Bush v. Gore

exposing the hidden crisis in American democracy

Abridged ed.
  • 1 Want to read
Bush v. Gore
Charles L. Zelden, Charles L. ...
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Last edited by AgentSapphire
August 23, 2024 | History

Bush v. Gore

exposing the hidden crisis in American democracy

Abridged ed.
  • 1 Want to read

The infamous 2000 presidential election produced hanging chads, butterfly ballots, endless recounts, raucous allegations, and a constitutional crisis—until a controversial Supreme Court decision allowed George W. Bush to become president despite losing the popular vote to Al Gore. Charles L. Zelden presents the definitive history of this vexing and acrimonious affair, offering the most complete, up-to-date, and accurate analysis of a remarkable episode in American politics. Zelden probes deeper than any other scholar has sought to do—showing that both the election controversy of 2000 and Bush v. Gore signaled major flaws in our electoral system that remain with us today, exposing a hidden crisis in American democracy.

Zelden, who lives and teaches in Broward County (one of the key recount sites), distills the voluminous literature on Bush v. Gore in his sharply insightful and balanced account of the election crisis and the litigation that followed. Tracing the back-and-forth between concessions and retractions, Gore and Bush attorneys, and state and federal courts, he underscores the extraordinary clock-ticking tension between statutory deadlines governing the electoral process and the desire to have every vote counted and counted accurately.

Zelden offers a nonpartisan analysis of the legal opinions in the case, particularly the Supreme Court’s ruling; he explores the judicial philosophy underlying the reasoning of each justice. His book invites readers to consider the case independent of their personal views of the candidates and reorients our view of the crisis to emphasize the failures of the system rather than the election of a president by apparent judicial decree. He sets all of these events, issues, and legal rulings within their proper historical context, making complex issues easy to understand and also reviewing events of the succeeding seven years in light of the decision.

As Zelden shows, the true tragedy of 2000 was the failure of every person and every institution involved—especially the Supreme Court—to take this crisis as an opportunity to diagnose the problems of our broken electoral system and to urge its repair. We may prefer to put this decision behind us, but we ignore it—and its lessons—at our peril.

Publish Date
Language
English

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Bush V. Gore
Bush V. Gore: Exposing the Growing Crisis in American Democracy
2020, University Press of Kansas
in English
Cover of: Bush V. Gore
Bush V. Gore: Exposing the Growing Crisis in American Democracy
2020, University Press of Kansas
in English
Cover of: Bush V. Gore
Bush V. Gore: Exposing the Growing Crisis in American Democracy
2020, University Press of Kansas
in English
Cover of: Bush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore: exposing the hidden crisis in American democracy
2010, University Press of Kansas
in English - Abridged ed.
Cover of: Bush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore: Exposing the Hidden Crisis in American Democracy
2008, University Press of Kansas
Hardcover in English - First edition

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Book Details


Table of Contents

A vote too close to call
Enter the lawyers
Eye of the beholder
The battlefield of litigation
The ticking of the clock
Ballots before the bench
"A Florida hurricane heading to Washington"
Headfirst into the political thicket
A self-inflicted wound?
The unlearned lessons of 2000.

Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Published in
Lawrence, Kan
Series
Landmark law cases & American society
Other Titles
Bush versus Gore

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
342.73/07
Library of Congress
KF5074.2 .Z445 2010, KF5074.2.Z445 2010

The Physical Object

Pagination
p. cm.

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL24566822M
ISBN 13
9780700617494
LCCN
2010018062
OCLC/WorldCat
611965564

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August 23, 2024 Edited by AgentSapphire Merge works
June 17, 2024 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
January 5, 2023 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
November 13, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
January 3, 2011 Created by ImportBot Imported from Library of Congress MARC record