Democrats slam revote

Hooray for the Democratic leaders in the legislature!

They're willing to stand up to all this pressure and say that all this talk about a revote is nonsense. The Republicans think that they are sly enough to get people to embrace the concept of a revote by leveling baseless charges at county elections officials all over the state.

Clearly Democratic legislators have the good sense not to listen to this. The Republicans are just interested in winning. That is their motive, just like in 2000 when Bush's motive was purely winning. The GOP doesn't care about counting every vote. It's a convenient mantra for them right now because they're behind.

The Associated Press reports:

"We are following the rules and we need to live by those rules, and not just call for a do-over because we don't like the results," said Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, at The Associated Press's Legislative Preview on Tuesday.

Democrats hold a majority in the state House and Senate. On Tuesday they stood firmly behind fellow Democrat and Gov.-elect Christine Gregoire, who beat Republican Dino Rossi by 129 votes after a hand recount of 2.9 million ballots cast. Rossi, who won the first count and a machine recount, has not conceded and may contest the election in court.

Secretary of State Sam Reed, also a Republican, said there's no evidence of any systemic problems with the military vote. Every county in the state mailed absentee ballots to registered military voters by early October, Reed said, and the U.S. Department of Justice even watched over the process to make sure it was done right.

"We have a new governor," said House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle.

Gregoire on Tuesday defended the legitimacy of her election, saying Republicans were unhappy with the process only because she won.

"The vote changed, I won, and now suddenly there's something wrong," Gregoire said. "I won by 129. It's time for us to put it behind us and move on."

While Gregoire said Rossi is free to contest the election, so far she believes "there is not a shred of evidence" to support a legal challenge.

She called the idea of a revote "absolutely ludicrous."

Gregoire should be commended for standing firm. Democrats don't give in to Republican demands just so that the GOP can have another shot at winning. They don't deserve a second chance. It was a close election, but the election is over and it's time to move on.