You either have a short memory or were not paying attention to the extensive TV and print coverage of the Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court voted 7-2 that the Florida recount was unconstitutional. That is a solid majority.
Algore, and the Florida Supreme Court (a majority of which were willing to rewrite Florida election laws from the bench to get him elected) gave him no time for a constitutional recount when they stupidly (and without statutory support) extended the recount time period an additional 12 days to November 26. Had Algore allowed Harris to certify the election on the 17th (when the absentee ballots were counted) per Florida law, the contest period would have started on the 17th and there would have been another 9 days, plenty of time, in which to conclude a recount of all Florida counties by December 12th (the deadline for appointing Florida electors under Florida statutes) that would have passed Constitutional muster. By extending the recount period beyond the 17th, the Florida Supreme Court shortened the contest period in which Algore had to find a way to recount all votes in a manner that would pass Constitutional muster. In their zeal to get him elected via judicial fiat they sealed his defeat, and by extension, their own.
I doubt that any state Supreme Court has been so overwhelmingly chastised by the US Supreme Court as has the Florida Supreme Court. Their two decisions were vacated; i.e., ruled unconstitutional, by 9-0 and 7-2 decisions.
With the arrogance usually displayed by liberals with power, the Florida Supreme Court thumbed their nose at the US Supreme Court and were slapped down by a 7-2 vote. Only the most ardent lefties on the Court, Ginsberg and Stevens, were willing to ignore existing statutes to try to give Gore the White House. The rule of existing law prevailed, thank God. |
