans to use last-minute dirty tricks to grab victories. Many rank-and-file Democrats are sick and tired of these well-paid Washington-based consultants who constantly advise Democratic politicians to finesse controversial issues and not to be too shrill." In the House, "27 votes to support the objection," according to Pitt's Blog. "33 Votes," if you're not following this on cspan or Pitt's blog. Now he says 32. In the Senate, only 75 of the 100 showed up for work today.

''Call your Democratic Senators''

From Progressive Democrats of America: "PDA has received a tremendous amount of feedback regarding the Democratic Party's lack of concern for adequately protecting our electoral rights. We have also heard from many supporters who say they will not vote Democrat in the future if the Party leadership does not fight for us today. Now is the time to tell that to our representatives. Call your Senators, especially if they are up for re-election in 2006 (Sen. Maria Cantwell-202-224-3441 ) and let them know how important today's vote is to you. Call Minority Leader Reid and tell him how the Party's future is on the line. Act now, we can still make the Democratic Party our party, but we have to work for it. This is an important step. The Senate switchboard opens at 9:00 A.M. EST. The vote is at 1:00 P.M. EST. Call early and often." Sen. Harry Reid- Phone: 202-224-3542 Fax: 202-224-7372. Update: "Why the Vote Count Challenge Matters." from the Progressive Democrats lays out their arguments.

Dean, the Democratic Party and the DNC (Continued)

"Dean for Chairman?" shows up on the conservative site, "Town Hall," whose articles I usually ignore when they turn up on a Google search. Somewhat surprisingly, this one is glowing and respectful. On the other hand, this AP story, "Dems ask McAuliffe to remain party chair," practically ignores Dean by noting that "None of the early candidates for chairman has gained momentum." If you love the way the Dems are currently being led at the national level, this news should delight you. What?? You don't? It was just a matter of time before the Beltway counter-attacked Dean's attempt to move into the neighborhood.

Ohio: ''D-Day in DC'': Up to Six Senators to Join Protest

Today the Congress decides at 10am Pacific Time whether to accept the electors chosen in Ohio and the other states. Some feel, as this letter writer from truthout does: "If no Senators come forward to demand the investigation that the evidence requires, then the very Party that once produced the great social advances now systematically being destroyed by those who stole this election will itself start to dissolve. But that dissolution will have been self-initiated." Yesterday, Jesse Jackson said, “The anomalies in Ohio are greater than the anomalies in Florida in 2000," before making a last ditch appeal to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Some Beltway insiders like this congressional staff member, quoted in today's Boston Globe, believe that ''We lost. We need to move on." The New York Times story today, Election Results to Be Certified, With Little Fuss From Kerry makes this claim, backed up by a quote from the GOP: "Such a debate could prove uncomfortable for Democrats, who do not want to be viewed as sore losers. But Republicans seemed eager for it. "They are really just trying to stir up their loony left," John Feehery, a spokesman for Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, said of the Democrats." Cliff Arnebeck, the Ohio attorney representing the challengers in court has this today, in an article in the Columbus Free Press: "Today, you are being asked to certify the reported votes of the Electoral College...on the basis of ...The faith-based neocon fallacy that vote counts do not have to be independently verified. This new "con" holds that facts may be overcome by assertions of faith by those in power. Thus, the Bush campaign co-chair for Ohio and Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell need not count 106,000 as yet uncounted Ohio ballots, because he has faith they would not make a difference in the reported 119,000 vote difference, even though these uncounted votes all are in areas of Ohio that demonstrated strong support for John Kerry, and because, as Secretary of State he has the power not to count them." John Conyers, who has been the leader in the Congress of the effort to investigate the Ohio vote, puts it this way, from the AP story, "Dem Lays Out Case Against Bush's Ohio Win": "We have found numerous, serious election irregularities in the Ohio presidential election. There are ample grounds for challenging the electors from the state of Ohio. In many cases these irregularities were caused by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it involving Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio." Bloggerman makes a prediction: "Nothing is in writing and daybreak is a long way away, but it appeared all but certain in early evening Wednesday that House Democrats had secured the support of up to half a dozen Senators to formally challenge the Electoral College slate from Ohio," from his latest post, "Challengers are go." Michael Moore breaks it down: "C'mon Senators! Especially you Democrats. Here is your one shining moment of courage. Will you allow the gavel to come down on our black members of Congress once again? Or will you stand up for their right to object? We will all be watching."- from his "Just One Senator... An Open Letter to the U.S. Senate." Because of the deafening silence from editorial pages all over the country, I forgot that they could support the challenge to the Ohio vote, until I read this, from The Capital Times in Madison, WI: "Don't certify Ohio results." Senator Feingold, are you listening?

