Back to Found On The Chat BoardsElection Myths
From: BAILEYSC pm To: ALL
In an attempt to delegitimize the Presidency of George W Bush, some extremists have painted a false picture of the results of the Presidential Election of 2000. Here are some corrections:
Election Myth #1 - "Gore won the popular vote."
Under Democratic Party standards, 2 - 3 million votes have not been "counted" nationwide. If the Democrats can claim that "uncounted" ballots in Florida would result in a Gore win there (which I totally reject as having no basis in logic), then, I say that Bush would have won the popular vote nationwide if all of the "uncounted" ballots had been "recounted" because he is just more popular than Gore.
Election Myth #2 - "The US Supreme Court handed the election to Bush."
It was, in fact, the Florida Supreme Court which attempted to ILLEGALLY hand the election to Gore. The USSC only stopped the FSC from violating Florida law and the US Constitution.
Election Myth #3 - "The US Supreme Court voted 5-4 along partisan lines."
Actually, by a 7-2 vote, the USSC declared that the action taken by the FSC was a violation of Equal Protection under the US Constitution. This means that the order of the FSC violated the Equal Rights of American citizens. DISCRIMINATION.
Election Myth #4 - "If all of the votes in Florida were counted, Gore would win."
Doesn't seem so. Hundreds of technical "overvotes" showed a clear intent by voters to choose Bush. They selected Bush on the appropriate line, then wrote in "George W Bush" on the write-in line. Nothing could have been more clear, yet these "votes" were not counted. (Compare this with divining intent of dimples and stray marks for Gore.) Also, consider the much-touted "undervotes" of Miami-Dade, which, when counted by judges, were going for Bush. The subject of the most heated of the legal wrangling, lies and spin, these Miam-Dade ballots might have been Gore's ultimate undoing. (That may be why Gore conceded rather than for "the good of the nation".)
Election Myth #5 - "More people in Florida went to the polls to vote for Gore."
This statement defies logic. The citizens of Florida have elected a Republican Governor, Republican Secretary of State, and an overwhelming majority of Republicans in the State House and Senate.If the Broward County board determined that a voter choosing Democratic candidates in other races surely must have wanted to vote for Gore, then the state as a whole must have wanted Bush because they elected a majority of Republicans for other offices. Finally, for those who are determined to recount something, recount this:
2 Democratic Circuit Court Judges (Lewis,Saul) disagreed with the FSC
3 Democratic FSC Justices disagreed with the counts ordered by the other 4
9 US SC Justices disagreed with the legality of the earlier order of the FSC
7 US SC Justices said the FSC recount orders violated citizens' equal rights
WHILE----
7 FSC Justices voted to violate Fla law by changing certification dates established by the legislature
4 FSC Justices voted to violate equal rights protection of Florida voters with disparate hand recount pools and standards
That's a vote of 21 to 11 AGAINST the FSC attempt to hand the presidency to Gore. The percentages are 66% AGAINST THE FSC and 34% FOR THE FSC. It's a clear loss to the credibility of the FSC. All other courts (100%), both above and below, disagreed with the FSC.
Thanks to Vice President Gore for his concession.
Congratulations to President-Elect Goerge W. Bush
Congratulations to Vice President-Elect Richard Cheney
From: BAILEYSC To: ALL
To give credit where credit is due, I stole the Myth layout from DHEAT. They say that imitation is the highest form of praise. DHEAT's thread, Recount Myths was excellent and well worth copying.
Which country do we live in..?Great post and question!