Republican Morella plans to back Gore if House is forced to pick
next president
Crossover would decide vote representing Md.
By Karen Hosler
Sun National Staff
Originally published Nov 15 2000
WASHINGTON - Maryland Rep. Constance A. Morella, who votes with the
Democrats more often than any other House Republican, says she would cast her lot with
Democratic nominee Al Gore if the disputed presidential race is ultimately decided by Congress.
Morella, 69, who just survived an usually close contest for re-election to a seventh term as her
Montgomery County district went heavily for the Democratic ticket, said she believes she has little
option but to reflect the views of her voters by supporting Gore.
"I would feel obligated," she said in an interview.
Morella's defection from party ranks would alter a potential four Republican, four Democrat split in
the state's eight-member House delegation and result in the state's single ballot in the presidential
contest being awarded to Gore.
That outcome would reflect the views of a majority of Maryland voters who supported Gore in the
popular vote and swung the state's 10 Electoral College votes into the vice president's column. It
would also avoid a deadlock that could forfeit Maryland's participation in the contest.
Even so, Republican nominee George W. Bush would likely defeat Gore if their contest is decided
by the House, because Republicans have a majority in 28 state delegations, compared with 18 state
delegations controlled by Democrats.
Three other states - Connecticut, Nevada and Illinois - have evenly split delegations, like Maryland's.
At this point, it seems unlikely that the White House election dispute will become so protracted that it
will be thrown into the House of Representatives, which the Constitution designates as a kind of
court of last resort.
"Nobody believes it will go to the House," said Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Baltimore County
Republican who had just come from House GOP leadership elections. "Nobody's even talking about
it."
Ehrlich, along with another GOP House member, Wayne T. Gilchrest, said he would back Bush - as
his district did - if the contest went to Congress. The fourth Maryland Republican, Roscoe G.
Bartlett, could not be reached for comment.
Whichever candidate wins Florida's 25 electoral votes will reach the 270 tally needed for victory. As
the race now stands, Gore has 262 electoral votes, while Bush has 246.
"We'll do whatever has to be done, but we really don' t think the House will be involved," said Pete
Jefferies, a spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
Defection from GOP ranks is nothing new for Morella. She frequently bucked her party when it was
led by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose conservative agenda was out of sync with the
moderate views of her Democrat-leaning constituency.
Those defections may have helped save her in the well-financed contest waged by Democrat lobbyist
Terry Lierman, who had extensive support from the Democratic Party hierarchy.
"I had all the Kennedys in here against me and $3 million," said Morella, who finished with 53
percent of the vote. "Under the circumstances, I consider that a triumph."
Despite their partisan differences, Maryland's eight House members and two senators share broad
agreement about much of the presidential contest.
They say the country is not in crisis, that the partisan rhetoric ought to be cooled and that some
changes in the presidential election process - including scrapping the Electoral College in favor of a
popular vote - are worth considering.
"The good news is what a great democracy we have," said Barbara A. Mikulski, one of two
Democrats who hold Maryland's Senate seats.
Although the future leadership of the nation remains in doubt, she observed: "The schools are open;
people are going to work; the National Guard is not in the streets."
Republicans in the Maryland delegation are inclined to be sympathic with GOP nominee George W.
Bush's desire to declare an end to the contest without lengthy court battles.
"The most important thing is that people believe the process is honest and that nobody's trying to rig
anything," said Gilchrest, a Republican representing Annapolis and Maryland's Eastern Shore, who
does not object to a hand count of ballots in Florida as long as the process is evenly applied.
But he said for people to complain about confusing ballots is "absurd."
"People have a responsibility to educate themselves about the process and pay attention to what
they're doing," Gilchrest said.
Democrats tend to echo Gore's call for patience and are supportive of his efforts to seek redress in
the courts for alleged barriers to voting, such as the "butterfly" ballots in Palm Beach that Democrats
called hard to read.
"That butterfly ballot needs to be addressed in some way," said Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, a
Baltimore Democrat.
Cardin said he was "disappointed," however, that the two presidential candidates have not yet been
able to agree on a process for authenticating the vote short of going to court.
By contrast, Cardin's fellow Democrat Paul S. Sarbanes, who was just re-elected to his fifth term in
the Senate, said he believes it would be inappropriate for the candidates to take it upon themselves to
work out a resolution to the dispute.
"This is not going to be resolved by some deal reached by the two candidates," Sarbanes said. "We
need to follow the regular order if the ultimate winner is going to be accepted as legitimate."
http://www.sunspot.net/content/news/story?section=election2000&pagename=story&storyid=1150510212638
next president
Crossover would decide vote representing Md.
