The 2000 Presidential Election

The 2000 Presidential Election and its impacts

The Bush v Gore case effectively decided what can certainly be considered one of the most contentious in modern US history. It set the course for the Bush era, an era marred by a distinct lack of respect for the truth, whilst it laid the foundations for a new wave of conservatism; coined ‘compassionate conservatism’. On a more fundamental level, it defined what the debate around a politicised judiciary looked like. But the election ultimately reared the ugly head of the electoral college, and showed it at its most undemocratic.

The Supreme Court on the 12^th of December 2000 ruled 5-4, entirely on ideological lines, in favour of Bush. The recount taking place in Florida was ordered to be stopped on the grounds of equal protection, handing Bush the state of Florida and its ever-coveted 25 electoral votes, which gave him the 271 electoral votes needed to beat Gore. Naturally, the fact that the Supreme Court essentially decided the result of the Presidential election has brought up debate on the politicisation of the judiciary. The glaring fact that the final decision was made on ideological lines inherently suggests a significant level of sway from neutrality. Retired justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who voted to stop the recount, declared it a ‘big election decision’. This declaration ultimately echoes views that the Court shouldn’t involve itself with inherently political, and certainly ideological, decisions.

In the wake of such a controversial case, Bush was empowered to march on with a version of conservatism dubbed ‘compassionate conservatism’, which aimed to reconcile traditional conservative ideas with a modern welfare state. Reminiscent of Tony Blair’s undying emphasis on education reform, Bush went ahead with a similar initiative. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, signed into law in 2002, set standards for states receiving federal funding and aimed to encourage a standard of education. Districts were required to offer choice of schools to students at schools that had failed to meet standards for 2 or more years. Per pupil spending rose by close to $600. Bush’s education policy and focus on it clearly had a positive impact on America’s schooling and left Bush’s legacy, specifically in this area, as one of ultimate success.

Bush’s premiership was notoriously not without issues. Him and Vice President Cheney used 9/11 flagrantly as an excuse to make war with Iraq, defined by a dubious, at best, relationship with the truth. His assertion that Saddam Hussein had been negotiating with Niger for yellowcake uranium for weapons of mass destruction has since been found to have been forged. These assertions based on lies set the tone for the abuses of power that tainted the Bush administration; notably Guantanamo Bay. The site of many of Bush’s abuses of power remains open to this day and serves as a centre of the administration’s foreign policy legacy.

The display of the electoral college’s ability to attack democracy was presented in 2000, although overshadowed by the Supreme Court decisions. Gore won a margin of 0.52%, yet the nature of the electoral college handed Bush the win, thanks in no small part to victory in key swing states by small margins, notably Ohio and Florida. The very notion that a candidate can be second best in terms of national support but first in terms of election victory threatens the supremacy of democracy in the US. Combined with the Supreme Court’s intense involvement, the 2000 election represents grave challenges to the nature of American democracy that still exist today.

References

• Gore, A. (2007). The Assault on Reason: How the Politics of Fear, Secrecy and Blind Faith Subvert Wise Decision-Making, Degrade Democracy and Imperil America and the World. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Dee, T., Jacob, B.A. and Schwartz, N. (2013). The effects of NCLB on school resources and practices. [online] Stanford CEPA: Center for Education Policy Analysis. Available at: http://epa.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/12/27/0162373712467080.abstract [Accessed 20 Jan. 2024].
• georgewbushlibrary.gov. (n.d.). Education | George W. Bush Library. [online] Available at: https://www.georgewbushlibrary.gov/research/topic-guides/education.
• Staff, N. (2022). On this day, Bush v. Gore settles 2000 presidential race - National Constitution Center. [online] National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org. Available at: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-bush-v-gore-anniversary
• (2024). 2000 United States presidential election. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_United_States_presidential_election# [Accessed 20 Jan. 2024]
• (2024). Bush v. Gore. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_v._Gore# [Accessed 20 Jan. 2024].