Put down the crack rock, step away from the glass pipe.

Your math is wrong. Your candidate did the gracious thing. Your string of hope is almost pathetic. Not only do you live in a state of denial, but you have conspiracy theories to keep your denial afloat. I pity you.

Stolen Hopes By: bleedingheartliberal Posted: Friday, November 05, 2004 on Speak Truth to Power Message Board: Democrat It was a surreal moment, after John Edwards announced in the early morning of November 3rd, that the fight for every vote would continue, word spread through my high school that Senator Kerry had conceded. I was devastated and in denial. What caused the sudden reversal of positions by the campaign in a mere 9 hour time frame? After a whole campaign of saying every vote would be counted, why was Senator Kerry conceding? He said that if all the votes were counted he would've still lost, and that there was "no chance" we could win the election. He lied. Greg Palast (Ya'll need to read this if you haven't Palast's article is is at http://www.gregpalast.com) has reported that there are 247,672 ballots still uncounted. Does that sound familiar? It should because that is what Mary Beth Cahill's statement about the estimated "250,000 uncounted votes" on November 3, 2004 said. That number, though immediately dismissed by pundits and conservative talking heads, however includes "discarded" ballots, like the "chad" ballots that could be reviewed through legal action. By my math Kerry would just nead roughly 55 percent of those uncounted votes to overtake the presiden'ts margin and win Ohio. So why not fight? He says he wants the country to "heal". I say there's more to his concession than that. As many of you know, insiders from the campaign say that Senator Edwards insisted adamantly on continuing the legal battle. From the tone of his early morning speech, that's what it seemed like. There are two possible scenarios here. Scenario one: Senator Kerry out of the goodness of his heart, and based on an extreme desire to begin to heal this wounded and divided nation conceded, so the country could move on. Scenario two: Something extreme, so outrageous factor influenced Senator Kerry to immediately concede, despite the advice of John Edwards. I go with scenario two. 55 percent of roughly 250,000 votes is definitely worth fighting for. I believe, and will always believe, that Senator Kerry was threatened and forced into concession.

You need to research your facts a little better. There was only 175,000 votes, not 250,000. And the general consensus is that only 10-20% of those would be valid. For him to win would mean that well over 3/4 would have to be valid and Kerry would have to have ALL of them go to him. Not possible and he knew it. That's why he gave up. Without Ohio he didn't stand a snowballs chance in hell.

"He said that if all the votes were counted he would've still lost, and that there was "no chance" we could win the election. He lied."

You obviously think Kerry is a liar.

"Senator Kerry out of the goodness of his heart.."

You obviously think Kerry would not do something good for the nation out of the goodness of his own heart.

"we can do what Senator Kerry can't/doesn't want to do, and try to fight for justice in Ohio"

You obviously do not think Kerry will fight for justice.

What isn't obvious is why you wish he was elected.......

There is still hope however, the DailyKos broke that there's an Ohio election law that allows 5 voters in a county to demand a recount of the votes. It has been researched and verified that there is such a law. So if we can get 5 voters out in every county we can do what Senator Kerry can't/doesn't want to do, and try to fight for justice in Ohio. If you know anyone there, then please let them know to demand a recount. There is a 5 day limit on this, so we must act fast.

This is false. the only way for a recount in Ohio is that the votes have to be within 1/4 of a percent. And that didn't happen, so it ain't happening. BTW who did the research?

Alright guys, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, out of Ohio there are 155,000 provisional ballots, and 92,672 discarded ballots. The total of potential ballots is 247,672. That's according to a Cleveland newspaper, not the mainstream media. Read for yourself here: Link

The problem is, those votes won't be counted unless legal action is taken. The democrats are holding back, and it is unfortunate.

Ok, here's the site with the Ohio election law on it concering the recount rules:
Link

Reply #7 By: bleedingheartliberal - 11/5/2004 2:27:14 AM Ok, here's the site with the Ohio election law on it concering the recount rules:

Okay I'll buy that.

Reversed Sun Oct 24, 2:32 AM ET By JOE KAY, Associated Press Writer CINCINNATI - A federal appeals court ruled Saturday that provisional ballots Ohio voters cast outside their own precincts should not be counted, throwing out a lower-court decision that said such ballots are valid as long as they are cast in the correct county. Related Links • Voting Issue-Related Cases in Ohio (FindLaw) The ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) supports an order issued by Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell. Democrats contend the Republican official's rules are too restrictive and allege they are intended to suppress the vote. Ohio Democrats on Saturday night decided not to file an appeal in the case, one of the first major tests of how such ballots will be handled in a close election. Polls show that the race between President Bush (news - web sites) and Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) in the key swing state is too close to call.

