[NWPT48]It’s week-two of Dino Rossi’s quixotic election contest trial, and I’m much more looking forward to this week’s proceedings than last week’s proceedings… mostly because this week is only four days long. That said, I’m guessing the Democrats’ testimony will be even more boring than the Republicans’, since at least the latter offered the tiniest prospect of dramatically producing a smoking gun.
Anyway, I’ll be following the proceedings live, and updating this post with tidbits and observations as they happen; if you are a connoisseur of tedium you can follow along on TVW. And as always I recommend you occasionally check out David Postman’s trial updates in The Seattle Times.
If wishes were horses, then Stefan would ride
On Saturday, our good friend Stefan over at (u)SP predicted that Dino Rossi would prevail, and the election would be set aside. So here’s my prediction: Stefan is delusional. (Some might argue that’s not so much a prediction, as a statement of fact.)
Okay… maybe Stefan’s not delusional. Perhaps he fully understands Rossi has lost, and his bold prediction is part of some propagandistic strategy that I’m just not clever enough to fathom. Or perhaps Stefan isn’t nearly as smart as I’ve given him credit for. He could just be wrong. Hey… people make mistakes… there’s no shame in that.
But I think it is just wishful thinking.
Nixon goes to Chelan (10:40 am)
State Elections Director Nixon “Nick” Handy is on the stand, talking about the challenges all the counties faced in conducting November’s election. Under questioning from Democrat attorney Jenny Durkan, Handy is outlining errors throughout the state, and after each example, he agrees that there is no evidence of fraud. The goal apparently is to show that there was nothing unusual or nefarious about the problems in King County.
At this moment, Handy is explaining that voter crediting is “administrative housekeeping,” and not generally a record of the number of people who cast votes:
“Many if not most auditors opted to go back and credit voters after the election was certified.”
He emphatically insists that comparing the number of people credited with voting and the number of ballots counted is not a measure of the authenticity of the election.
Handy not “appalled” (10:53 am)
Sec. of State Sam Reed had been quoted in the press as saying he found some of the mistakes in King County Elections to be “appalling.” Durkan asked Handy if he agreed with his boss’s assessment, and he bluntly said “No.” He described the problems as “inadvertent mistakes and errors of human beings who are working their hearts out,” and insisted there was no evidence of an attempt to sway the election or affect votes in one way or another.
On the topic of felon votes, Handy stated that voter registration is based on “the honor system” and that it simply would not be possible to do background checks on all registrants.
Durkan has finished her questioning, and the Republicans will cross after a 15 minute recess.
Rah rah sis koom bah (11:32 am)
Republican attorney Dale Forman called Handy a “cheerleader.”
Liberal blogger David Goldstein called Forman an “asshole.”
Rossi PR “unfair and inaccurate” (12:06 pm)
Forman doesn’t like Handy’s answers. So now he’s getting mad at him, accusing him of deliberately trying to undermine Rossi’s case. (Um… Dale… you are suing the SoS… you expect them to make your case for you?) In response, Handy made clear his own opinion about the GOP’s dishonest misrepresentation of this election, stating that their “public affairs campaign” was:
“…undermining the trust and confidence of the average voter in the election system, in a way that is unfair and inaccurate. I believe that.”
Court is in recess until 1:15 pm.
TVW fraudulently goes down (1:58 pm)
The court is back in session, but apparently TVW is not. About 10 minutes in, the stream went down, and I now I can’t even get to their website. So since I have no idea what is happening, I’ll just pretend I’m one Rossi’s attorneys, and make stuff up.
Attorney Dale Foreman shifted tact after lunch by telling state Elections Director Nick Handy that he had “pretty eyes.” When Handy responded that Foreman had liquor on his breath, Foreman angrily attacked Handy for being non-responsive, and insisted that he answer the question. Democrat Attorney Jenny Durkan objected on the point that Foreman had not actually asked a question. After some discussion, Foreman rephrased his question: “Nick… do I have pretty eyes?” Handy said that he didn’t really know, prompting Foreman to tearfully object to his own question. At this point, counsel approached the bench, and the Judge ruled that Foreman did have pretty eyes, but that the evidence was not admissible.
Oh… the TVW feed is back on. Damn it.
John Carlson (3:00 pm)
Ooops… almost forgot… Stefan and I will be on the John Carlson Show again today at 3:15 pm, KVI-570. And again, the rest of the week.
