by Jacob Walker

Created on: February 04, 2010

The 2000 Supreme Court case, Bush v. Gore was as former President bill Clinton stated in his autobiography, “If Gore had been ahead in the vote count and Bush behind, there's not a doubt in my mind that the same Supreme Court would have voted 9 to 0 to [re]count the vote and I would have supported the decision... Bush v. Gore will go down in history as one of the worst decisions the Supreme Court ever made, along with the Dred Scott case.” I completely agree. With that aside, allow me to support my argument:

All three branches of the United States Federal Government run on politics. There are true and honest politicians; however, there is a thick, grey line between integrity and the drive towards personal gain. The facts of this case are black and white, plain as day. The court decision was made along very clear political lines, conservative and liberal. Conservative appointees, Kennedy, O’Connor, Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas, voted to enforce a “safe harbor” deadline of December 12th, 2000; this also happened to be the date of the decision. The remaining four justices, Breyer, Ginsberg, Souter, and Stevens, were considered liberals. They voted against such a deadline. Breyer and Souter also wanted to send the case back to the Florida Supreme Court to establish standards by which a recount could be conducted and to then manually recount all bailouts under such standards.

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the country. The justices whom sit on the bench are expected by the constitution to be impartial to political influences. Bush v. Gore was a case of historical proportions. Once the final ballot in the State of Florida was cast, it quickly became an unprecedented disaster. Conservative politicians in Florida were quick to establish grounds for confusion and dismay. They can be credited for lining up the tools of chaos that brought this country to the start of a dangerous, troubling, and disturbing legal battle. Many individuals involved in state government in Florida should have recued themselves from legislative and judicial matters concerning the election. The actions of the Secretary of State Katherine Harris were beyond controversial or unethical. Harris’ political and religious temperament allowed her to engage the Bush opposition with every instrument at her disposal. Her exclusion to large quantities of ballots in Nassau, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade Counties were a direct violation of the state constitution and the integrity of her position. It was a common fact that Bush’s brother, Jeb, was the governor of Florida during this time; and it was a common goal of every conservative in Florida and the U.S. Supreme Court to see to Bush’s nomination as President of the United States.

I am not one to agree or disagree with conspiracy theories. The only true-telling criticism that can be established is that this case was quickly and immorally dismissed. If we had enjoyed eight years of prosperity and competency from then-President George Bush, the error in judgment would have simply been another torn page in the history of our country. However, the result of Bush v. Gore is one that will forever haunt every remaining ounce of moral certainty that makes up what it means to be an American.

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