Hi. My name is Michael, and I am an op-ed, “letters to the editor” junkie. There is little I love more than to read actual news articles and then read someone else’s assessment. I know full well that many writers play loose with facts in order to make their point and, though certainly unintentional, I may well be guilty myself from time to time. However, my name means a little more to me than my opinion so in matters of being right or being fair, I choose fair.
It is also easy to see, at least for the informed reader, that many “letters to the editor” are based more on headlines and sound bites than on the whole story. It is part of the reason why I sometimes cringe knowing that even those who don’t bother getting the whole story are allowed the same vote as I and others who do bother to read the whole story. Still it must be acknowledged that being informed does not necessarily equate with being right.
Having said all this, I must say that if I read one more “letter to the editor” from another sour-grapes munchin’ Democrat about how President Bush was “appointed” to his position by the US Supreme Court, I am going to choke! These letters that convey an attitude of partisan spin, misinformation and downright ignorance only serve as yet another reminder that the majority of Americans are lacking in the basic tenets of American civics. The lack of civility in these letters is equally appalling.
The decision by the US Supreme Court came as a result of Florida’s carelessness and Al Gore’s blind ambition. Upon learning that the vote count might be close enough to trigger an automatic recount, Mr. Gore retracted the concession he had already made to Mr. Bush only an hour before. The vote was 2,909,135 to Bush, 2,907,351 to Gore, but the first lawsuit filed was in a challenge to Florida’s “butterfly ballots”. This all happened on November 8.
On November 9 Mr. Gore’s campaign requested a manual recount in four Florida counties where the votes were actually too close to call especially in light of some seeming inconsistencies in reporting as well as allegations of fraud in addition to some voters claiming to have been duped by the so-called “butterfly ballots”. Remember the charges from some voters who claimed that what they actually selected was not what they meant to select? Even by now it’s beginning to get a little ridiculous if somewhat entertaining, but it is important business to see to it that all ballots are counted and counted properly.
On November 11, Siegel vs. LePore is filed in federal court on behalf of Mr. Bush and a collection of voters to halt the manual recounts, alleging constitutional violations of equal protection among other violations. On November 12 Palm Beach County begins its manual recount.
On November 13 a US District judge rejects the Siegel plea to halt manual recounts, but on November 14 a circuit court judge rules that Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris may enforce a statutory 5pm deadline for county reporting of returns but also held that she may not arbitrarily refuse to include late filed returns. On November 15 Secretary Harris indicated that she will not consider further returns from counties that had already made their submissions.
November 17 was the deadline for receiving overseas absentee ballots, and circuit judge Terry Lewis refused to compel Secretary Harris to consider late returns. One must infer from this that the judge simply upheld Florida law in that anything received after the state-mandated deadlines are void. From there the Florida Supreme Court had intervened at the behest of the Gore campaign, and Secretary Harris was prohibited from certifying election results without further word from that Court.
In the big middle of this confusion, Miami-Dade County had begun its recount on November 19 and by November 21 the Florida Supreme Court refused to halt the manual recounts but required that results be completed by November 26-27. It is at this point, actually on the 22nd, that the Bush campaign filed a petition to the US Supreme Court asking that the Florida Supreme Court ruling be reviewed. On the 23rd the Florida Supreme Court rejected the Gore campaign request that Miami-Dade be compelled to complete a now-suspended recount of all ballots.
On the 24th the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the Bush campaign’s petition that challenged the legality of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to allow recounts and extend state-mandated deadlines.
The final ruling from the US Supreme Court on December 12 held that any recounts at this point could not be properly recounted “in a constitutional manner” in the time remaining. On the 13th the Gore campaign finally conceded the election when it determined that there were no other legal options available.
Bear in mind that this count/recount/court petition/court ruling is being split between circuit courts, state courts, and federal courts up to and including the US Supreme Court. During this time the Gore campaign challenged almost every facet of the Florida election process in nearly every imaginable venue. In the end, however, the Secretary of State certified the election results and the Florida legislature assigned its electors.
If it can even come close to being construed that President Bush was “appointed” by the US Supreme Court it is only because Mr. Gore and/or his supporters got the courts involved in the first place, but that’s the beauty of our system. It was obvious that no one was willing to concede anything. Under our system of government, these kinds of disputes are precisely what the US and state court systems were designed to settle. It is either this or pistols at 20 paces.
Is the matter completely settled? Not in the minds of Gore supporters who are still evidently licking their wounds nearly seven years later and applying “Republican Secretary of State/Republican & Brother Governor” salve on these still-open wounds. To be fair, however, there are still “I hate Clinton” letters floating around here and there. Now I would love to believe that they are only trying to “remind” voters that Clinton and White House together is not a good thing but here’s the thing: name recognition goes a long way because voters don’t pay enough attention to details which brings me to my point and my conclusion.
President Bush is the legal and duly elected president of the United States. If you have a point to make against a lame-duck president who cannot run for office again, please make it and then move back down to the shallow end of the kiddie pool where the water is a little warmer.
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