Message-ID: <21751585.1075854645777.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2000 20:46:00 -0800 (PST) From: bushnews@georgewbush.com To: ebass@enron.com Subject: Bush News Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: "Bush News" X-To: X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Eric_Bass_Dec2000\Notes Folders\Discussion threads X-Origin: Bass-E X-FileName: ebass.nsf Unsubscribe/address change links are at bottom. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Want to help? Forward this e-mail to your friends, then, if you have not yet given, contribute to the Bush Cheney Recount here: https://www.econtributor.net/Contribution/Contribution.cfm?AID=IVFFBXFAZHGH AOL contribution link at bottom. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bush News http://www.georgewbush.com AOL: GeorgeWBush.com Contents: 1 Controversy Rages Over Military Absentee Ballots 2 NY Post Editorial: A Desperate Man, A Desperate Act 3 Why Hand Counting Is Unfair and Inaccurate 4 Time.com: Daley, Christopher Try To Keep Hill Democrats From Abandoning Gore 5 Associated Press: Christopher Said to Influence Tally 6 UPI Commentary: Beckel Digging Up Dirt to Influence Electors _________________________________________________________________ 1 Controversy Rages Over Democratic Effort to Suppress Military Absentee Ballots "...I happen to believe that, the military personal who sent their ballots in, should be allowed and should be counted... And I think we should look into it, because we realize that when some of those ballots were sent off, many times the aircraft or the other vehicle utilized to transport them had to get on and they had to leave without the post marks. So I think the military should have some latitude in allowing those individuals to vote...." - Sheila Jackson Lee, MSNBC's Hardball, 11/18/00 "...if he wins he is going to be Commander and Chief, I think he [Gore] ought to weigh into this and say, 'I really want this straightened out because it is only fair and right to do that.'" - David Gergen, MSNBC's Hardball, 11/18/00 "I mean, here we are -- a week ago, we were having the groundbreaking for the World War II Memorial, we were all praising veterans and servicemen. This week, President Clinton is in Vietnam talking about reconciliation, and it all involves veterans and all involves active duty service personnel. And it seems to me that just in fairness...I think the general statement ought to be, 'Let's make every effort to count these ballots.'" - Bob Dole, NBC's Meet the Press, 11/19/00 Tim Russert: "Will you today, as a representative of the Gore campaign, ask every county to relook at those ballots that came from armed services people and waive any so- called irregularities or technicalities which would disqualify them?" Senator Joseph Lieberman: "I don't know that I have that authority. I don't believe I do legally or in any other way." - NBC's Meet the Press, 11/19/00 _________________________________________________________________ 2 NY Post Editorial A Desperate Man, A Desperate Act 11/19/00 "How dare you, Al Gore? "How dare you steal the right to vote from young Americans serving their country overseas? "From young soldiers and sailors sworn to defend unto death the right of Americans to select their leaders - one vote per person, one vote at a time? "These are the real questions now facing the nation. "Everything else is clutter. "Friday afternoon, Gore strode purposefully to a bank of microphones outside the vice-presidential mansion in Washington and said: "'The American people want to make certain that every vote counts and that every vote is counted fairly and accurately.'" "So far, so good. "Then came word that Gore campaign operatives, armed with a detailed how-to memo from Democratic lawyer Mark Herron, were working furiously to trash military absentee ballots - presumably because these votes were deemed more likely to be for George W. Bush than for Al Gore." Full Editorial: http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/editorial/16182.htm _________________________________________________________________ 3 Why Hand Counting Is Unfair and Inaccurate PALM BEACH COUNTY ~ Taping chads to ballots. At least two witnesses noted ballots with tape over the chad of hole three, the Governor Bush hole. Teresa LePore, the election supervisor, brushed off these mistakes. ~ Bush ballots in the Gore pile. Both Friday night and Saturday morning, Bush ballots were found in the Gore pile to be counted as Gore votes. A Democratic observer found these. The Democrat observer later apologized to the Republican counterpart, telling him that the stack of ballots was different the prior night and had been sabotaged. Example: ~ Jim Williams, a Republican observer, witnessed Democrat observers picking up a handful of Gore ballots and finding several Bush ballots. They tried to explain why Bush and Gore ballots were mixed together but couldn't. ~ Instead of pulling out the Bush ballots, Teresa LePore stacked all the ballots and put them into a box without any explanation to the counters or Palm Beach Canvassing Board Chairman Judge Charles Burton. ~ Ballots as fans. The Chairman of the Palm Beach Canvassing Board -- Judge Burton -- warned counters to not use ballots to fan themselves. ~ Elderly counters overworked and burned out. Counters are working from 7AM to 10PM each day -- sometimes even later. Counters, many of whom are elderly, are exhausted, angry and burned out. The room is poorly lit. On Thursday night at 1AM, an elderly counter dropped 20 to 50 ballots over the floor, creating a huge scene. Other observers stepped on the ballots. ~ In two precincts, the result has been so flawed that a second manual recount had to be conducted. ~ Counters are provided with no instruction and little guidance. Because the Commission is canvassing at the same time that people count, counters often roam the room with their hands in the air, asking for guidance. BROWARD COUNTY ~ Democrats who are observers one day are ballot inspectors for the county the next. Steven Michaelson of the public defender's office admitted in court Friday that Democrats are serving as both observers and ballot inspectors. ~ Different standards at different tables. There are untrained inspectors at one table telling new inspectors at the next table how to conduct the count. Affidavits from Florida residents serving as Republican observers state that there is confusion, multiple touching and passing of ballots