Bush v. Gore

Did you live through the 2000 U.S. election as a conscious adult and its aftermath? I did. 

I knew the outcome was bad, but you need hindsight to know how bad it really was. As historian and journalistic writer David Perry (@lollardfish) said this evening on Twitter:

2000 was still the most important election of my lifetime, a hinge on when so many things turned, pathways into futures forever closed to us.

Just thinking about Bush v Gore, as one piece, opening the door to a new way right-wing judges could preserve white minority rule. But also allowing 9/11 to happen (which Gore might have done too!), and invading Iraq (which he would not have done). And at least C02 cap and trade.

With all that said (and true) and a lot more, I recommend listening to the You're Wrong About podcast where the two hosts discuss Bush v. Gore and the Florida recount in general. 

So many details were brought back to my working memory instead of long-term storage. Agggh Florida, what is wrong with you. Agggh, not caring about fair elections and wanting to use them for your own power (ahem Katherine Harris, ahem John Roberts). Agggh, so many things. 

Plus, the hosts identify the shifts that have happened in U.S. electoral politics since then — the divide we all talk about so much — as having started that year, and they make a pretty good argument for 2000 being a turning point in that downward slide.

I recommend catching up on this topic before election day next week, since three of our current Supreme Court justices were on the Bush legal team for the decision, and Brett Kavanaugh just published a bunch of legal "reasoning" the exact opposite of what he and his colleagues argued back in 2000.