| Is this corruption beyond any other election and does Gregoire rightfully have the governer job? |
| Yes, to both. Washington needs a revote. |
|
66% |
[ 2 ] |
| Yes, to one or the other (explain). |
|
0% |
[ 0 ] |
| No. Gregoire has the right. |
|
33% |
[ 1 ] |
|
| Total Votes : 3 |
|
| Author |
Message |
Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
|
 Thu Jan 13, 2005 5:54 pm 2000 Election Debacle? Try the Washington Governors Race |
|
18,000 more people voted than eligable voters in one county in Washington.
Dead people voted.
The Democratic candidate won only 129 more votes. And this is BEYOND corruption--proven so. A revote is DEFINITELY necessary. And for those of you that complained over the 2000 election, I hope you'll complain about this, too.
52% of Washingtonians think the Republican won, and the majority of the state wants a revote.
| Quote: |
Gregoire sworn in; GOP holds applause
By Andrew Garber and Ralph Thomas
Seattle Times Olympia bureau
OLYMPIA � Christine Gregoire became the state's 22nd governor yesterday with a call for unity, but Republican legislators were a brooding presence during her 45-minute inaugural address.
They barely acknowledged her entrance and exit, and most greeted her applause lines with silence.
"I figured they'd walk out," said former Democratic Gov. Booth Gardner, who contrasted the cool reception to friendlier ones he received as governor. "I was thinking she was hoping they wouldn't walk out."
Gregoire forged ahead with an upbeat speech about her plans, and asked Republicans to put the hard feelings behind.
"I believe the voters have given all of us a mandate � a mandate to overcome our differences, and to solve problems," she said to a standing ovation � from Democrats.
GOP lawmakers were bitter that Democrats defeated their efforts to delay yesterday's swearing-in by two weeks, to give courts time to consider a challenge by Republican Dino Rossi, who lost to Gregoire by 129 votes in a hand recount in one of the closest statewide races in U.S. history.
"The message is, we should have not rushed," said Sen. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, one of several lawmakers wearing orange ribbons as a sign of support for Rossi. "Maybe we'll have to do this all over again."
Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, took it a step further, skipping the swearing-in ceremony, which he called "adding insult to injury."
"Rather than participate in these formalities, I'd rather wait and see who the real governor is," said Swecker.
Republican leaders downplayed the bitterness, saying they recognize, for now, that Gregoire is governor, and asserting that their members were respectful, if not enthusiastic. "We're absolutely ready to work with her," said Sen. Bill Finkbeiner, R-Kirkland, the Senate minority leader.
For her part, Gregoire reached out to Republicans in the address, talking about how much of an ordeal the election was. "And so my heart goes out to, my sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to Sen. Rossi and his family," she said.
Parts of the speech that got vigorous applause from her supporters included references to the need to give pay raises to state employees and teachers.
Gregoire's invited guests to the inaugural address included people who were key campaign supporters and recount backers, such as State Labor Council President Rick Bender and Charles Hasse, president of the Washington Education Association.
Her speech was short on specifics and gave only a few hints as to how she plans to approach the coming session.
Gregoire, who last month called the state's election system a "model to the rest of the nation and to the world at large," said she plans to create a task force headed by Secretary of State Sam Reed to come up with recommendations on how to improve the system.
Gregoire talked briefly about creating a $1 billion Life Sciences Discovery Fund, paid in part with tobacco-settlement money, to do research on diseases and agricultural crops. She mentioned setting a goal of providing health care to all children by 2010 and creating a new program to "hold state agencies accountable."
She also told lawmakers, after stressing the need for teacher and state-worker pay raises, that "we must not promise more than we can deliver," a nod to the fact the state faces a projected $1.8 billion budget deficit.
Gregoire did not mention taxes, a subject broached by her predecessor, Gary Locke, when he rolled out a budget proposal last month calling for $600 million in new taxes.
Locke, a mentor for the new governor, gave her inaugural speech high marks. "Great speech, great content, great delivery. ... I was proud."
Gregoire afterward headed to a long day of social events including receptions and the inaugural ball. A crush of lobbyists, politicians and other well-wishers swirled around her.
Republicans did not turn out in large numbers for the ball, but several prominent GOP lawmakers attended, including the party's leaders in the House and Senate.
Gardner said he expects the emotions to die quickly. He said it was a good sign that GOP lawmakers didn't walk out and were respectful during the inauguration.
Considering that Democrats control the governorship, state Senate and House, Republicans have to work with the opposing party or risk being pushed to the side, he said.
