Recount funds raised as of about 11 am, Monday 28 November
Friday 25 November, just before Wisconsin's deadline, the Stein campaign filed the official paperwork for recounting the 2016 presidential vote there. Over the weekend, they got the news of just how many hoops they would need to jump through to make the Pennsylvania recount happen, and how many of those hoops were flaming. The Pennsylvania deadline is this afternoon. Michigan's deadline is Wednesday the 30th, and it's not apparent whether the necessary $7 million will be raised to pursue a recount there.
There is far too much news on the topic of the Jill 2016 recount since I posted on it last Thursday. There is also misinformation by the ton floating around the Internet. To counter a lot of the misinformation and speculation as to the motives behind the effort, the campaign has added this FAQ page.
The mainstream media outlets (trigger warning: Fox News) are still paying attention; most of them are actually saying Jill Stein's name in connection with the story. Of course, interviewers will ignore the answers on the FAQ page and ask the same dumb questions anyway.
There is far too much news on the topic of the Jill 2016 recount since I posted on it last Thursday. There is also misinformation by the ton floating around the Internet. To counter a lot of the misinformation and speculation as to the motives behind the effort, the campaign has added this FAQ page.
The mainstream media outlets (trigger warning: Fox News) are still paying attention; most of them are actually saying Jill Stein's name in connection with the story. Of course, interviewers will ignore the answers on the FAQ page and ask the same dumb questions anyway.
Even among people whose opinions I respect, there are far too many differing opinions on the recount effort for li'l ol' me to keep track of; I'll link you to Caity and Socratic Gadfly just for starters. Opinions on Facebook from Greens old and new have run the gamut from wildly enthusiastic approval to OMG it might flip the vote and cause CIVIL WAR. Some Greens have changed their positions since Wednesday: e.g., a prominent Green in Maine went from skeptical to approving. The GPUS National Steering Committee voted against supporting the effort, 5-3 with one abstention.
Yesterday, author H.A. Goodman, who is sort of an expert on this stuff, posted a video (I rate it 4 out of 5 Sominex) spelling out why he believes that a Pennsylvania recount will be impossible. Stein made a 15-minute video (not much more exciting) explaining just what the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires, and it's not a pretty picture.
Goodman also reminds hopeful Clintonites, many of whom have thrown their dollars at this recount effort, that their standard-bearer cannot reach 270 electoral votes by flipping just two of the three states selected for recount petitions. Even flipping Pennsylvania and Michigan will leave her just shy of the mark.
On the fundraising front, what started as a torrent has become something of a trickle, which is how these pop-up campaigns often play out. The campaign reached the $5 million mark by noon Saturday, with help from MoveOn.org and other liberal-to-progressive groups; however, about 48 hours later, it's inching along at about $6.3 million. The revised goal of $7 million is to cover all the incidental expenses for all three states. Michigan, being last on the calendar, gets last priority, unless Pennsylvania does indeed turn out to be impossible.
Regardless of how this turns out, it is a historic venture, and it has raised the profile of the Green Party in a huge and mostly positive way. Stay, as they say, tuned.
Yesterday, author H.A. Goodman, who is sort of an expert on this stuff, posted a video (I rate it 4 out of 5 Sominex) spelling out why he believes that a Pennsylvania recount will be impossible. Stein made a 15-minute video (not much more exciting) explaining just what the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires, and it's not a pretty picture.
Goodman also reminds hopeful Clintonites, many of whom have thrown their dollars at this recount effort, that their standard-bearer cannot reach 270 electoral votes by flipping just two of the three states selected for recount petitions. Even flipping Pennsylvania and Michigan will leave her just shy of the mark.
On the fundraising front, what started as a torrent has become something of a trickle, which is how these pop-up campaigns often play out. The campaign reached the $5 million mark by noon Saturday, with help from MoveOn.org and other liberal-to-progressive groups; however, about 48 hours later, it's inching along at about $6.3 million. The revised goal of $7 million is to cover all the incidental expenses for all three states. Michigan, being last on the calendar, gets last priority, unless Pennsylvania does indeed turn out to be impossible.
Regardless of how this turns out, it is a historic venture, and it has raised the profile of the Green Party in a huge and mostly positive way. Stay, as they say, tuned.
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