As Gore contests the Florida vote right up to the witching hour of December 12th, "deadline" for the choice to be made by Florida's electors, the rules of the game are again being bent, even further, if not broken altogether. Democratic-party lawyers are prepared to argue (all the way back up to the Supreme Court, if necessary!) that the December 12th cutoff date is not "really" a cutoff date ... It's Clinton-Gore deja vu all over again -- "is" doesn't REALLY mean "is" in this case, for these relativistic ultra-loose constructionists of the (ha!) rule of "law." But, if the US Supreme Court drags its feet, even December 18th may not provide the outcome which supporters of Gore's post-election campaign are dreaming of ... so be prepared to watch Democrat lawyers try to suspend the "orderly transition" process until early JANUARY -- as indicated in the news item reprinted below ... Even then, if Gore STILL doesn't win the victory which his yuppie (generational?) sense of entitlement tells him he "deserves," I'm sure Demo shysters can come up with even more sweeping legal sophistries to support their argument that the NEXT cutoff date --January 20th, inauguration day for the next president-- is "unfair" to Al's "divine right" to rule and can with impunity be completely ignored until the neverending story is over, clearly and definitively, and "fairly" (in Gore's own mind, anyway). If you can't win by the rules (imperfect as they certainly are), damn the rules as unfair -- any rules, ALL rules -- excoriating every body doubting your "entitlement" as "partisan" (unlike you) and "conspiring against you" -- until you finally get your way.. This week, the covers of both Newsweek AND the US News and World Report tell the story: "CHAOS." Gore's Quixotic quest for "justice" has done more to undermine the people's faith in the vote, canvassing boards, state courts and the SUPREME Court, by bitterly and publicly accusing ALL these "hostile" institutions (formal or informal) of "government" as being ultimately subservient to no principle but partisan power-lust, than any Marxist-Leninist debunking of "democracy." Gee, thanks, Al! You've shown all the nobility of Hitler in his bunker contemplating the sacrifice of his megalomaniac ambitions. If you can't win, make EVERYONE ELSE lose -- take 'em down with you ... No end in sight -- no matter who (for example, the 51% of the American people who don't like Al Gore) or what (every institution of our government) it hurts, apparently. This particular battle, in the courts, is just about over, but the Gore War isn't ended by a long shot. The next battlefield is going to be on Capitol Hill. While the Supreme Court tarries, the State of Florida will undoubtedly appoint electors who will throw their vote to George W Bush. But Gore supporters in Congress have already announced their intention to "steal the vote" for their party by using any means necessary to get a few Florida electors to betray their trust, casting their votes for Gore instead. Bush supporters in Congress have already stated that they will respond in kind, with respect to electors in other states where Gore has a narrow lead. The court battles have all but run their course. Now, apparently, it's open season for "dirty tricks" in the legislative branch of the federal government. Stay tuned. It'll only get uglier ... If Florida's electors side with Bush, Democratic lawmakers in Congress will move to have the Florida vote AS A WHOLE excluded from the electoral count. Republican legislators will certainly oppose such a motion --in effect disenfranchising ALL voters in one state, because 1% of 1% of them dared not to vote for Al Gore-- but both the House and Senate are already deadlocked in partisanship and NEITHER side will prevail here. As that controversy drags on -- well into January, a month hence-- the federal legislature will simply have no choice but to elect a "provisional" president to preside, appropriately, over this de-legitimized, quickly unravelling "provisional" government being gutted by a "constitutional crisis" in every area, on every level -- right down to fistfights breaking out among legislators on the very floor of Congress. Yes, folks -- I fear it's indeed "amok time" for the ordinarily polished and persuasive reptiloid predators (most of them, no surprise, lawyers!) licking their chops in the carcass of our so-called "government." "Anywhere else in the world," declared one pundit on MS-NBC this evening, "the military would decide the outcome of this election." But, lucky for us, this is America, a "democracy," governed by "the rule of law." ... Until the law seems "unfair," in the eyes of an "imperial president" wannabe determined to have the tremendous global power he "deserves"? Experts Question Deadline Finality By KATHERINE PFLEGER .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Not everybody agrees that Tuesday's deadline for states to pick their representatives to the Electoral College is hard and fast. In fact, as George W. Bush and Al Gore fight for Florida's 25 electoral votes and the White House, some election experts are questioning the finality associated with Dec. 12 - when federal law says Electoral College representatives should be chosen without ``any controversy or contest.'' What does that mean? The answers vary. ``I think it's a cautious date,'' said Georgetown law professor Robert Drinan, a former Democratic congressman from Massachusetts. ``It's like a professor saying you have to get your paper in by Dec. 12, but the drop-dead date is the 18th.'' If the Nov. 7 election had gone off without a hitch, these dates would pass without a headline. Most states would choose their representatives to the Electoral College and submit their slate to the National Archives by Dec. 12, the college's official record-keeper. Electors are to meet in state capitals across the country on Dec. 18 to choose the president and vice president. Finally, Congress would count the votes during the first week of January. Michael White, the Electoral College expert at the National Archives, said Dec. 12 is ``the deadline for states to make final determinations of any controversies or contests. ... But missing the deadline does not disqualify the electors or their votes.'' ``A post-contest certification must be sent to the archivist as soon as practicable on or after Dec. 12,'' White added. Supporters for Bush say states are obligated to choose electors by Dec. 12 to avoid any conflicts in Congress. Gore supporters view the date as an obstacle because, if Florida doesn't choose a slate by then, its Republican-controlled Legislature can select them - a power granted by the U.S. Constitution. With the wiggle room created by the federal laws, George Washington University's Mary Cheh believes Bush and Gore may have until January to argue over who rightfully deserves the electors from Florida, where Bush leads Gore by less than 200 votes. ``The real drop-dead date is when Congress has to count the ballots,'' said Cheh, a constitutional law professor. ``The Dec. 12 date is an opportunity for electors to meet, and not have Congress mess around with the slate.'' As of the end of last week, just 16 states had sent their electors' names to the archives. Slates submitted Monday hadn't been fully processed and posted to the archives' Web site. Additional slates were expected to be in by the close of business Tuesday. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, George W.'s brother, sent his state's GOP electors to the archives on Nov. 26. Federal law says electors are to meet in each state ``on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December'' - this year, Dec. 18. It also says that if a state has made a final determination of any controversy or contest at least six days before the electors meet then that determination ``shall be conclusive.'' On the Net: National Archives site: http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll/
