Politics: Rossi awaits results of recount
It is too bad reading minds is still the stuff of speculative fiction. I wish I could see inside Dino Rossi's head. I could be touring his gray matter even as I type this entry. I wonder if the far Right Republican is regretting his run for governor of the state of Washington. Not so much running, but the battle to the end the election has turned into. Rossi has trumpeted a win with his lead of 42 votes over Democrat Christine Gregoire. But, other people don't seem to perceive it that way. They say that Rossi and Gregoire are tied with 1.3724 million votes each -- 48.87 percent of the vote. The tie is the reason why all 2.9 million votes are being recounted this week.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has the latest.
On Monday, Secretary of State Sam Reed ordered an unprecedented statewide hand recount, to begin on Wednesday in most counties.
The Democrats, who are paying for the hand recount, are using a state law that allows it in rare cases when races are this close. The manual recount has never before been ordered in a Washington governor's race.
The bill could exceed $1 million, including legal fees and a ballot-handling cost of at least 25 cents per vote.
The process may last until Christmas.
As KGW-TV reports, it is still an open question whether additional ballots will be counted.
[The] Democratic Party wants the state high court to make it more than a simple recount of votes tabulated in the recent machine recount. Party officials want a fresh look at disqualified ballots, including provisional and absentee ballots that were rejected. A hearing could be Wednesday or Thursday.
The Republicans are incensed. They assert that only ballots previously counted should be reviewed. The Democrats respond that to have a fair election, as many of the ballots completed as possible should be counted.
Rossi is a Club for Growth conservative. He supports a flat tax, gutting Social Security, and abolition of most social services programs. I believe that the multimillionaire real estate investor is happy poring over his financial reports like a modern day King Midas. Instead, he is awaiting the results from a gubernatorial recount he was unable to avoid. If I could read Dino Rossi's mind, I think I would find a very disappointed man.
Reasonably related
The Club for Growth raises millions of dollars in campaign funds for far Right conservatives each year. It targets both Democrats and moderate Republicans for defeat. Mac-a-ro-nies considered the Club's effort to defeat Sen Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).
