Election 2004: Vote Early and OftenNovember 23, 2000
Friday, October 29, 2004, 12:41 AM
NYT Headline: "Bush Takes Appeal To U.S. Supreme Court; Cheney In Hospital With Mild Heart Attack".
Rep. Dick Armey, majority leader at the time, said of the FLorida Supreme Court's ruling, that "a partisan court made a partisan decision" and said that the Florida Legislature had a "duty to step in and restore honesty and the rule of law."
Sen. Trent Lott, majority leader on the other side of the Hill, said that it was a "chilling reminder of the need for vigilance to ensure that the actions of unelected judges do not usurp the right of thhe people to govern themselves in a democracy" and that "This cannot stand".
Here's what George W. Bush said about the ruling: "We believe the justices have used the bench to change Florida's election laws and usurp the authority of Florida's election officials."
Some analysts worried about the possiblity that Florida would send two sets of electors and that the Congress would have to decide which slate to accept.
Miami-Dade County decided to stop counting, because officials there believed they could not meet the Sunday 5 p.m. deadline for getting their returns in to the Secretary of State's office.
Bush sued election officials in 13 counties in Florida for rejecting absentee ballots from military personnel.
In the motion to the U.S. Supreme Court for expedited consideration of the Florida Supreme Court ruling, the Bush campaign wrote: "This court has previously granted expedited treatment of cases involving substantial questions of national importance. The importance of this case is at least equal to, if not greater than, those landmark decisions. The presidency itself is at stake."
And so it was.
I remember being really sure that if there ever was a "political question" that the Supreme Court would refuse to take, this was it. Sure were a lot of wrong predictions made that year.
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