RIP American democracy 7/4/1776-12/12/2000

[GoreWon2000]

No one should ever forget that 24 years ago today, 12/12/2000, 5 unelected repug SCOTUS judges killed American democracy with the strokes of their highly partisan pens by stopping the legal Florida vote count in order to thwart the will of "we the people" and install their personally preferred candidate in the White House. This anti democracy SCOTUS ruling put our country on the path to the Trump dictatorship which will begin on January 20, 2025.

[Initech]

1. Cause of death: Fox News.

Just remember that all the major networks called Florida for Gore. One didn't. America would be light years ahead right now if that piece of shit network didn't exist. Now they've created a dictatorship and a bullshit pipeline.

[GoreWon2000]

5. Rehnquist 5 12/12/00 ruling is the primary cause

15 of my 24 years spent working on dem election campaigns were spent in Florida. I actually worked under the Florida election laws that were on the books in 2000. There was no way Jeb and Harris were going to allow the uncounted Florida votes to be counted. For the record, Fox News called Florida for W because W/Jeb cousin John Ellis who was the Fox News election "expert" despite having no such experience has said publicly that it was Jeb who told him to call Florida for W. Jeb knew full well that all of the votes in the largest and most heavily democratic voting counties had not been counted. This case was going to court no matter what and the Rehnquist 5 took the bait and violated the U.S. constitution to take the case and kill democracy with their installation of W.

[Meowmee]

2. I have not forgotten that and never will

It was one of the major events that has led us to this disaster now.

[GoreWon2000]

7. Exactly

Future generations of Americans won't have to look very far to understand what killed American democracy.

[Dennis Donovan]

3. I haven't forgotten. I cried watching this:

[GoreWon2000]

6. It's still brutal for me too

I think of the several hundred thousand legal votes that sit uncounted in the Florida archives every day. How different our country and the world would be today had the will of the people been able to prevail.

[Dave says]

4. It was fraying at the edges with Reagan

12/12/2000 just formalized its decay.

[IzzaNuDay]

8. I'm thinking Nixon was the first architect to this chaos.

And he got pardoned by Ford. That was enough for the GOP to do whatever the hell they pleased. Reagan just started capitalizing on it.

[StevieM]

9. Let's not forget all the damage that Ken Starr did to our democracy and to the rule of law. (eom)

[doubleplusgood]

10. We got screwed on 12/12/2000

And 9 months later... 9/11.

[ahlnord]

11. the foundation cracked

I felt the constitutional foundation of our nation crack when the Supreme Court stopped the vote count and awarded the presidency to Bush. We have not been able to repair the damage. My heart still hurts from that damage back in 2000. They used that Florida fiasco as an excuse to begin installing voting machines all across the country, and our elections have been screwed up and challenged and lacking in credibility ever since. I am a former election who hand-counted paper ballots, and that is still the "gold standard" used in other first world countries. I think we should NOT resist right-wing calls for paper ballots, hand-counted, but join hands with any such advocates so that we can all respect the election results, whether they go our way or not.

[Bluethroughu]

12. They dug the hole that day, filled it with Citizens United decision,

And killed us with the IMMUNITY DECISION.

[Blue_Tires]

13. After 2000 we all should have chucked the electoral college for good

It's done nothing but fuck us ever since....

[The Grand Illuminist]

20. One of the most impossible tasks.

Even if the amendment passes both houses or brought into play by Article V convention, it won't ever come close to passing the 38 states necessary to become amended.

[Blue_Tires]

22. Let me put it to you like this...

If the GOP had lost multiple elections where they won the popular vote, we all know it would have LONG BEEN if not eliminated, at least they would have reworked the math of the EC to make it more equitable

[GoreWon2000]

23. 2000 not an electoral college issue

It's important to understand that 2000 is not an electoral college issue because had all of the uncounted votes been counted as Florida law required, Al Gore actually won Florida and the election overall because he had more electoral college votes than needed for victory when Florida is included.

[SteadySeas]

35. Yes that's it

My head spun when that happened. It didn't make sense at the time. I felt that voters and citizens were disenfranchised, all of us at once. The country seemed taken hostage.
That basic truth I knew all my life, believed in, and participated in was suddenly taken from us.

'Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.'

[niyad]

14. KNR for this whole thread.

[GoreWon2000]

24. "KNR" means?

