Obama administration throws cold water on vote recount effort

[Kathy M]

" Officials in the Obama administration threw cold water on the effort to recount votes in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania on Friday.

The effort was spearheaded by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who echoed arguments that Russia may have hacked US voting machines to interfere with the outcome of the November 8 election.

A statement from the Obama administration cited by The New York Times acknowledged that the Kremlin likely expected the hacking of some Democratic Party entities in the run-up to Election Day to raise questions about the voting process and the legitimacy of President-elect Donald Trump's victory.

"Nevertheless, we stand behind our election results, which accurately reflect the will of the American people," the statement read. "

http://www.businessinsider.com/audit-the-vote-recount-jill-stein-election-hillary-clinton-trump-2016-11

At this point it would be better to work on races not settled .

At least Jill has a new list to add to for next election

Time to move on start working on leadership and couple years from now

[ucrdem]

1. He's doing his job I imagine.

But what I hear is the US intel apparatus saying "nothing to see here folks, anyway Vlad did it."

ETA the fact that the NYT article is by David Sanger, their go-to deep-state story fixer, does not inspire confidence.

[DK504]

29. I've had it.

Enough already. He's the damn leader of the party and the country. It's time for him to stop being Harry Reid and rise up with the rest of those of us that KNOW we were screwed.

I'm afraid that my Twitter machine will be going off ALL weekend. We all should.

[MFM008]

2. to bad. The count goes forth

Now Obama doesn't have to accept it but many of us would like to know.

[still_one]

3. Actually the context of what the Obama administration said was that it believed the election

"reflected the will of the people"

They were NOT even addressing the recount efforts at all, but nice to see the media put words into their mouth.

In regard to the statement itself that the Obama administration believes the election "reflected the will of the people", that isn't quite right since Hillary received over two million more votes.

[Hugin]

5. Must be more of that 3-dimensional chess and rope-a-dope, I keep hearing about.

There was no need to say anything. Just like Comey.

What about all of the recent talk about He and Holder's next career working on Right To Vote issues?

(or there's always the possibility that this is parting shot "fake news" hit piece.)

[still_one]

6. I absolutely agree with that, Obama sure didn't need to say anything. I believe why the media

embellished what was actually said, and tried to infer a link to the recounts, was their way to dismiss the recounts as "unnecessary"

Whether the recounts are unnecessary or not, is NOT for the media to determine, let the recounts speak for themselves

Any candidate has a right to request a recount.

[randome]

15. Um, it's certainly the job of a President, I think, to inspire confidence in the voters.

So I think anything Obama has to say on this subject is well worth listening to.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Hugin]

18. There is little to no confidence out there. Democrats need to see some action.

Right now his comments are feeding the idea that he is out-of-touch with his base.

[randome]

19. Or he's correct and there is no mathematically relevant issue at hand.

Sometimes the base is wrong.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Hugin]

20. If that's the case then it will ultimately increase confidence in the Electoral System.

And, he was correct.

However, the Democratic voters have reached the, "Show Me" point. Sometimes, logic and emotions are at odds. When that happens, people don't forget emotions.

[mythology]

43. No it won't

Because the people already convinced it was stolen are doing so in spite of absolutely zero evidence to support that belief.

So no, further evidence is unlikely to convince them. It will just be another part of the cover up in their minds.

[Mc Mike]

27. Tell that to tRump. nT

[anamandujano]

30. yup

"There was no need to say anything. Just like Comey."

[democrattotheend]

33. Obama has pointed that out in other contexts

He has brought up the fact that she won the popular vote at least once as pushback against the idea that voters rejected Democrats' policies.

[cilla4progress]

4. Well couldn't he be referring to the

Popular vote?

[drm604]

7. It reflects the will of the electoral college, not the will of the people.

[Hugin]

8. Sadly, I've heard a common refrain from Democratic voters over the past two weeks.

People I personally GOTV.

It goes like this, "What the Hell are we voting for? Our votes don't mean SH T! Why don't they just have the 538 some-odd Electors vote and save us all of the grief of the charade, expense, and political ads of a General Election?"

