Dear Mr. Vice President

November 28, 2000

The following is excerpted from a letter written by E. Calvin Beisner to Vice President Al Gore on Thanksgiving Day. Given Gore's recent determination to continue fighting after the certification of Florida's election results, Beisner's words from last week are even more pertinent today.

Dear Mr. Vice President,

Let me introduce myself. I am a husband and the father of seven and an elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. I am also a professor of social ethics at a theological seminary. And I am a doctoral candidate in the history of political thought, focusing particularly on the development of constitutionalism in 17th-century Britain. I am not an ignorant, disgruntled American but a political philosopher (not a politician or political scientist) deeply troubled about the state of our nation.

For the last two weeks, I, like many Americans -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- have experienced growing concern about the survival of American constitutional government and the rule of law. Yesterday, in responding positively to your supporters' appeal to allow manual recounts to continue in three Florida counties and to require the Secretary of State's office to include those results in the final, certified election results for the State of Florida, the Florida Supreme Court exercised a breathtaking violation of the constitutional principle of the separation of powers, sweeping aside statutory law adopted by the legislature and the lawful and prudent exercise of administrative duties by the executive branch. No doubt their decision was to your liking. But it is extremely alarming to me as a political philosopher and historian of political thought. It brings us to the brink of an extraordinarily dangerous situation: the installation in office of someone whose claim to that office is not simply doubted but vehemently rejected by a huge and well-informed part of the citizenry. ...

Mr. Vice President, presently you hold office legitimately. But -- having carefully followed the details of this twisted election recount process; having carefully listened to the attorneys' presentations to the Florida Supreme Court on Monday and then read them later; having carefully considered the relevant state election laws (which are not, despite claims to the contrary, self-contradictory); and having carefully read the Florida Supreme Court's decision handed down Nov. 21 -- I am convinced that if you are declared the winner after all of this, you will have stolen this election. You will not be a legitimate authority should you be inaugurated president of the United States.

And that, Mr. Vice President, puts me in a terrible situation. It puts me in a situation of having to denounce the authority of the titular president of this nation; of having to approve of others who do likewise; and of having to admit the legitimacy, in principle, even if not in prudence, of attempts to supplant you. (I do not say usurp, for only legitimate authority can be usurped.)

But, Mr. Vice President, I have some consolation. First, I would be doing no more than what the founders of our country did when, in the Declaration of Independence, they renounced a king and a parliament that had forfeited their legitimate rule over the colonies by violating the transcendent "laws of nature and of nature's God." Second, I would be doing no more than what the opponents of James II did when, convinced of his intention to overthrow the British constitution, they sought and attained his removal from the throne and his replacement by William of Orange. Third, I would be doing no more than what David did in ancient Israel when, King Saul having forfeited his legitimacy by disobeying the commands of God through the Prophet Samuel, he resisted Saul's rule until at last God removed Saul from office and installed David, whom He, through Samuel, had previously anointed king. ...

I love America, Mr. Vice President. I love its Constitution and its Declaration of Independence. I love its amazing system of separation of powers, of checks and balances, of federalism -- so wisely constructed by men who knew their own sinfulness and knew that it affected all others. Please, for God's sake, do not sweep those things away.

Concede the election now, Mr. Vice President. You may then be able to run again four years from now not only with the high esteem of the American public, which will recognize that you have chosen the good of the country over your own ambition, but also with a clear conscience.

I pray that God will give you wisdom and humility.

Sincerely, E. Calvin Beisner

Dear Mr. Vice President

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2000

Answers

Ten Reasons BUSH should concede

By Steven Semeraro and Teresa Gillis

November 29, 2000

A host of Republican luminaries, led by George W. Bush himself, have now called upon Al Gore to concede the election. In support of this request they rely on two arguments.

The first is that the nation needs finality and closure. The best support they muster for this is that the president-elect needs 10-plus weeks after the election to handle the transition. Of course, this ignores the fact that both sides could make tentative transition plans. The country suffers no dislocation or even psychological discomfort from not knowing who will assume the presidency.

