Re: Did the Republicans steal the Presidential election 2000?

[Bob Hoffmann <escape@alt-escape.com>]

At 01:54 PM 12/13/2000 -0800, Stephen Cooke wrote:
>I believe the Republicans stole the Presidential election 2000 by wrong
>headed court rulings and foot dragging. What do you think?

I think special interests, particularly large companies, have been buying 
elections for decades.  The issue of Bush vs. Gore can be reduced to:  "Who 
wins?  The 'A' team or the 'B' team?"

If anything good comes out of this, it will be election reform, spearheaded 
by a Constitutional amendment.  Item 1:  Eliminate the Electoral College 
and make presidential elections direct; one person, one vote.  Item 
2:  Proportional representation, as exists in every other modern 
democracy.  If your party wins X% (Germany uses the 5% hurdle), your party 
gets X% (5%) of the seats in Congress.  If no party wins a majority, the 
leading vote-getter may create a majority by forming a coalition with one 
or more other parties.  The presidential candidate of the winning party (or 
lead party in the coalition) becomes the president.

Our current system is very disrespectful of minority viewpoints.  For 
instance, the Reform Party got around 20% of the popular vote in the 
Bush/Clinton election.  In Germany, England, Canada, Spain, South Africa, 
etc., etc., etc., such a showing would have been rewarded with 20% of the 
seats in Parliament.  And deservedly so.  And I think most Americans would 
have been more pleased with the ruling coalition than with a Plain Old 
Clinton Administration (as Clinton, you'll recall, did not receive a 
majority of votes cast).

I hope for major election reform, but since this is only a question of Team 
A vs Team B, it could be that most Americans won't be angry enough at this 
election scandal (whether the scandal was Bush stealing the election, or 
Gore trying to steal it) to push for serious reform.

Bob Hoffmann
846 Mabelle St.
Moscow, ID  83843

Tel: 208 883-0642
Fax: 877 495-2279