In fact, it only took a few minutes for the political jockeying to begin.
Hasse noted after Gregoire's speech that she'd told the teachers union she would not allow the Legislature to leave town without raising teacher pay. "We will make sure that promise is kept," said Hasse.
Republicans were positioning themselves for an expected push to raise taxes, saying Gregoire is promising too much given the projected budget shortfall. "We have a hard time seeing how she can pay for all the things she talked about without a tax increase," Finkbeiner said.
Andrew Garber: 360-236-8268 or [email protected]. Seattle Times reporters Christina Siderius and David Postman contributed to this report.
Copyright � 2005 The Seattle Times Company
Source |
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
|
|
|
Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
|
| Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:20 pm |
|
Allow me to add this article:
| FOX News wrote: | Gregoire Inaugurated Amid Legal Challenge
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
OLYMPIA, Wash. � Democrat Christine Gregoire (search), winner of one of the closest governor's races in U.S. history, was inaugurated Wednesday amid a legal challenge that could undo her election.
A roar of approval went up from fellow Democrats as Gregoire raised her hand and took the oath of office before a joint session of the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
Republicans, who had battled unsuccessfully to delay her inauguration, gave her a frosty reception. During her 45-minute speech, they mostly sat in stony silence, sitting during several standing ovations.
"This is not an easy time to lead," said Gregoire, a scrappy three-term attorney general who took on the tobacco industry. "Many have asked how I can govern without a clear mandate from the voters. I believe the voters have given all of us a mandate � a mandate to overcome our differences and to solve problems."
Backers of her Republican rival, Dino Rossi (search), continue to push for a whole new election to decide the race.
Rossi watched the ceremony on television at his "Rossi Revote Headquarters," and said, "Most people believe that Washington does not have a legitimately elected governor."
Although the state is dependably Democratic, Gregoire lost the first count in the Nov. 2 election by 261 votes and a machine recount by 42 votes. But she pulled ahead in a final hand recount ordered by Democrats, winning by just 129 votes out of 2.9 million ballots cast.
Ever since Rossi lost the hand recount, Republicans have said widespread irregularities, including votes cast by felons and dead people, spoiled the election to the point where it is impossible to truly know who won.
Republicans also point to the admission of officials in King County, a Democratic stronghold and the state's largest county, that they cannot match more than a thousand votes to actual voter names.
Invoking a rarely used law that allows an election "contest," Republicans have asked the courts to set aside the election and order a redo.
The case is expected to end up in the state Supreme Court.
One sign of how unsettled the race remains is the $730,000 Democrats paid for the hand recount, which is supposed to be refunded when the count reverses the results of the election. Secretary of State Sam Reed (search) is holding on to the deposit until the courts rule.
Gregoire didn't apologize or acknowledge the continuing legal battle, but in a late insert to her prepared speech, she reached out to Rossi.
"Trust me, there is no one in the state of Washington who knows how grueling the campaign has been, and the two recounts, than my husband and our two daughters," Gregoire said. "So my heart goes out, my sincere appreciation and thanks, go out to Sen. Rossi and his family for all they have done and the personal commitment they have made on behalf of the citizens of the state of Washington."
Gregoire, 57, said the state is more unified than might be apparent from the disputed election. Voters everywhere want good-paying jobs, affordable health care, efficient government, good schools and a clean environment, she said. She also announced creation of a commission to look at election reform.
Meanwhile, a new judge was assigned Wednesday to Rossi's election challenge. Franklin County, which like all Washington counties is being sued by Rossi, objected to Chelan County Superior Court Judge T.W. Smalls, but did not give a reason.
His replacement, Chelan County Superior Court Judge John E. Bridges, on Wednesday granted motions by the Democratic and Libertarian parties to intervene in Rossi's case. A preliminary hearing was rescheduled from Friday to Jan. 20; it will deal mostly with scheduling, not the underlying issues.
"We hope the Democrats aren't going to try to stall this thing," Rossi spokeswoman Mary Lane said. "That's not going to be met with a lot of good feeling from the people of Washington."
Source |
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
|
|
|
Defiant
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 15946
Location: Oregon City, OR
|
| Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:21 pm |
|
Im with RM on this one, the vote at least.
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
Star Trek �, in all its various forms, are trademarks & copyrights of Paramount Pictures
This site has no official connection with Star Trek or Paramount Pictures
Site content/Site design elements owned by Morphy and is meant to only be an archive/Tribute to STV.com
|
Search
FAQ
Log in
