barbarake
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posted on November 8, 2000 03:27:30 AM new
I've never considered myself a conspiracy buff, but I think it's interesting that Florida - where George Bush's brother is governor - first 'goes' for Gore, then 'develops computer problems'. All the other states managed to count their votes just fine (as far as I know).
I'm a systems analyst - whenever *anything* goes wrong, the 'computer' is always blamed.
This whole thing strikes me as - 'odd'.
(Oh wait!! This forum is supposed to be about eBay.)
Hmmmm, I wonder how much 'Gore/Leiberman' buttons will be worth in a month or so on eBay? Should I hold onto them for awhile or sell them right away? <grin>
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on November 8, 2000 04:18:20 AM new
I'm in FL. Well before the polls closed, our local station interviewed the local commisioner of elections (or whatever he's called) regarding the state's admitted problem with "double votes" (people marking e.g. for both Bush and Gore) and mismarked ballots (marking for one, crossing it out, then marking for the other). So I'm not surprised at all.
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corrdogg
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posted on November 8, 2000 04:37:09 AM new
Well, I believe that Florida can and will count - a LOT!
Seems odder still that this is in the eBay Outlook
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Joanne
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posted on November 8, 2000 04:37:54 AM new
That nasty old Fuzzy Math rears its ugly head 
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Meya
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posted on November 8, 2000 04:50:45 AM new
The media just wanted voters to think the Gore had carried Florida. Remember, there were still many states with polls open at that time, with perhaps 3 hours to go still. Calling any state 20 minutes after the polls close is ridiculous, no matter who's side you're on.
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vogeldanl
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posted on November 8, 2000 04:55:44 AM new
Meya has it figured out. A recount won't change anything.
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abingdoncomputers
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posted on November 8, 2000 04:57:39 AM new
Meya:
You're correct. The networks ended up with egg on their faces not once, but twice. Maybe from now on they'll be a little more responsible.
Nahhhh. Never Happen.
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llama_lady
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posted on November 8, 2000 05:51:52 AM new
The liberal media should have kept their mouths shut. However, in their quest to give their candidate a good warm fuzzy, they jumped the gun. I wonder what person took off with one of the polling booths? How the heck can that happen? It's not as if you can hide the darn thing. They're looking for it now so they can count the votes. conspiracy or a high school prank? you be the judge.
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dejavu
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posted on November 8, 2000 06:06:06 AM new
everybody loves a conspiracy 8^)
I agree the media was acting pretty irresponsibily last nite.
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jwpc
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posted on November 8, 2000 06:18:14 AM new
STATE OF THE NATION
Well, regardless of how Florida goes, this election has told me a great deal about the people of this country and for me it is very sad - to me Americans have declared that they care nothing about character, moral or spiritual values, that their main interest is their own personal gain, and greed. It is very sad commentary on the state of this Nation.
Paul Truth
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vogeldanl
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posted on November 8, 2000 06:26:17 AM new
Paul,
Agree.
Very sad.
DLV
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on November 8, 2000 06:28:06 AM new
Consensus from folks posting here was that the polls were MOBBED.
Since the vote's so close, I doubt that it's overwhelming preference for one candidate over the other. And nobody seemed to really LOVE either of the candidates. So are there theories as to why, under those circumstances, the turnout was so high - if in fact it was?
And does anybody know the % of each party's voters actually voting? (I understand that traditionally the % of registered Dems actually actually voting is less than that for Repubs.) Was this a case of more Dems showing up to vote this election?
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dejavu
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posted on November 8, 2000 06:28:26 AM new
Paul, I don't know if you've noticed but most modern democracies are edging closer and closer to socialism with socialized medicine, employment programs etc.
It is a very appropriate observation that people vote for their own self interests, regardless of their party.
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december3
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posted on November 8, 2000 06:44:26 AM new
Wish I was a fly on the wall and could hear what Georgie is saying to Jeb right about now.
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noteye
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:08:59 AM new
Speaking of the media - who invaded Dan Rathers' body last night? Was anyone else annoyed with his constant use of phrases like "Smiling like a cat in a creamery"?
It got annoying, then it got funny, then it just got stupid.
noteye
A sad Texan once commented "I Wish it would rain, not so much for myself, I have seen rain before. But, for my 10 year old son."
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Borillar
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:09:40 AM new
Yah - I went to bed. The Liberal Media, such as Fox News and CNN kept predicting that Bush took almost every state in the union and they were so smug about it and doing little happy dances on the screen with sparkles and teardrops in their eyes. Of course, since then, Bush no longer has a lead. Maybe the "Liberal Media" over at Fox News and CNN will be whooping it up for Gore -- don'tcha think?
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dejavu
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:18:13 AM new
december3~ yep, must have been a pretty tense night with the Bush family. Dubya must have been thinking pretty hard about his brother's ability to deliver the vote!
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:26:11 AM new
Answering part of my own question: AWers' anecdotal evidence to the contrary (and which state was it in which an attempt was made to extend the poll opening time?), voter turnout was 51%, which I recall is pretty much average. So the "fear" theory - that people turned out to vote AGAINST the other candidate - doesn't seem to wash.
