Florida Democrats want Gore to concede:
washingtonpost.com.
Florida Democrats Speak Out on Gore DOUGLAS KIKER Associated Press Writers
By Katherine Pfleger
and
Thursday, Dec. 7, 2000; 5:12 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON –– At least a third of Al Gore's hand-picked electors in Florida say he should concede if
the state Supreme Court rules against him.
"When you go to the Supreme Court, and if the Supreme Court goes down against them, it is over,"
said Jon Ausman, the vice chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, one of would-be 25
representatives to the Electoral College should Gore win the state.
Gore has challenged the outcome of the election in Florida, where Republican George W. Bush was
certified the winner by a meager 537 votes. He asked the Florida Supreme Court to order the recounts
of ballots that could send his Democratic slate instead of George W. Bush's to the Electoral College.
Generally, the Democratic electors, who are chosen by the state party and the campaign, say that Gore
should wait for the state's high court decision before he gives up.
"Until the vice president has taken this issue through the legal channels, it is almost like trying to
trying to stop in the middle of a sneeze," said T. Wayne Bailey, a professor of political science at
Stetson University and a Gore elector.
Florida representatives to the Electoral College, similar to those around the country, will meet in their
state capital Dec. 18 to officially cast votes for president.
In years past, the event has offered more ceremony than intrigue. But this year the race has come down
to Florida, and there just one-hundredth of a percent separates winner from loser. The Associated
Press interviewed 15 of the 25 would-be Democratic electors, who had a variety of opinions on the
state of the presidential election.
At least eight are ready for Gore to give up his fight if the state's Supreme Court rules against him.
Oral arguments are set for Thursday and the justices could reach a decision as early as this week.
Some, believing Gore to be the winner in Florida, are vowing to fight on, no matter what the court
rules. Still others say the process is in motion, and they are in a holding a pattern.
Tony Hill, a former state representative from Jacksonville, said he's going to follow the vice president's
lead.
"If Al Gore decides to throw the towel in, I guess as the electors who were going to vote for him, I guess
we have to say, 'All is well,' and get about our business," Hill said.
Many electors have been communicating by phone, e-mail or in casual conversation about Gore's
predicament and theirs. They've discussed when and how Gore should concede, if that happens, and
what they will do next.
They have also talked about the Republican-dominated Florida legislature, which voted Wednesday to
convene a special session to choose the slate of electors if a final court resolution isn't reached by a
Dec. 12 deadline.
If the Florida lawmakers tried to overturn court rulings favorable to Gore, Miami attorney Chris Korge
and Florida Democratic Party chairman Bob Poe said they would fight to be recognized as electors.
"If one of the courts decided, and it was determined the vice president won, and the state legislature
met to deny us our slate, we would go up to Tallahassee," Poe said. "But we don't want to create a
constitutional crisis."
Patti Haney and Juanita Scott, two electors, also won't rule out going to Tallahassee on Dec. 18 to make
their cases.
Haney said Gore is the winner in her eyes.
"I'll be there," said Haney, a Gore campaign chairwoman for the Space Coast, near Cape Canaveral. "We
feel like we are the electors of this state.... People that are actively involved in the campaign, we are
getting self-righteous."
At least one elector, State Sen. Buddy Dyer of Orlando, hasn't ruled out a display of symbolism to show
his dissatisfaction with the outcome, should Bush win. Dyer said he thinks it may be appropriate for
the Democrats to send their slate to the National Archives, where the official electoral records are
kept.
But he has no intention of getting involved in a protest on Dec. 18. "I would not go simply to stand
outside and hold a sign," Dyer said.
Bailey, the professor from Stetson University, said that when the dust settles Americans will rally
behind the new president – even if the winner is Bush.
"The reaction among the community will be the old English expression, 'the king is dead, long live the
king' – that is to say the process will have occurred and it will have legitimacy," Bailey said. "At the
point that Vice President Gore concedes, all of us would follow that lead, I think, and then in the
tradition of American elections you join with the winner in moving the country ahead."
© Copyright 2000 The Associated Press |
