As we dig deeper
and deeper into the November election, it is becoming more and more
evident that, for the Republicans, the 2000 presidential election
was not about counting all the votes, it was about winning at all
cost.
Over the weekend, two newspaper stories demonstrated the great lengths
Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republicans went to ensure a victory for George
W. Bush in Florida. A New York Times investigation into the aftermath
of the election outlines the coordinated effort of the Republican
Party to give the White House to George W. Bush. The New York Times
investigation shows the Republican machine worked overtime - with
GOP political consultants working out of the Florida Secretary of
StateÕs Office to write the post-election instructions to FloridaÕs
canvassing boards and Republicans on the U.S. House Armed Services
Committee taking steps to help the Bush campaign identify and contact
military voters after the election. Now it turns out that, according
to the Los Angeles Times, nearly 100 phone calls were made from Gov.
Jeb BushÕs office to the George W. Bush campaign during the post-election
period - all while Gov. Bush claimed to have recused himself during
the election contest. This adds to the overwhelming evidence that
Gov. Bush and the Republicans put electing George W. Bush as president
ahead of ensuring all of FloridaÕs votes were counted.
It is deeply disturbing
that while publicly stating the importance of strictly following all
FloridaÕs election laws, the Florida Secretary of StateÕs Office allowed
officials to accept hundreds of overseas absentee ballots that failed
to comply with state election laws. These ballots included ballots
without postmarks, ballots postmarked after the election, ballots
without signatures from witnesses, ballots mailed from areas inside
the United States and even ballots from voters who cast their votes
twice in the election. This effort to ignore the rules to allow certain
defective overseas ballots from Bush counties to be included in the
final count, while rejecting ballots with similar defects in Gore
counties, flies in the face of equal protection.
The New York Times
investigation reveals the hardball tactics of the supporters of George
W. Bush to slant the process by treating votes in an unequal manner.
As with the events chronicled by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights,
this effort to ensure a Bush victory also led to voter disenfranchisement.
I believe these are possible violations of the Voting Rights Act that
demand investigation by the proper authorities in the U.S. Department
of Justice and the Florida Attorney GeneralÕs Office.
In our nation,
nobody is above the law. Nobody should think that they could get away
with such questionable and objectionable behavior without facing public
scrutiny. If we were to just Ômove onÕ as some have suggested and
remain silent in the face of these allegations it would have an effect
of condoning what appears to be highly questionable behavior. I will
personally communicate my displeasure to Gov. Bush and Secretary of
State Katherine Harris about this situation and encourage others to
do the same.
http://www.floridademocraticcaucus.com/press.asp
