As Election Day nears, Obama supporters step up riot threats

Floridatexan wrote:
I guess you've forgotten about the PAID GOP RIOTERS in 2000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot

Just imagine how much better off we would be if Bush hadn't hired out-of-state thugs in suits to stop the recount, forcing the issue to the Supremes.

---------------

"The Brooks Brothers riot is the term coined to describe the demonstration at a meeting of election canvassers in Miami-Dade County, Florida on November 19, 2000, during a recount of votes made during the 2000 United States presidential election. The name refers to a traditional brand of suits associated with conservative business dress, reinforcing the allegation that the corporately attired protesters sporting "Hermès ties"[1] were astroturfing, which is to say that they were not, in fact, just ordinary local citizens expressing their concerns about counting practices. Hundreds of "paid GOP crusaders" descended upon South Florida to protest the state's recounts,[2] with at least half a dozen of the demonstrators at Miami-Dade paid by George W. Bush's recount committee.[3] Several of these protesters were identified as Republican staffers and a number later went on to jobs in the Bush administration.[4]

The demonstration was organized by Republican operatives, sometimes referred to as the "Brooks Brothers Brigade",[5] to oppose the recount of 10,750 ballots during the Florida recount. The canvassers decided to move the counting process to a smaller room and restrict media access to 25 feet away while they continued. At this time, New York Rep. John Sweeney told an aide to "Shut it down."[3][1] The demonstration turned violent, and according to the NY Times, "several people were trampled, punched or kicked when protesters tried to rush the doors outside the office of the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections. Sheriff's deputies restored order." DNC aide Luis Rosero was kicked and punched. Within two hours after the riot died down, the canvassing board unanimously voted to shut down the count, in part due to perceptions that the process wasn't open or fair, and in part because the court-mandated deadline was impossible to meet.[6][7][8]

The controversial incident was set in motion by John E. Sweeney,[9] a New York Republican who was nicknamed "Congressman Kick-Ass" by President Bush for his work in Florida.[10] Sweeney defended his actions by arguing that his aim was not to stop the hand recount but to restore the process to public view.[11] Some Bush supporters did acknowledge they hoped the recount would end. "We were trying to stop the recount; Bush had already won," said Evilio Cepero, a reporter for WAQI, an influential Spanish talk radio station in Miami. "We were urging people to come downtown and support and protest this injustice." A Republican lawyer commented, "People were pounding on the doors, but they had an absolute right to get in."[6] The protest prevented official observers and members of the press from getting in.[12]

[edit] Participants

A partial list:
Roger Stone,[13] a self described "GOP Hitman"[14] and former member of Nixon's Committee for the Re-Election of the President
Matt Schlapp, a former House aide who became the White House political director during the Bush administration
Garry Malphrus, who became deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council during the during the Bush administration
Rory Cooper, a former staffer for the National Republican Congressional Committee
Tom Pyle, a former Tom Delay (R-Tex.) staffer
Roger Morse, a former House aide who became a lobbyist
Duane Gibson, an aide on the House Resources Committee who became a lobbyist and consultant
Chuck Royal, legislative assistant to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.),
Layna McConkey Peltier, a former Senate and House aide
Kevin Smith, a former GOP House aide
Steven Brophy, a former GOP Senate aide..."

-------------------------

Republicans can't "win" without cheating.

I guess you forgot to mention Gore sued to exclued the military vote. It's happening again in violation of a Federal Law.