Democrats Continue to Back Gore

Whoever gets Florida's 25 votes in the Electoral College will almost certainly become the 43rd president next year. The speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Republican Tom Feeny, said on Fox News Sunday that – despite reluctance among some Florida politicians – the Legislature intended to go forward with plans to meet next week and choose electors itself, thus potentially short-circuiting the bevy of lawsuits about the election results currently before the state's courts.

Louisiana Democratic Sen. John Breaux – leader of a new and very influential centrist coalition in the Senate – was a guest on CBS' "Face the Nation." Breaux last week indicated that some Democrats would likely break ranks and perhaps voice support for Democratic Vice President Al Gore's concession if the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against him.

The high court is considering an appeal brought by Gore's Republican adversary, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, against the use of manual recounts in Florida. The court is expected to rule this week, and an adverse judgment would do significant political damage to Gore's campaign for the White House, according to some Democrats.

Echoing these sentiments, Breaux told United Press International Thursday, "I don't think he [Gore] can go any farther than that."

But today, Breaux appeared to back-peddle slightly from that assertion, making it clear that the decisive moment will not come until a resolution of the Gore challenge to the election result currently wending its way through the Florida court system.

"I don't think the U.S. Supreme Court … is going to give us a definitive decision," Breaux told host Gloria Borger. "I think what's happening in Judge Sauls' court right now, today, is going to be the definitive decision, and that will be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, and I think that pretty much becomes a definitive decision on what happens. … The loser in the Florida Supreme Court – either one of them, I think – that's a time to call it a completion."

Another Democratic guest on the show, Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., agreed with Breaux that the U.S. Supreme Court was unlikely to be the final arbiter, but suggested that a final resolution might have to be considered in the constitutional mechanisms that give Congress the power to decide disputes over the bon fides of the Electoral College.

"The burden to concede the election for the national interest comes as early as a definitive court decision, or as late as Dec. 12," Torricelli said.

"Until Dec. 12, as Democrats and Republicans, we all have legitimate positions, there is a legitimate difference of view. But, on Dec. 12, those partisan distinctions need to change. Then we are starting to deal with the orderly transfer of civilian government and power in this country."

He said at that point members of Congress needed to abandon their partisan support for the candidates: "Then we all cease to be Democratic and Republican members of Congress … and we start to deal with … the impact on our constitutional government," he concluded.

House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," hinted many Americans would question Texas Gov. George Bush's legitimacy as president-elect if they concluded Vice President Al Gore's challenge of the Florida election results had been given short shrift.

Gephardt said it would be "terrible" if Bush were declared the winner of the election but subsequent counts suggested Gore had actually won Florida.

"Somebody is going to go back and count these ballots under the Freedom of Information Act," Gephardt said. "Would we want to wake up a month from now and have the national popular winner and the actual winner in Florida not be the president of the United States?"

He suggested that such a scenario would undermine the legitimacy of the new administration.

Torricelli indicated that with the new Senate evenly divided – with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans – his party would insist on some form of power-sharing arrangement in the new Congress.

The American people, he said, voted for an "evenly divided" Senate. He said Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., "can call himself majority leader" but in fact would not be. Torricelli disputed the premise that, if Bush wins the presidency, Cheney would be able to break tied votes on organizational questions in the Republicans' favor. The vice president, he said, "is not a member of the Senate" and should not vote on the makeup of its committees.

Torricelli added it was essential that the election be resolved one way or the other very soon. He said that the uncertain U.S. election outcome has created a "deterioration in the situation abroad." Torricelli said the U.S. "cannot afford to have a situation where presidential legitimacy is in question."

Torricelli said the 50-50 Senate tie creates an opportunity if it leads to a partnership between Senate Democrats and Republicans. The tie was finally created Friday when former Rep. Maria Cantwell was declared the winner after a recount in Washington state, beating incumbent Republican Slade Gorton.

Florida's House Speaker, Republican Tom Feeny, said on Fox News Sunday that the Florida Legislature intended to go forward with plans to meet and choose electors, despite reluctance among some Florida politicians.

"The Florida House got out ahead of this issue,'' Feeny said, when it consulted with constitutional scholars soon after Election Day to determine its legislative and constitutional responsibilities. He said the Legislature would name Florida's 25 electors "absent the United States Supreme Court resolv[ing] all disputes'' by Wednesday.

Feeny said there are too many lawsuits – which he said take an average of 17 months to resolve in Florida's courts – to expect a court decision by Dec. 12, the date by which all state's have to choose their electors or risk exclusion from the Electoral College.

If Florida's electors are unable to vote, Gore could well win, since without them he holds a lead in the Electoral College.

Feeny said the House would certify the electors as of Nov. 14 – all Bush supporters – "to preserve the electors'' and to "ensure that the voters of Florida are not disenfranchised'' if continuing court battles prevent an agreed slate of electors being chosen before the Dec. 12 deadline.

The secretary of state last week declared Bush the winner over Vice President Al Gore by 537 votes and certified the results. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, George W. Bush's brother, also signed the certification and forwarded the results to Washington.

Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich., said if the courts decided to count Miami-Dade County votes and Gore wins, but the Florida Legislature names Bush electors, "We would have a constitutional crisis. …"

"We would have chaos," he said, "if Florida legislators override Florida's voters."

Rep. Dick Armey, R-Texas, said the House of Representatives – which may finally choose the president in certain circumstances – would accept Bush electors "if the Florida Legislature sends them up."

Armey called a court decision that could lead to another ballot count "judicial activism" and said it would be de facto judicial nomination of electors.

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