''Healers or spoilers?''

In an editorial. commenting on the GOP's "smoking gun of the day" media message blitz, the P-I says Thursday that, "There are several roles a minority party can play in a legislative body. Roles run from the laudable "loyal opposition" to the lamentable pouting obstructionist. The state Republican Party hints of assuming the latter role in its vitriol over the gubernatorial election." Exhibit One: "State Republicans Wednesday charged that hundreds of provisional ballots MAY have been counted on Election Day without being verified," from the AP story, "Wash. GOP Demands New Governor Election." Exhibit Two: "Two King County election workers, BOTH REPUBLICANS. yesterday said they believe hundreds of provisional ballots were illegally fed through vote-counting machines on Election Day." from today's Seattle Times story, "GOP: Hundreds of ballots suspect." Exhibit Three: "Escalating his daily drumbeat for a revote for governor...GOP announces 'bombshell' in voting...There may be many smoking guns."-from the new P-I story Thursday: "At a Bellevue news conference, Vance produced a Republican-appointed King County election worker, Joe O'Donnell, who said he personally witnessed about 150 to 300 provisional ballots go straight into AccuVote tabulating machines on Election Day without any voter verification. And county election officials continued to take umbrage at what they said were the Republicans' unwarranted suggestions that election fraud occurred. The officials blamed the accusations on a misunderstanding of why the number of votes cast in the Nov. 2 election may have been several thousand more than the number of people credited with voting. "It's not fraud. It's not understanding how the elections process really works and then it's this stirring of the pot with inaccurate information," said Carolyn Diepenbrock, the Snohomish County elections manager. Snohomish County's Diepenbrock said the 300-vote discrepancy in her county was probably due mostly to human errors in the tedious, labor-intensive, post-election process of entering general election voters' names into files as part of the process of updating voter records for future elections. "I would like to say there should never, ever, ever be any discrepancy. But that's not reality," Diepenbrock said. She added, "It's unfortunate that this (vote) crediting process is being attached to the election process," because they are separate, unrelated procedures. Exhibit Four: The Weekly looks inside the recount process and finds that some of the GOP appointed counters were "underhanded and blatantly partisan." But they did retreat to the GOP lounge to pray daily. Exhibit Five: The Seattle Times has this, in a commentary Wednesday from Floyd J. McKay, a journalism professor emeritus at Western Washington University: "The law clearly says that the hand count is the final count. This is not a baseball playoff, winning two of three counts means nothing. The hand count, presumed by the law to be the most accurate, is final. For a winning candidate to go through three counts and then agree to another election would defy all the laws of politics (and reason). For a candidate losing the third count to call for such an election is — well, politics again. Republicans will do all of us a favor if they take their charges to court, rather than running a four-year campaign of innuendo and slander. Tim Eyman is already on that task, urging his fans to write Olympia." Exhibit Six: "For devotees of conservative talk radio, nirvana looks a lot like the Washington governor's race, especially if Democrat Christine Gregoire hangs on and becomes governor."-from the column in Thursday's Seattle Times, "Lighting up the phone lines with a 'we-were-had' lament." Final tasty tidbit: "The Republican attack on the election is by now a near-military operation — air, land and sea. Scour death records to find dead voters. Search records to find felons who voted in violation of the law. Compare the number of voters to votes cast. Hold the outraged — OUTRAGED! — press conference du jour. Do anything and everything to put Rossi back on top. No matter what."