[City Lights]

36. Kick 'n' recommend. nt

[kimbutgar]

15. The reason I hate repukes to this day

They are liars and crooks and break laws and get away with it and the media whitewashes them and looks away. If a Democrat did even one bad thing they would be hounded out of office. I think about the media going after Bill Clinton for a mutual sex act, Al Franken for a stupid gag photo taken years before he was elected to office and getting pressured for quit the senate and now we had an orange dictator who raped numerous woman, was a tax chest, cheated on all his wives, declared bankruptcy numerous times and tried to overthrow our government because he was a sore loser and the MSM whitewashes and forgives him. Our country is So F’ed now and I blame the evil Repuke party.

My Dad in the 1960’s used to say dirty stinkin lousy repukes and as I kid I didn’t understand but now I see they are an awful, despicable, evil and cheating party. And I’m glad my Dad has passed on and didn’t see what our country has become and how low the repukes have gone!

[LymphocyteLover]

16. Between that and the ridiculous impeachment of Bill Clinton over a BJ, then 9/11 and

the Iraq war-- oh yeah, my hatred of the GOP sprang from that time

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

17. 12/12/2000-When SCOTUS went from joey to full kangaroo.

[crud]

18. bush v gore

is the first time I remember the courts not upholding the right to vote above all. "Then they said it's not such a big deal because the state legislators can always change it. So who cares what the count is, you can't determine it anyways so what does it matter.""and besides, Bush was ahead when they stopped the count so if they continue counting it could harm Bush.

[GoreWon2000]

25. Most of the uncounted votes in heavily democratic voting counties

The Rehnquist 5 was well aware of this so they abandoned their long held "states rights" view to thwart the will of the people and install their personally preferred candidate W who was a disaster.

[LisaM]

19. What an awful day.

And at least four of the Supremes should have recused themselves.

Clarence Thomas - wife was on W's inauguration committee
Scalia - son worked at the firm that represented Bush in Bush v. Gore
Sandra Day O'Connor - was openly upset at an election party that Gore might win because then she couldn't retire (so she admitted she had skin in the game)
Rehnquist - his daughter was given a job in the Bush administration

I could give Rehnquist a bit of a pass because his daughter was given a job afterwards, but his clear prejudice on voting rights should have disqualified him.

It was so unfair and so shocking.

[GoreWon2000]

26. Rehnquist had a grudge against Al Gore, Sr.

Rehnquist's job in the Nixon administration was to make sure that Nixon SCOTUS appointments were confirmed. On the long list of many talents of Senator Al Gore, Sr. was blocking Nixon SCOTUS appointees from being confirmed. Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia and Thomas all should've recused themselves. As you correctly noted they were all biased in favor of W. I think this terrible rulling has caused millions of Americans to give up on democracy.

[LisaM]

30. Then, if you recall, Rehnquist's daughter lost her job

because she had a gun in her desk drawer!

[electric_blue68]

21. And the ?"Brook Brothers Riot" where effin' Dick Army helped white repugs in shirts & ties down to ?Brower....

County to disrupt the counting! Arrrggggg!!!

[GoreWon2000]

27. The "Brooks Brothers" riot was in Miami-Dade county

No one involved with the "Brooks Brothers" riot was ever prosecuted. That paved the way for Trump's 1/6/21 attack on the U.S. capitol.

[electric_blue68]

32. TY for the Correction (why I put a "?").

No prosecutions. 😑🤬🤬

[niyad]

28. And do not forget that beer boy brett was part of that mob.

[electric_blue68]

33. Oh! I Didn't Know that!! 🤬

[LisaM]

31. And Tom Delay.

The media should have outed those chumps instantly. But they didn't. I recall that it was a few days before the photo that ID'd them started circulating.

[Autumn]

29. In the Quality of Democracy ranking we aren't even in the top 30. The US is #36 to be exact

I imagine we are a bit lower now.

https://www.democracymatrix.com/ranking

[UpInArms]

34. September 8, 1974 ... putting a criminal president above the law

Pardon of Richard Nixon
Proclamation 4311
Seal of the President of the United States

President Gerald Ford announcing his decision to pardon former President Richard Nixon
Type Presidential proclamation
Signed by Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974
Summary
Granted a full and unconditional pardon to former President Richard Nixon
The pardon of Richard Nixon (officially, Proclamation 4311) was a presidential proclamation issued by President of the United States Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974, granting a full and unconditional pardon to Richard Nixon, his predecessor, for any crimes that he might have committed against the United States as president.

[City Lights]

37. I have been boycotting Florida since 12/12/2000.

I wrote a nasty letter to Sandra Day O'Connor over this decision. She probably never read it, but I felt good writing and sending it.

And never forget that Karl Rove had a plan sitting in his back pocket to do away with the EC if Bush had won the popular vote, but lost the EC.

The GOP is PURE EVIL.