Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

The situation might have been remedied had Democrats and Obama come into office investigat­ing and prosecutin­g the Bush administra­tion and restoring the 'rule of law'.  BushCheney exploited the inherent weaknesses in the Constituti­on:  A precarious balance of power between the three branches of government­.  But Obama refused, and has continued the BushCheney disregard of the Constituti­on, even going beyond BushCheney abuses.

We got off on a wrong turn in this country, not just once but at many important junctions throughout our 200 plus years, but never always with the possibility of enough lead time to rectify and change course.  When it comes to a Supreme Court decision, some say, "Oh it's not a big deal, it's just one decision, unlikely to affect much."  That one decision, Bush v. Gore, has set the course for the demise of human civilization on the planet within my children's lifetime.  By giving the election to Bush and Cheney with all the power that went with it, a set of actions have been put into place which spell the end game for ecosystems around the world as well as political systems.  

If it sounds like I'm speaking in extremes, apocalyptic, yes, I am.  The extremes were are facing include monetary (another worldwide Great Depression, beyond the last one because the planet doesn't have the raw materials to build on like the last one), energy that is too dangerous to handle (nuclear and gasoline, destroying the environment and making it impossible for humans to survive), extreme weather, food and water shortages, pandemic diseases, anarchy in the streets.
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Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

The Democrats' refusal to enforce the rule of law (an extraordinary admission by Pelosi a couple of weeks ago, particularly as she admitted it as the reason that Republicans shouldn't uphold rule of law by holding Holder in contempt - "Nancy Pelosi Slams Contempt Vote: 'I Could Have Arrested Karl Rove ... But We Didn't') is now a bipartisan agreement that we're no longer a nation of laws.

At the very root of our problems are Constituti­onal crises created by, first, Republican presidents and now under a Democratic president.  Republican­s' utter contempt for the Constituti­on and callous disregard for creating them caused by Democrats' cowering response is what underpins all of our problems and what's destroying the country. 

As president, you've got to really want the US to work, to exist, to not exploit the loopholes in the Constituti­on that keep our three-bran­ches of government precarious­ly balancing the democracy.  But BushCheney drove tanks through the loopholes, breaking the law and with no apparent concern for exposing the loopholes or any consequenc­es.

Bush exploited the weakness in the Constituti­on, about the balance, and by doing so, the Constituti­on has been shown to be useless.  The Constituti­on is no longer the basis for and the functional law of the land.  The Constituti­on is no longer much respected in Congress, the Executive Branch, the SupremeCou­rt, nor in law or business.

Bush wasn't the first to create Constituti­onal crises, but he created more of them, eviscerati­ng the Constituti­on for all time. How do you go forward with it when its Achilles' heel has been laid bare for any BushCheney wannabe waiting in the weeds to exploit?  What's now happened in the aftermath of BushCheney is that what Nixon did has been made legal.  Once BushCheney happened, once they exploited those loopholes for everyone to see, you can't just go on as if it never happened.  You can't "look forward, not back".  

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Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

When you don't right the wrongs in history, they have a funny way of coming back to cause mayhem all over again.  

The Bushes, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, et al, all happened because Nixon was pardoned, not tried.  Had Clinton investigated and prosecuted George H.W. Bush over Iran-Contra, his son and Dick Cheney never would have gotten into the White House.  Jeb Bush and Liz Cheney would never have the political futures like the ones they're about to have because Obama decided to "look forward, not back".  

With investigations and transparency, the CIA would have been dismantled, the buildings burned to ashes and the ground upon which it stood salted.  Instead, this is our future (The Lily-Pad Strategy: How the Pentagon Is Quietly Transforming Its Overseas Base Empire and Creating a Dangerous New Way of War) and it's making us more loathed and unsafe than any time in our history.

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Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

Scalia also said in the interview that the case that brings about the "most waves of disagreement" is still the decision that decided the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. But the justice said his normal answer to people who ask about Bush v. Gore is "get over it."

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In Bush v. Gore, the Court went rogue.  That comment from a justice on the highest court in the land, his attitude, in temperament and demeanor, is improper as expressed toward the citizens with severe qualms about the court's interference in their election.

