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If you think getting the election over was more important than getting it right, or if you think respect for the new President is more important than having a country worthy of respect, or if you think a war - justified or not - requires a cessation of critical judgment, then you're on the wrong page.

In the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks, many people have expressed approval of the manner in which George W. Bush has conducted himself and how he has guided the country's response to terrorism. Notwithstanding residual concerns about his dangerously simplistic language of evil and the jingoism it supports, it is apparent that Mr Bush initially rose to the challenge - showing an admirable purpose and focus that many would not have expected. Relief at his unanticipated strengths in those difficult times does not diminish concern about how he obtained office - or how he is handling the power of the presidency now. It certainly does not mean that all the directions he has taken, either at home or abroad, are justified - especially acts that can be perceived as diminishing civil rights at home, ignoring human rights abroad, concealing a partisan agenda behind the cloak of fighting evil and terrorism, and dissembling about the justifications for war. To those who ask "Aren't you glad, now, that Gore didn't win?" the answer is "don't be absurd." Think back.... If you had known at the time of the election that we would suffer a terrorist attack of the magnitude of 9/11, would you really have voted for the word-mangling, bought-and-paid-for Governor Playboy over the boring but knowledgeable and experienced Vice President Wonk? And now that our unelected leader has taken the United States into an umprovoked war of conquest - and appears ready to continue down that path - can you really say we are better off?

The Death of Democracy December 12, 2000

Prime Suspects In The Conspiracy To Murder
Rehnquist Scalia Thomas O'Connor Kennedy
Democracy In The US - December 12, 2000

If the recount of votes by different standards among the various counties in Florida is a violation of the equal protection clause of the US Constitution sufficient to halt the recount, why aren't the multiplicity of voting and counting procedures and technologies in Florida - and throughout the US - sufficient to invalidate every election? The Supreme Court majority's reasoning is a transparent mask for its usurpation of authority and its complicity in placing a pretender in the White House. The actions of these five Justices are nothing short of treason.
 Truth www.december12.org 

The Truth ... Probably

  • Al Gore received 50,977,109 votes - more than any presidential candidate in US history except for the landslide reelection of Ronald Reagan in 1984. source
  • Nationwide, Al Gore received half a million more votes than George Bush
  • Popular vote is not the basis for choosing the President in this democracy. Bush Won the Electoral College "contest" 271-266 (with 1 abstension).
  • In every state the electors are chosen by, or are officials of, political parties. Many are chosen without input from rank-and-file party members. In only 7 states are these electors even listed on the ballot. In only one, Tennessee, are the electors individually listed on the ballot (as opposed to a usually unnamed slate linked to the party candidate). source
  • George Bush's margin of victory in Florida was less than the margin of error of any kind of recount.
  • Al Gore would have won Florida if a full manual count were held, under most definitions of a "fair" recount.

    The Spin

  • The election was essentially a tie and we have no way of determining who won.
  • The people just wanted finality.
  • The Supreme Court is not political.
  • Machines are unbiased.

    The Myths

  • In our democracy, every vote counts.
  • In our democracy, every vote counts equally.


     Justice www.december12.org 
      Do Your Own Research.
    US Constitution (FindLaw)
    Supreme Court Decisions (Cornell)
    Government Documents (Yahoo)
    Who Works For You?
    US Government Departments
    US Supreme Court     		 The December 12th Ruling
    The 5-4 Majority Decision
  • Rehnquist concurs
  • Stevens dissents
  • Souter dissents
  • Ginsburg dissents
  • Breyer dissents
    		•   Eye On Florida.
    Florida Supreme Court
    Collected Cases - US & Florida
    Florida Election Cases

    How Much Is Your Vote Worth?

    One man, one vote, right? Hardly. Even if every vote were counted, not every vote would count the same. Find your state in the table that follows and compare the value of your vote against that of the US average, or of the states with the most (red) and least (blue) represented voters. Here's an extreme comparison, just to start you off. Comparing the number of registered voters against the number of electors for each state we find that the vote of a registered Wyoming voter is worth nearly four times as much as that of a registered Minnesotan. Check it out.