''Call your legislators''

From Paul Berendt, Chair, Washington State Democrats: "Last Thursday the Secretary of State certified Chris Gregoire governor-elect. We have just finished the longest, most scrutinized election in Washington State history. Ballots have been checked, double-checked, and triple-checked. Democrats and Republicans from across the state have joined together to make this the most accurate election in state history. But, instead of taking Chris Gregoire's call for unity to move our state forward, Dino Rossi and the Republican Party have gone off on a bitter battle to tear down this election. They are trashing the Republican Secretary of State, they are trashing county auditors across the state, and they are trashing their own Republican and Democratic observers. They're even shamelessly manipulating military families to falsely suggest that our soldiers' ballots weren't counted. All because they didn't like the result of this election. And after two weeks of wild, unfounded accusations they still have no evidence of any wrongdoing. Not a one. I need you to take action right now. On Tuesday the legislature will vote to certify the election. We already know that Republican operatives are working hard to pressure legislators to undo the results of this election. We need to fight back. Right now, call the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Tell your legislators to do the right thing, stand up to Republican rhetoric, do their duty and certify the election on Tuesday. It's time to get on with the business of moving our state forward. The Republicans are working hard to make this election a circus. Let's make sure they do not succeed."

''What Went Wrong in Ohio'' (UPDATED

John Conyers has released this one page summary of his "Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff." Locally, a group of ten us met this morning with Jay Pearson of Senator Cantwell's staff. We were Greens, Democrats and Independents. He was generous with his time, spending about 30 minutes with us in his private office and giving all of us who wanted to say something the opportunity to speak. We talked about the need for the Senator to show progressive democrats that she was willing to stand up and fight for "democratic" and "Democratic" values. Some in our group felt that if she didn't step up on this issue, she would lose the opportunity to ever have their support, in light of her disappointing vote on the Iraqui war resolution. Jay was very attentive and receptive and promised to pass on our comments. If any of the participants has something to add to this posting, please email me with your comments. The same offer goes to Jay. As I told him, we'll be watching and listening. Update: MoveOn just sent an email to its list today. Here's an excerpt from the one I received: "No more Ohios. When Congress reconvenes this Thursday to ratify the 2004 Presidential election, Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) will object to the vote count in Ohio, and if even one Senator joins him, Congress will have to debate the widespread voting problems that have been exposed. Nobody expects this election to be overturned, but it's time in this country to seriously grapple with the issues of voting rights, un-auditable computerized voting, and the suppression of minority votes. Call your Democratic Senators today and ask them to join Representative Conyers in challenging the 2004 voting process. With your support, they can step forward and force this important debate. Just call:Senator Patty Murray: 202-224-2621 and Senator Maria Cantwell: 202-224-3441. Please let us know you called. Thanks for everything you do." Update: Annie Robbins sent me this report from the group's meeting later in Senator Murray's office: "Some of us met with Sen. Murray's Deputy State Director Karen Waters. Even though we came in unannounced and Karen had a prior engagement waiting in the office, she took the time to meet with us and was extremely receptive to our desire to communicate to Patty that she join with Conyers to contest the Ohio electoral votes. She said that she would be receptive to hearing from more of us, and she would pass on this message to Senator Murray. It's not too late to call the office in Washington, DC. Leave a message she can pick up in the morning.Her number is (202) 224-2621." Update: Our Congressman Jim one of the 24 members from the House who signed a letter issued to the full House and Senate this afternoon in a last-minute bid to encourage the Senate to open discussion on the electoral vote tally Thursday

Conyers on Air America, 1090AM in Seattle-8:06AM Today

Listen there now or online.

What You Can Do Today to Make a Difference Tomorrow

Contact US Senators from here and elsewhere: they are keeping track of contacts, even from citizens out of state. Use that free national long distance cell phone!! "In Seattle Wednesday you can drop in and visit at the offices of our US Senators, to urge their support for Representative John Conyers and the GAO's investigation of the widespread and systematic voting fraud that took place in Ohio, New Mexico, and Florida on November 2nd. A group of us are meeting at 9:00 AM at 823 1st Avenue (at the Starbucks, cross street Marion). We're briefly discussing strategy, then sending ourselves up to Senator Murray's office, followed by Senator Cantwell's office, to let our elected officials know how important we believe a fair election to be. If you're interested in participating, but unavailable at 9:00 AM, give me a call and I'll let you know the "skinny" is on what you can do... I am hoping to have this go on all day, so night people can get in on the action, too! My contact info is 206-789-4397 hm, 206-383-9738 mobile or email me at forrestajackson@earthlink.net."-from Forrest Jackson.

