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Supreme Power: Election 2004 and the Future of the Country’s
Highest Court
Alice Walker on the "Toxic Culture" of Globalization
The Battle of the Polls: A Look Behind the Influential Polling
Organizations that Shape the Presidential Race
Supreme Power: Election 2004 and the Future of the
Country’s Highest Court
Some pundits predict that the winner of the 2004 presidential
election could potentially fill 2 to 3 vacancies on the Supreme
Court, which could have a major impact on abortion, affirmative
actions, gay marriage and much more. We speak with National
Journal columnist Stuart Taylor Jr. [includes rush
transcript]
This is Democracy Now!'s special coverage "Countdown
to the Showdown: The Battle for the White House. Six days
until the election. It may not be the October surprise that
has been speculated on for months now, but the hospitalization
earlier this week of Chief Justice William Rehnquist for cancer
has brought the issue of the next president's power to mold
the court to front and center in the race for the White House.
Even before his thyroid cancer diagnosis, most believed the
80-year-old would step down in the next presidential term.
Rehnquist has been the court's conservative anchor for a generation.
Some analysts predict that the next president could potentially
fill 2 to 3 vacancies on the court. In addition to the health
of the 80 year-old Rehnquist, Liberal Justice John Paul Stevens
is 84 years old, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is 74 and 5 of
the 6 other justices are over 65. The appointments in the
next presidency could have a major impact over such issues
as Roe v Wade, affirmative action, gay marriage and other
significant domestic issues.
As it stands now, the court is weighted with more conservatives
than liberals - but barely. Many of the closest cases, like
the 2000 Bush v. Gore decision that gave Bush the presidency,
are decided on 5-4 votes. If Bush wins, and Republicans keep
their narrow control of the Senate, a Rehnquist retirement
would give Bush the opportunity to promote a sitting justice
to chief justice, and put a new face on the court.
- Stuart Taylor Jr., columnist at the National
Journal and contributor to Newsweek.
Alice Walker on the "Toxic Culture" of
Globalization
We hear a speech by African-American writer, poet and civil
rights activist, Alice Walker speaking at the Black Women
Writers Dissecting Globalization event in New York. Alice
Walker is author of many books and essays, including The Color
Purple, for which she won the Pulitzer prize. [includes rush
transcript]
The Battle of the Polls: A Look Behind the Influential
Polling Organizations that Shape the Presidential Race
A look at the methods behind the influential polling organizations
that could have a major impact on November 2nd and who is
behind them. We speak with Ruy Teixeira, who tracks the daily
presidential polls and publishes a weekly column on the polls.
[includes rush
transcript]
Much of the focus of the election campaign right now is
on whether next Tuesday's vote will be fair. As we have been
reporting consistently on the program, there are already widespread
concerns that certain voters will again be disenfranchised
or prevented from voting. The Democrats say they are deploying
some 10,000 lawyers across the country to challenge any scandals
that emerge. The Republicans are deploying thousands of operatives
in places like Ohio, they say to ensure that everyone that
votes is a legitimate voter. Some charge that the Republican
effort is nothing short of a voter intimidation or suppression
campaign. Meanwhile, thousands of people are volunteering
to serve as Voter Protection workers, where they will spread
out to districts of concern and monitor the fairness of the
vote. These efforts are being organized by groups like People
for the American Way, the NAACP and other civil rights organizations.
As the various factions spread their people across the country
and prepare for a showdown, another battle is being fought
in the media. And that is the battle of the polls. Both campaigns
point to polls that show them leading the race, embracing
the old addage that if you look like a winner, you'll win.
A new CNN/Gallup poll released earlier this week showed President
Bush with a 5 percent lead over John Kerry. The Republicans
have seized on this going into the final stretch of the campaign,
with pundits citing it over and over on TV and in the papers.
But who controls the polls?
Last month, MoveOn.org
took out a full page ad titled "Gallup-ing
to the Right" charging that the poll was biased toward
Bush.
- Ruy Teixeira, Joint Fellow at the Center
for American Progress and The
Century Foundation. He edits the website Donkey
Rising which tracks the daily presidential polls and
publishes a weekly column on the polls titled Public Opinion
Watch. He is the author of five books, including The Emerging
Democratic Majority, which he co-wrote with John Judis.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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