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Valley stays glued to the drama By Dani Dodge Don Webb wasn�t just watching the UCLA vs. University of Kansas basketball game at Bleachers Bar and Grill Friday evening. His attention also was trained on MSNBC, as it televised the county-by-county presidential vote count in Florida. Rally is today Activists and Southern Oregon University students will hold a rally today to call attention to what they are calling the "fundamental problems with democracy in this country." The rally will begin at noon at the Stevenson Union on the SOU campus. From there, the activists will march to the downtown Ashland plaza. Activist organizer Wes Brain said Ashland�s "pro-democracy rally" will be one of many around the country. Brain said many of the rally participants have concerns about voter fraud, confusing ballots and the electoral college system of choosing a president. "We are joining protests in 58 other cities, including Portland and Eugene, to bring attention to an election we believe is fundamentally flawed," Brain said. The Costco manager talks nightly with his family about the difficult presidential election. Daily, he overhears conversations at work. But he�s still hungry for every scrap of information anyway. "It�s the hottest topic on the scene, other than the Raiders winning," said the 38-year-old Medford father of two. All over the county, the buzz continued Friday. People chatted about it over birthday cake at Lava Lanes bowling center; discussed it at eclectic coffee houses like Evo�s Java House in Ashland; and even argued over it in the Trophy Room bar in Medford. "Are you still whining and sniveling?" Republican Ron Boughton shouted to his Democratic friend at the end of a crowded table in the smoky tavern. "Bush has already won." "He did?" the Democrat shouted back. "I don�t think so. I don�t think the revote is over." As the country collapses into complete confusion over who will lead the country for the next four years, many in the Rogue Valley see the issue in simple and clear terms. Sitting at the bar of the Trophy Room playing a trivia game and crushing out one cigarette after another, Wayne Christensen of Central Point said Vice President Al Gore should never have retracted his concession call to Gov. George W. Bush. "It should have been a done deal on Wednesday," the 51-year-old salesman said. "Whoever wins, no one wins � because there�s no legitimacy now." "The fate of the American people is shot to hell." But at Evo�s, where a hemp-adorned crowd laughed as they discussed ways to slip Green Party candidate Ralph Nader into the presidency while the other two candidates battled it out, people were less pessimistic. Some said all the publicity and controversy have served to educate people about the election process. James Olson, a 42-year-old Ashland landscaper, said the problems have really brought the need to abolish the Electoral College to the forefront. He insisted popular vote is a much more fair way to pick a president � and all this haggling is unnecessary. The American Indian carried a purse-sized hemp healing bag over his shoulder. Inside it he had medicinal cards and crystals. But he said he had nothing to heal the nation. "What will solve the problem for the nation is in here," he said hitting his chest. A few blocks away, Vrinda Leier Heyden was having a late breakfast with her 4-year-old son, her 16-year-old daughter and her daughter�s friend at the Blue Mountain Cafe. They all said that the situation had dominated conversations at school, work and home. "People at school were talking about how bad Bush is and how Nader screwed things up for Gore and the bad ballots," said 16-year-old Athena Lawrence, a student at St. Mary�s High School. But Heyden tried to convince her daughter that Nader�s run really was more important than a possible Gore loss. "Why should he have withdrawn just because the nation was split?" Heyden reasoned. "The Republicans and Democrats are bought by the same corporations." But after about a half-hour of conversation, the entire table � except 4-year-old Tejas Leier, who contentedly munched a berry scone instead of being drawn into the controversy � agreed that people who got confusing ballots in Florida should be allowed to revote. "It�s not fair � they meant to vote for Gore," said 16-year-old Kelly Minks, who had seen the Palm Beach ballot some have claimed was confusing in one of her classes. "If Bush gets it, I think I�ll move to a different country." But at Lava Lanes, where Brenda Summer of Eagle Point was hosting a birthday party for her 10-year-old daughter, she said the arguing should stop � even though she conceded those wanting a revote have a point. "My understanding is that Bush has won it but Gore won�t give up," the Democrat said. "The bottom line is that Bush won, and it takes a lot of taxpayer time and money to deal with all these other things." Summers said at first she believed all the controversy surrounding the vote would blow over quickly. Now she�s worried the country may be torn apart. She�s deeply concerned about America�s future. But over a beer back at Bleachers, Webb said he believes the situation will all be solved within a week. Unlike some others, he doesn�t expect the protests or lawsuits to destroy America�s democracy. "If anything, it will just bring up the importance of voting," Webb said. "And get rid of the opinion that �my vote doesn�t count.� " Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.