''Seven key reasons why the vote must be challenged at the electoral college''

One more day until Congress looks in the mirror:1. Exit Polls Did Not Match Actual Vote in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida2. Voting machines owned by private, partisan companies subject to manipulation3. Uncounted and Provisional Ballots disproportionately affected African American voters4. Inexplicable Vote disparities5. Voting Rights Act Violations6. The Recount did not Recount the Votes7. Challenge at January 6 Joint Session of Congress--"If America is to be a champion of democracy abroad, it must clean up its elections at home. If it is to complain of fraudulent and dishonest election practices abroad, it cannot condone them at home. But more important, if our own elections are to be legitimate, then they must be honest, open, with high national standards. We need national standards for voting, an end to partisan control of the election process by state officials, accompanied by a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to vote for all Americans." Jesse Jackson provides the details. These photos from the rally in Columbus yesterday provide the pictures. Update: If you're still undecided: "The "Crime of November 2": The human side of how Bush stole Ohio, and why Congress must investigate rather than ratify the Electoral College."-from the Columbus Free Press today: "It's also ironic that an apparently defeated Republican candidate for governor in the state of Washington is now calling for a revote to overturn a recount. We support that demand, and ask the same for Ohio. In breaking news, the freepress.org team now has in its possession an official Franklin County Board of Election document entitled "Machine Assignments for General Election 2004" showing the serial numbers of 76 machines, all in Democrat-rich Columbus, that were blacked out and kept in the warehouse or on trucks during the election, while thousands of inner city voters stood in the rain. Conversely, none of the machines designated for Republican-dominated suburbs were blacked out on the list and held back. Those and other crucial discrepancies will be discussed today at a 2pm (11am, PST) press conference at the National Press Club in Washington. We have been told the conference will be covered by C-SPAN. We will catalog as much of the evidence presented there as possible in future articles, and in an upcoming book and documentary film." While the nature of the irregularities here in Washington state are vastly different than those in Ohio, tell Rove I would accept a revote here if we have one there.

''A Swift Marine for a Revote''

As expected, "On Tuesday, radio stations began running ads paid for by the state Republican party, declaring the governor's election a "certified mess" and urging people to petition the Legislature for a revote. The ad focuses on a Marine wounded in Fallujah, Tyler Farmer of Everett, who didn't get his ballot until Nov. 3. Republicans have adopted military voters as the poster children for the revote effort, claiming many were wrongly disenfranchised while fighting to defend democracy."-from the P-I story tonight, "Democrats in Legislature quash hopes for revote in governor's race." The article quotes Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, who says, ""We are following the rules and we need to live by those rules, and not just call for a do-over because we don't like the results" and mentions that "Secretary of State Sam Reed, also a Republican, said there's no evidence of any systemic problems with the military vote. Every county in the state mailed absentee ballots to registered military voters by early October, Reed said, and the U.S. Department of Justice even watched over the process to make sure it was done right." The article ends with "State Republican leaders planned a revote rally in Olympia for next Tuesday, the second day of the 2005 legislative session." And finally, it provides the website address for the revote call. Update: The Wednesday morning Seattle Times story, "Election scrutiny reveals provisional-vote flaws," raises new doubts about the integrity of the local vote and is prompting new questions about King County's election procedures. The problem: "An unknown number of provisional voters, some of whom may not even have been registered to vote, improperly put their ballots directly into vote-counting machines at polling places, King County's elections superintendent said yesterday." The article gives Rossi supporters another opportunity to score points in the spin wars: "State Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance, who plans to discuss the provisional-ballot issue at a news conference today, said it constituted a serious lapse in election security." Unlike the Times story, a new story in the Wednesday morning P-I, "GOP may object to ratification of governor vote," allows the other side have a voice in the message battle: "Gregoire said she thinks the Republicans' threats are bad for the people of Washington. "I find it highly unfortunate that we continue to have this kind of rhetoric that I hear out there. The idea that these individuals as auditors have not performed their jobs admirably -- there's nothing further from the truth. She implored people to reserve judgment about discrepancies between votes counted and lists of voters who cast ballots until county elections officials have time to explain. "Calm down," Gregoire said. "Let the process take its place." KOMO News goes with the AP story that the P-I used Tuesday night.