Perjury (3:58 pm)
Nothing breaks the tedium of following this godawful boring trial, quite like arguing with John and Stefan on KVI. It’s especially fun when Stefan shows his true neo-McCarthyite self, like this afternoon when he essentially accused Dean Logan of perjury. Well… he insisted that was my word, not his… but that’s the legal definition of lying on the witness stand.
Ah well, nothing riles up the right like veiled threats of imprisoning public officials.
Oh boy… recess! (4:39 pm)
Court has recessed for the day. We’ll come back bright and early with Dean Logan, who Stefan has accused of perjury, which is a convenient way of saying that anything he says that might hurt Rossi’s case is a lie, whereas anything he says that might help him is a grudging admission.
My sincerest sympathies to Attny Durkin on the loss of her father.
Let the Lord shine upon him,
May he rest in peace.
terrible Nixon pun, David. :)
The key phrase from Handy–“10 to 15 reasons why comparing credits to ballots is not an indication of the accuracy of the election.”
Ten to 15? Yikes.
Yup according to Handy, it was just a “Big Mistake” not appalling to cheat! Well the “Big Mistake” is still sitting in office…
Take a look at Nixon Handy’s biography.
Precisely what qualifies him for his present position?
Precisely what investigation did Handy do to reach a definitive conclusion on “fraud”?
What is his legal background?
Handy is obviously a Democratic Party Hack masquerading as an “Election Expert”.
If it were the SOS’s only role to tabulate whatever the Counties gave them…why did Handy send out various memo’s to County Auditors that went well beyond that role (i.e. encouraging County’s to report ASAP…well before the deadline, encouraging County Auditors to prioritize responding to Dem Atty’s requests for information prior to Judge Bridges cut-off etc. etc.)
The Nixon Handy story will be quite interesting. He claims to be a bureaucratic manager one day. But today Handy is an expert on elections, fraud et al.
who said that was the SoS’s only role? That’s not what Excell told me.
TJ–
So why did Handy insert himself in the recount and contest as he did??
because that’s not the SoS only role, as you described it?
He’s the State Elections Director. What do you expect him to do if there’s a problem in the election, sit back and smile?
Isn’t it ironic that a central crook in the coverup of the election fraud is named Nixon?
Comment on 4
So VERY typical of right-wing haters … when they don’t like the messenger, they slander the messenger. Yes, Cynical, you qualify as a “right wing hater.”
Isn’t it also ironic that someone named PBJ is as dumb as a sandwich?
pbj, you’re full of shit, as usual.
Reply to 11
Geez guy, I’m having lunch! My sandwich said to tell you that it resents being compared to pbj. I have to agree. Even a Kingdome hotdog has more class (and taste) than pbj.
Patrick,
My sincerest apologies to your sandwich. That comparison was out of bounds.
Well, after hearing Mr “Handy” speak, I feel that there is definitely enough evidence to throw out the election. His complicity as a party hack comes through loud and clear.
Whether the judge will do so is uncertain. His earring wearing suggests a liberal bent that means “no holes barred. win for the liberals at any costs” attitude. Whether the democrats are allowed to steal the election or not, the opportunity to place into the public record the list of their atrocities is a victory in itself.
14, apology accepted.
Liberals talking to sandwiches. Now I know you ARE crazy.
Comment on 1, I wonder if Durkan will ask for a trial recess to attend her father’s funeral. He was a 3-term state senator, charied the senate ways and means committee, and ran unsuccessfully for governor and Congress. Among his legislative accomplishments was farmworker housing. I also heard that KING-5’s Don McGaffin died yesterday.
Reply to 17
The hot dog I just ate is a better conversationalist than you are. It knows to not say anything when it has nothing to say, which is more than you know.
pbj @ 15
“Well, after hearing Mr “Handy” speak, I feel that there is definitely enough evidence to throw out the election. His complicity as a party hack comes through loud and clear.”
But then, again, you are an idiot. Elections are not thrown out because a sandwich doesn’t like the sound of an SoS office employee.
“Whether the judge will do so is uncertain. His earring wearing suggests a liberal bent that means “no holes barred. win for the liberals at any costs” attitude.”
Or, he might toss out the case based on lack of evidence. . .
“Whether the democrats are allowed to steal the election or not, the opportunity to place into the public record the list of their atrocities is a victory in itself.”
“atrocities”. LMAO!
morning session wrapup at Also Also here.
Whether the judge will do so is uncertain. His earring wearing suggests a liberal bent that means “no holes barred. win for the liberals at any costs” attitude.
