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By JAMES THORNER
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 14, 2000
PORT RICHEY -- Bill Bunting, dressed in the getup of an 18th-century American revolutionary, called out his band of Republican minutemen to blast what he called the attempted theft of this year's presidential election.
Lining the west side of U.S. 19 in Pasco County on Monday afternoon, Bunting and more than 100 supporters of George W. Bush offered a counterpunch to the pro-Al Gore forces rallying in Palm Beach County.
"We're being wronged. We're being cheated by the Democrats," Bunting said from under the brim of his tricorner hat, dozens of passing cars and trucks honking in support. "The election is being stolen."
Next to Bunting, Florence McDonald, a retiree from New Port Richey, held aloft a copy of the federal Constitution.
Others displayed the Declaration of Independence and handmade signs such as "Al Gore Corrupt to the Core," "Bush already won twice" and "Stop Recount."
You wouldn't know it from the protest, but Pasco has been among the more peaceful Florida counties in terms of the election, presided over by Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning, a registered Democrat.
Pasco's recount of last week's vote left Gore with a small lead over Bush, 69,564 to 68,582.
An estimated 2,141 Pasco voters double-punched their choice for president and another 1,776 left that part of the ballot blank.
All were eliminated from the vote totals for president.
As of Monday evening, with four days left until the deadline for receiving absentee ballots, Pasco had received 13 overseas ballots. As in other counties, two times as many Republicans than Democrats requested such ballots before the election.
Browning was forced to address rumors Monday that a Pasco deputy had discovered a sealed, uncounted ballot box in the Lexington Oaks neighborhood in Wesley Chapel.
The explanation appeared much more innocent.
A captain in the Sheriff's Office called Browning at home Sunday to ask the elections office to pick up any polling equipment left over from Tuesday.
"The thing that bothers me is nobody trusts anybody," Browning said.
"It's like we based our recount on our party affiliation.
"I'd end up going to Sing Sing if I pulled stunts like that."
But the protesters were less angry at Pasco officials than at the Gore campaign's attempt to demand a hand count of votes in heavily Democratic Florida counties, even though a previous statewide recount showed Bush with the lead.
"I think America's had about enough," said Jon Courtney, who brought his three children to the roadside rally about a half mile south of State Road 52.
His wife, Kim, put in her two cents.
"We're not in some Third World country where a guy won't accept that he's lost the election."
Though he didn't share the party registration of the protesters, Browning sympathized with their complaints.
Hand counting ballots only in Democratic-leaning counties is wrong-headed, Browning thinks.
"Where's the fairness in that?" he said.