With the election (seemingly) over, I had intended to leave dKos. Then this recount came along. So much for good intentions.
It looks like the money will be raised for the Ohio recount. Thanks for this go to all you Kossacks and many other Demos. After all, we know the Greens and Liberts couldn't raise that kind of coin so quickly.
So now it's time to begin shifting our focus (in Ohio anyway; maybe there'll be enough funding for further recounts?) to the actual process the recount follows. Is the Democratic Party (and, by extension, Kerry) now forced to become directly engaged? After all, who will be the recount observers?
It goes without saying that the Repubs will want to be involved. Can't exactly have the Repubs in and the Demos out; that'd pretty well deep-six the recount and maybe not be legal anyway. But do the Demos really want to be "outed" at this point, risking the "poor loser" label they've avoided to this point by having Cobb and Badnarik take the lead?
So does anyone know the actual legal requirements? Surely equal Repub and Demo involvement is mandated, but maybe the best equality is zero involvement? Would it be possible to leave the recount to Green & Libert oversight? Might that not best serve Demo interests at this stage?
That's a lot of questions without answers offered. But without knowing the legal framework that defines the boundaries, it's hard to determine the optimal solution for everyone.
And again a "thank you" to Kossacks. Our election processes need thorough public scrutiny, complete transparency, and absolute impartiality. As painful as it may turn out to be, I believe this Ohio recount will be an important step towards making that ideal closer to reality.