I haven't been able to stop thinking about this election mess for the past month, so I thought I might as well write another little article about it. For the most part, I know I am preaching to the converted in this forum-- unlike some Democrats who like to post their articles to both the Democratic and Republican streams here in an effort to elicit more page views and to antagonize the GOP faithful, I offer my thoughts in the GOP section only--but I know that I have taken some comfort in the expressed thoughts and frustrations of other Republicans. This situation is scary, especially right now, the night before the decisions about the absentee ballot questions and the appeal to the Florida Supreme Court will probably come down. While the whole idea of throwing out thousands of ballots containing legally-cast votes shocks me, I worry what the judges will do, especially Judge Clark. If nothing else, this past month has taught all Americans the fact that the judicial system, at all levels, is political; there is no denying that or escaping that.
Let's just lay out the real story of what is going on here, especially in relation to the Florida legislature. It seems abundantly clear to me that Al Gore is doing all he can to extend the controversy past the December 12 deadline. Surely, he would love to win some or all of the big court decisions that are imminent but he surely knows that the law is not on his side (although the liberal Florida Supreme Court judges might be, I fear), but his grand strategy is to disqualify the electors from Florida in an effort to capture the Presidency in Congress. He wants to see Florida's 25 electors thrown out altogether, then he will try to convince Congress to deduct those 25 electors from the grand total of 538 and thus "win" by a margin of 267 to 246. A critical part of this Gore d'etat plan is to force the Florida legislature to name its own electors for George W. Bush, thereby directing public opinion against the "Republican-dominated" legislature rather than himself. Then he can ride into Congress on a white horse and steal the Presidency, while at the same time weakening the GOP for the short-term or even long-term.
I really hope the Florida legislature does not have to get involved in the selection of electors because I know it would damage the GOP, but I recognize the fact that the legislators really have no choice in the matter. The convening of a special session and the possible naming of electors is the Constitutional duty of all members of the legislature. This is not partisan politics. The President of the Florida Senate obviously does not want the legislature to take action, but he recognizes his obligation concerning such action. The Florida Supreme Court judges, on the other hand, have had their fingers in the pot for weeks now, and their involvement is both unwarranted and improper because the legislature has plenary power to uphold the law and certify a winner based on the rules established prior to Election Day of this year. If anyone is to blame for the legislature's involvement in this matter, it is Al Gore himself, yet all of the news media are going to jump all over and condemn Florida's legislators. Who would have thought, even in Clinton's America, that elected representatives of the people could be condemned, castigated, insulted, etc., for following a procedure ordained by our great Constitution?
One thing I don't understand is this: why do Gore's brain trust keep letting him speak to reporters when he keeps saying things that reflect badly on him? All sorts of Democratic lawyers insisted time and time again that Gore would concede if he lost in the Florida Supreme Court. At almost the same time as Boies is reiterating that fact, Gore comes out and does more than just hint that he will not concede even if his appeal is denied. One guest on some news show a couple of nights ago said that they would have to pry Gore's hands off of Judge Rehnquist's Bible when he is swearing in George W. Bush. Gore doesn't care an iota about the will of the people, and he is certainly not doing all of this for moral reasons. Gore wants to be President; he believes he is supposed to be President in some fatalistic sense; he will lie, cheat, and steal to win. His fight is all about self-interest, ego, and lust for power. A lot of us have known for more than eight years now just what kind of unethical person Gore is, so his childish, whining actions have come as no surprise to me. This is not to say that it does not anger me, however. It is bad enough that Gore and the Clintonistas have worked all these years to circumvent the federal Constitution at every turn in pursuit of their own goals and interests. Now, however, we have Al Gore actually declaring that the Constitution is wrong and should be ignored. That should anger and distrust every American of every party in this country.
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