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To: Mao II who wrote (38)	11/26/2000 9:09:11 PM
From: Mao II	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 84

Bush backer expands role to command protesters BY JACQUELINE CHARLES jcharles@herald.com Until recently, Paul Crespo's support for George W. Bush was limited to social mixers and community service activities such as painting a school building. After all, that is how members of YP4W (Young Professionals for George W. Bush), a national organization of 20- to 40-year-olds, decided to drum up support for their presidential choice prior to the Nov. 7 presidential election. But in the last few weeks, Crespo, 36, has been coordinating more than social get togethers. As the local coordinator for YP4W, he is the man behind at least 100 Bush observers, many from out-of-state, who have come to South Florida to watch the recounting of ballots. And he is the local GOP contact, he said, for those appearing in Miami-Dade and Broward to protest hand recounts. ''Never in my wildest dreams did I think Florida would be the center of a political and electoral crisis,'' said Crespo, a Cuban American who lives in Coral Gables. Some of Crespo's observers staged Wednesday's raucous protest inside the Miami-Dade governmental center, though he insists the demonstration was spontaneous. Some of his charges were also outside the Broward County Courthouse on Saturday. ''I have about a dozen lawyers and accountants who have signed up to observe,'' Crespo said Saturday while standing on the sidewalk outside the courthouse as hundreds of sign-waving Republicans shouted their support for Bush. Like other Republicans associated with the Bush campaign, Crespo wouldn't say much about the organization of the demonstrators. He said only that after Miami-Dade elections officials decided to end the recount Wednesday, he got ''dozens of questions that said 'Now what?' '' ''That's when I started coordinating,'' he said. A Los Angeles native, Crespo said he has been a homeowner in Miami-Dade for eight years, though he officially moved here just two years ago. He works as an international consultant for a small firm. His job is to help assess the political risks for companies looking to invest in foreign countries. Before joining the firm two years ago, Crespo said, he served briefly as the executive director for a Washington, D.C., firm working with Fortune 500 companies interested in investing in Cuba after the end of the Fidel Castro regime. Crespo said that before that he served as a captain in the U.S. Marines and had been in the Middle East and the Balkans. But politics have always been in his heart, Crespo said, though until now his involvements has been only minimal. ''When you grow up hearing about how your family lost everything and had to leave the country with just two suitcases, you realize politics have a direct influence on your life,'' Crespo said. ''If you don't do something, other people will do it for you.'' miamiherald.com

To: Mao II who wrote (38)	11/27/2000 12:54:23 AM
From: bela_ghoulashi	Respond to of 84

A few salient passages from the previous two posts: "Rep. Jerry Nadler says the demonstrators, none of whom were detained by police or touched anyone, represented "a whiff of fascism in the air." But none of the three members of Miami-Dade's election board were intimidated. One member of the board, David Leahy, says he saw only "a noisy, peaceful protest." He told the Los Angeles Times, "I was not intimidated by that protest. I saw it for what it was." "Neither Nadler nor Hastings was at the demonstration."