-Caveat Lector- http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/25/opinion/25SAT1.html November 25, 2000 Enter the Supreme Court Readers of this page know we have been doubtful that, as a matter of law, the Florida election presented constitutional issues that required the United States Supreme Court to take the case after the rulings from the Florida Supreme Court. That said, we also noted that there could be a civic value in letting the nation's highest court decide the case. With its decision to hear arguments next Friday, the court has both put the Florida vote into a kind of suspended animation and perhaps also set the stage for a clarifying conclusion. As both the nation's highest judicial body and also the one most removed from partisanship, the court can render a verdict that all parties would be bound to respect as to how to resolve the Florida vote. It would then proceed that Vice President Al Gore or Gov. George W. Bush of Texas could take office without being under a cloud of suspicion and rancor. If it rules wisely and promptly, the Supreme Court can shore up the legitimacy of the presidency and also keep the nation on its electoral schedule. Now that the court has taken the case, the candidates and Florida officials need to adjust their activities to this new reality. That means that the manual recounts should be completed in Palm Beach and Broward Counties and also that the Gore campaign can press its efforts to get the Miami- Dade County Canvassing Board to resume that county's interrupted count. There is also time under state law to challenge any results that are certified on Sunday or Monday by the Florida secretary of state, Katherine Harris. In its ruling to allow the hand recounts in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami- Dade Counties, the Florida Supreme Court specified that losing candidates could be expected to follow the contest procedure outlined in state statutes. Lawyers for both the Bush and Gore campaigns reserved the right to lodge such contests. In this interim, the Democrats will continue their criticism of the arbitrary decision by the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board. It acted irresponsibly in stopping a tabulation of great importance to getting the fairest possible count in a critical county. It is especially troubling that the board may have been intimidated by unruly demonstrations by Bush supporters. Senator Joseph Lieberman, Mr. Gore's running mate, correctly condemned the demonstrations as an orchestrated effort to "prevent a simple count of votes from going forward." At the time of the interruption, a recount of about a sixth of an estimated 600,000 ballots had produced a net gain of more than 150 votes for Mr. Gore. We do not blame him for fighting to see a finished count. If necessary, the state courts that hear that contest should order the count to be resumed. Meanwhile, Mr. Bush and Mr. Gore must provide examples of responsible political behavior as they lead the nation down an unexplored political path. The United States Supreme Court did not choose to hear the Bush campaign's argument that the manual recounts violated constitutional guarantees of equal protection, due process and freedom of political association. Instead it will look at the question of whether the Florida court changed the rules after the election or usurped the authority of the State Legislature to direct the appointment of presidential electors. Since this case will reach the highest court, Mr. Bush should demand that his fellow Republicans give up any thought of taking action in the Florida Legislature or Congress to declare him the victor. He should order an end to the demonstrations being conducted by his party in Florida. Mr. Bush should also resist the temptation to claim victory prematurely based on any action by the notoriously partisan Katherine Harris. Under the existing Florida Supreme Court order, the results of the hand counts in Palm Beach and Broward Counties must be filed with the State Elections Canvassing Commission by 5 p.m. tomorrow or by 9 a.m. Monday morning if the state offices are not open on Sunday. That filing will allow the secretary of state, Ms. Harris, to certify the results and declare a winner. A hasty declaration of victory would put a new presidency under a needless cloud. The United States Supreme Court's role represents a different set of problems for Mr. Gore. If the Supreme Court decides that including late returns was improper, he might lose Florida's 25 electoral votes and the presidency. But by decreeing an unexpected week's delay in the process, the court has relieved Mr. Gore of the burden of convincing the public and nervous Democrats in Congress that he should fight on a bit longer. At a time when the Broward count looks promising for him, Mr. Gore has the time to press Florida officials to deliver the fairest tabulation available in these complicated circumstances. We hope the Supreme Court will be mindful that the new president, whatever his name, should go into office on the wings of a count that includes as many valid absentee ballots as possible and also a completed hand count from the disputed counties. While the nation awaits the hearing next Friday, Mr. Bush and Mr. Gore should be aware that the American people are watching them for steadiness and dignity and measuring each of them against the scale of the job they seek. ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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