OBJECTIONS TO OHIO ELECTORS GROWS: PROTESTS PLANNED

A letter writer in Statesman Journal from Salem, OR uses the problems with vote counting in Washington state, exit polling and the Bush administration's objections to the recent election in the Ukraine to advocate "U.S. voters should protest fraud in presidential election." The Chicago Sun-Times has this: "Senators should object to Ohio vote," from Jesse Jackson. Michael Arvey takes the "mainstream liberal media" to task in "Get Over It, Winners on OpEdNews.com. Democratic Underground has this post: "Boxer on board?" The Progressive Democrats of America are having a press conference in Washington DC tomorrow: "BEYOND ANY REASONABLE DOUBT, BUSH DID NOT WIN THE OHIO OR NATIONAL VOTE" is their story line. There are several other events planned this week: "From SELMA to WASHINGTON: 40 Years Marching For Our Voting Rights," "January 5th Freedom Ride From Columbus to Washington," and Rally at 10:00 A.M. on January 6th -- Lafayette Park, Washington, DC. Randi Rhodes devoted much of her Air America show today to Thursday's challenge of the Ohio vote. Update: From Forrest Jackson: "In Seattle tomorrow you can drop in and visit at the offices of our US Senators, to urge their support for Representative John Conyers and the GAO's investigation of the widespread and systematic voting fraud that took place in Ohio, New Mexico, and Florida on November 2nd. A group of us are meeting at 9:00 AM at 823 1st Avenue (at the Starbucks, cross street Marion). We're briefly discussing strategy, then sending ourselves up to Senator Murray's office, followed by Senator Cantwell's office, to let our elected officials know how important we believe a fair election to be. If you're interested in participating, but unavailable at 9:00 AM, give me a call and I'll let you know the "skinny" is on what you can do... I am hoping to have this go on all day, so night people can get in on the action, too! My contact info is 206-789-4397 hm, 206-383-9738 mobile or email me at forrestajackson@earthlink.net." William Rivers Pitt pleads "Stand Up, Senator" from truthout.org. Intelligence Squad offers us, "The Democrats’ Last Chance to Reveal a Spine."

Dean, the Democratic Party and the DNC (Continued)

AlterNet did this interview with Howard Dean in December. Tidbit: "What about the job as head of the DNC – how is it going? Well, that is a complicated background dance, behind the scenes with the some of same phenomenon we're talking about here – the need for change. There is enormous angst in Democratic Party, among those who are running it, whose grip is slipping and the push toward decentralization." New York magazine handicaps the race in "Chair War." They even give you odds on each candidate, if you're a gambler. The tone of the article makes me ashamed of my hometown. Only decent quotes: "[I’ve] concluded it’s faster to change the party from the inside,” he told Tim Russert. Dean has surprised DNC voters by mounting the most methodical, persistent campaign. “Howard has been workin’ it,” says one Democrat who’s been on the receiving end of pro-Dean e-mails and phone calls." Update: Jerome Armstrong on MyDD catches up with recent developments in "DNC Chair CattleCall: New Year Edition." Tempting morsel: "Under the radar, Dean's campaign has the most persisent targeting of the party activists (where the votes are) with emails and phone calls. It's a campaign, and Dean's running." Update: Ickes, Kirk Pull Out of DNC Chair Race. The Beltway (WA Post) speaks: "Field of Candidates for DNC Chairman Narrows to Four." From "The Hill": "Murtha: Give Dean DNC chair" ---The endorsement of the leading antiwar presidential candidate by one of the Democrats’ most prominent early supporters of the Iraq invasion signals a rehabilitation of Dean’s image in the House and greatly increases his prospects of leading the party, many Democratic lawmakers and aides said." MyDD adds this: "Kirk out, "Give it to Dean" says Rep. Murtha." Free sample: "This is great news for Dean, a real breakthrough has occurred. As for Pelosi, she's really dug herself into a hole on this race..."

Kerry Will Be MIA on Thursday for Conyers Ohio Vote Challenge (UPDATED)

"When Congress meets in a special joint session Thursday to count electoral ballots from the presidential race, Sen. John F. Kerry will be noticeably absent - thousands of miles away on a fact-finding trip in the Middle East."-from the story this morning in the Boston Herald. Less surprising is this AP story, "Bush Asks Judge to Toss Ohio Election Suit." David Swanson posts this, "More Trials and Tribulations for Ohio" on the ILCA site, from Tova Andrea Wang of The Century Foundation. Political Wire quotes Slate's Mickey Kaus: new leaked exit poll "vindicates bloggers who posted results early on election day." Update: To get an idea of Kerry's current game plan, see this from today's Boston Globe: "Kerry's skills on display in Mideast trip." Thom Hartmann writes on Common Dreams, "Dialing In For Democracy - Now Is Critical." Radio Inside Scoop will webcast "Challenging the Presidential Electors," Wednesday at noon, PST. Update: This article in counterpunch asks, "Is There One Senator Who Will Stand Up for Black Voters?" Courtesy of "Ben Cohen-the ice cream guy," you can send a message to your US Senators: "No More Ohios."