That call into question in my mind his fitness to continue on the bench.
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Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

December 11: U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument inGore v. Bush. Florida Supreme Court issues a 6-1 clarifying Opinion on remand from U.S. Supreme Court inPalm Beach Canvassing Board v. Harris. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirms dismissal of Harris, Medina case challenging inclusion of overseas absentee ballots. Committees in both houses of the Florida Legislature approve resolutions appointing 25 electors pledged to Bush.

December 12: Deadline for resolution of elector controversies to qualify for "conclusive" protection underTitle 3, U.S. Code, Section 5. Florida House of Representatives passes resolution appointing 25 electors. Florida Supreme Court upholds dismissal of Seminole andMartin county absentee ballot application challenges. At about 10 p.m. EST, U.S. Supreme Court issues 5-4 decisionin Gore v. Bush reversing Florida Supreme Court and ruling that manual recounts cannot be conducted in a constitutional manner in the time remaining.

December 13: Seeing no legal recourse from the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Gore concedes.

December 14: Florida Supreme Court dismisses Gore v. Harris on remand. JURIST concludes expanded coverage of the Florida recount.
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Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

December 8: In 4-3 split decision, Florida Supreme Courtrules for Gore, ordering a statewide manual recount of undervotes to begin and adding 383 votes to his total. Bush seeks stays before the Florida Supreme Court, the 11th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court and additionallypetitions the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari. Leon County Circuit Court Judges Terry Lewis and Nikki Clark refuse to throw out any of the 25,000 absentee ballots challenged in Martin and Seminole counties. In Bush v. Hillsborough County Canvassing Board, federal District Court Judge Lacey Collier rules that overseas absentee ballots can be counted even though they lack a postmark required by 101.62(7)(c) of the Florida Election Code. Florida Legislature meets in special session and adjourns with plans to convene again December 12. 

December 9: The Florida Supreme Court denies Bush's application for stay. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta similarly denies Bush's emergency motion to stop the recount, but orders Florida officials not to change his previously certified 537-vote lead. Minutes later, the U.S. Supreme Court, divided 5-4, issues a stay in Gore v. Bush to stop the manual recounts. Federal District Court Judge Maurice Paul denies request to throw out overseas absentee ballots not received by Election Day (Harris, Medina v. Florida Elections Canvassing Commission).

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Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

December 1: U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument on Bush's appeal of November 21 Florida Supreme Court ruling (Bush v. Palm Beach Canvassing Board). Florida Supreme Court refuses Gore's appeal to immediately start recounting ballots in his election contest. Florida Supreme Court upholds Judge Jorge Labarga's rejection of suits challenging Palm Beach "butterfly ballot". Texas federal DistrictCourtJudge Sidney Fitzwater rejectsvoter suit arguing that Dick Cheney is an inhabitant of Texas and thus ineligible to receive votes of Texas electors (Jones v. Bush).

December 2-3: Trial held in Gore's election contest [see transcript Part I, II, III, IV].

December 4: US SupremeCourt rules in Bush v. PalmBeachCanvassingBoard, vacating order of FloridaSupremeCourt and remanding for clarification the FloridaSupremeCourt's November 21 decision on recount deadlines. JudgeSauls rejects Gore's election challenge.

December 6: Separate trials on the SeminoleCounty [transcript Part I, II, III] and MartinCounty [transcriptPart I, II, III] absentee ballot application cases begin in LeonCountyCircuitCourt. Florida's Republican legislative leaders call for special session to consider whether to appoint Florida's 25 electors.

December 7: FloridaSupremeCourt hears Gore's appeal of JudgeSauls' rejection of election contest. U.S. Court of Appeals for the FifthCircuit orally affirms dismissal of challenge to Cheney's residency (JonesV.Bush). A formal proclamation is issued calling the Florida Legislature for a special session commencing December 8.

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Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

November 23: Miami-Dade County suspends its manual recount; Florida Supreme Court rejects Gore request to require resumption.

