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Jewish World Review Nov. 27, 2000 / 29 Mar-Cheshvan, 5761

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Consumer Reports


Albert O'Gore
and the little people


http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- SO, SOME OF YOU are still buying into Al Gore's claim that he is fighting for the little people?

Remember his speech following the Florida Supreme Court's decision trying to hand him the election by judicial fiat? Here is part of what Mr. Gore told us:

"I want to thank the citizen volunteers. ... They are doing their jobs diligently and seriously under difficult conditions ... they are rising to the occasion."

That was Tuesday night, when it appeared things were going Gore's way. On Wednesday, the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board unanimously decided that they couldn't complete a full manual recount before the Supreme Court's Sunday deadline, so they voted to discontinue the count and revert to the vote totals they certified on Nov. 8.

The board's reasoning was simple and direct. Neither state law nor fairness would countenance a partial recount because that would necessarily result in the disenfranchisement of all other voters whose votes could not be counted in time.

Gore responded almost immediately through his recount quarterback, Bill "Bugsy" Daley, who said that they would immediately seek a court order compelling Miami-Dade to resume its manual recount. Missing from Daley's statement was a reaffirmation of Gore's confidence and trust in the "little people" on the canvassing board. He made no mention of their "diligence," the "difficult conditions" under which they are operating, or their "rising to the occasion."

No. On the turn of a dime, the "little people" are no longer Gore's allies, but his enemies, who he has taken to court because they did not agree to proceed with an inherently unfair process designed to secure his victory.

To Gore, this is not about the "little people," but the craven pursuit of political power. Otherwise, he wouldn't be willing to sacrifice the rule of law in his relentless quest for the presidency. Indeed, the most profound lesson to emerge from the Florida follies is the indispensability of the rule of law to the stability of our system and the preservation of our liberties.

A corollary principle to the rule of law is that governmental bodies, including courts, must not change rules in the middle of a process, such as the election tabulation process.

Due process and fundamental fairness dictate that people have a right to rely on currently existing laws and rules. Those rules may not be administered arbitrarily or retrospectively.

But this post-election process has revealed nothing, if not the willingness of the Gore team to subvert any rules or laws necessary to achieve an election victory.

When the automatically mandated machine recount didn't go his way, Gore requested a manual recount in four of the most Gore-favoring counties. Contrary to popular opinion, the Florida statutes do not permit a manual recount in the absence of evidence of voter fraud or machine error. When one of those counties determined that the statutory standard for a full recount had not been met, Gore bullied its canvassing board with the threat of litigation into reversing itself. When the votes weren't going sufficiently to suit him, Gore pressured the boards to change the rules to give him more votes. When the secretary of state acted according to her statutory duty to enforce the deadline for vote certification, he sued to compel her to ignore the deadline. When the trial court ruled that the secretary of state properly exercised her authority under the statute, he appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.

Gore's essential argument to the court was that it should ignore the laws duly enacted by the legislature, and manufacture its own laws to suspend the mandatory filing deadline and permit a manual recount on a whim.

The court's decision demonstrated the danger in courts usurping the constitutional authority of the legislature. Ostensibly to safeguard the rights of the "little people," the court delivered Gore exactly what he wanted and, in the process, betrayed its sacred trust to those very people to adhere to its constitutionally assigned role and the rule of law.

With all of its creative juices the court could not devise a way to keep the counting going long enough to complete the process in time for the Florida electors to be selected and participate in the presidential election process. Ironically, it was the "little people" who finally said no.



JWR contributor David Limbaugh is an attorney practicing in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and a political analyst and commentator. Send your comments to him by clicking here.

