Florida 2000 and Washington 2004

The bomb has landed in their court…

And we're being asked to believe that what actually happened was somehow an atrocity against the Constitution and everything America stands for.

This dog doesn't hunt. Few things are more damaging to anyone’s credibility than demanding that his or her enemies be held to ethical and professional standards that they’re neither able, nor willing to live up to themselves. Conservative and liberal interests alike have every right to stand up for their interests and concerns, and to challenge the behavior of others where they feel it is wrong—even if they hold extreme views. The Far-Right is more than entitled to consider Christine Gregoire's governorship illegitimate if they wish.

But if they want to have even so much as the appearance of consistency they must also acknowledge that George W. Bush gained the presidency illegitimately in 2000 and be willing to give the country back to the man who rightly won it. If this is not acceptable then they must concede the Washington gubernatorial race graciously and without complaint—as they demanded of Democrats in 2000.

If they refuse to do this they will only be proving to the world that they don’t have what it takes to stand their ground on a morally level playing field.

Footnotes

1. Given the contentiousness of the issues addressed in this paper, in what follows I will avoid use of terms like “conservative”, “liberal”, Republican, and Democrat except in their most general sense. Highly partisan conservative and liberal groups will be referred to as “Far-Right” and “Far-Left” so as to differentiate them from moderate conservatives and liberals who do not share their extreme views or responsibility for their activities.

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