I am so embarrassed.

These people will NEVER vote again... Especially, for Democrats, as they've repeatedly seen them DO.NOTHING.TO.PROTECT.THEIR.VOICE.

[drm604]

9. I hope that's not true and that people will continue to vote.

The problem was that people didn't vote. If more had voted in the important swing states, then the outcome would have been different.

[Hugin]

10. I've certainly gotten an earful about it.

People are very angry and feeling disengaged.

Unfortunately, they are also at this point disinclined to entertain the nuance of the American Electoral System.

The silence from the DNC and leading Democratic figures isn't helping any.



Even though my only part in it was encouraging them to vote, I'm being held personally responsible for the outcome.

[marlakay]

21. I would tell them to look local

My vote for pres may have not counted because of our system but locally we voted in a new progressive guy for city councel, I am happy with my congressman and new senator.

Many of the propositions I supported won.

So my vote did count. At the top nothing we can do other than run a person the whole country loves since electoral college isn't going anywhere.

[TheFrenchRazor]

11. well of course... he's on the team. nt

[Cobalt Violet]

12. Move over Obama, the votes will be recounted!

[kentuck]

14. The legitimacy of the government itself?

This is a very serious time for our democracy.

[oberliner]

16. The "vote recount effort" is actually a "Jill Stein Green Party fundraiser"

The irony of supporters of HRC giving money to Jill Stein is pronounced.

[anamandujano]

28. You haven't been doing your homework.

From the website:

"recounts in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are funded! Next up is Michigan"

Here are the filing fees and deadlines for each state:

Wisconsin: $1.1 million by Nov 25
Pennsylvania: $0.5 million by Nov 28
Michigan: $0.6 million by Nov 30
---------------------------
Wisconsin says it’s preparing for a recount; narrow margin for Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump
http://www.palmerreport.com/news/wisconsin-preparing-for-recount-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/210/

"Elections Commission director Michael Haas said Wednesday that the commission is preparing for a recount.” In other words, with a margin of only around 20,000 votes, the recount in Wisconsin is a go."
------------------------------------------
TPM livewire
Jill Stein Campaign Files Recount Request In Wisconsin
http://tinyurl.com/jjgnuq2

There is a copy of the petition at the TPM link.

This is legit.

[oberliner]

32. Almost six million dollars has been turned over to the Green Party / Jill Stein

I look forward to seeing an accounting of how all of that money is spent, and for any funds leftover after the recounts are paid for to be donated to an organization that is not the Green Party.

[anamandujano]

34. She still has over a million to go before the expected lawyer fees are met.

These recounts are not going to be a walk in the spring rain. I read that they submitted a 68 page document to file for the first recount. Needless to say, everything had to be done correctly. Time & money. Pukes might have lawyers trying to stop it, thus lawyer hours, money.

The whole world is watching. She would not even dream of holding on to a penny of what people have donated.

[oberliner]

35. The expected lawyer fees were under a million dollars on the first incarnation

When the money came in quickly, she changed the estimate on how much those "lawyer fees" would be, more than tripling them.

Look at screen captures of the original fundraising page and how she "adjusted" the numbers.

[anamandujano]

36. Two million covers the filings in the three states.

From her website:
filing fees and deadlines for each state:

Wisconsin: $1.1 million by Nov 25
Pennsylvania: $0.5 million by Nov 28
Michigan: $0.6 million by Nov 30

Somebody speculated that she put up the original figure so the goal would be seen as not too overwhelming.

I never even read the threads on Stein before the election. I know nothing about her except that some people threw their votes away that might have gone to Hillary.

I voted for Hillary and see this effort by Stein as something very good, one of a few hopeful things going on now that might save our country. If we can dump Trump and have someone qualified, someone who's not a hate monger, someone sane as POTUS, then I will always remember Stein as someone who took action while everyone else was sitting on their asses.

[oberliner]

37. And she has raised close to seven million

When she initially said lawyer fees would be under a million. Seems like she has raised twice what she said she needed initially. What happens to the extra money?

