AlGore Gored

AlGore's campaign all but ended today, over a month after Election Day.  No, AlGore didn't concede, but the Supreme Court put an end to any more Florida recount nonsense and, consequently, to any chance AlGore had at manufacturing a victory from a loss.  

The release of the decision seemed to catch every single network by surprise, and their coverage for the first 15 minutes or so was dreadful: 15 minutes of dimwits whose chief attribute is being able to smile nicely during a live camera shoot standing in front of the Supreme Court saying everything from "This decision gives AlGore hope" to "The US Supreme Court remanded back to Florida where recounting is expected to start again" to any manner of other idiotic things.  Usually, I'm not affected by these things because I'm analyzing the opinions myself instead of listening to the network dimwits, but tonight it took quite a while for me to locate an online version.

When I finally got the decision, I found that it was indeed definitive and effectively shut down the campaign.  The holding was unambiguous, as was this admonition from the per curiam decison: "None are more conscious of the vital limits on judicial authority than are the members of this Court, and none stand more in admiration of the Constitution's design to leave the selection of the President to the people, through their legislatures, and to the political sphere. When contending parties invoke the process of the courts, however, it becomes our unsought responsibility to resolve the federal and constitutional issues the judicial system has been forced to confront."  

Further thoughts on the decision: the Rehnquist/Scalia/Thomas concurring opinion ripped the FL Kangaroos a new one, and deservedly so.  The minority opinions were bitter -- and divided!  I've already seen plenty of reports talking about the divided Court, and the divided Majority, but if one looks at the minority dissents, they are separate, and different Justices join the others' dissents partially, and dissent even further from the other dissents in some cases!  Talk about divisions.  But you won't see that part reported or analyzed.

And the FINAL thought for tonight on the decision:  much of the fight revolved around the so-called "safe harbor" provision of the U.S Code (3 USC 5).  This came as no surprise to any readers of this space, as the legal significance of 3 USC 5 was first noted on 20 November 2000.

<<<<   MAIN   >>>>