WV Electoral Controversy

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2004-09-14 02:07pm

WV Charleston Daily Mail wrote:Mayor criticized, praised for saying he may not cast electoral vote for Bush

Kris Wise
Daily Mail Capitol reporter

Tuesday September 14, 2004

South Charleston Mayor Richie Robb usually spends time at his city's annual Mound Festival hobnobbing with constituents, touting South Charleston's growing business district and tasting the treats baked up by his fellow South Charlestonians.

This weekend he spent most of his time either fending off criticism from fellow Republicans or taking what he called "partisan praise" from Democrats with a grain of salt.

Since Robb "outed" himself last week by acknowledging he was uncertain whether, as one of West Virginia's five electoral vote-holders, he would vote for President Bush, he's had phone calls and e-mails that cross the spectrum.

People have supported him for sticking to his guns, and people have chastised him for potentially thwarting voters' wishes. Some Republicans have labeled him as a traitor and some have thanked him for pointing out problems with their party's administration. Democrats have either courted him as one of their own or they have questioned his sincerity.

"I support him completely," said Republican Jim Triplett, the only GOP councilman for South Charleston. "It's about time someone stood up to people who keep coming to West Virginia and making promises and then not giving us anything in return.

"It's not about Republicans or Democrats," Triplett said. "It's about the whole herd of them in Washington, D.C., who are standing by as things get worse and worse in this state. We're losing jobs, we're losing businesses, we're losing money. (Robb's) statement is strong, and that's what we have to do right now."

Triplett has put the issue on South Charleston's City Council agenda for later this week, and Robb said he's prepared that not all his Republican and Democratic colleagues will share Triplett's enthusiasm for change.

"This isn't something I asked for, it just sort of landed in my lap," Robb said Monday. "I've had a range of emotions expressed and I'm still working on it. People have said that I swore to uphold the wishes of the party, but I didn't swear to vote for anybody."

Robb, an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in May's primary, announced last week he is uncertain how he would use his electoral vote should the Republican Party win on November's ballot and Bush once again carries West Virginia. He's not sure he'll vote for Democrat John Kerry, and he's not sure how he'll express his disappointment with Bush.

Robb is one of five people appointed by the GOP to cast electoral votes after the elections in West Virginia. The other four electors -- former tax secretary Rob Capehart, Bridgeport urologist Doug McKinney, auto dealer Dan Moore and Delegate Larry Faircloth -- also are failed GOP candidates who lost the primary governor's race to retired Army colonel Monty Warner.

Usually, electors cast their vote for their party's nominee when the candidate is the clear winner in the state.

It's rare -- only eight electors have done it in American history -- that an elector will defy popular vote and cast a vote for another candidate.

No one, Robb said, has ever faced the backlash that comes with announcing ahead of time that he has questions about his party's nominee being the best person to hold an office.

"It's not something that I just suddenly decided, but I'd never given it thought until last week when I was asked," Robb said. "My position has been consistent for two years. I think for me now to have come out and said, ‘I'm all wonderful with this (administration) and he's the greatest thing since sliced bread and the administration is great' would have just been dishonest."

Robb said for two years he has talked openly about his concerns that Bush's war policies were bad for the nation, and that his economic initiatives -- tax cuts for higher-income families and an increasing national deficit -- were headed in the wrong direction.

"We were told by Bush that we have to sacrifice in times of war, but the upper crusts don't seem to be sacrificing as much," Robb said. "There's still no exit strategy to the war, and there's a growing sense we have weakened in our cause."
Capehart, another GOP-appointed elector, said if he shared Robb's concerns he would still put his own feelings aside to cast a vote for the president should he win re-election in the Mountain State.

"I support Bush anyway, but even if I did have concerns, the duty is to the party and the people," Capehart said. "I was appointed an elector by the Republican Party and I believe it is the Republican Party's wish that should West Virginia carry Bush, we vote for Bush. If Bush carries West Virginia, it obviously is the wish of the people I cast my vote for him."

Some other Republicans have been fiercer in their criticism, Robb said.

In an e-mail sent both to Robb and the news media, Republican Bradford Sims, a House of Delegates candidate and president of Charleston-based United Talent, said Robb's uncertainty about his vote bordered on "dictatorship."

"To take it upon yourself to override the wishes of the citizens of this state and vote for whoever you please, while apparently permitted by the state code, is a clear and blatant violation of the trust placed in you as an elector and an elected official," Sims wrote.

Robb said he's still considering how he will use his vote as an elector and what his legal responsibilities are to his party and to voters.

The decision has been a difficult one for Robb, who's been mayor of South Charleston for more than 30 years despite being a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic district. He talks about being one of George H.W. Bush's strongest supporters during his runs for the presidency and his past allegiance to his party's candidate.

"But the only thing a lot of Americans can agree on with this election is that they're disgusted with the campaigns," Robb said. "I've never been a straight down-the-road, one-party person and I'm not about to start now. My career has been very much spent as a middle-of-the-road politician, and I think I've served that way well and competently."