[anamandujano]

39. Our little debate is going nowhere extremely slowly. I'm out for now.

If you want to post those screenshots of the original page claiming the $2M covered everything, I'll take a look.

[oberliner]

40. Here's the screenshot from the original page

You can find that on Daily Kos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/23/1603616/-Response-from-Jill-Stein-s-recount-campaign-How-they-will-use-the-money-raised

The initial posting also includes:

"Our effort to recount votes in those states is not intended to help Hillary Clinton"

which she also later removed.

[anamandujano]

41. That doesn't bother me. The filing fees add up to more than 2M. The word "likely" suggests

she was estimating. She now has good lawyers. I can't find the article right now where I read their names. She probably found out her estimate was low. They also may have advised her that it would be more complicated than she envisioned, hence more lawyer hours. They are ensuring that every i is dotted and every t is crossed. This is no place to cut corners.

The "not intended to help Hillary Clinton" sounds like a "look over there!" It's going to help us have faith in the election as well as Hillary Clinton. I believe they are going to find a lot of stuff under the rocks they are turning over.

[oberliner]

42. OK

Hopefully she will provide a full accounting of how every dollar donated was spent and will ensure that any surplus funds not needed for the recount are given to an organization that is not The Green Party.

[Kathy M]

31. Agree.... very pronouned , and I have not ben around here to long

This should be time where the Democratic party rebuilds itself starting with new leadership . Sorry to say the following statement but it is true .... get rid of any Clinton people .

Work on states and local .......

Instead I guess the rabbit will chase the carrot for the immediate top prize instead of starting over .

Oh well ......

edit to add when I wrote Clinton people I should have wrote Clinton operatives

[TheFrenchRazor]

44. nice diversion. not. nt

[mtnsnake]

17. Hillary, not President Obama, should have called for a vote recount

but instead she told us we should accept it that Trump was going to be our president and that we owe him an open mind (yukk).

[MineralMan]

22. President Obama is correct. The outcome of the 2016

presidential election isn't going to change. Trump will have enough electoral votes to take office.

It's fine that recounts will take place in close states. However, I put no faith in those changing the results before a new President is sworn into office.

But, if recounts happen, that's part of our election process. Personally, I'm trying to figure out ways to keep Trump from destroying the progress we have made in the past 60 or so years. That seems a better option for now.

[KingCharlemagne]

23. Have you come up with any answers yet? I've been trying to figure out

the same things myself. Not easy in a one-party state where that party also controls all but one of the 2/3 of state legislatures necessary for a constitutional conventon to toss the whole thing out.

[MineralMan]

24. Unfortunately, no.

I think it's going to have to be an issue by issue thing. At this point, I'm waiting to see what a Trump administration is going to try to do. Once that's clear, then I'll try to find ways to help thwart disastrous plans.

I'm still depressed about the outcome. That will change to planned activities down the road, though.

[KingCharlemagne]

38. Wow, that's a very profound response. I share your depression right now and combine

it with fear I would say that many you pulled the lever for Trump did not vote for the outrages he has committed -- appointing a white supremacist as chief White House strategist, for example -- or is sure to commit once inaugurated. If I really thought they had voted for that, I would be making plans to leave the country as quickly and quietly as possible. I think many of the people who voted for Trump were conned and misguided. If so, resistance to his outages on a case-by-case basis would seem to be the order of the day. Because Trump will only get away with those outrages if people stay silent and do not resist.

That's where my thoughts are currently, anyway. I have no plans to leave the country. Not yet, anyway. I spent 8 years fighting Bssh and slowly watched opinion turn against him decisively, so I know it can happen again.

[Coyotl]

25. Our election results DO NOT accurately reflect the will of the American people, rather

the people who were allowed to vote and did vote.

How many millions were disenfranchised? Voter suppression is targeted at the key races to cheat on the outcome. Everything else being done to flip the election, voter caging, fewer voting places, shortened early voting, intimidation, all the rest, it is being done to make sure the election does NOT express the will of the electorate.

Billions are spent to make sure that the minority rules.

[heaven05]

26. trying to avoid bloodshed I guess