To: upanddown who wrote (78576 ) 11/11/2000 2:35:56 AM From: Douglas V. Fant Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 95453 John, No indeed we do not have to concern ourselves about the Republican Party officials since they will not be present at any by-hand recount in Vollusia, Broward, and Palm Counties. It would be Democratic Officials and the local County Election Officials- who are also Democrats. That is a situation fraught with potential fraud and abuse. Monday the State will consider the request to recount for another time ballots by hand in these three heavily Democratic Counties. Quite frankly the answer should be a resounding "no". Count the overseas ballots and whoever the single recount shows winning, wins. IMO if the State approves a second recount of three Democratic Counties by hand just specially for Mssr Gore's benefit the Republicans better be at the courthouse to seek an injunction against that sort tom- foolery. Next also IMO, Al Gore's behavior the last few days has been anything but leader-like and presidential. I now wonder if he would be capable of properly leading this nation through a crisis. I've been disappointed. Next now that you raised the "Clinton-Gore" legacy- Let's review what wonderful things that the two have done for the Democratic Party during their tenure. In eight years of Clinton- Gore since 1992, the Democrats have suffered a net loss of around 50 seats in the US House of Representatives and a net loss of 8 seats in the US Senate. Indeed we may see an entirely Republican Federal Government for the first time in almost 50 years- since the Eisenhower post- WWII era. And now running on the strength of the best economy in years and the strength of the incumbency, Mssr. Gore could not even manage to garner 50% of the US vote, and also managed to lose his "home state" of Tennessee (using the term "home state" loosely since Mssr. Gore has lived in Washington for 20+ years). And if New Mexico flips back to Mssr Bush (Mssr Bush is now leading late tonight), Mssr Gore will have failed to carry a single state in almost the entire American heartland- 30 states. Finally Mssrs. Clinton-Gore also managed to spawn Ralph Nader's Green Party, which sits there and shoots flaming arrows at the Democrats from the left. So this Mssr. Rogan lost his seat? Can't say that I know him or care really. However his only solitude may be that row upon row of Democrats have also disappeared from the U.S. Congress in the last eight years....Stacked like cordwood like the dead soldiers from Pickett's Charge. Perhaps the Democratic Party would be better off if it looked inward, accepted blame for these problems, and sought to rectify them rather than seeking third parties such as the Republicans to blame their losses on....Just IMO. And finally would you like me to put in print some of the things that I personally sat in meetings and myself heard DNC officials discuss doing at our agency in the 1980 Presidential election? Then perhaps you'd understand why I believe that the American people need to keep a "sharp eye" on these "by-hand" recounts requested for three counties in Florida....