Hundreds of paid GOP operatives descended upon South Florida to aggressively protest the state's recounts. At least half a dozen of the demonstrators at Miami-Dade were paid by George W. Bush's recount committee. Several of these protesters were identified as Republican congressional staffers. A number of them later went on to take jobs in the incoming Bush administration. The "Brooks Brothers" name was a reference to the protesters' corporate attire; described in the Wall Street Journal as "50-year-old white lawyers with cell phones and Hermès ties." The protesters were corporate-sponsored and flown in, as opposed to being local citizens concerned about counting practices. The demonstration was organized by Republican operatives, sometimes referred to as the "Brooks Brothers Brigade", to oppose the recount of ballots during the Florida election recount. Realizing that they could not otherwise meet a court-ordered deadline, the official canvassers decided to limit the recount to the 10,750 ballots that the elections' computer had been unable to tally. The canvassers then moved the counting process to a smaller room closer to the ballot-scanning equipment to speed up the process. The access of members of the media was restricted to a distance of 25 feet away while they continued. Republicans objected to this change of plans and insisted the canvassers must do a full recount. At this time, New York Representative John E. Sweeney told an aide to "Shut it down." The demonstration turned violent and according to The New York Times, "several people were trampled, punched or kicked when protesters tried to rush the doors outside the office of the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections. Sheriff's deputies restored order." DNC aide Luis Rosero was kicked and punched. Within two hours after the event, the canvassing board unanimously voted to shut down the count, in part due to perceptions that the process was not open or fair, and in part because the court-mandated deadline had become impossible to meet, thanks to the interference. The controversial incident was set in motion by Sweeney, a New York Republican who was nicknamed "Congressman Kick-Ass" by President Bush for his work in Florida. Sweeney defended his actions by arguing that his aim was not to stop the hand recount but to restore the process to public view. Some Bush supporters did acknowledge they hoped the recount would end. "We were trying to stop the recount; Bush had already won," said Evilio Cepero, a reporter for WAQI, an influential Spanish talk radio station in Miami. "We were urging people to come downtown and support and protest this injustice." A Republican lawyer commented, "People were pounding on the doors, but they had an absolute right to get in." The protest interfered with attendance by official observers and hindered with access by members of the press. In a radio interview in Albany on November 28 Sweeney said, "What I essentially told my people is, 'You've got to stop them'." "Whether I said, 'You've got to shut it down' or 'stop them,' I frankly don't quite recall." According to investigative reporterGreg Palast, author of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" in 2002, Roger Stone organized the demonstration, and Matt Schlapp was the on-site leader.
Steven Brophy, a former GOP Senate aide to Senators Fred Thompson, Bill Frist, and in 2003, Representative Marsha Blackburn. Currently V.P. at Dollar General.
Jeff Bloemker, also a former aide to Sen. Thompson
