Where's the outrage?

June 10, 2002—The outrage is out there. It is silent and intimidated by the expert manipulations of the Bushista and media spin machines. Nevertheless, among those outraged at the Bush regime are a significant group of individuals, and when they gain their spine and sense of solidarity, and furthermore, when they find their voice–watch out!

Though the press and their surrealistic "approval rating" polls would have us believe otherwise, the dissenting liberals and the progressives have an impressive array of allies, both actual and potential.

To begin, as we all know but too easily forget, Bush lost the popular vote, after which he won the only vote allowed to count: five to four in the Supreme Court.

Which leads directly to the first class of the outraged: the lawyers and legal scholars.

Three days after the Supreme Court gave the Presidency to George Bush, 306 law professors published a letter stating in part that "by taking power from the voters, the Supreme Court has tarnished its own legitimacy. As teachers whose lives have been dedicated to the rule of law, we protest." Numerous practicing lawyers, most notably Vincent Bugliosi, have voiced their agreement. A year and a half later, they have not forgotten this assault on the rule of law. The outrage remains. Rest assured that it is being widely expressed in law schools throughout the land.

Similarly, in February, 2001, 409 historians signed the following statement:

For two hundred and thirteen years, against formidable obstacles, democracy in American has expanded. We opened up the right to vote, securing the popular election of US senators and presidential electors, securing voting rights for the poor, women, and blacks. Now, in an act no less reprehensible than the partisan resolution of the election of 1876, a narrow majority of the Supreme Court has pulled the nation backward. . . . We are outraged and saddened at this wound inflicted upon American democracy. We call upon our fellow citizens, Republicans, Democrats and independents, to join us in dedicating ourselves to reform the electoral system so that the democratic will of the people is never again violated in an American election.