WND

Up

11/22/00: Doing 'anything to win'
11/15/00: Enough is enough, Mr. Gore
11/13/00: Al Gore: Thy country or thyself?
11/08/00: Bill and Al: Your time is up
11/06/00:The impending Bush mandate
11/01/00: Can't stop thinkin' 'bout tomorrow
10/30/00: George: Give Gore the ball back
10/25/00: Mr. Gore: A few more questions
10/23/00: It's the big government, stupid
10/18/00: Gore's down, so will he panic?
10/16/00: We're fresh out of new Al Gores
10/11/00: Gore: Fuzzy math = dirty politics
10/10/00:Gore: Renaissance man or unbalanced?
10/04/00: Where have you been, Albert Jr.?
10/02/00: Clinton’s fragmented presidency
09/27/00: Liberal media doth protest too much
09/25/00: AlGore: Turning dreams into nightmares
09/20/00: Something fishy's going on
09/18/00: It's the liberalism, stupid
09/13/00: An open letter to open-minded cynics
09/11/00: The virtues of going negative
09/06/00: On a mission for marriage
09/04/00: Al Gore's 'Trivial Pursuits'
08/30/00: Lieberman and the paradox of liberal 'tolerance'
08/28/00: A campaign divided against itself
08/23/00: Al Gore's trickle-down populism
08/21/00: Prosperity without a clue
08/16/00: AlGore can run but he can't hide
08/14/00: When hate speech is OK
08/09/00: Bush: The pundits' enigma
08/07/00: GOP convention: Live or Memorex?
08/02/00: The first attack dog
07/31/00: The Cheney taint?
07/26/00: The anti-gun bogeyman
07/24/00: The raging culture war
07/19/00: Is Hillary 'Good for the Jews'?
07/17/00: How dare you, George?
07/12/00: Jacoby's raw deal
07/10/00: The perplexities of liberalism
07/05/00: Big Al and big oil
07/03/00: Partial-birth and total death
06/28/00: Some questions for you, Mr. Gore
06/26/00: Supreme Court assaults religious freedom
06/21/00: Waco: We are the jury
06/19/00: "Outrage" just doesn't quite cut it anymore!
06/14/00: Al Gore: Government's best friend
06/12/00: Say goodbye to medical privacy
06/07/00: Elian: Whose hands were tied?
06/05/00: Who, which, what is the real Al Gore?
06/01/00: Legacy-building idea for Clinton
05/30/00: Clinton: Above the law or not?
05/24/00: Not so fast, Hillary
05/22/00: Gore's risky, fear-mongering schemes
05/17/00: Can Bush risk pro-choice running mate?
05/15/00: Right to privacy, Clinton-style
05/10/00: Patrick Kennedy and his suit-happy fiddlers
05/08/00: Don't shoot Eddie Eagle
05/03/00: Congress caves to Clinton, again?
05/01/00: The resurrection of outrage
04/28/00: A picture of Bill Clinton's America
04/19/00: President Clinton: Teaching children responsibility
04/17/00: Elian, Marx and parental rights
04/12/00: Elian, freedom deserve a hearing
04/10/00:The fraying of America
04/05/00: Noonan: End Clintonism now
04/03/00: Bush: On going for the gold
03/29/00: Phantasma-Gore-ia
03/27/00: Treaties, triggers, tobacco and tyrants
03/22/00: Media to Bush: Go left, young man
03/20/00: Stop the insanity
03/15/00: OK Al Gore: Let's go negative
03/13/00: Deifying of the center
03/08/00: The media, the establishment and the people
03/01/00: McCain's coalition-busting daggers in GOP's heart
02/28/00: Bush's silver lining in McMichigan
02/24/00: A conservative firewall, after all
02/22/00: Bush or four more of Clinton-Gore?
02/16/00: Substance trumps process
02/14/00: The campaign finance reform mirage
02/09/00: President McCain: End of the GOP as we know it?
02/07/00: From New Hampshire to South Carolina
02/02/00: SDI must fly
01/31/00: Veep gores Bradley
01/26/00: The issues gap
01/24/00: GOP: Exit, stage left
01/20/00: Nationalizing congressional elections
01/18/00: Do voters really prefer straight talk?
01/12/00: Media's McCain efforts may backfire
01/10/00: Conservative racism myth
01/05/00: Just one more year of Clintonian politics
01/03/00: McMedia?
12/27/99: Al Gore: Bullish on government
12/22/99: Bradley's full-court press
12/20/99: Bush: Rendering unto Caesar
12/15/99: Beltway media bias
12/13/99: White House ambulance chasing
12/08/99: Clinton's labor pains
12/06/99:The lust for power
12/01/99: In defense of liberty
11/29/99: Are Republicans obsolete?
11/24/99: Say you're sorry, Mr. President
11/22/99: Architects of victory
11/17/99: Trump's tax on freedom
11/15/99: GOP caves again
11/10/99: Triangulation and 'The Third Way'
11/08/99: Sticks and stones
11/03/99: Keyes vs. media lapdogs
11/01/99: Signs of the times
10/27/99: The false charge of isolationism
10/25/99: A matter of freedom
10/20/99: Clinton's mini-meltdown
10/18/99: Senate GOP shows statesmanship
10/13/99: Senate must reject nuclear treaty
10/11/99: Bush bites feeding hand
10/06/99: Jesse accidentally opens door for Pat
10/04/99: Clinton and his media enablers
09/29/99: Reagan: Big-tent conservatism
09/27/99: The Clinton/Gore taint?
09/22/99: Have gun (tragedy), will travel
09/20/99: Hillary's blunders and bloopers
09/15/99: GOP must remain conservative
09/13/99:Time for Bush to take charge, please
09/10/99: Bush's education plan: Dubya confounds again
09/07/99: Pat, savior or spoiler?
09/02/99: Character doesn't matter?
08/30/99: Should we judge?
08/25/99: Dubyah's drug question: Not a hill to die on
08/23/99: Should Dubyah start buying soap ... for all that mud?
08/16/99: 'W' stands for 'winner'
08/11/99: The truth about tax cuts
08/09/99: Hillary: Threading the needle
08/04/99: What would you do?
08/02/99: No appeasement for China
07/30/99: Hate Crimes Bill: Cynical Symbolism
07/26/99: It’s the 'moderates', stupid
07/21/99: JFK Jr. and Diana: the pain of privilege
07/19/99: Smith, Bush and the GOP
07/14/99: GOP must be a party of ideas
07/12/99: Gore's gender gap
07/08/99: Clinton’s faustian bargain: our justice
07/06/99: The key to Bush's $36 million
06/30/99: Gore: a soda in every fountain
06/28/99: 'Sacred wall' or religious barrier?
06/23/99: GOP must lead in foreign policy
06/21/99: Crumbs of compassion
06/16/99: Compassionate conservatism: face-lift or body transplant?
06/10/99: Victory in Kosovo? Now What?

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