PBJ,
One of the hardest things about engaging in online discussions is trying to figure out whether one is serious or not. The line above sounds like a rational person making fun of what a wingnut would really say. The rest of your comment is not much better. And the “no holes barred” in reference to the judge’s earring is a clever pun, if intentional, yet even funnier if unintentional. If you’re just kidding with your posts, my hat’s off to you, you have a nose for satire. If you’re serious, god help us all…
torridjoe @ 21
Thanks for the update! I had to miss part of the fun today.
Geez…lighten up on pbj
Of course he’s “tongue in cheeking” you LEFTIST PINHEADS.
Look at how angrily you react. For shame!
I’m sure we will see Nick Handy’s background disected the next few days. Personally, I have seen a number of e-mails he sent out to County Auditors that are head-scratchers for sure. Perhaps some Auditors will be recalled about personal conversations with Mr. Handy. But I really don’t view Handy as part of some “vast left-wing conspiracty”…nor do I view this election debacle as some “vast left-wing conspiracy”. However, I do believe a number of individuals have worked overtime to conspire to cover up incompetence and oversights….and things that, as it turns out, were legally wrong (Way and Fells knowingly false reconciliation document). Nick Handy is merely part of the “cheerleading” squad.
Goldy–Remember the surprise I promised you??
Mr. Cynical,
As someone who watched as people like Ann Coulter “tounge-in-cheeked” our way into supporting a war in Iraq, I’ll beg you to forgive some of us for being touchy about the power of snark. Some of us still do care about this country’s future.
As for your surprise, we’re all still waiting for what the Rossi supporters have up their sleeve. I think you know that mere incompetence will not overturn this election.
I’ll just pretend I’m one Rossi’s attorneys, and make stuff up.
Dammit, Goldy! That segment was hilarious!!!
Reply to 24
If you think pbj is “tongue in cheek” you haven’t been reading his posts. He’s an angry right wing nut, alright.
Goldy–
You sounded like a complete fucking idiot today on Carlson.
To claim the Dems are calling Logan because “they have already won the contest” is totally assinine.
Damn it….we need to start all over with you!
You were doing better and better each segment and then……..
CRASH! Like a ton of fucking bricks.
I don’t know why I even bother with you Goldy!!!
I really thought you had potential…a perverbial “diamond in the rough”. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Making that stupid statement that the Dems are calling Logan because they have already won the contes………my God man, did you panic under pressure?? Diarrhea of the mouth???
28
“CRASH! Like a ton of fucking bricks.”
Geez Cyn, you’re starting to talk like us liberals. Who knows pretty soon you may be thinking like us, too.
Goldy,
When nazi won’t work for you, now use use “neo-McCarthyite” as a slur.
Why does the left always have to tie in some perjorative, when they could argue the matter straight up. Call him a boob, a toad, whatever, but why the smear?
Ready for the incoming threats and curses….
thatPrick–
Did you hear Goldy on Carlson?
What a boob!
Maybe I’m being a little to hard on him….
Goldy’s kinda fragile in many ways…know what I mean?
But dammit, it’s a tough world out there.
And if you are going to step out and express opinions to a large audience, you better be prepared and not say dumb things like..
the Dems called Logan because they already won the case. WTF!!!!
Scary thought: Dean Logan as your ace pitcher…
Ok, fellas. My head hurts. Now, arguably I haven’t had as much time as everyone else here to follow the thrilling events out of Wenatchee, but I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on.
Dean Logan is an individual who has been decried by Rossi supporters as someone who is integral to their case in proving that this election needs to be thrown out. Yet it’s the Democrats who are eagerly putting him on the stand. How little do you have to understand what’s happening to believe that this is somehow a good thing for the Rossi camp?
Either you believe that the Democrats are intentionally trying to lose this case, or you believe that the cross-examination of Logan is going to be some Perry Mason TV moment where Logan breaks down on the stand, starts weeping, and admits he fixed the election. If any of you believe either of those two things, you should seriously just get fitted for the straitjacket today and save yourself the trouble for when they have to haul your ass off to the loony bin.
His testimony will depend on the meaning of the word “is”, or in this case “certify”. Blows me away ya’ll cannot fess up that the election was botched. The more you duck this, the more we think you all are joyfull it was botched, cuz heck the more illegals, less checking, less anal retentiveness, the better for the dems. Your nice sounding goals (let every person vote) matches up w/ your under the counter goals of getting any possible vote or voter, whether drunks, bums, illegals, ghosts, stuffs, etc.
Righton,
This election may have been botched, but Christine Gregoire still got more votes than Dino Rossi. Period. That’s what matters.
I think you know that mere incompetence will not overturn this election.
