What's the real historic, unbiased story of Florida 2000?

[HankReardon]

With the national election approaching, I'd like to be better informed about what happened in Florida 2000. Right now my view is that the Florida Supreme Court in a rogue act agreed to allow the changing of election rules after the election to attempt to enable the Democrats to count as votes improperly cast ballots. The Gore campaign blatantly choose to recount in the most predominately Democrat counties where their chances of manipulation was best. For the U.S. Supreme Court not to have stepped in and overruled the Florida Supremes and stop the goings on would have been neglect of duty. Seems very obvious to me but since many people stubbornly insist the President was "selected not elected" what is the objective, non-bias history of the events of the Florida election 2000.

[killjoy]

One thing you didn't hear much about was that these "confusing" voting methods had been publicized prior to the election. Every household got a printed voter guide mailed to them prior to the election explaining just how the voting mechanism worked.

Very true. I live in Palm Beach County and I still have my copy of the sample ballot.

[prion]

Bush v. Gore should never-NEVER-have been heard by the Court.

I agree. If they'd let things play out naturally, the outcome would have been the same, but we wouldn't be forever dealing with the charge that the Supremes anointed Bush president. I don't approve of activist judges even when I agree with their politics.

[Jim Noble]

Trust the People BUMP

[SW6906]

Are you telling me that discussion of voter fraud is a banned subject on FR?!!?

Why?

[Voteamerica]

You're right, we didn't remember the whole story.

[Wombat101]

The true legacies of the 2000 election are:

1. African-Americans finally discovered that literacy, or rather the lack of it, has consequences at the voting booth. Naturally, the Revs. Jackson and Sharpton chose not to highlight this embarassing, and tragic situation: they were too busy threatening riots if they did not get their way (i.e. Gore in the White House).

2. The issue of vote fraud was finally moved from the darkened, smokey back rooms of politics and was exposed to the clear light of day. Examples:
- The City of Philadelphia reported (with a straight face) 103% voter turnout.
- Missouri Democrats reversed a long-standing tradition and got live people to vote for a dead man. SOmehow, his wife got his job, leading me to try to remember just where it is stated in the Constitution that one could inherit a Senate seat.
- Illegal aliens all over the country were hastily supplied with flimsy paper notices from the then Commander-in-crotch...errr...cheif, suddenly bestowing upon them the right to vote. Amazingly, most of these showed up in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Chicago.
- Creditable stories of people being offered money and goods for their vote were a dime a dozen at the time. From the homeless in Milwaukee being given food asnd cigarettes to vote for Al Gore, to the tales of vote buying on Indian Reservations in North Dakota.

3. Certain subsets of Americans finally proved that Western Civilization is the greatest invention on the planet, that allows the feeble and the feebleminded to not only survive, yet prosper, regardless of your inability to poke a hole through a piece of cardboard with a sharp piece of metal, count, or read signs directing you to help with your ballot pasted on every vertical surface every 4 inches, or even be aware of just what the heck you're doinig in a voting booth.

4. The judicial system was finally exposed for what it truly is: a bunch of people in black robes, faking dignity and accountability, and making up the law as they go. Nowhere was this more apparent than in Florida, where the state supreme court refused to enforce the very election laws they are sworn to uphold.

5. America was finally given the opportunity to the see the REAL Democratic Party in action, using every means available to make a naked grab for power.

6. We saw Al Gore for what he really is: a spoiled brat, who throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way.

7. We learned that the intensive media coverage of elections, more to fill airtime than anything else, has consequences at the voting booth --- the early call for Gore in Florida may have hurt Bush (the state straddles two time zones). The media has no business projecting winners, since it has the power to manipulate the results, and should wait until the tallies are in before making such announcements.

8. We were introduced to the lovely, and gutsy, Catherine Harris.

[Fenris6]

I get all my arrows from Athena :)

Here ya go, one Florida recap:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=65000671

[Wombat101]

Oh I forgot one other thing:

9. We witnessed the process of attempted theft of an election,live and in color, on our television screens, as people argued over whether a dent, scrape, nick, etc. on a punchcard, rather than a clearly punched-through hole, constituted a vote.

10. We also witnessed folks attempting to "divine" a voter's intention, like Nostradamus, on ballots that were clearly not valid, and in some cases, not even marked in the appropriate spot.

11. We learned that in today's high-tech world, ,our government apparatus is still operating on 19th century technology. To our shame.

[Wombat101]

Actually, that was THREE other things...My apologies...

[jonno]

bump

[Orbiting_Rosie's_Head]

Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade counties underestimated the number of fraudulent votes they needed to manufacture to put Gore over the top in Florida!

You are exactly right. This is the real story, the stacking and double-punching of ballots for Gore to disqualify Bush, Buchannon, and Nader votes. The statistical anomaly was covered by a manufactured "ballot confusion" story that was created using a boiler-room call center operating out of Texas that called Dem voters to sow confusion.

[MrB]

Memorize this:
"The real history of what happened won't fit into your soundbit mentality, lefty, because it involves fixed, Constitutional laws that aren't swayed by perpetual adolescent emotions."

[Kaslin]

Easy one. Every recount, rigged or otherwise Bush won.

Rigged by whom?

And btw Bush won. Get over it

[baseballmom]

You have rec'd great answers here, so I'll move on to the next thing.

We need to work ourselves to the bone this election, getting out the vote, volunteering at polling places, educating the electorate, etc.

This election is too important to be lazy or cocky about the outcome. The dims will stop at NOTHING to bring GW down. It is our duty to make sure that doesn't happen.

Pray for President Bush, and us.

[Ditter]

Yes, Gore put the naton thru hell because he didn't like the out come but I remember that *Gore first conceded* the election to Bush on election night, then he called & took his concession back. Who do you suppose called Puppet Gore & told him to do that?

Let me think........ who could that have been???????

Was it CLINTON?????

[pfflier]

This was essentially validated by the NYT in the "independent press recount" wasn't it?

I believe that that recount was overshadowed by 9-11.

[Hat-Trick]

What's the best response to those who want to believe Bush was "awarded" the Presidency?

[Ff--150]

"Are you telling me that discussion of voter fraud is a banned subject on FR?!!?"

No, just VOTESCAM and the Voter News Service. (Note you can't archive before 2000...)

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

The butterfly ballot was a canard floated by the RAT's. The ballot was designed and approved by the RAT controlled board of elections. The ballot was similar to other ballots used successfully throughout the country. The phony ballot issue implies that the RATs were too stupid to use it. It resulted in a sign used during the time of the great inconvenience that said, "Hey Al! Stupid is as stupid does."

Part of any good get out the vote effort is voter education on the ballot. In addition, polling places have detailed instructions on how to vote.

[petercooper]

Clinton was corrupt?

</sarcasm>