''Democracy for Washington: Organizational meeting this Saturday, January 8th!!'

Check out the agenda, rsvp and see the responses to their "State Party Chair Questionnaire" from the four candidates. on their site

GOP Turns Its ''Wrath'' On State Election Process

In spite of Secretary of State Sam Reed's certification of a Gregoire victory and claims from numerous sources that "vote discrepancies"--- referring to public records that show nearly 8,500 more ballots than voters in five counties-- are normal immediately after elections, "Republicans laid the groundwork Monday for a potential legal challenge to the governor's election," according to the story in tonight's P-I. Former Governor Dan Evans added his name to the list of public officials, all Republican, who want a revote. "King County election workers will allow Republican observers to watch as they try to reconcile the voter list, with results expected by the end of the week," the P-I story says. Adding to the GOP push for a revote is a story on KING5 televison tonight that offers poll results claiming 59% of "not just registered voters, but a sampling of residents across the state" want a revote. The poll also said 56% thought Rossi had won the election. While admitting that public opinion "may change again." the KING 5 story and its poll results raise the spectre of "uncertainty" about the results and fuel doubts about the accuracy of the vote count. Don't expect the spin wars to end anytime soon. Update: The P-I's Olympia beat reporter checks in Tuesday morning with "Rossi given fresh hope as 'mystery voters' grow," a headline that seems to advance the GOP story line. But the article goes on to offer explanations for the problem and quotes former Governor Dan Evans: ""Democracy may be messy, but its principles are why it still serves us best," Evans wrote for the Web site www.revotewa.com "If we screw up the implementation, let's go back to the principles. The voters' will is paramount." He proposed a special election next month. Yesterday, Evans said his appetite for a revote depends heavily on how King County answers questions about the 3,500-vote difference between voter rolls and certified ballots. "If they can explain that and there are no other significant errors, in spite of the fact of a close election, it's time to say 'OK, we'll accept it,' " Evans said." Tuesday's morning edition of the Seattle Times has, "Rossi backers push for revote." Dan Evans is quoted again: "But former Gov. Dan Evans, who lent his name and support to the group, said he doesn't think the Democratic-controlled Legislature convening next week is likely to give Rossi satisfaction. Instead, Evans said, if Republicans find credible evidence that puts the election outcome in doubt, Rossi needs to contest the election in court." The article also offers the following on the subject of the alleged discrepancies: "But election officials in three of the other counties cited by Vance said he had his facts wrong. "We hear these allegations, but no one called our county to let us know where these numbers came from," Kitsap County Auditor Karen Flynn said. Pierce and Kitsap county officials said Republicans apparently based their analysis on post-election registration lists that don't include the names of previously "inactive" voters who voted Nov. 2, or of voters whose names were taken off the registration list after voting." The KOMO News website repeats much of the material from the Seattle Times story.

''The Unexplained Exit Poll Discrepancy''

This is a new revision of the paper by Steven Freeman from the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Organizational Dynamics. If can get through this and understand it, you should probably be able to get some course credit. If you are able to digest it and send me something I can post, I have a gift for you. Update: Jesse Jackson has kicked it up a notch with this: "Jackson and civil rights lawyers who were also on the conference call said they would like access to a laptop belonging to Karl Rove, Bush's political adviser, to determine what communication was transmitted between Rove and Ohio Republicans during the election."-from BlackAmericaWeb.com tonight. Update: I received the first attempt to decipher the Freeman paper from the local blogger known as "Sleepless," for those of you who lived on the Blog for America in 2004: "The guy says the odds of all three 'battleground' states having skewed exit poll data are 666,000 to 1 --- well nigh impossible. Probably about the same odds of you being hit by lightning while being eaten by a grizzly. He also states that all the other lame excuses being used by the networks to discredit the polls --- too many of one gender, Bush voters not wanting to be interviewed, talking to people early in the day ---are horseshit." Sleepless is a plain-talker!

