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Sullivan: If Florida Supreme Court controls the result, we will have Pres. Gore

Politics/Elections Editorial
Source: Andrew Sullivan
Published: Today Author: Andrew Sullivan
Posted on 11/17/2000 23:33:04 PST by ambrose

JUDICIAL ACTIVISM REDUX: I just re-read John Fund's excellent, recent piece in OpinionJournal.com on the Florida Supreme Court at Mickey Kaus's urging. Holy Injunction! No wonder they behaved the way they did yesterday. Their record is one of flagrant dismissal of legislative decisions, outright over-ruling of obvious voter intent, and general contempt for the legislative process. If the law doesn't suit them, they just ignore it! They recently threw out a pro-death penalty ballot initiative on specious grounds. Ward Connerly tried four different wordings for four different anti-race preference initiatives - and the Court struck them all off the ballot as 'misleading' and 'confusing.' Tallahassee's legislators - Democrat and Republican alike - have long since given up on any reasonable relationship with the out-of-control Supremes. The Florida fiasco is shaping up, in other words, to be a text-book case of what has gone wrong with liberalism since the 1960s. We've got specious accusations of racial injustice, armies of well-heeled trial lawyers, politicians with no sense of moderation, character, or restraint, and judges making the law up as they go along. The careful legal reasoning of Judge Lewis, strictly interpreting the law both to control and to empower Katherine Harris, is probably the last we've seen of such admirably restrained jurisprudence. From now on, all bets are off. I feel like a naïve idiot for not seeing this sooner. If these guys control the result, we will have President Al Gore. No question about it. And, under those circumstances, he will represent virtually everything that has gone so horribly wrong with the Democratic party in the last generation. At least it will be clarifying, I suppose. (11/18, 12.30 AM)


1 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:33:04 PST by ambrose
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To: ambrose

"If these guys control the result, we will have President Al Gore."

And a president Gore will give us a United States Supreme Court modeled after the Florida Supreme Court.

2 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:35:48 PST by CWOJackson
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To: CWOJackson

Fortunately they only control the result to the extent the Republicans allow them. Maybe these Florida Republicans have more backbone than the usual variety.

3 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:41:23 PST by mlo
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To: CWOJackson

Florida SoS, Harris still has the full legal right to certify the election this afternoon, just like always. The Florida Supreme court has no jurisdiction to enjoin her from performing her sworn duty. They can try to rule against her after the fact, but not before. The Florida Legislature, however, will nullify the Florida Court in such a case.

4 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:42:50 PST by Rudder
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To: mlo

I sure hope they do...and quickly.

5 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:44:29 PST by CWOJackson
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To: CWOJackson

These guys don't control the final result. Nothing they do can change the fact that the Florida legislature can overrule them and send 25 Bush loving electors to Wash. D.C.

6 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:44:50 PST by Western Patriot
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To: CWOJackson

More to the point we will have a juristocracy. The rule of benevolent judges. Judges already legislate to their heart's content. Now if judges choose elected officials we can forget about the separation of powers and free elections. The drunken sense of lording it over others has gotten to the FL Supremes head and I would be very surprised if they call it quits. What they have going is a wonderful gravy train and they're not about to lose it now. The truth is for all of liberals talk about giving power to the people, its protecting the power of the privileged few to tell people what to do and when to do it that's been their fundamental objective. And they've succeeded quite nicely at it.

7 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:45:40 PST by goldstategop
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To: mlo

Maybe these Florida Republicans have more backbone than the usual variety.

I hope they do, because the way this country is headed, I expect someday to hear a call to arms, one that will be difficult to ignore.

We are witnessing the playing out of the last chapter of the fall of Socialism. They can go easy or thay can go hard, but go they will.

8 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:47:09 PST by John Valentine
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To: Rudder

The certification would mean nothing unless the bogus vote counts are stopped. As long as they allow the Democrats time to invent votes from dimples, until Gore has a majority, this will be a problem.

The second Gore has the lead, manufactured or not, it will be on every network...and putting that genie back in the bottle, even though it's just smoke, will be very, very hard to do.

9 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:47:18 PST by CWOJackson
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To: ambrose

I never thought I'd agree with a liberal, but this guy's right: Liberalism ain't what it used to be. The new liberals are out to wreck what's left of our rights and make comrades out of all of us, with Algore leading the pack. Not too far to go after eight years of Clinton.

10 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:47:24 PST by Marauder
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To: ambrose

READ THIS AND SMILE

11 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:47:50 PST by doug from upland
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To: ambrose

Read this to see how election will play out in Florida. Good News!

12 Posted on 11/17/2000 23:58:19 PST by teletech
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To: CWOJackson

Right now Gore is fast declining in the Public relations department, as all the polls show. Harris has no obgligation to accept the hand count result, as Judge Lewis has indicated, it's entirely her decision. Harris has already given her position... the deadline for results submission has come and gone. The supreme court (Florida) has no authority to enjoin her and cannot force her to accept hand count data. Democratic spin is no longer effective as far as the public is concerned, only the media (who have to justify their existence) and Gore supporters are feeding off the spin. Harris follows her duty, certifies the election and the Dems scream bloody murder--the public will embrace (polls shows something like 63% for to 6% against) Bush's victory. All the liberal spinmeisters efforts will go unheard by the public.

I disaggree with you--the genie will stay in the bottle.

13 Posted on 11/18/2000 00:04:34 PST by Rudder
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To: ambrose

The Republicans, I will say it again, have to take these outrages beyond this court if necessary.

14 Posted on 11/18/2000 00:24:42 PST by Fulbright
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To: Rudder

The U.S. Supremes will rule in favor of Bush in the end. Don't worry.

15 Posted on 11/18/2000 00:50:26 PST by ex-Texan
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To: ex-Texan

Strange as it seems in the middle of this fiasco, I am not at all worried. Bush will prevail.

16 Posted on 11/18/2000 01:25:12 PST by Rudder
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To: CWOJackson

I see this as a "time" problem. The Supreme's injunction seems to "intentionally" force the SOS to "miss" one of her constitutionally mandated deadlines for "certification," that of Noon tomorrow. This opens the way for "something else" that the Supremes may invent to be substituted or added to the "certification." It is essential that Harris either "certify" or "Make a statement for the public record" that she is now in possession of all of the certifiable votes as of this moment, as mandated by the Florida Constitution, and that she is constrained by law from changing this total in any manner. This must be done before her court case on Monday. If she doesn't, she has been tricked into not complying with the law, and opens up the playing field for those activist judges. Regards.

17 Posted on 11/18/2000 01:43:37 PST by noname
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