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jfpnatl
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:30:40 AM new
Its kinda obvious who voted for who, from their post, that's what makes us so great they can peacefully agree to disagree. Had something happen like this is another country what do you think would have happen?? Riots, mayhem and calls of foul play??
It is kinda strange this had to happen in Jeb's home state, kinda interesting isn't? Conspiracy, no I don't think so. Hey But if things were so close (and everywhere) there, and with the problems that occurred I do think a recount is in order, no matter the out come, it's only due process!
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dejavu
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:30:50 AM new
HCQ our polls in Maine had record turnout nearing 70% of registered voters.
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rancher24
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:32:17 AM new
Consider the Florida oddities (as I understand them from watching TOO MANY hours of coverage)....
- Closing time for X number of counties is extended (by court order)
- Extended closing time for x number of counties is recinded (by court order)
- Human Error (inexperienced poll workers) causes ballot boxes to be "left" at the
machine sites (without or without guard is unknown-at least to me)
- Misleading ballot diagram causes almost 2,000 votes that WERE to be cast for Gore
to actually have been cast for Buchanan - Election officials claim there was nothing
misleading at all, when 100's of phone calls were placed to complain about same fact.
These bits of info are few & far between on the news (they have more fun playin' with the white board, then delving into these strange occurrences)....If anybody can clarify this info, I'd surly be grateful.....
~ Rancher
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mballai
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:37:19 AM new
The scariest thing about it all is that too few people learned anything in the last eight years. The best thing is that enough did and that will continue to influence politics. It certainly has changed my perspective.
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dejavu
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:37:33 AM new
HCQ the judge that extended the polling hours was formerly Dick Gepheart's chief of staff! Little conflict of interest there?
We had a similar problem here in Maine. A computer glitch caused a bunch of registered voters to not have their registration be valid so they had to go to city hall to re-register. (Can you imagine the hassle). A case was made that the polls should be kept open longer to accomodate those unlucky voters. The judge said NO.
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roadsmith
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:44:45 AM new
The one thing I can say with certainty is that I will *never* *ever* vote for Ralph Nader for anything! He is a bratty spoiler. I have always admired him and his stands but no more. For him to have said there's no difference between Bush and Gore was irresponsible and a lie. Anything for his 5%. And I wonder how much his buttons will be worth in the future  .
[ edited by roadsmith on Nov 8, 2000 07:46 AM ]
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on November 8, 2000 07:50:54 AM new
I wasn't aware that there was any extended voting time in FL.
And I do understand that the party pressing for the extension (rescinded after about an hour) was the Democrats.
I don't think it's safe to say yet that 2,000 votes intended for Gore were in fact miscast for Buchanan. That's the Democrats' charge, however.
when 100's of phone calls were placed to complain about same
Who made these calls? The voters, who realized when they got home that they'd "misvoted"?
Funny thing is, the ballots were intended to be MORE legible (large type) rather than less. Legible, maybe. Confusing? You bet.
And FL law REQUIRES a recount when the vote is this close.
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rbowen
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posted on November 8, 2000 08:00:57 AM new
I agree Paul.....what's really sad also is how easily duped or scared many people are in this country....."you've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything" really seems to apply.
Economically, I'd do better with Bush and I'm not near the 1% Gore harped about.
At least the Congress seems to have stayed Republican and that will hopefully curb a runaway spending spree that would have most likely occurred with a Democrat run government.
It definitely hasn't been boring during this election and looks to continue for a couple more days. Whoever wins, I hope that people in government will work together to do what's best for the counry.
Rebecca
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rancher24
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posted on November 8, 2000 08:16:28 AM new
HQC....From the reports that I heard, there was an extension, although I do not know which county/counties....
Who made these calls? The voters, who realized when they got home that they'd "misvoted"? From what I heard, it was actually voters who DIDN'T confused, but who called to report the problem....
Did you use the type of ballot that is being labeled "confusing"?...From what I saw on TV, it looked pretty bad....eg. the line-up appeared to be directly to Bush, when in fact it was a Buchanan vote....
~ Rancher
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on November 8, 2000 08:17:26 AM new
The jurisdiction in which the extended-polling-time debacle took place was St. Louis, MO:
http://www.foxnews.com/election_night/states/mo/hours.sml
Nope, each jurisdiction prepares its own ballots. Ours were fine. As far as I can tell, the only county affected was Palm Beach:
http://www.foxnews.com/election_night/states/fl/confusion.sml
[ edited by HartCottageQuilts on Nov 8, 2000 08:21 AM ]
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rbowen
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posted on November 8, 2000 08:21:35 AM new
december3.....your right. I'll bet they're swapping kicks in the rear:
George: "You told me you'd deliver."
Jeb: "I told you to spend more time in FL than CA."
Thanksgiving is going to be coooooooold in Maine if FL doesn't stay with Bush.
Rancher.....St. Louis, MO is where the polls were left open due to a short-lived court order.
Has anyone seen the percentage split of votes from those who rose from the dead to vote? 
Rebecca
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dejavu
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posted on November 8, 2000 08:23:47 AM new
HCQ~ I should have clarified that, sorry.
Show of hands: Hown many people think Hillary is going to run for PRESIDENT in 4 or 8 years?
My husband advanced that theory last night I almost choked.
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