''A Media Blackout: Media Whites Out Vote Fraud''

Violating the maxin that if you keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result you are crazy, I am posting this from ILCA Online today. While we're on the subject of the media, here's "Pundit Pap-Spin Tsunami" from the American Politics Journal. They focus their wrath on Tim Russert, never a bad thing to do. More media (some spots the white out missed): "Count Every Vote: On Radio This Week." Update: Another violation of the Media Blackout today: "Ten preliminary reasons why the Bush vote does not compute, and why Congress must investigate rather than certify the Electoral College (Part One of Two)," from the Columbus Free Press. Pithy quote: "This list involves very large totals of uncounted, tainted or fraudulent votes. Taken together, they exceed Bush's margin of victory in Ohio." Update: In Columbus, Ohio "Election Reform Rally Planned," has this: "A group will rally in Columbus today in favor of national election reform and to call attention to Thursday's joint session of Congress where it's expected to certify the election results." Ed Schultz spent some time today on his Air America show talking about Conyers, Senator Boxer and Thursday's joint session of Congress. The Cleveland Plain Dealer starts its story this morning on this subject with this: "With Congress set to certify the presidential vote this week, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and the Rev. Jesse Jackson tried Sunday to keep Ohio's election in the spotlight." Ed Schultz has a reporter on scene in Columbus, Ohio from the rally contesting the election results there right now on AM1090 in Seattle, the Air America affiliate here, KPTK. Callers to his show are keeping the issue on the air. Update: "Will John Kerry Report for Duty?" makes this observation: "John Kerry may have one more chance to “report for duty.” On Jan. 6, after the new Congress convenes, he could join with Reps. John Conyers, Maxine Waters and other members of the House of Representatives in supporting their expected motion for a full-scale investigation of Election 2004, particularly the widespread allegations of voting fraud in the pivotal state of Ohio."

''Howard Dean in Utah for Cousin's Inauguration''

Well, at least it's somebody's inauguration. He'll also be in Park City UT tonight for a Dem fundraiser. Stop by, if you're in the area. If you're on the DNC and live in Utah, expect a call, or maybe a drop-in visit. Update: "Washington activist decides to run for national Democratic chairman" is all over the place, from the AP. When they say "Washington," they mean the one in the Beltway, so the word "activist" was probably the result of some serious "framing." Can you guess the name of the individual making the run? Update: Another hat in the ring: "Fowler Surfaces (DNC Chair's Race)" from MyDD.

Dems New Repub ''Best Friend'': Sam Reed

From today's Seattle Times article, "Republican Reed faces GOP wrath over recount decisions": "There are some people who have been dismayed that I wasn't a Katherine Harris who took the position, 'I'm a Republican, and by God that comes first.' " It would have been really brave to use Blackwell as his example, but then again, he still has to live in the Republican party, as does Ralph Munro, who comes to Reed's defense. "Wrath"--"great anger: fury often marked by a desire for vengeance."

Kerry Speaks (Kinda) (UPDATED)

"NEWSWEEK EXCLUSIVE: Kerry on Post-Election: 'I'm Not Going to Lick My Wounds or Hide Under a Rock or Disappear. I'm Going to Learn: Acknowledges He Failed to Connect to Voters on Personal Level; of His Intensely Loyal Supporters, Says 'Those are the People I Let Down''-from the PRNewswire summary. Here's the full story: 'I'm Going to Learn.' Update: No word on Senator Kerry's postion on the challenge to the Ohio vote, but here's the latest from Columbus: "Vote challengers accuse Blackwell of trying to let 'clock run out'."

Inaugural Day Events in Seattle

Dina Lydia sends along this post from Kos and this link to a poster for a "NOT IN OUR NAME" rally at Westlake on January 20th, 2pm. There is also a rally later that day at 5pm, in front of the Federal Building, sponsored by Seattle ANSWER (Act Now Stop War End Racism) . Info: 206-568-1661.

DNC or Dean NC?