This was not mere incompetence, but gross incompetence and fraud! CG was not elected, but appointed by The King County Democratic Party Machine. Well, the party will be over soon, and win or lose in court, the lesson that will be remembered from this is: Democrats cheat and are incompetent.
Finally thehim said a half truth. You admit the election was botched. Where do you live? I’ll meet you at a Starbucks and buy you a coffee someday when this is over. You are the first leftie to admit they in KCEC botched the election. You are now beginning to come over to the right side with correct thinking. Good for you thehim. You have a future as a critical thinker! The wrong thing you said was Gregore got more votes. Were they legal? Didn’t John Pearson (democrapic afternoon witness) recently say this evening that proportional analysis is the only way to remove illegal votes? If I heard that wrong I will stand corrected, but I a pretty sure that’s what he said. See David, I can admit error if I am wrong!!!!
Those emails from Handy to Logan were telling. Yeah, I’m impartial, “Let’s try to discredit the Republicans together Dean!!!” I think the judge looking at Handy at this time was the most telling part of the day.
Pudster
If this is the best your side can put up, this case will be a slam dunk! Nick Handy’s credibility was a joke and destroyed by the republican attorney’s. Non Bias My Ass! Nothing like recovering a few emails to understand the real nature of his bias! I enjoyed every minute of it and cannot wait until Dean Logan shows up!
Pudding Brain, how do YOU know Rossi got more votes? Did you count ’em? Or are you relying on the statistical “analysis” on the Shit Pot blog? ESP maybe? Or did an angel appear to you in a dream and whisper, “Rossi got more votes!” Man you crack me up. Typical right-wing arrogant know-it-all I’m-always-right-you’re-always-wrong asshole. I can’t wait for this trial to be over so I can watch you eat shit after Bridges bitch-slaps Rossi and the whole GOP-Liar crowd. har har har :D
The Republican attorney pointedly questioned Mr. Handy – Unbiased? Impartial? All while the words from his incriminating indiscriminately partisan letter were projected to the audience. Kind of Orwellian. Very Orwellian.
Man are these brainwashed right wing gnomes going to jump on Bridges when he rules in the Democrats’ favor! I can see it now … out of control judiciary … judicial activism … liberal judges … anti-God and anti-American judges … blah blah blah … somebody must’ve dropped a 2-ton Ten Commandments stone on their heads while they were wheeling it out of Judge Roy’s courthouse.
zapporo, John Brown, PuddyButt, and GS
Look, you fucking dolts, the SoS office has EVERY RIGHT to be fight the GOP case as hard as they want. The SoS is being fucking sued by the fucking GOP!!!! But, instead of fighting the GOP lawsuit tooth and nail, the SoS office has decided that they will act as a neutral party. They have said their goal is to uphold integrety of the election laws.
So get off you lame asses and go to the SoS election lawsuit web page and READ THE GODDAMN SoS BRIEFS!!! You will find that on most issues, the SoS postions have favored the GOP—not because there as a partisan bias, but because the SoS wants to uphold the long-term integrety of the election statutes.
A perfect (and unmentioned at trial) issue is whether CFRs can be used as evidence of a felony conviction. The SoS gave Judge Bridges a brief supporting the use of the SoS as a valid piece of evidence. This brief may have saved the GOP from losing 200 individuals on their illegal vote list. The SoS office takes this position because it is most consistent with the laws of Washington and good judicial practice.
So, the SoS strongly believes that the voter crediting has no bearing on the validity of the election. Get over it! This is just one position that goes against the GOP–but not for partisan reasons, for legal reasons. BFD—one lousy disagreement with the GOP case.
You fucking assholes should be kissing the ground that Handy walks on because he and the SoS have decided not to fight your case to the death (as they are entitled to do), but rather take a position based on legal integrety. What a bunch of thankless, sorry bastards you are!
Hey Patrick: Glasses maybe? Where did I say Rossi got more votes? I asked did Gregore get more votes? Watch it I’m going postal democrapic speak, you ignorant cock-sucking, pussy-whipped, ignoramous! Ahhhhh, man that felt good!
I asked did Gregore get more votes. I didn’t say Rossi got more votes, thehim said Gregore got more votes. I asked were they legal votes you TURD! Ahhhhh, that felt good too. Your own witness said to use proportional analysis. The Anal is you buddy. Ahhhhh, that felt good too. You rank right next to donnageddon as the San Francisco Treats! Ahhhhh, that felt good too.
