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Winning By One
How many times will someone utter this remark on Election Day, "I'm
not voting cause my vote doesn't count?" Tell that to Mike Rogers, Dan
Benishek, and Al Franken.
The history books are filled with various contests that ended up
being decided by a handful of votes.
In the Upper Peninsula last August a complete political unknown
defeated a seasoned Republican for the Congressional nomination and Dan
Benishek won by one vote. A recount eventually expanded his stunning
upset to 15, but suffice it to say every vote counted.
Taking you back to the election in 2000. By the margin of 121
votes, a guy named Mike Rogers went to Congress while Democrat Dianne
Byrum was left behind to ponder what might have been had those 121
votes gone her way.
And on and on it goes. Al Franken, the Saturday Night Live comic
turned U.S. Senator might still be writing one-liners instead of U.S
Senate speeches had 312 Minnesotans voted for his opponent.
If former Gov. "Soapy" Williams was still with us today, he would
be more than eager to explain how he beat Republican Harry Kelly by a
mere 1,154 votes. Michigan history would have been significantly
different had the outcome gone the other way.
And last but certainly not least, the contest for President between
Al Gore and George W. Bush was decided in a little place called Florida
by 537 votes.
Had it flipped the other way, maybe there is no war in Iraq, maybe
no war in Afghanistan, etc. etc. You get the point.
So we'll have none of this, "My vote doesn't count" stuff today.
Please.
not voting cause my vote doesn't count?" Tell that to Mike Rogers, Dan
Benishek, and Al Franken.
The history books are filled with various contests that ended up
being decided by a handful of votes.
In the Upper Peninsula last August a complete political unknown
defeated a seasoned Republican for the Congressional nomination and Dan
Benishek won by one vote. A recount eventually expanded his stunning
upset to 15, but suffice it to say every vote counted.
Taking you back to the election in 2000. By the margin of 121
votes, a guy named Mike Rogers went to Congress while Democrat Dianne
Byrum was left behind to ponder what might have been had those 121
votes gone her way.
And on and on it goes. Al Franken, the Saturday Night Live comic
turned U.S. Senator might still be writing one-liners instead of U.S
Senate speeches had 312 Minnesotans voted for his opponent.
If former Gov. "Soapy" Williams was still with us today, he would
be more than eager to explain how he beat Republican Harry Kelly by a
mere 1,154 votes. Michigan history would have been significantly
different had the outcome gone the other way.
And last but certainly not least, the contest for President between
Al Gore and George W. Bush was decided in a little place called Florida
by 537 votes.
Had it flipped the other way, maybe there is no war in Iraq, maybe
no war in Afghanistan, etc. etc. You get the point.
So we'll have none of this, "My vote doesn't count" stuff today.
Please.
(Thank you to the Michigan Liberal folks for doing the
heavy-lifting on recounting those close elections over the years.
Check's in the mail.)
posted by Tim Skubick at
3:03 AM
3 Comments:
Like how you spun that, Skoop. OR.... if the votes had gone Gore's way, we could be in a deeper recession/depression than we are right now (due to his desire to undermine our economy with things like the Kyoto Treaty, and sham-ideas like carbon-credits).
Yes, it's important to vote, but let's not pretend that life would have been a utopia had another politician been elected instead.
Josh, ya kinda missed the point, don'tcha think?! And so it goes, put repubs in office and everyone of them thinks they're Einstein. In less then 2 years y'all gonna be disappointed in the outsider who you believed would fix Michigan. One chance Michigan? ha!
I didn't miss the point. "One vote matters, etc. etc. etc." True stuff, as we saw this again in close races nation-wide this past Tuesday.
What I objected to was the specific comments "Had it flipped the other way, maybe there is no war in Iraq, maybe no war in Afghanistan, etc. etc." We don't know whether it would have been better or worse. We still don't have enough historical evidence to determine whether Iraq was truly a bad decision (maybe 20 years from now people will call it a good thing). I don't believe Skoop really meant anything behind it, but I still don't like how it came across as yet another Bush-Bash. (Again, who's to say Gore would've done better?). And no, I don't think Snyder is Einstein. He'll have to prove it.
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