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In reply to the discussion: Oh Really? Looking back-O’Connor said she isn’t sure high court should have taken the "2000" case [View all]Samantha
(9,314 posts)Last edited Sun Apr 28, 2013, 07:04 PM - Edit history (1)
USSC had zero constitutional authority to review the Florida's Supreme Court decision. The Constitution clearly delegates the authority to decide how Presidential elections are to be conducted to the states, provided of course all of the rules are fully laid out in the states' constitutions prior to the date of the election. Clearly, Florida had done this. It even revised those rules two years before Election 2000 as a result of a lawsuit that overturned a mayoral race, ejecting the politician who had been declared the winner and giving the job to the person who had filed the suit.
That embarrassment was the reason the Protest/Contest provisions were inserted into the State Constitution, to preclude mistakes such as that one from happening again. And those were the clauses in the constitution Al Gore cited with each move he made. Although many said at that time Gore's biggest mistake was not requesting a statewide recount, there was zero provision for that in the Constitution. The only way that could have been achieved was by permission of the Governor (and we all remember who that was) or by court order. The court order did eventually emerge from the highest court in that State, and that exact order was the one shut down by the USSC. That was an unconstitutional move on its part.
In the meantime, the Republican party quoted obsolete parts of the constitution that had been thrown out and loudly and chronically accused Gore of attempting to steal the election. It was a debacle of the worst type, and no one in authority challenged the erroneous statements coming out of that state in defense of the Bush* goal of "taking" the election. One of the attorneys who was a constitutional lawyer who left Washington to go to Florida to assist the Bush campaign on a pro bono basis during that time remained invisible and silent to the general public when unconstitutional threats were issued such as that by the Republican Florida legislature. Remember that threat? Even if a recount proved Gore had in fact won the popular vote, the legislature would still select a Republican slate of electors to send to the Electoral College. That move in particular would not only have been unconstitutional, it would have given the Electoral College the opportunity to disregard that slate since it had been chosen in violation of the guidelines outlined in its own state constitution.
The attorney assisting the Bush campaign in Florida from DC was none other than John Roberts, now the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Puts a whole new focus on that trite political phrase, "To the victor belongs the spoils", doesn't it?
To this day, I cannot believe the Republican party actually got away with this. And here we are 13 years later, dealing with the devastating consequences of a Bush* presidency with no indicators of when that influence will eventually evaporate. A part of the Bush* legacy never will dissipate as permanent scars on people and places impacted by his "Presidential" decisions are clearly visible this day and will remain for decades to come.
Sam