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Tuesday,
November 14, 2000*
Election has nation in turmoil ON THE RIGHT: Gore should follow Bill Bradley's advice, back off GARY PREBLE This time the Democrat is losing. Perhaps not enough dead Democrats made it to the polls on time. OLYMPIA -- The picture that will stick in my memory about the 2000 election is that of the Democrat man in Palm Beach, Fla., pounding on the window of the county election office and demanding a new vote. It contains the chilling implication that some people see violence as the solution to losing an election. Florida is no stranger to election problems. As recently as 1998, a court removed the Miami mayor due to voter fraud. And a book titled "Votescam" details Miami's election fraud in 1988. And when reporters uncovered the fraud, Janet Reno, then the Miami prosecutor, rather than investigate the fraud, had the reporters arrested. Nor is the Democrat Party a stranger to election fraud. In 1960, the vice president of the United States, Richard Nixon, lost a very close race to John Kennedy. Kennedy won as a result of voter fraud in Illinois where, under the direction of Democrat Chicago Mayor Richard "Boss" Daley, a number of dead people managed to cast ballots. Daley's political machine is still synonymous with corruption and election fraud. Though President Eisenhower and many others urged Nixon to demand a recount, Nixon chose not to put the country through a long election challenge. Fast-forward 40 years. The vice president is again running for president. His campaign manager is none other than Bill Daley, son of Chicago's "Boss" Daley. Again the race is very close. And again there are charges of Democrat voter fraud, like the Palm Beach poll worker who encouraged voters to vote for Gore, or allegations of Democrat intimidation of Haitian-Americans. But this time the Democrat is losing. Perhaps not enough dead Democrats made it to the polls on time. So what do we get from Al Gore? Gore invents a new theory -- the ballot was too confusing. Sounds like he's saying Democratic voters are either too stupid or too careless to vote correctly. (I suspect that idea may actually have been around for a long time, but it's never been used by a Democrat before.) And out of the woodwork come Democrats who fit the profile. Never mind that any 10-year-old could read the ballot. Never mind that the ballot was designed by a local Democrat official. Never mind that similar ballots have been used around the country, including Chicago, where Bill Daley's brother is now mayor. Never mind that the Florida court has said, "The Constitution assumes (the voter's) ability to read and his intelligence to indicate his choice with the degree of care commensurate with the solemnity of the occasion." The Gore campaign nevertheless came up with a party hack to file a lawsuit for a new election. And though Gore is sworn to defend the Constitution, his campaign is threatening all kinds of lawsuits, including attacking the Electoral College. Such actions will do violence to the Constitution and the political process. Fortunately, it appears that cooler Democrat heads may prevail. Bill Bradley, Gore's primary Democrat rival, has recommended he back off on all his legal threats and let the ballots settle the matter. I would hope for the good of the country Gore agrees. And also that he calls off the people pounding on the election office windows. Gary Preble, an attorney in private practice in Olympia, can be reached at preble@olywa.net Letters to the Editor We want to hear from you. Click here to email your comments. The Olympian Copyright 2000
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