Tyranny of the majority
Tom DeLay’s
‘doomsday
scenario’ to let
Congress name
the next president
House Majority Whip Tom
DeLay of Texas is
accustomed to getting his
way. But his idea for
Congress to interfere with
the Electoral College is
both imprudent and illegal.
By John Dean
MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR
Nov. 25 — Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas has thrown
down a gauntlet in his opposition to a Gore
presidency. DeLay, known to his colleagues as
“The Hammer,” has circulated a memo to his
Republican colleagues threatening to challenge
“tainted” Gore elector votes, and the House
Republicans are preparing to block a Gore
Electoral College victory. However, to pull off
such a blatantly partisan stunt the House
Republicans will have to ignore the law,
congressional precedent and political prudence.
And should they do so, we’d have a genuine
constitutional crisis, or worse.
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NO ONE DOUBTS that Tom DeLay is a formidable force in
the House of Representatives. Recent press clippings describe him
as a “snarling rottweiler,” a man who “never saw an arm he
couldn’t twist, a Democrat he couldn’t genially flay and a scrap he
didn’t want to be part of.” DeLay is reported to be preparing his
troops for a scorched earth fight that could outdo the partisan
ugliness of the Clinton impeachment proceeding, again driving his
Republican colleagues like lemmings over the cliffs of civility and
propriety to kill a Gore presidential victory.
THE DOOMSDAY SCENARIO
DeLay’s plan to
have Congress
block a possible
Gore victory in the
Electoral College
ignores the law. It
appears to be a pure
power politics play.
DeLay’s plans surfaced as his House colleagues whelped
that the Florida recount was threatening Bush’s prospects. The
New York Times reported DeLay was circulating an obscurely
titled memorandum, “Electoral College Process in the Congress, ”
claiming that “the House and Senate can reject a state’s electoral
votes if they decide that the votes are tainted.” Later reports note
that DeLay’s plan “has been discussed at a high level in the
Republican party and is referred to as the “doomsday scenario.”
Statements of Republican congressional officials and
operatives, and the Bush campaign, outline the emerging and
evolving plan. The Washington players will let the Bush campaign
people fight Gore in the U.S. Supreme Court and, as necessary,
the Florida courts. If the courts fail to deliver a Bush victory, they
will turn to the Florida State Legislature, which can call a special
session to appoint Bush electors and ignore a Gore recount
victory. If that fails, and a majority of Gore electoral votes arrive
in Washington, the House Republicans leaders are preparing for a
worst-case situation.
Do you approve of
the GOP's tactics in
pursuit of a victory
for George W. Bush?
Yes. They should
use any means
necessary to win
the White House.
No. They should
drop the hostilities
and let the courts
decide how to
resolve voting
disputes.
Vote to see results
The Doomsday Scenario, at this time, appears to be mostly
tough talk, hot air, and the blustering of bullies. That is not to say
it is impotent, because this is a will with a way. While there is no
constitutional or congressional authority for disqualifying Gore’s
electoral votes, a fact confirmed by the DeLay memo, and the
material the House leaders are making available from the
Congressional Research Service (a branch of the Library of
Congress), this has not stopped the Republican leaders from
talking as if there were. For example, House Majority Leader
Dick Armey says that the Congress has a “duty to accept or
reject” the electoral vote. In fact, the only way that the House
could reject a Gore win, should Florida ultimately certify him the
winner, would be to ignore the law. So it appears the Doomsday
Scenario would be a pure power politics play — the law be
damned.
CONTESTING ELECTORAL VOTES
A few essentials. The new Congress, the 107th, will convene
Jan. 3, 2001. The House (at present, there is still one race in
New Jersey undecided) will consist of 211 Democrats, 221
Republicans, and 2 Independents. Thus, the House is clearly
controlled by the Republicans. The Senate (although the
Washington tally is not final) looks like it will consist of 50
Republicans and 50 Democrats — including Joe Lieberman, who
will not have yet resigned, and Maria Cantwell of Washington.
Cantwell is the apparent winner over Republican incumbent Slade
Gorton in a tight race now undergoing a recount.) Vice President
Gore will be president of the Senate until noon on Jan. 20, 2001,
so he can cast his vote to break any tie in the new Senate. Thus,
for the first 17 days of the new year, the Senate will be controlled
by the Democrats, given Gore’s tie-breaking vote.
By law, the House and Senate meet in a joint session in the
House Chamber, to count the Electoral College votes, and
announce the winner. The Senate has passed a law to move the
date of this session from Saturday, Jan. 6 to Friday, Jan. 5, but
the legislation has not been approved by the House, nor signed by
the president. |