By Karen Hosler
Sun National Staff
Originally published Nov 15 2000
WASHINGTON - Maryland Rep. Constance A. Morella, who votes with the
Democrats more often than any other House Republican, says she would cast her lot with
Democratic nominee Al Gore if the disputed presidential race is ultimately decided by Congress.
Morella, 69, who just survived an usually close contest for re-election to a seventh term as her
Montgomery County district went heavily for the Democratic ticket, said she believes she has little
option but to reflect the views of her voters by supporting Gore.
"I would feel obligated," she said in an interview.
Morella's defection from party ranks would alter a potential four Republican, four Democrat split in
the state's eight-member House delegation and result in the state's single ballot in the presidential
contest being awarded to Gore.
That outcome would reflect the views of a majority of Maryland voters who supported Gore in the
popular vote and swung the state's 10 Electoral College votes into the vice president's column. It
would also avoid a deadlock that could forfeit Maryland's participation in the contest.
Even so, Republican nominee George W. Bush would likely defeat Gore if their contest is decided
by the House, because Republicans have a majority in 28 state delegations, compared with 18 state
delegations controlled by Democrats.
Three other states - Connecticut, Nevada and Illinois - have evenly split delegations, like Maryland's.
At this point, it seems unlikely that the White House election dispute will become so protracted that it
will be thrown into the House of Representatives, which the Constitution designates as a kind of
court of last resort.
"Nobody believes it will go to the House," said Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Baltimore County
Republican who had just come from House GOP leadership elections. "Nobody's even talking about
it."
Ehrlich, along with another GOP House member, Wayne T. Gilchrest, said he would back Bush - as
his district did - if the contest went to Congress. The fourth Maryland Republican, Roscoe G.
Bartlett, could not be reached for comment.
Whichever candidate wins Florida's 25 electoral votes will reach the 270 tally needed for victory. As
the race now stands, Gore has 262 electoral votes, while Bush has 246.
"We'll do whatever has to be done, but we really don' t think the House will be involved," said Pete
Jefferies, a spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
Defection from GOP ranks is nothing new for Morella. She frequently bucked her party when it was
led by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose conservative agenda was out of sync with the
moderate views of her Democrat-leaning constituency.
Those defections may have helped save her in the well-financed contest waged by Democrat lobbyist
Terry Lierman, who had extensive support from the Democratic Party hierarchy.
"I had all the Kennedys in here against me and $3 million," said Morella, who finished with 53
percent of the vote. "Under the circumstances, I consider that a triumph."
Despite their partisan differences, Maryland's eight House members and two senators share broad
agreement about much of the presidential contest.
They say the country is not in crisis, that the partisan rhetoric ought to be cooled and that some
changes in the presidential election process - including scrapping the Electoral College in favor of a
popular vote - are worth considering.
"The good news is what a great democracy we have," said Barbara A. Mikulski, one of two
Democrats who hold Maryland's Senate seats.
Although the future leadership of the nation remains in doubt, she observed: "The schools are open;
people are going to work; the National Guard is not in the streets."
Republicans in the Maryland delegation are inclined to be sympathic with GOP nominee George W.
Bush's desire to declare an end to the contest without lengthy court battles.
"The most important thing is that people believe the process is honest and that nobody's trying to rig
anything," said Gilchrest, a Republican representing Annapolis and Maryland's Eastern Shore, who
does not object to a hand count of ballots in Florida as long as the process is evenly applied.
But he said for people to complain about confusing ballots is "absurd."
"People have a responsibility to educate themselves about the process and pay attention to what
they're doing," Gilchrest said.
Democrats tend to echo Gore's call for patience and are supportive of his efforts to seek redress in
the courts for alleged barriers to voting, such as the "butterfly" ballots in Palm Beach that Democrats
called hard to read.
"That butterfly ballot needs to be addressed in some way," said Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, a
Baltimore Democrat.
Cardin said he was "disappointed," however, that the two presidential candidates have not yet been
able to agree on a process for authenticating the vote short of going to court.
By contrast, Cardin's fellow Democrat Paul S. Sarbanes, who was just re-elected to his fifth term in
the Senate, said he believes it would be inappropriate for the candidates to take it upon themselves to
work out a resolution to the dispute.
"This is not going to be resolved by some deal reached by the two candidates," Sarbanes said. "We
need to follow the regular order if the ultimate winner is going to be accepted as legitimate."
http://www.sunspot.net/content/news/story?section=election2000&pagename=story&storyid=1150510212638