Loyal to Liberty

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Alan Keyes

Word in from NY 23 that Conservative Doug Hoffman now trails by just 3000 votes as the official  tabulation process continues. "The new vote totals mean the race will be decided by absentee ballots, of which about 10,200 were distributed."  Among the absentee ballots that remain uncounted are "military and overseas ballots received by this coming Monday (and postmarked by Nov. 2)..."

But Bill Owens "was quickly sworn into office on Friday, a day before the rare weekend vote in the House of Representatives.  His support sealed his party's narrow victory on the health care legislation."

By what right does anyone declare and act on an election outcome before all the votes are counted?  Whatever candidates do to declare or concede victory, elections are decided by what the people do with their votes, not what the candidates do with their speeches.  Or at least that's the way its supposed to be when government of, by and for the people still functions.

Sad on this day after veterans day, to reflect on the fact that among the votes still uncounted when Owens was being sworn in are many cast by people who are right now risking their lives in service to their country.  Yet we let ambitious political parties hijack the electoral process in a fashion that sends the clear signal- your votes don't matter.

By such carelessness does a free people discard the respect for their sovereignty that is the essence of liberty.  I assume that if the vote turns out to favor Doug Hoffman, Owens will have to give up the seat he would thus prematurely have assumed.  But maybe not.  After all, once the candidates and the Parties agree to an election outcome,  why should the voters matter?

It's ironic that when it comes to ignoring the Constitution's eligibility requirements for the Presidency, the politicos want us to accept the notion that all that matters is the electoral majority.  Now when it comes to deciding who's sworn in after an election, the people's votes remain uncounted, and all that matters is the candidates' declarations of victory or concession.  For those willing to understand, this little episode reveals the truth.  Once respect for the Constitution and its principles has been discarded, we'll quickly discover that the notion of majority rule has been thrown away as well.  The American people will find themselves cast down, to languish as other peoples have historically done, under the boot heel of arrogant elites who will resume their accustomed place as the dictators of human destiny.

Alan I don’t know of your pain,.. although quite eloquently stated,..

That pain in the marrow of ones back is not made of a boot heel,..but of a dagger.

The same dagger, which is cutting or gutting, the very heart and soul of a nation suffering, and longing to be free, of those who would see her end.

Thanks and may God be swift

In his Justice.

-Guy c.

If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  (2 Chronicles 7:13-14, New American Standard Bible).

According to unofficial results emailed me by John Conklin at my request, Tuesday afternoon, November 10, 2009, but with note "As of 11/5/09 at bottom,

63,672 votes were cast for Douglas L. Hoffman as the Conservative Party candidate;

61,725 votes were cast for William L. Owens as the Democratic Party candidate.

However, some of the counties counted Working Families Party votes for candidate William L. Owens as for him as a Democratic Party candidates.  The remaining counties added 4,973 votes for William L. Owens on the Working Families Party line. From these totals, as of then 66, 698 votes were counted for William L. Owens giving him the apparent plurality.  In New York, a candidate can run on more than one party line.  Dede Scozzafava has run previously on the Working Families Party line.  This time she ran on the Republican Party line; 5,565 votes were counted for her on the Republican Party line, which includes Independence Party line votes from two counties; the other counties added 920 Independence Party votes to her total.

I find these results interesting, especially considering all the words about the impossibility of a third party candidate's winning.  Whatever the voter party registration records, the Conservative Party, at this point in the tally of the election results, was the Party receiving the largest number of votes, the Democratic Party, the second, and the Republican Party the third.  Here the Republican Party was truly the third party.  The fourth party, the Working Families Party, a party with which Dede Scozzafava has been associated, has thus far apparently provided the victory for the Democratic candidate.  Had more Republican leaders, both local and national, earlier urged voting for Hoffman, and pointed out that voting for Scozzafava would likely help the Democrat and end up supporting offensive and burdensome Democratic policies, we might already have had a different result in New York's Congressional District 23, and in Congress on Saturday, November 7.  Scozzafava's leanings were clearly revealed in her late "withdrawal" and endorsement of the Democratic candidate.  She could hardly have done more to help him (and Speaker Pelosi) win.  

Posted your reply HERE as well.

Thank you for your work in tracking things down, Gregory!

She probably offered to give him more time on the couch.

"She probably offered to give him more time on the couch."

How about more space on the couch? Disgusting! 

Did Bill Owens win NY-23?
The In Box blog
November 12, 2009

The Syracuse Post-Standard is reporting today that the recount of the NY-23 election appears to be tightening substantially.

On election night, Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded, when it appeared that he was down by roughly 5,000 votes. Bill Owens, the Democrat, has since been sworn in and begun casting votes in Congress.

Now a recanvassing in the 11-county district shows that Owens’ lead has narrowed to 3,026 votes over Hoffman, 66,698 to 63,672, according to the latest unofficial results from the state Board of Elections.

With roughly 10,000 absentee ballots still to be tallied, it's certainly statistically possible for the outcome to be reversed. What would that mean?

This from John Conklin, spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections:

"The key is that Hoffman conceded, which means the race is not contested. However, all ballots will be counted, and if the result changes, Owens will have to be removed."

The In Box Blog, see informative reader comments  ...

NY-23 count tightens a little bit
The In Box blog
November 12, 2009

UPDATE: The latest returns from the BOE come via Jude Seymour and the WDT. They show Owens with a 3,176 vote lead.

The 23rd Congressional district special election lives on! And not just in Monday morning quarterbacking.

Turns out the state Board of Elections is still counting the votes, and Conservative Doug Hoffman has reduced the margin he trails Democrat Bill Owens to some 3,026 votes. It was 5,335 votes at the end of election night. The Syracuse Post-Standard has led the pack on this story. In the article, BOE spokesman John Conklin explains how Owens came to be sworn in, even though a winner still hasn't been certified:

Conklin said the state sent a letter to the House Clerk last week explaining that no winner had been determined in the 23rd District, and therefore the state had not certified the election. But the letter noted that Owens still led by about 3,000 votes, and that the special election was not contested -- two factors that legally allowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to swear in Owens on Friday.

"We sent a letter to the clerk laying out the totals," Conklin said. "The key is that Hoffman conceded, which means the race is not contested. However, all ballots will be counted, and if the result changes, Owens will have to be removed."

We know that Owens was one of two Democrats who cast the decisive vote passing the health care bill. Nancy Pelosi's motives are clear, but you gotta wonder...aren't there rules about when you can swear in a member of Congress?

UPDATE: NPR's Ken Rudin e-mailed me to say it's perfectly legal to swear in a Congressman before the vote is certified:

You don't have to wait for a certification to be sworn in; for instance, Pawlenty could have sworn in a senator in Minnesota before the state certified a winner. Nor does a concession mean you can't ultimately be the winner. Pelosi obviously needed as many votes as she could get for health care, and that's why she was anxious to get those two more votes. It was smart and clever, and she didn't skirt the law.

We'll have more on this story today on All Before Five.

The In Box Blog, see informative reader comments  ...