Why and How Bush Lost, Part XLVIII
This is where I once again piss off my Conservative readers (yeah, like THAT hasn't happened in the last 24 hours, eh??). Three years into the illegitmate Bush Presidency, and I am still loathe to grant Bush the aura of legitimacy. He stole it, fair and square, and no amount of Conservatives telling me to "get over it" will change my conviction. I'm not saying that Gore would have made a better President. We'll never know, will we? That argument is best left for another time and place- and perhaps to someone less openly partisan than I. The reality, however, is that George Bush (with a LOT of help from friends in the right places) stole Florida, and with it the 2000 election. Conservatives may be loathe to admit that their man is a thief and a liar, but the truth is what it is.
Among the many petty annoyances that plague my life are the idiotic emails from conservatives who write to ask: "Don't you Democrats understand the electoral college? Bush won the electoral college; the popular vote doesn't matter. He's the legitimate winner."
Of course, you pinheads, we understand the electoral college system. What you don't seem to understand is that Al Gore won Florida. He actually won Florida several ways:
Legally: Since the US Supreme Court, a federal body, doesn't have jurisdictions over election disputes--state courts are the highest arbiters of elections--it didn't have the right to hear Bush v. Gore. Even had its manipulations of Florida's recount resulted in Al Gore being appointed president, then Al Gore would be illegitimate, and by definition George W. Bush would be president. The Supremes had no business involving themselves in this matter.
Through the Recount: 7 of 8 counting methods show that Gore won the newspaper-run recounts. The 8th method was the one that Bush sued to prevent. A state-wide recount, which fair-minded individuals agree would have been the best resolution, would have given Florida to Gore.
Because of Electoral Fraud: Gore actually carried Florida by anywhere from 200,000 to 400,000 votes, depending on whose estimate carries the day. He wins by a significant amount if you discount the fraudulent/late military ballots, add the African-Americans who were stopped by the cops from voting and discount the Buchanan Jews of butterfly-ballot fame.
Angry? Hell, yes, I'm angry. Why, should there be a statute of limitations on he theft of the highest office in the land? No, the passage of time does not begin to mitigate the crime.
Granted, one cannot necessarily assume that the African-American vote would have gone into Gore's corner, but it's not much of a stretch to believe that, either. Take it any way you choose, but the reality is this: Gore won Florida. It was left to the Republican Party to figure out a way to steal it back- and they most certainly did.
No, we cannot go back and change the results, but I've always believed that we get exactly the quality of representation and leadership that we deserve. We deserve George Bush, if for no other reason than to emphasize what a craven, self-centered, money-grubbing, parochial lot the Republican Party has become.
One more year, y'all, and we can work on righting the wrong....
