Denied: Kurita Appeal Continues

14 Responses to “Denied: Kurita Appeal Continues”

1. Eleanor A writes
   April 13th, 2009 12:48 am

   Excellent. Still can’t believe a bunch of dunderheaded insiders at TNDP thought throwing out a legitimate election and thwarting the will of a bunch of voters was such a great idea.

   Even for Tennessee, the hypocrisy on this one was breathtaking.

2. Ft. Campbell Dem writes
   April 13th, 2009 12:52 am

   Give it up Ros. You lost. The voters went to the polls and Picked Tim Barnes.

3. TennRod writes
   April 13th, 2009 8:21 am

   Sorry, FCDem, last time I looked, if you got the most votes, you were supposed to win. Eleanor is exactly right. Stealing this election from Kurita was the starting point for the Democratic Party’s losses in 2008, and it was the most shameful episode in the modern history of the Tennessee Democratic Party.

4. Ft. Campbell Dem writes
   April 13th, 2009 10:33 am

   TennRod, She went into a polling place, she broke the law, does that mean anything?

5. spaz writes
   April 13th, 2009 11:00 am

   Rosalind was totally screwed on this, but let’s not pretend, Rod, that what happened in this election had anything at all to do with the thumping the Democrats took in November.

   The two are unrelated.

6. TennRod writes
   April 13th, 2009 11:23 am

   Yeah, sure, FCDem, 20 or more people saw her going to the bathroom and said, “Hey, Rosalind’s going to pee, so I’m going to change my vote from Barnes and vote for her.” There as never an allegation that she was campaigning inside the voting location, never.

   There was also never once a charge that a single vote was improperly cast. No dead people, no illegal immigrants, no one from out of district, no unqualified voters. Not once. Not one allegation of voter fraud. Not one.

   Spaz, you are mistaken. TNDP spent $80,000+ defending this election theft — money that could have been much better spent winning the handful of votes that cost us three Senate seats. And the damage to the Democratic Party in the general public (as opposed to the inside baseball elite) for stealing the election was real.

7. Ft. Campbell Dem writes
   April 13th, 2009 11:49 am

   TennRod, We don’t know what she did when she went into the building that she wasn’t supposed to be in. Other candidates that had be there went across the street to use the rest room.

8. TennRod writes
   April 13th, 2009 11:55 am

   That is such a b.s. excuse for stealing an election. I cannot believe that this the thin thread on which this travesty has been hung. Stealing an election used to be the exclusive domain of the GOP.

9. spaz writes
   April 13th, 2009 12:11 pm

   TennRod sez: “TNDP spent $80,000+ defending this election theft — money that could have been much better spent winning the handful of votes that cost us three Senate seats.”

   Again, Rod, I am on your side with the TNDP overturning Rosalind’s legitimate primary victory. But where we’re going to have to part ways here is your statement above.

   It assumes that the 80K would have impacted any of the races and changed the election results. The assumption that more money equals a better election result is precisely the flawed assumption that you and the other party insider hacks continue to make despite clear evidence to the contrary. After all, the TNDP outraised the TNGOP last year and what did it get them? Minority party status for the first time in… um… EVER.

   Until you, Dr. Jellyfish, and the rest of the Fletcher cheerleaders get it through your heads that money is not the cure-all for the Democratic Party, we are going to continue to lose - regardless of who the Chairman is.

   But make no mistake… Roz was robbed.

10. dontcallmemikey writes
    April 13th, 2009 12:22 pm

    It’s over. Move on. Geesh …

11. TennRod writes
    April 13th, 2009 2:21 pm

    So, Spaz, I guess we don’t need to raise money to win elections. Let’s see how that works for us.

    But this is not Forrester discussion. I am glad we agree on one thing: Stealing an election from Kurita was just wrong.

12. Eleanor A writes
    April 13th, 2009 3:11 pm

    That is such a b.s. excuse for stealing an election. I cannot believe that this the thin thread on which this travesty has been hung. Stealing an election used to be the exclusive domain of the GOP.

    Right. And nothing about it, of course, had to do with punishment for Kurita’s voting against Wilder in ‘06. Honestly, the very idea that Dems thought it was A-OK for him to keep the speakership after the Dems lost the Senate is ludicrous - there’s a little concept entitled ‘will of the voters’ that is sancrosact in electoral politics. Well, in states other than TN, of course.

    News flash: Most states actually are allowed to elect their own statewide representatives, rather than having them ramrodded by officials who are, as usual, convinced they know what’s best for we the unwashed populace.

    Oh, and $80,000? Nope, that’s just the debt that’s still outstanding. The total TNDP spent to beat Kurita was just under $300,000. And I don’t care who you are, that’s a lot of cabbage. I have to agree that, had that money, time and energy been spent to help other candidates, TNDP would likely not be facing the current scenario. (It wasn’t just money. TNDP and the AFL-CIO organized door to door, phone banking, all sortsa stuff you don’t usually see when they’re not trying to put an uppity woman in her place. Not that anybody even seems to notice that Kurita had been the highest-ranking Dem woman in the state, or what kind of chilling message that sends.)

    Not that I’m necessarily endorsing the breathlessness espoused around here regarding Forrester, but I do have to point out he was the water-carrier for Barnes on the E.C. Just wish we had some options for leadership around here other than the endless parade of “here comes the new boss, same as the old boss.”

13. Eleanor A writes
    April 13th, 2009 3:13 pm

    p.s. there had been longstanding acrimony between other GOB Dems and Kurita - she was passed over for Committee leadership repeatedly after having served in the Senate for 12 years; she was treated like a dog’s breakfast for having dared to run for Senate in ‘06…make no mistake, this was a political vendetta carried out by the E.C. on behalf of folks like Jim Kyle and McWherter.

14. TennRod writes
    April 13th, 2009 3:16 pm

    Thank you, Eleanor, for setting me straight on the real cost of this soviet-style election theft. What an unparalleled disgrace for the Tennessee Democratic Party. And you are right, the labor money, the shoe leather, the political capital, as well as the money might have made a difference.

    I hope Rosalind winds up winning on appeal.