SoundPolitics has been the place to follow the increasingly bizarre re-recount in Washington, with this being the most recent of Stefan Sharkansky’s efforts to sniff out some real problems in King County (Seattle).
But I agree wholeheartedly with Jim Miller and Tom Bevans that the GOP, as a matter of principle, needs to set a very, very high bar for challenging an election. No election is perfect, and a big part of conservative principles as a whole is a willingness to live with the results of a process as long as the rules are set out clearly in advance.
There’s also another factor at work in Washington. If Christine Gregoire winds up on the outs, she’s got nowhere to go for four years until Dino Rossi is up for re-election. But Rossi, like John Thune in 2002 and like the Missouri GOP in 2000 – both of whom rebounded to knock off incumbent Democratic Senators – has another day to fight on: if he loses to Gregoire, he can, if he chooses, position himself to run against one of Washington’s two Democratic Senators, Maria Cantwell, who won in 2000 with 48.73% of the vote, the lowest vote total of any Senator running for re-election in 2006. Yes, Cantwell has the advantage of being a liberal in an increasingly liberal state. But a Dino Rossi who goes out with his dignity and is perceived by the public as having been robbed would be Cantwell’s worst nightmare as an opponent.
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I commented elsewhere on this – here’s hoping I’m as eloquent here!
I’m what you’d call a neo-conservative. As such, I find this contest hard to get worked up over. I’m from Pennsylvnia. I voted fror Bush in both 2000 and 2004.
Here’s the problem – win or lose, the “victor” (quote emphasis intended) is not really going to have any mandate whatsoever. As such, (s)he will need to “build” any consensus for any kind of effectiveness.
If the victor manages to do that – the victor will… by definition… be someone people will likely re-elect for a second term. If the victor is damaged goods… meaning (s)he cannot effectively be governor… they’ll go onto a sound defeat next go-round.
The “loser” in this election? (S)he has nothing to contend. Nothing whatsoever. Rules are rules. Laws are clearly detailed too. To contest ANY further would be… a nail in the coffin politically. Look… if people can see through, um, what the meaning of “is” is… people will see through sour grapes no matter how you put it.
Suck it up. Accept that over a FULL campaign you couldn’t gaqrner a true majority. Figure out why. Then, figure out if you are the politician who could actually do it – next time around.