Remember Bush was ahead in Ohio by 130,000. Here's why Kerry conceded:

Votes to be Counted Kerry's campaign refused to concede Ohio or the election. ``We will fight for every vote,'' Senator John Edwards, Kerry's vice presidential candidate, told supporters in Boston. ``You deserve no less.'' Voters were allowed to cast provisional ballots if their names weren't on registration lists when they showed up at their polling place. Election officials must validate that the ballots were properly cast before counting them. With 78 of the 88 Ohio counties reporting, 135,149 provisional ballots had been issued, according to Carlo LoParo, Blackwell's spokesman. The 10 counties not reporting represented 10.5 percent of the provisional ballots four years ago. Blackwell instructed the remaining counties to submit their provisional ballots numbers by 2 p.m. Washington time today. He told the counties not to begin verifying any of the provisional ballots until tomorrow, after two conference calls he scheduled with the election boards. The Kerry campaign will have a limited number of avenues for legal challenges to the Ohio results, according to Ohio State University law professor Donald Tobin. Long Lines

They figure that only 10% of those 135,000 will be valid.

Dude, really, I'm as upset over this loss as the next guy is, but... Bush won. I'm havin' to deal with it. I've gone into rant mode myself, but I can't deny Kerry lost. I've taken a "sit down, but don't shut up" approach to this whole thing. You can, however, admit that Bush won and stop this Ohio recount stuff. There is no conspiracy theory, it was just high voter turnout, and the Republicans are the ones who showed up. Accept that much and maybe something else will come to you.

Let me reinforce what I'm trying to say: If Kerry were to depend on the provisional ballots alone, he would have to get almost all of them, that is unrealistic. But, by not pursuing legal action they are disregarding the 92,672 discounted ballots. These discounted ballots are the punch card ballots, like the ones used in Florida in 2000. Without legal action ONLY the provisional ballots would be counted and Kerry could not win. BUT, with legal action the provisional ballots and the "discarded" ballots where "voter intent" is in question there is a much greater chance that he could win Ohio. Again, counting the provisional and discarded ballots together, there are almost 250,000 votes and he would need only 55 percent of them to overtake Bush. Remember, he got his numbers from a Cleveland, Ohio newspaper, he didn't just make them up. Everyone PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE and the links Palast cites in it: Ohio Vote Situation

Greg Palast says exactly what his drones want to hear, that is why he was popular. Of course Palast would know more about the uncounted votes than Kerry or the Ohio election commission. Do you hear yourself?

REgardles of how many were left, THOSE WERE PROVISIONAL votes... there weren't going to all be valid. In some elections 10% or less end up being valid.

Sure, though, go on and pretend we jsut stole this election, too, like you did in 2000. It will keep the focus on the irrelevant and make a win in 2008 just as gratifying.

Reply #10 By: bleedingheartliberal - 11/5/2004 2:46:49 AM Let me reinforce what I'm trying to say: If Kerry were to depend on the provisional ballots alone, he would have to get almost all of them, that is unrealistic. But, by not pursuing legal action they are disregarding the 92,672 discounted ballots. These discounted ballots are the punch card ballots, like the ones used in Florida in 2000. Without legal action ONLY the provisional ballots would be counted and Kerry could not win.

You still don't get it. There is absolutlely NO way Kerry could win! Even if you brought in ALL 93,000 ballots they still figure only 10% of the provisional ballots will be valid. Now do the math. 10% of 155,000 is? 15,500. Now add the 93,000 ti the 15,500. Equals 108,000 Bush was ahead by 130,000. There ain't enough there even if all of them were for him.

I guess my efforts at talking some sense into this guy haven't worked.

Even IF this article was accurate, and even IF there was some conspiracy theory present, the fact of the matter is: Kerry conceded. Bush won. There's no use arguing that one, important point. You can, if you want, go on linking all the articles that you want but it won't change the facts of the matter and it won't rewind time. Factually speaking, my two "if" statements at the beginning are very highly unlikely if not downright impossible. Voters made a statement Tuesday. I may not like it, but I gotta admit I can't say it's not true. Try... just try to do the same thing.

Of course, what do I know, I'm just a Democrat.

Kerry has more self respect than people like Al Gore and Greg Palast. It reminds me of the Korean gymnist mess. Do you really want a Gold medal you had to rip from someone's hands by exploiting every possible technicality and greasing the wheels of justice? No. No one would have accepted Kerry OR Gore had they done that.

No offense, but Palast pretending he knows more about it than the Kerry campaign or anyone else is the same kind of Liberal self-aggradizing we always see. Everyone is stupid, because if Palast the magnificient were there things would go differently. pfft.

This is my last comment for this morning, and it is simply this: a concession is simply a public statement, and nothing else. It is not legally binding. Just because the Kerry campaign doesn't want to fight, doesn't mean that his supporters won't fight for him. And this is not about "technicalities", this is a matter of discrimination against black voters.