Top 10 Lies of Election 2000
I Know What You Did Last Election

  1. The US Supreme Court manual recount ruling was a just decision by impartial judges.
    Is it justice to say, in essence, "you can recount if you change Florida law and complete the count in an hour and a half? Is it justice to cite “equal protection” as the basis for your ruling but disregard the fact that Florida would have already violated that law by, among other things, using balloting machines in some counties that produced a far greater error rate than in other counties? And what about states that violated the law by using different machines and methods than other states? Can a judge be impartial if his son stands to gain from his decision? Or is it a case of Supreme Injustice?

  2. The press conference conducted by Bush's Press Secretary and a GOP Governor detailing the conspiracy going on in the recount rooms.
    The shameless claims included Bush chads being scotch-taped to keep them attached to the ballot, and chads being eaten as a cover up. THE HORROR! In actuality, an absentee/overseas ballot or two was mailed in with tape on it and dislodged chads (on the floor or anywhere else) could only come from a chad that had already been penetrated which should count as a vote anyway, so I say -- let the overworked canvassing board members “have their chad and eat it too”.

  3. Al Gore tried to disenfranchise military voters
    (or as someone asserted, the votes of our men on the USS Cole!). Democratic lawyers did initially ask that overseas ballots adhere to law, but the Gore team later suggested that the ballots be re-evaluated and they never challenged any subsequent additions even though, at the request of Bush lawyers, selective counties recounted military ballots using different standards. Can you say, “Equal protection violation”?

  4. Counting indented chads is “mind reading” and “manufacturing” votes.
    The lawful term is “ascertaining the will of the voter”. The truth is, that if a chad has an indentation from a stylus (which can be easily discerned from a fingernail mark) it can only come from a person who intended to vote for a candidate or a person who was seriously inclined to vote for a candidate but was indecisive. Isn’t it better to ere on the side of counting intended votes rather than rejecting them all because a small percentage of them weren’t committed? You know, like being a “compassionate conservative” and showing leniency with the overseas ballots of military voters. I say count every vote and salute EVERY voter when you do it!

  5. Manual counts procedure is too flawed, especially in selected counties.
    What the Bush team was really saying amongst themselves was – WE DO NOT WANT ANY ADDITIONAL COUNTING TO BE DONE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! Sure selective recounts under varying standards isn’t the best option, but it happens as part of law in elections all over the country and is a part of Florida law that Bush repeatedly waived access to for fear of a change in the results. It is worth noting that Florida’s certification does contain hundreds of votes for Bush acquired from manual counts in selective counties. Can you say, “Equal protection violation”?

  6. Palm Beach’s “butterfly ballot” was legal.
    The truth is that the butterfly ballot did not follow legal guidelines but was deemed not illegal enough for a judge to have the courage to rightfully call for a Palm Beach revote. It is a shame when justice can’t be served because the remedy is just too damn much trouble!

  7. The tampering of Republican ballot applications in Seminol and Martin county was not illegal.
    The underhanded activities involved were not legal or moral, however, they were deemed not illegal enough for a judge to have the courage to rightfully subtract Republican votes.

  8. Bush called the winner on election night.
    This lie was initiated by George W’s cousin who worked at Fox and the rest of the networks jumped in. The exit polls called Florida right the first time -- for Gore, but that result was easier said then done because of the debacle of Florida’s voting execution and counting procedures. Instead of the country being punished 4 years for Florida’s mistakes, both Florida and Texas should have been sentenced to 4 more years with a Bush governor.

  9. Calling Florida for Gore an hour before polls closed disenfranchised Bush voters.
    The truth is that both Gore voters and Bush voters would be equally discouraged from wasting their time after the election is called. Countless studies have shown that exit polling does not effect the outcome of an election.

  10. The media is predominantly liberal.
    Not anymore. Under the bright lights of the 36 day “in-decision 2000” the bushees could not help but out themselves. People like Chris Mathews of MSNBC helped us remember that the MS stands for Microsoft which stands for less regulation of big business. Even the most stealthy of news conservatives could not help but get a little too much satisfaction out of demeaning helpless chads with terms like dimpled and pimpled. And, ultimately, we were all reminded that the high profile media people are fat cats working for huge corporations and they all want a piece of that fat tax cut that George W promised them.

BONUS

Top Hypocrisy.
Bush fighting the count of indented chads in Florida despite the fact that he made the counting of indented chads the standard in Texas.

Top Irony.
Bush was making preparations to fight the election results in anticipation that he might win the popular vote and lose the electoral vote. "We'd have ads too," said a Bush aide. [NY Daily News]

Election 2000 Dissent