This morning's LA Times article, "Democrats Split Again Over Party's Agenda" casts the current plight of the national Democratic party in the mainstream media's favorite terms, "liberal" versus "centrist." I prefer "netroots" versus "Beltway", if we are going to be engaging in media hyperbole. From The Smirking Chimp which alerts us to the article, "The Ninth Level": "Following their most recent electoral disaster, establishment Democrats concluded that the party lost because it was overly faithful to the principles of the Democratic rank and file. In order to rectify this error, former Congressman Tim Roemer has been recruited to oppose Howard Dean for the Democratic National Committee chairmanship, and to do so by advocating that the party “moderate” its stance on reproductive rights. Specifically, Roemer stresses attracting socially conservative voters by having the Democrats support the criminalization of late term abortions. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (who is ostensibly pro-choice) and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (who is ostensibly pro-Democrat) are encouraging Roemer to pursue his vulgar undertaking. Despite Pelosi’s reputation, she is not a liberal in any meaningful sense of the term, and Reid is not a liberal in any sense of the term. The Democratic Congressional leaders are loath to confront the Republicans who are ruining this country, but eager to sell out women for political advantage." The author, by the way, is not a woman.

Sunday Election News

This morning's Seattle Times says "Liberals hope Gregoire will repay support." "Why?" you ask: "Former presidential candidate Howard Dean sent an e-mail asking his supporters to donate through the state party's Web site. At least $200,000 was raised, though party officials say they can't say how much of that was due to Dean's solicitation. She stood and fought, and has been rewarded by progressives who were willing to help raise money," said Ray Minchew, executive director of Democracy for Washington. The group is a local offshoot of Dean's Democracy for America. "I think she needs to remember that progressives came through for her in her hour of need, and they will want to be acknowledged in her administration and policy guidance," Minchew said. They saw her drawn-out struggle with Republican Dino Rossi as a surrogate for the battles they had hoped to wage on behalf of first Al Gore, then John Kerry, in their close races with George W. Bush. Bill Moyer, founder of the Backbone Campaign said Gregoire should continue to talk about election reform. His group is promoting a Voters Bill of Rights it wants in the national Democratic Party Platform. He'd like to see Gregoire back their calls for a verified paper trail of electronic votes, for making Election Day a national holiday and for instant run-off voting. "If Washington state could lead in that regard that would be a wonderful way for Christine Gregoire to pay back a debt to the progressive movement," Moyer said. In San Francisco, a coalition of community leaders including the Executive Director, San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO) and DOLORES HUERTA, United Farm Workers co-founder and civil rights leader will be presenting thousands of voter petitions to urge U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer to Join House Leaders in Challenging the 2004 Election Results. From today's Baltimore Sun: "2004 recount highlights problems once again." The Boston Globe has, "Candidates want second Ohio recount." "Why?" you ask: "counties did not randomly select precincts for the manual recount and some workers altered votes to prevent a full hand count." The Columbus Free Press has several new articles on the Ohio vote.

''One word: Preposterous'' (UPDATED)

Somehow I missed this editorial yesterday in the P-I. I hate to admit it (they are the dreaded mainstream press), but I think they got it right about the governor's race. By the way, let's not forget who provided the first big chunk of change for the recount: the Dean netroots who responded to a request from "HD." Update: I ran across this "Local News" story from the Tacoma News Tribune, "Sam Reed: Behind the sound bite." I could easily imagine his next campaign ad as I read it over. The guy is getting a favorable reaction these days from almost everbody except the local Rovians. Update: This post from ZNet makes the case that Rossi's reason for a revote, i.e. the election should produce someone who "should enter office without any doubt about the legitimacy of his or her office" and that the people of Washington "deserve to know that (the victor) ... was elected fair and square." is really more applicable to Ohio than Washington state. "BALLOT SCAMMING-POLLSTERS, MEDIA IMPLICATED IN VOTE FRAUD," on AmericanFreePress.com focuses on the relationship between exit polls, the media and the vote counters.

''What's up for 2005''

In this new post Friday night, Jerome Armstrong on MyDD correctly places the rise of the netroots and Howard Dean in the forefront of the events that have gotten us to this place: "we now have the momentum to follow through with the transformation of the Democratic Party. In 2005, here's what will further the reform: 1. Howard Dean as DNC Chair."

''Raw exit data, November 2, 2004'' (UPDATED)

I'm no exit poll geek, so you'll have to figure these out on your own. They were released by the New Zealand outlet, Scoop. Let me know if you distill any truth from this data. Update: Here's a pinch of commentary on the data from Suburban Guerilla.