If there was any doubt that Democrats would invoke the controversial 2000 presidential election as an issue in next year’s race, it was laid to rest Saturday as the party’s leading candidates pointedly urged Florida voters to even the score in the 2004 campaign.
After Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe accused President Bush of stealing the last election, which ended with Bush a disputed 537-vote winner in Florida, a string of presidential hopefuls bashed the Bush administration and questioned its legitimacy before a raucous audience of 5,000 delegates to the state Democratic convention.
“We are never going to let the United States Supreme Court choose the president of the United States again,” said Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, speaking over whooping and whistling. “In 2004, Democrats will win the White House back the old-fashioned way: by counting every single vote.”
Three years ago this week, the Supreme Court halted a statewide recount of the too-close-to-call election between Al Gore and Bush, ending an unprecedented month of legal challenges. The state’s 25 electoral votes sent Bush to the White House as the nation’s 43rd president and opened a stinging wound among Democrats across the nation.
While some party leaders hope the bitterness over the ballot debacle will push disaffected Democrats to the polls in the general election next Nov. 2, others believe the party should be cautious about dwelling too much on 2000. Instead, they argue, the nominee should offer a fresh, optimistic agenda.
“You can’t win elections by looking in the rearview mirror,” said Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, who made less of the Florida election than some of his Democratic rivals. “You’ve got to look through the windshield and give people a bold vision of where you are going to lead.”
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans narrowed, even in Florida. The state Democratic Party canceled a one-year anniversary event, intended to mourn the election results, out of respect for the president and the country.
Gloves coming off
But judging from the placards (“Unseat Bush!”), lapel buttons (“Bush out the door in ’04”) and bumper stickers (George W. Bush, the President Quayle we never had”) on display Saturday at the convention on the grounds of Walt Disney World, the political civility is over. Even though the Democratic nominee is likely to be known by March 9, the date of the Florida primary, the general election is almost certain to be ultra-competitive again.
“We should be ready for revenge!” screamed former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek of Florida, a central character in the recount drama.
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, speaking to a luncheon crowd, said, “Florida is the place where America’s democracy was wounded.”
While most of the Democratic officials who criticized the 2000 election here Saturday came to Gore’s aid during the 36-day recount cliffhanger, Wesley Clark did not. The retired Army general, who officially registered as a Democrat shortly after he launched his presidential bid in September, told the audience Saturday that he had fought for fair elections around the world and was pained to watch “the taking” of the presidency by the GOP.
In his address to the delegates, Clark spoke extensively about the Florida election. When asked later why he had remained silent about the recount for three years, which included a period when he spoke at a Republican fundraiser to praise the Bush administration, Clark struggled to explain his sudden outrage.
“I wasn’t a public figure back then,” the former NATO commander said. “I was a retired general who was writing a book.”
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who has surged to the forefront of the Democratic field, drew the most applause and recruited the most supporters around him at the convention, which began at breakfast and continued long past the dinner hour.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio addressed the crowd too, joining other candidates in predicting that Democrats would carry Florida next year.
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton skipped the event so he could be the host of “Saturday Night Live.” Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois did not attend the convention because she was ill, organizers said.
Bush adviser pays visit
The Bush campaign dispatched Ralph Reed, a senior adviser, to keep watch over the Democrats at the Coronado Springs Convention Center. After the Democratic speeches, Reed offered the Republican perspective to reporters in a hallway until he was drowned out by a dozen Democrats shouting “No GOP!”
“George W. Bush won Florida,” Reed said. “He was elected president, and I think that the democratic presidential candidates’ failure to acknowledge that fact and to offer a positive vision for the future of the country is just a sign of their own weakness.”
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A poll conducted last week for the St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald found that Bush would defeat the eventual Democratic nominee, 43 percent to 37 percent, if the contest were held today. Both parties, though, expect a competitive general election, even though the president’s brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, easily won re-election last year.
The convention concludes Sunday after a speech by Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who did not speak with the rest of the field because he observers the Jewish Sabbath and does not campaign on Saturdays.
Lieberman, hoping not to be forgotten, sent recorded telephone messages to the delegates.
“I’ll never forget how you embraced me in 2000,” said the party’s vice presidential candidate three years ago. “Florida will always hold a special place in my heart.”