Today is my birthday. I am now 29 years old. 29...not an incredibly exciting birthday. Nothing significant happens with the number 29. There's no adrenaline rush like when you turn 16 and can legally drive like a maniac (and then proceed to get pulled over for running a stop sign.) There's no euphoria like when you pray for someone to ID you when you buy that giant bottle of southern comfort, just so you can show them that you have indeed turned 21. There's no thrill like when you turn 25, hitting that quarter century mark, enabling you to rent a car more cheaply (the little things impress me folks.) And there is no absolute horror like when you turn the big 3-0 and realize it's all downhill from there. 29. Seriously boring.
There is however, speaking of numbers and bad segues, a number that is very significant. 42. Not only is 42 the answer to
life, the universe and everything, it is also the number of votes that separate progressive gubernatorial candidate Christine Gregoire from her opponent, neocon Dino Rossi. Dino initially won the Washington governor's race by 261 votes, which automatically triggered a machine recount in which he won
by 42 votes. Christine then wisely asked for a hand recount, which was of course is extremely expensive, and which, with the help of people like you, has just this evening
been fully funded. Hand recounts in races like this tend to turn in favor of the losing candidate, thus this is highly likely to be another Democratic victory if all goes according to plan.
42 votes, people, 42 votes.
Of course, being evil, infected by Rove and whatnot, Dino is trying everything he can to stop the recount. The full gamut of dirty tricks is being employed. He is, for example, getting votes of people whose signatures don't match the cards they signed years ago, rejected. Why would their signatures be different now, one might ask? Well, for example, 4 cases have turned out to be because they have Parkinson Disease. They simply shake uncontrolably now, or have trouble getting down to the board of elections to protect their votes. Needless to say, the GOP will stop at nothing, and as such, we must stop at nothing. So....
All I want for my birthday is a fair hand recount in Washington. The GOP is pullling another Florida and having paid poll watchers to inspect every vote. We don't have the luxery of paid professionals.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The Democratic Party in Washington needs your help. They need volunteers to counter the paid poll watchers on the GOP side. If you live anywhere near Washington, and can make a difference, get there and take part. I have been told that out of state volunteers are indeed welcome.
To volunteer please email count@wa-democrats.org or call (206) 328- 2969, ext. 133.
You can attend a training session this weekend in a variety of convenient locations. They are listed after the break. If you have any friends in Washington or near it, please have them contact the Democratic party there and offer to help. The party will have the training sessions posted on their site, but in the meantime, ALL HAND ON DECK, PEOPLE.
Volunteer Trainings:
Saturday, December 4
Bellingham
8:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Bellingham Labor Temple
1700 N State St
Seattle
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Aerospace Machinists Hall
9125 15th Pl S
Olympia
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
State Employees' Office
1212 Jefferson St SE
First Floor Conference Room
Sunday, December 5
Vancouver
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Carpenters' Hall
612 East McLoughlin Boulevard
Yakima
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Carpenters' Hall
507 S 3rd St
Spokane
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Carpenters' Hall
127 E. Augusta Ave, Ste. 103
Reposted from Change For America.