Strib finally covers Farheen!

We finally received media attention from the Strib!

http://www.startribune.com/politics/recount/111014859.html

Apparently someone wrote “Who?” next to Farheen and Dan’s names on a ballot for Dayton. This must have been a very mean-spirited voter. Anybody recognize the handwriting?

WikiLeaks

I have high hopes for WikiLeaks:

“The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in ‘client states’; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them.”

For years, the Green Party has been trying to raise awareness about how our government has been corrupted by the corporate parties. Hopefully this new information will finally convince more people to quit voting for the Democrats and Republicans.

Fewer votes cast than in 2006

This map shows the drop in votes cast from 2006 to 2010. The darker the shade of red, the deeper the drop in votes. The green counties actually saw an increase in votes cast. It looks like the biggest drops were along the southern and western edges of the state.

Interestingly, although Mike Hatch lost, he received more votes four years ago than Mark Dayton did this year.

Fewer voters choose Dayton

Year	Office	Candidate	MN%	MNvotes
2006	Senator	Klobuchar	58.06	1278849
2008	President	Obama	54.06	1573354
2010	Attorney	Swanson	52.9	1075536
2004	President	Kerry	51.09	1445014
2010	Secretary	Ritchie	49.1	999382
2000	Senator	Dayton	48.83	1181553
2010	Auditor	Otto	48.39	981822
2000	President	Gore	47.91	1168266
2002	Senator	Mondale	47.34	1067246
2006	Governor	Hatch	45.73	1007460
2010	Governor	Dayton	43.63	919214
2008	Senator	Franken	41.99	1212431
2002	Governor	Moe	36.46	821268
1998	Governor	Humphrey	28.1	587528

As this table shows, Dayton’s numbers this year were lower than other DFL statewide candidates this year and in years past, and lower than what he himself got when he ran for Senate in 2000. Horner, who got 12%, compared to 5% for other IP candidates this year, can explain most of the difference. The IP has haunted the DFL in races for Governor ever since Jesse Ventura won in 1998. But Horner is arguably more conservative than Dean Barkley, Tim Penney, and Peter Hutchinson, IP candidates of years past. Why is the IP still pulling votes from the Democrat? It could be IP party loyalty, or voters being uninformed about how conservative Horner is. But it could also be high negatives for Dayton, and I think the Farheen Hakeem campaign had something to do with that. We know that she forced the recount.

That fewer voters are choosing the DFL offers us a ray of hope that we can one day defeat the corrupt corporate-party system dominated by the Republicans and Democrats. Since Republican voters seem to be less informed about what can be accomplished by reforming government, Democratic voters will likely need to abandon their party first. They may end up doing this for moral reasons. We know that Democratic Party policies have resulted in deaths in Iraq, Palestine, in coalmines, and on oilrigs. Republican Party policies are similar, but it may take longer for Republican voters to become informed and to incorporate altruistic values into their belief systems.

Gubernatorial recount

Mark Dayton needed just 0.08% more of the total to reach half a percent and avoid an automatic recount. By contrast, Green Party candidate Farheen Hakeem received 0.29% of the total. The people have spoken.

If only Mark Dayton had not voted to fund the Iraq War, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only Mark Dayton had not voted for the Patriot Act, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only Mark Dayton had not supported providing military aid to Israel, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only Mark Dayton had not voted to build a fence along the Mexican border, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only Mark Dayton had not helped pass the Bush tax cuts, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only Mark Dayton had not voted to give billions to coal, oil, nuclear, and ethanol, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only Mark Dayton had not suggested a state-run casino, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only Mark Dayton had not advocated state support for a stadium, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only Mark Dayton had publicly campaigned on Instant Runoff Voting, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only the DFL had endorsed John Marty, then perhaps this recount could have been avoided.

If only every Dayton voter had voted for Farheen Hakeem, then this recount WOULD have been avoided.

I can’t understand why anyone would want to be part of a corrupt political system. If you voted for Obama, Dayton, or Ellison, you’re responsible for predator drones in Pakistan, depleted uranium in Iraq, and all the deaths caused by Democratic Party policies. Make no mistake, that blood is on your hands.

Just as any suffering caused by Tim Pawlenty or Tom Emmer is on the hands of the Republicans, and theirs alone. Make no mistake. YOU are responsible for what YOU vote for, not for what somebody else votes for.

Emmer should drop out. It would be the decent thing to do, but he is not a decent bet to drop out. He will likely try to destroy our democratic government.

If Emmer does not drop out, he should at least thank Farheen Hakeem. He should express gratitude to a Muslim woman in hijab, who prays to Allah, and who takes part in a Green Party jihad.

Got IRV?

SPOILERS!!!

I embrace our role as potential spoilers. The lesson here is that if Democrats nominate conservative, big-money candidates, they risk losing elections.

Hakeem Wins FairVote Ranked Poll!

(Update above: Screen shot AFTER polls closed!)

As of this writing, with less than 22 hours before polls open, Farheen Hakeem has won the FairVote Ranked Poll! This shows that when voters have a chance to rank their favorite candidate first, Hakeem emerges as the best candidate in the field. She had by far the most first-choice votes, with 38%, compared to 26% for Dayton and 24% for Horner.

This poll was never concluded and remains subject to change, so I have pasted the current results below. The formatting may be hard to read, but the numbers are there:

Candidate name Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6
Mark Dayton/Yvonne Prettner Solon (DFL Party) 76 76 +1 77 +2 79 +4 83 +54 137 -
Tom Emmer/Annette Meeks (Republican Party) 8 +1 9 +1 10 -10 - - - -
Linda Eno/Howard Hanson (Resource Party) 1 -1 - - - - - -
Farheen Hakeem/Dan Dittmann (Green Party) 112 112 +1 113 +1 114 +13 127 +11 138 Elected
Tom Horner/James Mulder (Independence Party) 70 70 70 +2 72 +5 77 -77 - -
Ken Pentel/Erin Wallace (Ecology Democracy Party) 24 24 +2 26 +1 27 -27 - - -
Chris Wright/Edwin Engelman (Grassroots Party) 5 5 -5 - - - - -

Here is the Fairvote page:
http://fairvotemn.org/fv/frontpage-poll-results/1826