November 24: U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear Bush's appeal on the legality of the Florida Supreme Court's decision to allow recounts and extend state deadline for certification.

November 26: Secretary Harris certifies election results, giving Bush a 537-vote victory over Gore. Governor Jeb Bush signs Certificate of Ascertainment designating 25 Florida electors pledged to George W. Bush and transmits to National Archives as required by Title 3, U.S. Code, Section 6.

November 27: Gore files election contest action under Election Code section 102.168, challenging vote counts in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Nassau counties; case is assigned to Judge Sanders Sauls.

November 28: Judge Sanders Sauls orders about 14,000 disputed ballots from Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties brought to him in Tallahassee.

November 30: A Florida legislative committee recommends a special session to name the state's 25 representatives to the Electoral College, which elects the president.



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November 17: Deadline for receipt of overseas absentee ballots under Florida Administrative Code, Chapter 1S-2.013(7). Judge Terry Lewis refuses to compel Secretary Harris to consider late returns. On appeal, Florida Supreme Court prohibits Secretary Harris from certifying the election results - as she had planned to do November 18 - until further notice from the court. In Seminole County, local Democrats sue the Seminole County Canvassing Board for including certain absentee ballots in the vote totals that did not satisfy the provisions of 101.62(1)(b) of the Florida Election Code, requiring that a person requesting an absentee ballot provide the elector's registration number on their application. In Siegel and an associated case (Touchston v. Sheppard), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit refuses to block manual recounts in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

November 19: Miami-Dade County begins manual recount.

November 20: Oral argument before Florida Supreme Court inPalm Beach Canvassing Board v. Harris. In Palm Beach County, Judge Jorge Labarga rules that he has no constitutional authority to order a re-vote due to use of the butterfly ballot.

November 21: Florida Supreme Court rules that manual recounts may continue and that the totals must be included in the final results. Court sets November 26-27 as deadline for certifying the election.

November 22: Bush files petition for certiorari in United States Supreme Court, asking for review of Florida Supreme Court ruling. Judge Jorge Labarga rules that so-called "dimpled chads" cannot be summarily excluded from the Palm Beach manual recount.



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Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

November 12: Palm Beach County manual recount begins.



November 13: U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks rejects Bush's plea in Siegel for an order barring hand recounts of ballots. Volusia County sues to complete manual recount notwithstanding the November 14 "deadline" for county Canvassing Boards to file election returns (one week after general election) set in 102.112(1).

November 14: Circuit Judge Terry Lewis rules in McDermott v. Harris that Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris may enforce a statutory 5 p.m. deadline for county reporting of returns, but that she may not arbitrarily refuse to include late-filed returns

November 15: After considering submissions from counties still conducting recounts, Secretary of State Harris indicates that she will not consider further returns from those counties.



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Antonin Scalia Says He's Not Feuding With John Roberts

Scalia said it was Gore who decided to bring the courts into the battle.  

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That's not true.  

 Timeline of major legal events in the 2000 Florida recount:


November 7: Election Day, as designated by Congress inTitle 3, U.S. Code, Section 1.

November 8: About 3 a.m. EST, Vice President and Democratic Party candidate Al Gore telephones Texas Gov. and Republican Party candidate George W. Bush to concede. About an hour later, Gore retracts the concession because Bush's margin of victory in Florida is slim enough to trigger an automatic recount under 102.141(4) of the Florida Election Code (the Florida Division of Elections reported that the Republican Party presidential ticket received 2,909,135 (48.8%) votes and the Democratic Party presidential ticket received 2,907,351 (48.8%) votes; other candidates on the presidential ballot in Florida received a total of 139,616 votes). The automatic recount further reduces the vote margin. The first lawsuit is filed challenging Palm Beach's "butterfly ballot."

November 9: Manual recounts are requested by or on behalf of the Gore campaign under 102.166 in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Volusia counties. JURIST begins expanded coverage of the Florida recount.


November 11: Bush and several voters commence federal lawsuit (Siegel v. LePore) to halt manual recounts because of alleged equal protection and other constitutional violations.




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