Tuesday, November 14, 2000

Election protesters mount lively show in Austin

By Bill Whitaker

Two things you can say about this messed-up presidential election.

First, we can all rest assured that, as plodding as the United States is about resolving miscast ballots and court challenges and the sterling rights of simple-minded voters, it’s also stable enough to withstand anything as serious as a “constitutional crisis.”

Second, it’s great entertainment.

This past weekend I traveled to Austin for the annual Texas Book Festival, chaired by Texas first lady Laura Bush at the Capitol. Lots of famous folks were there, including ABC-TV news anchor Ted Koppel, veteran gossip columnist Liz Smith and TV journalist Linda Ellerbee.

But the real show was just beyond the statehouse, out in front of the governor’s mansion. That’s where placard-waving supporters of Texas Gov. George W. Bush faced off with equally vocal supporters of Vice President Al Gore.

Subject: Those Florida voting irregularities everyone and his yellow dog are talking about.

Initially, the chants began on the Capitol steps, growing so loud as to draw attention away from a studied talk on previous White House occupants by celebrated presidential historian and PBS commentator Michael Beschloss, who was speaking in the Texas House of Representatives.

Later, protesters on both sides gathered in front of the governor’s mansion down the street. Bush backers stood their ground on the mansion’s front lawn, Gore supporters took position across the street and Department of Public Safety troopers gathered in between to keep everyone apart.

Bush backers were obviously disenchanted with any Florida voter claiming he or she had been disenfranchised because of an inability to understand a voting ballot. One placard sniped: “Floridians — Ask an 8-year-old for voting assistance.”

A second sign quipped: “Palm Beach Residents: Pre-Voter Education Classes Here.” And a third read, “Shiny Objects Distract Me.”

The smaller Gore force was just as determined, including one whose placard proclaimed, “Fuzzy math? How about fuzzy ballots?” Another read, “Every vote counts, count every vote.”

Happily, no punches were thrown Saturday.

Many of those who attended the Texas Book Festival and a Veterans Day ceremony at the Capitol even strolled down to the governor’s mansion just to watch the loud but utterly innocuous display.

As for Gov. Bush, he had by then fled to his ranch.

My favorite protester was the lonely looking, pony-tailed fellow on the corner holding up a sign reading: “Restraint, civility, cooperation” and, on the flip side, “Reason, respect, conciliation.”

“I’m the lonely voice of reason,” 32-year-old Michael Laster told me. “All this yelling and screaming and pointing at one another just shows a lack of respect.

“There’s nothing in the Constitution that says the one who yells loudest wins.”

Oh, yeah?

Contact associate editor Bill Whitaker at 676-6732 or whitakerb@abinews.com. Check out Bill’s previous columns at www.brazosbill.com.