-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Mon, 11 Dec 2000 21:51:15 -0800 From: "eWarrior (Kurt Jonach)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: NY Times - Opinion: To Any Lengths To: Steve Wingate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/11/opinion/11HERB.html ------------------------------------------------------------ TO ANY LENGTHS New York Times Online (Opinion) December 11, 2000 To Any Lengths By Bob Herbert And so the Supreme Court intervened, not with wisdom and grace but with a clumsily wielded hammer, to protect the interests of George W. Bush and the Republicans by thwarting any further movement in the Florida vote toward Al Gore. Mr. Bush and his party have made it clear to the country and the world that their greatest fear -- the scenario they dread above all others -- is that somehow, someway, all of the votes legally cast in Florida would actually be counted. They have demonstrated their willingness to go to almost any lengths to prevent that from happening. And that resolve was given the unfortunate imprimatur of the nation's highest court on Saturday when, in a 5-to-4 decision, the court ordered the hand recounts in Florida to stop. But the Bush team's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments this morning, is just one prong of the G.O.P.'s dangerous assault on the spirit of democracy that has served this nation so well for so long. The truth is that while Mr. Bush and the Republicans will be more than happy to accept a final Supreme Court ruling in their favor, they are already prepared to take extraordinary steps to circumvent a ruling that goes against them. In short, they are not willing to accept any set of circumstances that would result in Al Gore winning the White House. Former Secretary of State James Baker was asked on "Meet the Press" yesterday if the Bush campaign would accept the results of a recount in Florida if, after hearing the arguments today, the Supreme Court ordered the recount to resume. Mr. Baker told the moderator, Tim Russert, "Of course we'll begin the recount again if that's the ruling of the United States Supreme Court." Mr. Russert said, "And will you abide by the result?" Mr. Baker, clearly uncomfortable with the question, said: "Well, I'm not sure I understand what you mean, `Will we abide by the result?' The result will be there." Mr. Baker knows as well as anyone that the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is poised to trash any semblance of justice and fair play by designating its own slate of 25 presidential electors committed to Mr. Bush if, under any scenario, Al Gore wins the popular vote in Florida. Mr. Baker said of the Legislature, "They have an interest here that is a constitutional interest granted to them under Article 2 of the Constitution, and it is not up to me or anybody else to rule that out or rule it in." Mr. Russert said: "But your campaign has been working in concert with them, giving them legal advice. Both sides admit it." "Uh, Tim, we may have indeed," said Mr. Baker. "Some of our people have been talking to them, there's no doubt about that, because it is a constitutional remedy set forth in Article 2 of the Constitution." In the eyes of the Republicans, the Supreme Court ruling is the final word only if it goes against Mr. Gore. The game is rigged. And the Democrats, who all along have been more willing than the Republicans to adhere to standards of fair play, are openly talking about folding their tents and conceding the White House to Mr. Bush. American democracy suffered a grievous wound this year in Florida. The conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court that has ranted ad nauseam about activist courts and the infringement of states' rights turned its own philosophy on its head by rushing in on Saturday and gratuitously stopping a recount of votes legally cast by American citizens. It is not unreasonable to believe that had those votes been counted, Al Gore, who won the popular vote nationwide, would also have won Florida and a majority in the Electoral College. A former colleague of mine called yesterday and said: "All the Supreme Court of Florida wanted to do was have the vote counted. What was so wrong with that?" The good news, of course, is that American-style democracy is resilient enough to rebound from the Florida fiasco. Eventually the full truth will emerge about the extent to which the voices of voters in Florida went unheard. And the role of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Republican Party in silencing those voters will be a matter of public and historical record. - end ------------------------------------------------------ ------- End of forwarded message ------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ }}}> ANOMALOUS RADIO <{{{ - Techno, Ambient, Talk (33k+) http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?autostart=anomalous }}}> RADIO ANOMALY <{{{ - Techno, Ambient, Jazz (Cable, DSL) http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?autostart=stevew168 Anomalous Images and UFO Files http://www.anomalous-images.com <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! 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