As of this moment, the courageous Members of Congress who are on the record in support of the challenge are: Alcee Hastings, Corinne Brown, Carrie Meek, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Mel Watt, Sheila Jackson Lee and Maxine Waters.
Tomorrow when Alcee Hastings tries to challenge the electors it will probably fail for lack of a Senate co-sponsor. Then Congressman Peter Deutsch will call for a quorum, for which he needs a Senate co-sponsor. If Deutsch gets his co-sponsor the quorum call will reveal that neither house has a majority present, which will force a recess. Although we understand Gore's disinterest in a formal challenge of Florida's electors, freeing the Senators to vote their conscience so that they can delay the ultimate counting of the electoral votes will be a symbolic victory of great importance for the Congressional Black Caucus. The Congressional Black Caucus and the people it represents are very unhappy with the Florida election procedures. They are the real victims in the Florida fiasco. For more than 400 years they have been struggling to achieve full citizenship in our society and the very least we can give them tomorrow is an opportunity to air their grievances before the world.
With all due respect for the Vice President, it is not up to him to decide how much election fraud we as a nation are prepared to live with. That is -- or should be -- a subject of considerable debate. The Congressional Black Caucus is right: There is considerable credible evidence of deliberate voter fraud, intimidation, official misconduct and a conspiracy to suppress voter turnout by illegal methods. The Democrats might not want a complete formal debate and vote on the Florida electors, but why not give the Congressional Black Caucus its victory of delaying Bush's ultimate victory? At Democrats.com we think the Democratic Party owes them at least that. In truth, of course, we owe them a whole lot more.
Over time, as the clarity of Gore's victory in Florida and the magnitude of the Bush brothers' complicity in stealing this election grow, we believe a failure to challenge the Florida electoral results will come to be seen as a failure to act on principal.
Even if this challenge does not succeed in disqualifying Florida's or Texas's electors, we believe it will electrify and galvanize the Democrats in Congress and the nation at large. It will demonstrate the breadth and depth of the popular support for Democratic priorities and serve as the strongest possible warning against Republican extremism and recklessness.
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