Demonstrators march to Supreme Court
Tim Wheeler (Peoples Weekly World)
WASHINGTON * With the chant, "Count every vote" echoing outside their chambers, the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled narrowly that Florida Sec. of State Katherine Harris was
within her rights to certify Bush the winner even if all the votes were not counted by
the deadline.
The Bush-Cheney campaign had requested that the high court overturn the Florida
Supreme Court's ruling that the overriding constitutional imperative is that every
vote be counted.
Instead the Supreme Court sent the case back to the Florida Supreme Court for further
clarification of their ruling.
The Florida court is now scheduled to hear an appeal by the Gore-Lieberman campaign
that they overturn a ruling by Florida Circuit Court Judge, N. Sanders Sauls and order
a full count of all Florida ballots.
Thousands of protesters, overwhelmingly in support of Gore-Lieberman packed the
sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court Friday, Dec. 1.
The crowd was swelled by union members wearing their local union jackets, caps and
hardhats. Patricia Ireland, President of the National Organization for Women was there
with hundreds of NOW members carrying placards that read, "Fight the radical right."
Members of People for the American Way and the NAACP also stood with their picket
signs. Several protesters had come from Palm Beach County, Florida, where 28,000 of
the infamous butterfly ballots were thrown out.
Police struggled to confine the crowd to the sidewalks. But it continued to grow
throughout the morning until several thousand were packed so densely that they spilled
onto First Street. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Ireland and the Rev. Tom Masters, pastor of
New Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Riviera Beach, Fla,. led the crowd into the
street where they knelt in prayer.
"There is a strong feeling that Gore and Lieberman won the popular vote across the
U.S. and in Florida. There is a feeling that this election is being stolen," Masters
told the World. "It is important that the people of Florida declare Al Gore the winner
regardless of whether or not he is awarded the state's 25 electoral votes."
"I see this struggle continuing. There have been so many violations of the Voting
Rights Act. They must be investigated. We are forging a great new coalition of
students, seniors, African Americans, Haitian, Hispanics, the Jewish community, and
organized labor. I see a tremendous resurgence, especially among the young people.
They are getting involved in the political arena. They were disenfranchised in this
election and are determined it is never going to happen again."
Karen Robinson, an ambulance paramedic in D.C. said, "I think it is essential that we
uphold the principle, 'One person, one vote.' If this were a Third World country, the
U.S. would be telling them, 'Count every vote.' So if it applies to them, it should
apply to us as well. I do not think the U.S. Supreme Court should overrule the Florida
Supreme Court."
Fred Mason, AFL-CIO director for Maryland and the District of Columbia, said, "What is
being challenged is democracy as we know it. This is about making sure that every vote
is counted. We believe there were gross violations of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in
Florida and elsewhere across the country.
It's a question of which direction this country will go in, he said. "Will it be in
the direction of giving greater power and a greater concentration of wealth to those
who are already rich and powerful? Or will there be a greater sharing of power and
wealth for all the people?" Mason asked.
"The wealth is already concentrated in the hands of a small minority and they have no
qualms about making all the vital decisions for the rest of us. But that is not what
democracy is all about."
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