Patrick your problem is you have been holding your farts in too long. They travel up your spine, into your brain, and that’s where your very shitty ideas come from!!! Hopefully Patrick, I hope you didn’t spend a fortune on deodorant before you realized that people didn’t like you anyway.
I hope that clears the farts out of your mind!
Pudster
Pudster; you should copyright your last paragraph. Motto of fremont or thereabouts…
Don’t let it bottle up folks!
I See! You all wouldn’t want to credit a person with a vote until they are completely through voting, no matter how many times or ways! And then make sure the crediting is after the certification, no matter how that is handled.
Well even Handy today agreed that Way and her Boss’s certification was blatently wrong.
Ha Ha we’ll see who will be laughing when Bridges rules!
And we’ll also see who will be laughing at the next election!
dj – Did you pop? Holy cow man. “Fucking Dolts?” I made one observation from the limited amount of footage I saw on the evening news. What you inferred is your own damn problem. The letter was pretty partisan from where I was sitting. Handy wasn’t acting for the SOS office when he wrote it either, so get bent with that. Western has a padded room for you if you think the SOS is cutting anyone on the Republican side any favors. And when your nitwit buddy Patrick pipes in about brainwashing, you both lose credibility.
I pray for the Durkan family on their loss. Losing a loved one is a difficult act in life. Eventhough I detest her politics, my sympathies go to her in this tough hour.
Righton, I just think of funnies when I read a patrick, donnageddon or dj quote. Torridjoe makes me think now. Before I blew him off as a man of hot coffee (torrid “joe”). It is surely quiet from the left when their own witnesses diss their positions, theories, experts, and the KCEC. Looks like proportional analysis is the way to go Goldy. Your own people are stating this as fact. I still wait for the decision from the judge. I am not getting overly confident yet, but so far this week is solidifying our position. Thank you Nixon Handy, John Pearson and Bob Terwilliger.
Pudster
And just think, the Democrats are calling Dean Logan up to the stand! What in the hell are they thinking? Ha let’s have a go at him in cross examination, that is a movie in itself to watch. Watch out Star Wars, your ratings may be in trouble after this one!
Dean Logan is cute!
Does anyone know if Dean Logan is available?
Prissy–
You probably think John Kerry is cute too….even though he looks suspiciously like a bloodhounds scrotum!
zapporo @ 46
“Did you pop? Holy cow man. “Fucking Dolts?” I made one observation from the limited amount of footage I saw on the evening news.”
Perhaps I did pop. I have a tendency to do that when people who should know better post in ignorance (as you seem to fess up to here). :-)
“The letter was pretty partisan from where I was sitting. Handy wasn’t acting for the SOS office when he wrote it either, so get bent with that.”
The SoS office officially opposes use of voter crediting. That is not partisan, that is a legal position they established without consideration of the parties involved.
“Western has a padded room for you if you think the SOS is cutting anyone on the Republican side any favors.”
I am sorry to say that you seem to have missed the point entiely. The SOS office is not cutting any side favors. They are establishing their own positions on individual issues based on a reading of the constitution, RCW and WAC. The reason the Republicans should be grateful for this is that they are sueing the SoS—therefore, the SoS could well be playing hardball with the GOP.
SOS is not cutting partisan deals per se, but is working to affirm the status quo as good, which plays totally into Dem hands. If left to KC and to SOS, we’d know nothing of the chicanery going on at KC.
righton @ 53
“SOS is not cutting partisan deals per se, but is working to affirm the status quo as good, which plays totally into Dem hands.”
No. . . if the SoS were trying to affirm the status quo, they would have:
— asked the court to reject the CFR-only records (instead of asking to court to reject the Dems petition to toss out CFR-only records).
— asked the court to accept only direct evidence only of who illegal voters voted for (instead of petitioning the courts to allow circumstantial evidence).
— petitioned the court to accept the motion to dismiss the case at the end of the GOP case, instead of asking the court to reject the Dems motion.
— petitioned the court to accept the Dems motion to exclude a proportional analysis (the SoS petitioned the court to deny the motion).
Indeed, there are both pro-GOP and pro-Dem positions taken by the SoS based on a position that is clearly defined in their pre-trial motion.
The real issue seems to be that the RossiBlind are so brainwashed by their own anger and repeated calls of conspiracy that they cannot even rationally analyze the stance of the SoS office. Both the SoS and Handy are Republicans. I think it is telling that RossiBlind are so pissed off at their own. To the rest of us, it is pretty clear that the SoS is pretty even handed. (I suppose there are Dems who are pissed off because the SoS is not behaving as a party being sued).