Second, as Greg Palast pointed out in his book "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," Florida purged its election rolls of thousands of legitimate - mostly African-American - voters with names similar to ex-felons, a cynical act of Jim Crow-era disenfranchisement without which the race in that state would not even have been close.
Finally, Gore in fact won not only the national vote but the state of Florida as well, despite the bogus ex-felon purges, the hanging chads, the "Jews for Buchanan" and the Nader vote. According to a recount commissioned by a consortium of major newspapers, who of course buried the story, Gore would have won Florida, and thus the battle for electoral votes, if he had commissioned a statewide recount. Despite everything, he got the most votes. He just didn't have a will to win that matched George Bush's.
As the Republicans of 2006 shoot themselves and otherwise self-destruct, the Democrats have a chance to make significant gains in this year's elections. All that's stopping them are their own ghosts.
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Robert Koehler, an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist, is an editor at Tribune Media Services and nationally syndicated writer. You can respond to this column at bkoehler@tribune.com or visit his Web site at commonwonders.com.
© 2006 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Finally, Gore in fact won not only the national vote but the state of Florida as well, despite the bogus ex-felon purges, the hanging chads, the "Jews for Buchanan" and the Nader vote. According to a recount commissioned by a consortium of major newspapers, who of course buried the story, Gore would have won Florida, and thus the battle for electoral votes, if he had commissioned a statewide recount. Despite everything, he got the most votes. He just didn't have a will to win that matched George Bush's.
As the Republicans of 2006 shoot themselves and otherwise self-destruct, the Democrats have a chance to make significant gains in this year's elections. All that's stopping them are their own ghosts.
- - -
© 2006 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
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