between inspectors, moving precinct ballots from one table to the next after the ballots were already being counted, etc. ~ Conflicting statements. A Broward County attorney said a manual count requires machine error, yet the board reversed their earlier decision and began a manual count despite no machine problems. Canvassing Board Chairman Judge Lee stated before the initial vote that there was no evidence of equipment problems, and that he was surprised by the very small number of changes discovered (+4 for Gore). ~ Falling chad on the floor, on the counting tables, on chairs, etc. There is no reasonable assurance to voters that the canvassing board has a system in place to ensure the integrity and security of the ballots. The canvassing board ignored a request by Republicans to stop the counting until they do so. Election officials, specifically Judge Lee, have simply expressed that the chad should be brushed on the floor. After the first day of counting, 78 chad were collected from the ground and tables. ~ Considering altering the rules to include "dimpled" ballots. Despite being a quarter of the way through the manual recount (approx. 160 precincts), the Broward County board is now considering including "dimpled" ballots as votes. This has been the centerpiece of the Gore strategy to gain additional votes. _________________________________________________________________ 4 Time.com DALEY, CHRISTOPHER TRY TO KEEP HILL DEMOCRATS FROM ABANDONING GORE 11/19/00 "Late last week, Gore campaign chairman Bill Daley and former Secretary of State Warren Christopher quietly informed the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, Dick Gephardt and Tom Daschle, that if Gore couldn't win on the hand recounts, the campaign would fold its tent, sources told TIME. They cautioned that 'the principals aren't there yet' --Gore and Joe Lieberman weren't yet ready to go along - 'but they will be.' Daley and Christopher would find a way to get the message to them, TIME reports in its current issue.... "Gephardt feared that if Florida's secretary of state Katherine Harris certified a Bush victory, House Democrats would start abandoning Gore. 'People are saying, Enough is enough,' a leading Democrat said Friday. 'It's time to be a good loser.' To buy time, Gephardt organized a Friday- afternoon conference call for Lieberman and House Democrats. About 120 phoned in to hear Lieberman's pep talk." Full Release: http://www.time.com/time/pr/scoop.html _________________________________________________________________ 5 Associated Press GORE CAMPAIGN ATTEMPTS PRESSURE TACTICS 11/18/00 "Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher called the Democratic lawyer for Palm Beach County's elections supervisor to try to get the attorney to use his influence to assure a manual recount would be conducted there, the lawyer says. "Christopher, who is leading the Gore campaign's recount effort in Florida, made the phone call Thursday morning to Bruce Rogow, who represents elections supervisor Theresa LePore. "'It was an effort to have me persuade my client to vote in favor of starting the manual recount on Thursday. I told him no. I told him we'd have to wait,'" Rogow said. "Rogow said he didn't consider it appropriate for Christopher or Dershowitz to try to 'persuade me to give certain advice to my client.'" Full Release: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20001118/el/recount_pressure_2.html _________________________________________________________________ 6 UPI Commentary SLEAZE, SLEAZE, SLEAZE 11/18/00 "Desperate to win the White House, Democrats have used several strategies to set up a victory at the end of the day.... "Elector is a position of public trust, so some level of scrutiny is fair. What is not fair, and is, in fact sinister, are revelations that Bob Beckel, Democrat solon, occasional host of Crossfire, and campaign manager for Walter Mondale's failed 1984 presidential bid, may be engaged in some of the most vile skullduggery since Watergate. "It is an admittedly strong metaphor but frighteningly appropriate. Since the morning after the election, there have been rumors afoot that some in the Democrat party might make serious attempts to switch votes in the Electoral College. "If Bush wins Florida, he becomes president by one more electoral vote than the required 270. If three Republican electors switch to Gore, the Tennessean gains a majority and wins the White House. "According to reports in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere, Beckel, who has close ties to Gore recount team leader Warren Christopher, is engaged in an opposition research project targeting Republican electors. "Calling his efforts 'information gathering,' he says he is working independently of the Gore campaign. "Bill Daley, the vice president's campaign chairman, has publicly shied away from any talk of lobbying electors. 'I think there is a presumption that those members who are voting, vote based upon the election," he has said. 'I believe the vast majority of them are legally bound. And I would assume if you're legally bound, you believe you're morally bound.' "Anyone in politics knows 'opposition research' is a polite synonym for digging up dirt. The threat explicit in Beckel's project is that the lives of electors are going to be examined and given the same treatment Larry Flynt gave former Republican Congressman Bob Livingston. "Beckel told the Journal his procedure is to 'call on mostly Democrats, but some Republicans too, and ask 'Who are these electors, and what do you know about them?' That is what blackmailers do too. Democrats need to call, today, for Beckel to stop and use heavy hammers to insure that he does. The presidential election must not be decided based on late night phones calls to electors asking 'Hey buddy, who was that woman you went with to Las Vegas last year?' Decency and liberty demand it." Full Commentary: http://www.vny.com/cf/news/upidetail.cfm?QID=137052 _________________________________________________________________ AOL contribution link: Contribute _________________________________________________________________ Paid for by Bush Cheney Recount http://www.georgewbush.com ============================================================================== To unsubscribe, please go here: http://www.georgewbush.com/unsubscribe.asp?email=EBASS@ENRON.COM To change your e-mail address or any other subscription information, please go here: http://www.georgewbush.com/MyGeorgeW.asp