Observers say Bush Team is Preparing to Cheat Again in Florida Election
Commentary
~ September 28, 2004: A growing chorus of analysts, critics,
politicians and journalists are lamenting what they say will be
a repeat of the 2000 Florida debacle this coming November.
Former president Jimmy Carter led the charge this
week with a reminder that he and Republican Gerald Ford had steered
a blue-ribbon commission to recommend changes in the American electoral
process. After months of concerted effort by the dedicated and bipartisan
group of experts, they presented unanimous recommendations to Bush
and Congress. The government responded with the Help America Vote
Act of October 2002. Unfortunately, however, the act has not been
implemented in Florida because of direct intervention from the office
of Governor Jeb Bush, the president’s brother.
For those of you who were either under or on mushrooms
at the time, Bush's victory in the 2000 vote hinged on a full count
of the votes in Florida, where George Bush’s brother Jeb Bush
is governor. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled along party lines, 5-4
effectively sabotaging the democratic process by stopping a full
count of the votes, effectively which gave Bush the presidency over
Democrat Al Gore. In the aftermath, foul play was unveiled by numerous
independent investigations.
“The disturbing fact is that a repetition of
the problems of 2000 now seems likely, even as many other nations
are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be
transparent, honest and fair,” said Carter in a recent editorial
in the Washington Post. Carter should know what he’s talking
about: his Carter Center has monitored more than 50 elections, all
of them held under contentious, troubled or dangerous conditions.
Carter points out that four years ago, the top election
official, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, was also
the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney state campaign committee. The same
strong bias has become evident in her successor, Glenda Hood, who
was a highly partisan elector for George W. Bush in 2000.
The ballots of several thousand African Americans
were thrown out on technicalities in 2000, and “a fumbling
attempt has been made recently to disqualify 22,000 African Americans
(likely Democrats), but only 61 Hispanics (likely Republicans),
as alleged felons,” he said.
According to Carter, the top election official has
also played a leading role in qualifying Ralph Nader as a candidate,
knowing that two-thirds of his votes in the previous election came
at the expense of Al Gore. “She ordered Nader's name be included
on absentee ballots even before the state Supreme Court ruled on
the controversial issue.”
“It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent
or biased electoral practices in any nation,” laments Carter.
“It is especially objectionable among us Americans, who have
prided ourselves on setting a global example for pure democracy.”
With the election little more than a month away,
Carter added that reforms were unlikely at this late stage and the
only recourse would be to increase public scrutiny on the "suspicious
process in Florida."
As Jeff Jacoby of The Boston Globe puts it,
"the drift toward Third World-caliber elections in the most
advanced democracy in the world is scandalous."
Yet another degradation of the American ideal for
which we have George Bush to thank.
Commentary
~ September 28, 2004: A growing chorus of analysts, critics,
politicians and journalists are lamenting what they say will be
a repeat of the 2000 Florida debacle this coming November.