-Caveat Lector-
TIME FOR A COALITION GOV'T
Thursday,November 23,2000
By JACK NEWFIELD
MAYBE it's time to try something different.
Maybe it's time for a coalition government, such as the ones that
have worked successfully in countries like Israel and Italy.
Why?
Because while George W. Bush may have locked up the presidency
yesterday in Miami-Dade County, he may have lost his legitimacy
to govern without rancor.
The first known Republican riot appears to have coerced the
Miami-Dade canvassing board into suddenly stopping its hand
re-count of 10,750 disputed "undervotes."
This was the fourth reversal of position by this schizophrenic
board in two days, as it wavered in the wind from no recount, to
a full recount, to a limited recount, to no recount
This is no way to decide the presidency.
What makes it look worse is that the Miami-Dade board made its
fourth reversal after a bunch of thugs in shirts and ties stormed
a room, shouting threats.
This is certainly no way to decide the presidency.
A riot should not have greater moral authority than Al Gore's
victory in the popular vote by 260,000.
It should not have greater legal authority than the Florida
Supreme Court's unanimous opinion in favor of voting rights, the
will of the people, and continuing hand recounts until a Sunday
night deadline.
It should not have greater legal authority than Florida law that
says manual recounts "shall" go forward if they might determine
the outcome of the election, or if there was "an error" in the
original machine count.
After recounting only a small portion of Miami-Dade's 650,000
votes, the local canvassing board found 157 additional votes for
Gore. This is an error, which if extrapolated to the whole
county, would change the outcome of the election.
The Miami-Dade canvassing board is made up of independent,
nonpartisan members. But they are narrow, provincial, local
bureaucrats who just took the easy way out.
They capitulated to mob rule.
They felt they could not count all the ballots by the Supreme
Court's deadline, and were frightened by the thugs (apparently
mostly Cuban exiles) banging on the door, so they just threw up
their hands and went home.
That might be acceptable in a family dispute, or in high school,
but not when you are counting the 10,750 disputed ballots that
might decide the presidency.
The Miami-Dade capitulation to mob rule looks even more
incomprehensible (and reversible) in light of yesterday's
judicial ruling in Palm Beach County that allows the canvassing
board to discern voters' intent from indented and half-punched
chads.
We seem on a track toward dueling court cases into December.
There may not be any fair, re-unifying way out of this impasse
that won't leave the losing campaign feeling the winner cheated
and does not have popular legitimacy.
The Florida election was basically a tie. Eight million votes
were cast in Florida, about 25,000 are still in dispute, and the
margin is 930.
We are in the hands of lawyers whose motto is "Spin 'til you
win."
Yesterday's seesaw rulings have taken us to the cusp of chaos.
Palm Beach is still groping for a clear judicial standard for
what votes to count. The Gore campaign is appealing the
Miami-Dade stoppage in the count.
Tuesday night's impressive, unanimous, Florida Supreme Court
decision in favor of voting rights and the will of the people now
looks like a blur that needs reclarification.
What we have today is a counting crisis that is becoming a
constitutional crisis, because we can't find a way to resolve
this in a way that doesn't leave half the country feeling
disenfranchised and robbed.
As long as the Republicans keep talking about taking this to the
Florida legislature, and to Congress if they are behind Monday
morning, we are in trench warfare in quicksand.
Maybe a coalition government is the best way out of this deadlock
of pit-bull lawyers.
The senate is divided 50-50. Florida is divided 50-50. The
nation is divided 50-50. Maybe a coalition government would
actually reflect "the will of the people."
They have worked in the parliamentary systems of Israel and
Italy.
Bush should have accepted Gore's invitation to meet face-to-face
before the outcome was known.
Maybe now, on Thanksgiving Day, Gore and Bush should talk to
Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and at least consider this
practical solution.
I would like to see a government of John McCain, Bill Bradley,
William Cohen, Bob Kerrey and Colin Powell.
The alternative is four bitter years of partisan rancor and
paralyzed deadlock in Washington.
=================================================================
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
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