527 !

I couldn't remember what the GWB margin of victory over Gore was in Florida 2000, so I looked it up and was surprised...........527 votes!
Millions of folks in Florida, and 527 votes separated the two candidates.
We all know that is WELL within the margin of error of our voting systems, and that is why the election result was so hotly contested.

As a conservative, it's chilling for me to think of those 527 votes.
Let me tell you another story, and why you should be amazed at "527" too.

Sara Jean had a brother, (Sam), who died within the last year.
Sam had Down's Syndrome, and although he outlived all predictions and died in his late 40's, he had the mental abilities of a 4 year old.

When Sara Jean's Mother was incapacitated by a stroke, Sara Jean became his Guardian. She/we controlled virtually every aspect of his life..........we were included in all decisions about him......
Social life, health care, work related decisions......(yes, even with a mental age of 4 yrs., Sam had a job).

When the 2000 election approached and was obviously going to be close,
I got to thinking about Sam, and the 15 other mentally challenged inhabitants of his facility.

I called and asked, "do they vote, and if so, how?"

"Yes, they all vote. They are all registered voters."

So I asked, "how do they know the issues? How do they know who to vote for?"

"Well, we leave the TV on for them and they watch the news." (!!!!!!!!!!!)
"So we ask them how they want to vote, and we assist them in the booth."

(I just bet you do!)


I don't know how you feel, but I am not comfortable with the idea of a "4 year old" voting.
I'm even less comfortable with the idea of a 4 year old voting with the assistance of a person whose paycheck depends entirely on government programs and support.
I'm pretty sure the person assisting Sam would not want to vote for a fiscal conservative, under any circumstance.

Do you really believe this assistant asked Sam how he wanted to vote?
If you had a 4 year old child, and that child could vote legally, would you bother to ask how they wanted to vote while you were "assisting" them?

And here's the "elephant in the room".........how many mentally disabled people are there in Florida, that were "assisted" by a government supported social worker when they pulled the voting lever..............hundreds? Thousands?
I'm guessing the number of people similar to Sam in facilities down there would be in the 10's of thousands.

It was certainly more than 527.

So you think it's not important for you to make your way to the polls?

If you voted for GWB in Florida in '00, you can count yourself among an important roster of 527............a small number that should look even smaller now!