Normally, WV votes as a block, all votes to the majority winner. Maybe this might inspire some useful change in how we determine the electorial vote tally from the popular vote.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2004-09-14 02:11pm

I believe this may be more sour grapes on his part for perhaps a perceieved lack of support from the party when he ran for governor, but perhaps these cracks in the electoral college might force people to really look at the system. We have a president in the White House who lost the popular vote and now electoral votes may be up for grabs because of the party's or president's unpopulartity.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-09-14 02:28pm

bah! thats nothing. In my state we have a half braindead thug who crossed over to the democratic party to run against a popular republican mayor in the primary. Shortly thereafter every unionized twat in the city dissaffiliated themselves from the DNC so they could vote in the Republican primary. This guy's wife is a former school crossing guard who recently lost her $145 an hour / 2 hour a day job with free health benifits. Now that the city contracts are due the unions are afraid so they figure they'd just cheat the election. And this is just the suburbs. Sorry Tevar, Vest Virginia may be corrupt , but Rhode Island will forever be the gold standard for crooked polititians.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2004-09-14 02:36pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:bah! thats nothing. In my state we have a half braindead thug who crossed over to the democratic party to run against a popular republican mayor in the primary. Shortly thereafter every unionized twat in the city dissaffiliated themselves from the DNC so they could vote in the Republican primary. This guy's wife is a former school crossing guard who recently lost her $145 an hour / 2 hour a day job with free health benifits. Now that the city contracts are due the unions are afraid so they figure they'd just cheat the election. And this is just the suburbs. Sorry Tevar, West Virginia may be corrupt , but Rhode Island will forever be the gold standard for crooked polititians.

OH? Are they being investigated for Vote-Buying?

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-09-14 02:43pm

LadyTevar wrote:
Col. Crackpot wrote:bah! thats nothing. In my state we have a half braindead thug who crossed over to the democratic party to run against a popular republican mayor in the primary. Shortly thereafter every unionized twat in the city dissaffiliated themselves from the DNC so they could vote in the Republican primary. This guy's wife is a former school crossing guard who recently lost her $145 an hour / 2 hour a day job with free health benifits. Now that the city contracts are due the unions are afraid so they figure they'd just cheat the election. And this is just the suburbs. Sorry Tevar, West Virginia may be corrupt , but Rhode Island will forever be the gold standard for crooked polititians.
OH? Are they being investigated for Vote-Buying?

no because the police unions are among the vote buyers.

Fire Fly · Post by **Fire Fly** » 2004-09-14 03:08pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:bah! thats nothing. In my state we have a half braindead thug who crossed over to the democratic party to run against a popular republican mayor in the primary. Shortly thereafter every unionized twat in the city dissaffiliated themselves from the DNC so they could vote in the Republican primary. This guy's wife is a former school crossing guard who recently lost her $145 an hour / 2 hour a day [\b]job with free health benifits. Now that the city contracts are due the unions are afraid so they figure they'd just cheat the election. And this is just the suburbs. Sorry Tevar, Vest Virginia may be corrupt , but Rhode Island will forever be the gold standard for crooked polititians.

Holy shit...crossing guards get paid THAT much??!!?

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2004-09-14 03:26pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:
LadyTevar wrote:
Col. Crackpot wrote:bah! thats nothing. In my state we have a half braindead thug who crossed over to the democratic party to run against a popular republican mayor in the primary. Shortly thereafter every unionized twat in the city dissaffiliated themselves from the DNC so they could vote in the Republican primary. This guy's wife is a former school crossing guard who recently lost her $145 an hour / 2 hour a day job with free health benifits. Now that the city contracts are due the unions are afraid so they figure they'd just cheat the election. And this is just the suburbs. Sorry Tevar, West Virginia may be corrupt , but Rhode Island will forever be the gold standard for crooked polititians.
OH? Are they being investigated for Vote-Buying?
no because the police unions are among the vote buyers.

Ok, we're better. We threw the County Sheriff in jail and indicted him for vote-buying.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-09-14 03:32pm

Fire Fly wrote:
Col. Crackpot wrote:bah! thats nothing. In my state we have a half braindead thug who crossed over to the democratic party to run against a popular republican mayor in the primary. Shortly thereafter every unionized twat in the city dissaffiliated themselves from the DNC so they could vote in the Republican primary. This guy's wife is a former school crossing guard who recently lost her $145 an hour / 2 hour a day [\b]job with free health benifits. Now that the city contracts are due the unions are afraid so they figure they'd just cheat the election. And this is just the suburbs. Sorry Tevar, Vest Virginia may be corrupt , but Rhode Island will forever be the gold standard for crooked polititians.

Holy shit...crossing guards get paid THAT much??!!?

after you factor in the cost of benefits, that is what the city of Cranston pays.