Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Author Reported This Piece Three Years Ago.
from the Atlantic Monthly.
In 1994, Karl Rove's client claimed voter fraud and asked for a recount. The case went to the Supreme Court. Guess how they ruled? What I want to know is if this case was used as precedent in the Gore case. Isn't anyone angry?
In 1994, Karl Rove's client claimed voter fraud and asked for a recount. The case went to the Supreme Court. Guess how they ruled? What I want to know is if this case was used as precedent in the Gore case. Isn't anyone angry?
Throughout the day ballots trickled in from remote corners of the state, until at last an unofficial tally showed that Rove's client had lost—by 304 votes. Hornsby's campaign declared victory.¶ 8:12 PM
Rove had other plans, and immediately moved for a recount. "Karl called the next morning," says a former Rove staffer. "He said, 'We came real close. You guys did a great job. But now we really need to rally around Perry Hooper. We've got a real good shot at this, but we need to win over the people of Alabama.'" Rove explained how this was to be done. "Our role was to try to keep people motivated about Perry Hooper's election," the staffer continued, "and then to undermine the other side's support by casting them as liars, cheaters, stealers, immoral—all of that." (Rove did not respond to requests for an interview for this article.)
The campaign quickly obtained a restraining order to preserve the ballots. Then the tactical battle began. Rather than focus on a handful of Republican counties that might yield extra votes, Rove dispatched campaign staffers and hired investigators to every county to observe the counting and turn up evidence of fraud.
