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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective
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To: jlallen who wrote (9839)8/2/2001 2:33:25 PM
From: Nadine Carroll  Read Replies (1) of 10042
 
There were four major decisions in Bush v. Gore:

1. the decision to hear the case: 5-4
2. the decision to stay the recount lest the "irreparable harm" of a "cloud" on Bush's legitimacy be formed: 5-4
3. the decision that were problems with the recount: 7-2
4. the decision to "fix" the recount by halting it: 5-4

1 & 2 were definitely the biggies, and of course 4. The 7-2 decision on 3 is a pretty small fig leaf, especially considering that the Court was trying very hard for some show of consensus -- they didn't want a straight 5-4 decision. It's clear that the majority 5 made the decision in Bush v. Gore.

By every principle they espoused, they should never have taken the case. Respect for precedent, respect for states' rights, respect for the Framers, judicial self-restraint -- all these principles said that they should not accept an utterly lame Equal Protection Clause argument that they themselves had rejected three weeks earlier. But fate had handed them the chance to pick a President to their liking and they couldn't resist. So they handed down a bogus decision that went against everything they believed in -- but they picked a President.

Lots of Republicans liked the result, but thought the decision stank, and lowered public trust in the Court. The Democrats, naturally, liked the decision even less, and they remain fighting mad. When Renquist or O'Connor retire, Bush had better step very carefully in nominating a successor, or he will set off a nuclear explosion on the Hill.
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