I’m taking that to my grave

Could continue. Why did SCOTUS intervene?

I'm not over it and I will never be over it. What the Bush team and the Supreme Court did was essentially a blueprint for everything Trump has done. I think about it when I see Liz Cheney acting so high and mighty about democracy. I think about it when I see Roberts and Alito. I truly think that changed me as a person, from someone who was generally cheerful to someone who tended towards the angry.

I haven't forgotten that the seeds were planted by Reagan either, the divisiveness and name calling and the way they turned Americans against the concept of democracy when we ourselves are supposed to be the government.

Bush v Gore, worst decision in Supreme Court history, brought us Iraq War, Citizens United case, widening of the wealth gap, increased climate change, and corruption of the Supreme Court.

Sandra Day O’Connor later said she wanted to retire under a Republican President, to ensure her replacement with a Republican justice.

I almost started laughing wildly when on of the justices said (I am paraphrasing) "how can we have ONE secretary of state from ONE state decide the election for the whole country?"

I should probably start a whole thread on this topic.

I remember, the 'Stop The Count' mob. They won and gave us W. for 8 years. It's been down hill, pretty much since then. Let's not forget to give Karl Rove, his 'credit' too.

Any subsequent disruptions were "insurance" measures to make sure the fix was in.

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My life has never been the same since that dreary December day when the SCOTUS handed Bush the presidency. I felt like the universe shifted sideways and I slid into a different one where I didn't belong. I'm serious. I really felt that way, like there was "a ripple in the Force," and things just felt different. So, yes, I will never forget.

The Brooks Brothers event is woven in there as prelude to the disruption. All of it is still fresh.

And yes. It's why I'm here. I didn't join DU officially until the Kerry campaign, but I was reading.

What happened to Al Gore broke me. I loved that man. I believed in him. He had been my representative in government for many years when I lived Tennessee. He lived in the county next to mine. I was shocked and then devastated, gutted, by what happened.

I felt something very similar on November 8, 2016. These were traumatic events etched into my memory.

was decided by a little over 500 votes. The recount was halted with millions of votes still to re-count. The Governor of the state was the prevailing candidate's brother and the Supreme Court, which voted to halt the count voted 5 to 4, with 2 of the Justices nominated by the prevailing candidate's father.

Jesus, it's not too hard to put a credible conspiracy theory together using those facts as a base.

I was 48 years old during the election of 2000. I remember it like yesterday.

The election was ABSOLUTELY stolen from Gore. What could have been GREAT presidency.

were the trickle-down effect of Reagan. History text will point to 1980 as the prelude to the "Howdy-Doody Times." Just Say No by Bonzo, Bush the Literate, The Cocaine Cowboy and The Orange Menace. JFC it's dismal thinking about it.

Before that, I thought that I was politically aware of events in this country and elections in general. The little riot, the actions of the Republicans, the Supreme Court’s intervention changed me forever.

I really admired Al Gore. I trusted America was a democracy. It was devastating.

Also I changed my voter registration from Independent to Democrat and found DU. I became politically active, went to protests, registered voters wrote letters and post cards met with my elected representatives....

But their side keeps winning.

In terms of elections, they haven't had much to cheer about since 2016, so take heart.

I'm jaded by my time in Texas, but I shouldn't be.

...because they've lost the popular vote in 7 out of 8 presidential races, and the one where they won the popular vote came when there was a Republican incumbent who conducted a negative campaign once again, but this time with the new term swiftboating, and there were two wars in progress.

They are some ugly ugly people. And while they don't win fairly, they cheat. And they're proud of cheating.

Been lurking ever since.

the ‘brains’ behind that, and the whole f’ing 4 yrs of tfg.
he got a pardon, cuz he had a mission.

Somehow I think I sensed that it was crucial. Bush v. Gore changed me too--I've never been as much of a wife, parent, family member, or friend as I had been before. And now I have grandchildren, which should be my greatest joy but cause me to be possessed by terror for their future.

dire warnings from former President Clinton, directed our intelligence community to aggressively seek out terrorist cells in the US that were planning a major attack?

Dozens of young foreign men -most of them Saudis on student visas- were expelled from the country and put on permanent watch lists. Coordinated intelligence efforts with our allies in other western countries helped to expose sleeper terrorist cells in other parts of the world.

Tuesday September 11th, 2001 was just another balmy, sunny late summer day.

Np... I don't remember that, either.

things will only get worse.

Problem is, the ones who can change the system are the very ones who benefit from the system. And they've successfully brainwashed people against the idea of publicly funded elections, IDK why. Brainwashing appears to have worked on a whole bunch of people I used to think were intelligent.

All these years i have been wondering whether moderate interests allowed the Bush and Supremes theft with the pretense of fairness in the interest of US foreign policy - i.e. American hegemony dominated by MIC. Gore should never have conceded. The Supremes stole it for Bush and overruled states rights.

More needs to be done to expose the white heritage foundation for what it is - the new KKK.

and the start of maga / trumpism where the supreme court demonstrated that the rule of law did not apply to everyone and that their political objectives would outweigh the ideals of democracy.

I remember the Brooks Brothers riot and was pissed that the recount in Miami was stopped. I also remember the butterfly ballot in Palm Beach county that cost Gore a thousand or so votes.

If the recount had not been stopped, Al Gore would have won Florida in that in several counties were using paper scan ballots for the first time and sufficient voters marked that they voted for Al Gore and then wrote Al Gore's name in the write in space. If audited, these ballots would have counted for Gore and would have flipped Florida.

In 2004, I went to Florida as part of the Kerry Edwards voter protection team. The DNC had 900 or so out of state lawyers in Florida and 3000 elsewhere as part of that election. I have been volunteering on voter protection efforts ever since.

The right of a state to conduct its own election without interference?

Florida, no you don't have that right! (because our guy might lose)

Colorado, no you don't have that right! (because our guy might lose)

Any others step forward!

they had been allowed to count the votes.

They scaled up their fecklessness, and nearly overthrew the country.


Bastards.


I served this country. And nearly got knocked on the head with a Scud missile for my trouble. And this is the shit that's happening in my own country.

God-damn them all to Hell (And fuck Charleton Heston too, while we're at it.)

2000 and 2001 represented a perfect storm of political pressure, negative campaigning, dirty tricks, and press failures. For starters, the press picked up the negative campaign talking points (Rolling Stone has covered this) and helped bash Gore as dishonest.

Then there was the back-and-forth about the vote counts, including that precursor of January 6th, the Brooks Brothers riot.

And when the NORC released its study results after the election, the media chose to use headlines declaring that Bush would've won the election anyway, which wasn't exactly what the analysis told us (there were literally dozens of possible vote outcomes, some favoring Gore, some favoring Bush).

Do check out The Press Effect to learn more:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-press-effect-9780195173291?cc=us&lang=en&

totally stolen from Gore!!!

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I still think about it, because it changed the course of my life as well as the direction of our country. I've lived in Florida my entire life, and I was so shocked and appalled by the disaster that was the 2000 Presidential election in my state, I became a 24/7 political news junkie and election integrity activist. And I am still appalled, but we did manage to get rid of touchscreen voting machines in Florida.

I will never accept or believe in the legitimacy of the Supreme Court's ruling appointing W as President. The whole thing was a sham, and I'll never get over it. I believe we'd be so much better off today if Al Gore had been inaugurated, as he should have been.