Kerry has $45million in recount money?!?!

[cjbuchanan]

Have you all seen this?
http://www.publicintegrity.org/bop2004/report.aspx?aid=...

WASHINGTON, November 1, 2004 — Sen. John F. Kerry may have a $24.8 million advantage over President George W. Bush in pursuing any recounts that result from Tuesday's election, according to the campaigns' most recent financial filings.

Under Federal Election Commission rules, both candidates are allowed to use remaining funds from their primary election committees to conduct recount activities, which in Kerry's case amounts to just under $45 million. That compares to just more than $16 million left over in the Bush/Cheney primary election committee's coffers.
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Is this true? If so, why is he not putting up the $150,000 for Ohio?

Anyone know about this? If it is true, then this really depresses me. I mean if the money is just sitting there, why not use it? It makes me really wonder about Kerry and what he plans on doing with this money.

I just hope this is not true.


Edit: did not mean to type Iowa, changed it to Ohio.

[TwentyFive]

1. I'm starting to think Kerry (aka: fellow Bonesman) was a decoy to..

..get us away from Howard Dean. Dean was so passionate about taking a radically different approach to the War on Terror - people would have paid more attention to him - rather than somebody who gives a murky message about tinkering around the edges with timing & diplomacy.

[StopTheMorans]

16. give. it.. a. rest, and here, try a couple of these on for size, i think

you'll find they fit quite well

[knowbody0]

2. cut off day for ohio was saturday (11 days after vote)

his lawyers are obvious in ohio. we can only hope

[AnnInLa]

3. Well, $100 of that is mine, hope they send it back

if they're not going to use it....I really think it can be used for other Dem things tho...not sure

[Dickie Flatt]

4. Bush won. Honestly, people, a recount will not change results.

[Cobalt Violet]

5. No he didn't. Kerry won.

Repugs stole the election.

[cjbuchanan]

6. Okay, but what is he doing with the $45 million?

Here is the thing that worries me. I think he can transfer these funds to a future run. If this is true, he could start 2008 with a $45 million advantage in fund raising. When I donated to his campaign, it was to beat Bush, not to give him another shot at it in 4 years.

I do hope I am wrong about all this, but this gives me a real bad taste in my mouth.

[Gyre]

7. Oh come on!

The guy deserves a vacation. Why not a $45mill one? I can't do it so he may as well. Bon voyage JFK! Do you need help w/ those bags?

Gyre

[KansDem]

22. LOL--"Bon voyage JFK! Do you need help w/ those bags?"

Time to replace the tin-foil cap with a red one???

[Bluebear]

10. I gave to his legal recount fund

And was glad to do it, but what will happen to those funds? Can some of those funds not be diverted to the Cobb and Nader recounts in Ohio and NH or wouldn't that look right?

[spooky3]

8. Honestly, I wish people would wait until reliable data are in before

they decide, and try to convince others, that there was (or was not) voting fraud or significant error.

[fsbooks]

9. No evidence without first a recount

simple as that.

[spooky3]

21. yep.

[leftchick]

12. oh pu-leeeeese....

bush* did not win a fucking thing. IT WAS STOLEN AGAIN!

[BlueCaliDem]

13. Oh Great! We have a Psychic in our midst...

..who's already convinced that Bush won even when the New Mexico vote tally hadn't come in yet; even with all the votes still not counted in Ohio; even with the FBI instigating a serious investigation into election "irregularities" in Florida that had outraged Dems in Democratic strongholds vote overwhelmingly for Bush; even with the fact, that each, and every glitch, swing, lost, purged and even wet ballots favoring Bush 99.9% of the time with one teensie-weensie win in some teensie-weensie county going for Kerry!
Wow...hellooooo Miss./Mr. Cleo!
Can you give me the lottery numbers for this Wednesday's lotto too?

[eileen from OH]

11. I don't know and I don't care

BECAUSE Kerry needs to keep his hands off the recount thing now. Anyone remember "sore loserman"? Right now the Greens and Cobb campaigns are doing it in Ohio, which looks like the best chance PLUS it's the one that will open the entire can o worms. And it is happening under the radar, which avoids the Florida media debacle. You don't think it would be freakin' nuts with media and bussed-in protestors and riots, etc., if Kerry were involved?

If, by some crazy chance, Ohio gets flipped because of the GREEN'S recount, Kerry can step forward as one who was not involved in the recount, but benefits from it. And he will need those $$$ to either challenge other close states and get recounts in them plus to counter Republican efforts in states that KERRY won by a slim margin.

I don't know if this is his strategy or not but the absolute worst thing he could do is get directly involved in any recounts until it really, really, really looks like it's possible.

Best thing we can do is lay low, be patient, and send a few bucks to the Greens.

eileen from OH

[eileen from OH]

14. Oh, and read this. ..

from a diary at dailykos. . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/14/144941/51

eileen from OH

[saracat]

15. Everyone should read this . It is the best analysis I have seen yet.

It is an intelligent "non tinfoil hat " interpretation" that yet gives us hope! Thank you for posting this!

[welshTerrier2]

17. interesting article ... hope it's true ...

how credible do you think the author is ??? i've never heard of him / her ...

[eileen from OH]

20. Can't say, really. . .

- don't know the dude/dudette. But it looks like a pretty good analysis.

I think the important things to keep in mind are these:

It may not change a damn thing. Don't get your hopes up. The provisional ballots may not do it. The glitches may not do it. The uncounted absentee ballots may not do it. NOTHING MAY CHANGE.

However, it appears that, at the very least, the Greens are going to get a full Ohio recount. THAT'S when the media circus will start here (gird your loins, fellow Buckeyes) and the spotlight will be shown on all the crap that was done - whether by intent, or simple stoopidity, or malfeasance, or whatever. But no matter what happens - and I think it's a huge "if" that things will change - there will be no Kerry or even Democratic fingerprints on it. Which is the absolutely ONLY way it can happen to have any validity at all.

eileen from OH

[RevCheesehead]

19. I'm so glad I read that!!!!

THANK YOU for posting the link! I still feel the hope!!

[peacetalksforall]

18. There are two benefits of what is happening now...

Current awful news....there is more air time to cover Falluja and other atrocities in Iraq - the way over 400 casualties in a nice military hospital in Germany just since the Falluja attack while the only hospital was blown up and some clinics were taken out and now they won't let relief teams into Falluja. And we get to hear the words of the evangelical leaders - the letter from the Pres of Jones Univ. We get to hear those pompous remarks from Blair and Bush. We get a more depressing education about privatizing and the jobs and growth situation.

Secondly, keeping quiet allows a fuller discovery and analysis period - knowing where to fight is the result. I have to hope that someone is watching the clock. I have to hope that Kerry and Edwards are working as hard as Harris, all the lawyers and helpers working independently, Cobb, Badnarik, and Nader and some of the great writers on the internet.

We can be thankful for the amazing insight by a lot of Dems rooting for all of us and their ability to express it in easy-to-understand writing. We can thank the statisticians, data gatherers, and poll experts. And all those people whose personal voting efforts were impeded or whose vote was stolen and who are speaking out for us and with us.