But even if finality has a higher value than continuing the process of counting the votes, that value simply favors someone conceding -- it doesn't tell us why it should be Gore rather than Bush.

The second ground asserted is that Bush has come out ahead on vote counts in Florida. But Bush's lead is less than one one-hundredth of one percent when counted chiefly by machines with an error rate of at east two percent. In short, we simply cannot be certain that Bush won Florida without a more careful count.

Bush says that because he has been certified the winner, only litigation can alter the result, and for the health of the country, Gore should concede. Yet, press reports confirm that Bush was prepared to institute the mother-of-all-litigation in the event that he won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College. And he took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court when it appeared that the hand counts might take place.

Moreover, Kathleen Harris, co-chair of the Bush Florida campaign, and two close friends of Gov. Jeb Bush exercised their power over the certification process to prevent or delay hand recounts, including the absurd decision not to accept the Palm Beach County recount because it was two hours and eight minutes late.

Looking to Sunday's certification for validation is like judging your political appeal based on the family pet's reaction when you come home from work. Bush's belief that this certification can generate the sentiment to propel him into the White House is surely a case of the tail wagging the dog. Thus, there is no convincing reason why Gore should concede the presidency to Bush.

There are, however, at least 10 reasons why Bush should concede that are far more persuasive than those offered by the Republicans:

10. Gore received over 300,000 more votes than Bush nationwide.

9. Putting Florida aside, Gore has significantly more electoral votes than Bush (267 to 246). In Florida, they are essentially tied. Splitting Florida's electoral votes -- as some states permit and which would surely be at least as fair, in these circumstances, as certifying Bush the winner -- would result in a Gore win by a 279 to 259 margin.

8. Republicans argue that the Florida Supreme Court changed the rules in midstream. But that court simply cited a statute that unequivocally requires hand recounts when errors in a machine count might affect the result.

7. Republicans bemoan the subjectivity of hand counts. But the Florida Supreme Court -- in accord with the statutory law of many states -- has held that hand counts are more accurate than machines and should be conducted where the outcome may depend on it. Based on current hand count tabulations, Gore could well win depending on how the 10,000 uncounted votes in Miami-Dade County were cast.

6. Republicans have demonized the counting of dimpled chads. But Bush signed a Texas law calling for hand recounts to include dimpled chads. Judge Lee, chair of the Broward County election board, presided over the counting of dimpled chads. He told the press that after examining a number of ballots, it became a straightforward process to determine voter intent based on patterns of similar errors caused by equipment malfunctions at particular precincts.

Had these ballots been counted in Palm Beach, press estimates indicate that Gore would gain over 800 votes. With similar gains from the 10,000 uncounted votes in Miami-Dade counties, Gore would win by more than 1,000 votes.

5. Statistical models indicate that some two-thirds of the Palm Beach County butterfly ballot's 3,000-plus votes for Pat Buchanan were intended for Gore.

Were those votes correctly counted, Gore would lead by nearly 1,500 additional votes.

4. Some 4,000 absentee ballots sent to Republicans in Seminole County were rejected by election officials for ontaining insufficient information, but then reinstated after Republican Party operatives added missing information.

Most of these votes were likely cast for George Bush. Were they excluded, Gore's victory margin would likely exceed 5,000 votes.

3. A large percentage of the 19,000 double-punched Gore/Buchanan ballots in Palm Beach County were likely votes for Gore. Were these votes properly counted, Gore's lead would likely exceed 15,000 votes.

2. Republicans appear to know that a full, accurate count in Florida would not favor Bush. To be sure, they argue that it is unfair to hand count only in Democratic counties. But many of Florida's counties don't use the punch ballot system that leads to erroneous machine counts. In any event, Gore agreed to drop all lawsuits and accept the result of a hand recount of the entire state. Bush refused. It is inconceivable that the Republicans would have rejected such a fair proposal had they any confidence that Bush would prevail. Indeed, the Republicans quickly and successfully used the courts to convince counties to hand count additional overseas absentee ballots that they were confident would favor Bush.

And the No. 1 reason that Bush should concede: Two words -- popular vote.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000