    State Electors Citizens 18+
    1998 Census (X 1000)    		 Registered
    1998 Census (X 1000)    		 Persons per Elector
    per # citizens | per # registered    		 Rank
    United States538 183451123104 341.0 | 228.8
    Alabama9 32122398 356.9 | 266.449
    Alaska3 402299 134.0 | 99.73
    Arizona8 21971719 274.6 | 214.924
    Arkansas6 18351172 305.8 | 195.320
    California54 1901412356 352.1 | 228.827
    Colorado8 27692024 346.1 | 253.044
    Connecticut8 23471625 293.4 | 203.122
    Delaware3 538339 179.3 | 113.05
    D.C.3 364256 121.3 | 85.32
    Florida25 100336653 401.3 | 266.147
    Georgia13 54173462 416.7 | 266.348
    Hawaii4 766463 191.5 | 115.86
    Idaho4 833528 208.3 | 132.09
    Illinois22 80095530 364.0 | 251.443
    Indiana12 43182702 360.0 | 225.226
    Iowa7 20631562 294.7 | 223.125
    Kansas6 17991191 299.8 | 198.521
    Kentucky8 29051921 363.1 | 240.137
    Louisiana9 30732261 341.4 | 251.242
    Maine4 932704 233.0 | 176.017t
    Maryland10 35552331 355.5 | 233.230
    Massachusetts12 42342947 352.8 | 245.639
    Michigan18 70295217 390.5 | 289.851
    Minnesota10 33562787 335.6 | 278.750
    Mississippi7 19581446 279.7 | 206.623
    Missouri11 38792848 352.6 | 258.945
    Montana3 647472 215.7 | 157.314
    Nebraska5 1153790 230.6 | 158.016
    Nevada4 1160606 290.0 | 151.513
    New Hampshire4 853563 213.3 | 140.811
    New Jersey15 54553638 363.7 | 242.538
    New Mexico5 1172756 234.4 | 151.212
    New York33 115457656 349.8 | 232.029
    North Carolina14 53923468 385.1 | 247.740
    North Dakota3 456416 152.0 | 138.710
    Ohio21 81235266 386.8 | 250.841
    Oklahoma8 23901556 298.8 | 194.519
    Oregon7 23041635 329.1 | 233.631
    Pennsylvania23 86945452 378.0 | 237.033t
    Rhode Island4 668478 167.0 | 119.57
    South Carolina8 27931907 349.1 | 238.435t
    South Dakota3 527364 175.7 | 121.38
    Tennessee11 40502607 368.2 | 237.033t
    Texas32 125288301 391.5 | 259.446
    Utah5 1335788 267.2 | 157.615
    Vermont3 434316 144.7 | 105.34
    Virginia13 47862996 368.2 | 230.528
    Washington11 38952622 354.1 | 238.435t
    West Virginia5 1399880 279.8 | 176.017t
    Wisconsin11 37392602 339.9 | 236.532
    Wyoming3 341227 113.7 | 75.71


     The American Way www.december12.org 

    What Should Our Real Elected Representatives Do Now?

  • Make sure the Bush League doesn't do any further damage to our democracy.
  • Block any Bush appointments to the Supreme Court.
  • Launch a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College - or, at the least, to require proportionality in the apportionment of electors.
  • Revamp voting throughout the United States - upgrading all voting machines and/or processes to assure accuracy, ease of access and operation, and resistance to tampering.
  • Support and expand public broadcasting.

    What Should You Do?

  • Let your elected officials know how you feel.
  • You can track them down here or enter your 5 or 9 digit zip code in this Yahoo form
  • Vent to your local news media here or enter your 5 or 9 digit zip code in this Yahoo form
  • Register for a third party. Pick a good one, of course, but part of the message is to signal the 2 major parties that the exclusionary elements that have tainted our democratic processes are no longer acceptable.
  • Act, speak or write in support of pro-democratic changes.

    Changes We Need

  • Strengthen public news organizations and access. It is increasingly obvious that a prime and neglected role of the government is to serve as a fairness and accuracy mediator of public debate. Most news media today are entertainment shows - not news programs. Do they really qualify as "press" - entitling them to a free ride under the 1st Amendment?
  • Eliminate the Electoral Collage.
  • Revamp the restrictive, 2-party-dominated debate processes. Debates are a tremendous service to the public. They should be government-organized with guaranteed access to a much wider variety of candidates. More choices and more discussion can't hurt.
  • Overhaul the current weak and unfair public financing of elections. The recent, failed McCain-Feingold campaign reform effort is insufficient, but it is better than nothing. It should be improved upon and passed.

    The Media

    What's Wrong?

  • Blatant shills for the Bush agenda. [Fox Cable News; most talk radio.]
  • Uncritical and frequent repetition of the Bush team's latest spin. [Most of the rest.]

    They're not all bad....

    Capital Times
    Mother Jones
    The Public i

    		The Progressive
    Project Vote Smart
    Village Voice

     Humor www.december12.org

    Humor

    The Florida Ballot
    The Bush Mastercard Ad
    Time Cover (warning: language may be offensive to some)
    Bumper Stickers

    Why not? Bush did!

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