Off Topic--The Big Picture
Where is Winkman? Several weeks before the election I posted that Al Gore had revealed himself as an "end justifies the means" kind of fellow, a follower of the faith which has produced some of the worst times in American and world history. Winkman thought it was over the top of me to say that.
Well, we know what the "end" or goal is: the presidency and power. And we know what the acceptable "means" are: any and all, including forum shopping, telemarketing, Jesse Jackson and Kweisi Mfume on the barricades of the race and class war, selective recounting and legal machinations and duplicity. Imvho, we are only a few yards away from a state constitutional crisis in Florida and a national constitutional crisis. Folks who claimed the Republicans were guilty of trying to overturn the 1996 election with the impeachment proceedings were guilty of hyperbole. Those who claim Al Gore is trying to overturn the 2000 election with his methodology are simply reporting the facts. It's only a few yards further to real physical mayhem. Should be have a little pool contest here where we guess when the first election related fatality will hit the news, and what the final body count will be?
Somehow picking out one Democrat county in the entire state of Florida, counting and recounting votes mechanically, and now proposing to do it by hand (hundreds of volunteers? who will supervise?) FOR THAT SINGLE COUNTY, when western Florida (read: Republican) was subject to a false polling report while the polls were open, is beyond the realm of ludicrous and into the insane.
Just as "Primary Colors," the true-ish story of the Clinton campaign in 1992 would have been considered a ridiculous, trashy overdone supermarket cheap novel plot, this Palm Beach fiasco is something worthy of Carl Hiassen. Or perhaps Elmore Leonard.
Winkman, do you care to predict where the illegitimate political offspring of Bill Clinton will draw the line in the "ends vs. means" issue here? Or is there simply no line to be drawn? |
