Question for libs/dems about George W. Bush? (Kerry, crimes, Miami)

[monkeywrenching]

Originally Posted by AnUnidentifiedMale

I wasn't blaming the voters at all. I said that it was the butterfly ballot and Nader's candidacy that contributed to Gore's loss.

I apologize, thought you were blaming the voter.

[MiamiRob]

as a Floridian who voted in the 2000 Election I feel that US Supreme Court trampled on Florida's state's rights and handed the vote to Dubya. The were other issues regarding the debacle including the "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach county and having over 10,000 Jewish voters from the Century Village retirement community who voted for Pat Buchanan!! The worst was having Bush hire our Sec of State Katherine Harriss as his campaign manager for our state knowing full well she is the official who would certify the votes in Florida. So angry were voters at her that when she ran for Congress voters rejected her. Also there were many reports of black voters being disenfranshed that day including non stop coverage on the local news on how the largest black precint in Miami didn't open until 3 PM because voting booths & ballots didn't arrive in time. There was no mandate for Dubya in Florida since he "officialy" won by 537 votes in a state that cast 6 million votes. I do believe that Gore did win the state of Florida and the Presidency.

PS: I'm a registered Independent

[Geechie North]

Bush v. Gore - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Conversely, the majority opinion was criticized by Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz, who wrote:

[T]he decision in the Florida election case may be ranked as the single most corrupt decision in Supreme Court history, because it is the only one that I know of where the majority justices decided as they did because of the personal identity and political affiliation of the litigants. This was cheating, and a violation of the judicial oath.[45]


http://www.iwantmyvote.com/lib/downl...tus_report.pdf


Here's the true record. not some newspaper article out of Fla.

[JimMe]

Originally Posted by Randomstudent

I don't know the recount was not finished and it did not extend to all counties so it would be difficult to tell. I was not thrilled about all the stays on recounting that were issued to slow the recount down, and the possibility of irreparable harm argument, but at the deadline Bush had the most legal votes so he won. Would the results have been different if a full recount would have taken place? Who knows.

The problem with the recount is that Gore only wanted to do a recount in counties where he was stronger. In other words it was a selective recount and the Florida Supreme Court was prepared to let him do that. That was changing the rules of the game after the game had been played. In point of fact a consortium of newspapers (lead by the NY Times) recounted all the votes cast and Bush still won. So a fair recount of all the votes would have confirmed Bush's victory. But that's not what Gore wanted.

[JimMe]

Originally Posted by jdevelop2

This is utterly false. If it is factual record, then back it up. I won't hold my breath.

Here is evidence to the contrary.

The Palm Beach Post -- PalmBeachPost.com (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/news/election2000/bush_wins.html - broken link)

That pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

[MiamiRob]

^ JimMe why would Gore want a recount of counties where it is obvious that Bush won those counties? If Bush carried a county by 50% plus why would he dispute those results in that particular county especially when he would probably have to pay for it? Gore simply was contesting counties where there were obvious irregularities.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by jdevelop2

If you are liberal or a democrat, do you believe that Al Gore really won the state of Florida in 2000 and thereby rightfully won the election, only to have the Supreme Court take it away?

I believe that, in terms of the raw vote count, Bush may well have won BUT I also believe that the election was stolen by deliberate efforts of making a defective "butterfly" ballot that was confusing to many voters- especially older voters in south Florida. That is evidenced by the large number of votes that Pat Buchannon got.
But if you really want to place the biggest blame for Florida that would be on Janet Reno and her mishandling of the Elian fiasco. That is what riled the Cubans who otherwise might have sit out the election or even voted for Gore. And it was Bill who hired her.

[twinArmageddons]

He certainly won the majority vote, that's for sure. By that standard, he should've been president.

However, we're not a true Democracy. We have the Electoral College, which is the real selector of Presidents, not popular vote.

[cottonwood2420]

Do you as a dem believe Al Gore truly won Florida in 2000 and should have been president?

Yes.

[Adlib]

Originally Posted by cottonwood2420

Yes.

You're asked a simple question, and you give a simple answer. To which I concur.