civil war

[ubertar]

What's going to happen if Kerry wins the popular vote and Bush squeaks out the electoral vote? Especially if there's questionable stuff with these Diebold touch screen machines.

[theslumlord]

I think that it's only happend twice in presidental history. once with Bush and the other time (i think) with John Quincy Adams.

huh...interesting. Both happened with sons that had fathers that were president.

I wonder if Oliver Stone knows about this.

[jajjguy]

rutherford b hayes also lost the popular vote and was elected in the last firecely contested election.

i don't know what would happen if this is a repeat of 2000. but it's pretty likely. i think if bush gets reelected, however it happens, it'll suck all around, even for him, and he'll leave office generally hated. a kerry presdiency would be pretty tough too, with the republicans stonewalling him like they did in clinton's second term.

god bless fucking america.

[JES]

wasn't Hayes actually decided in the senate?

[TrumpsHair]

What's going to happen if Kerry wins the popular vote and Bush squeaks out the electoral vote? Especially if there's questionable stuff with these Diebold touch screen machines.

Tim Russert postulated this last week. This could very well happen again. If Bush wins, he will wake up Nov. 3rd, with 48% of the population hating him. Civil War? I don't know, but there will be a lot of drama.

[MASSIVE Mastering]

What's going to happen if Kerry wins the popular vote and Bush squeaks out the electoral vote? Especially if there's questionable stuff with these Diebold touch screen machines.

I think the other side of that is MUCH more likely...

[A.L.]

What's going to happen if Kerry wins the popular vote and Bush squeaks out the electoral vote? Especially if there's questionable stuff with these Diebold touch screen machines.

I think the other side of that is MUCH more likely...

Explain. I'm not sure I understand what you're implying, though I'd like to.

[djimbe]

Explain. I'm not sure I understand what you're implying, though I'd like to.

consider the scenario where the President gets many more popular votes than the challenger. Given the current wisdom on the map, many of those votes could come from the inter-mountain west...lotsa votes overall, maybe, but few votes in the Electoral College. I'm sure someone's figured out several combinations of major urban areas plus a swing state or two that would put Mr. Kerry over the top electorally, while the President gets votes from a majority of smaller electoral pool states.

Good irony potential, that's for sure...

[ubertar]

I don't think that could work; the reason being the electoral college system is weighted toward smaller states. Smaller states count for more electorally than they would merit on population alone. A more likely scenario is that Kerry wins highly populated states, like NY and CA by a wide margin but loses electorally because of small states going to Bush. It's possible Kerry could win the popular vote by well over a million votes and still lose the election.

[Tim Casey]

The thought of a Civil War has already occurred to me. Then again, 52% of the country's popualtion could always up and move to New Zealand before the rest of the world decides it's had enough of this bullshit from the US.

[djdrake13]

I dont' think everyone would move, but its scary that no matter who wins, about half of the US is going to hate that person. I'd not want to be prez.. i'll tell ya!

[TrumpsHair]

I dont' think everyone would move, but its scary that no matter who wins, about half of the US is going to hate that person. I'd not want to be prez.. i'll tell ya!

Absolutely. Who would purposely want that kind of pressure, at one of the most devisive times. I was going to junior college in 1969, and things were pretty 'hot' back then, but I think now, it's just as bad.

[wayne kerr]

Especially if there's questionable stuff with these Diebold touch screen machines.

Those machines have GOT to go. I don't trust them at all. I don't like computers for my rock and roll and I don't like computers for my vote. For the same reasons too!

SMH

As an interesting side note, the ACLU tried to block the recent California recall on the grounds that not all precincts had all the new machines. Funny, the old machines were JUST FINE to put Gray Davis IN office, but were not sufficient to take him OUT!

[eeldip]

Explain. I'm not sure I understand what you're implying, though I'd like to.

consider the scenario where the President gets many more popular votes than the challenger. Given the current wisdom on the map, many of those votes could come from the inter-mountain west...lotsa votes overall, maybe, but few votes in the Electoral College. I'm sure someone's figured out several combinations of major urban areas plus a swing state or two that would put Mr. Kerry over the top electorally, while the President gets votes from a majority of smaller electoral pool states.

Good irony potential, that's for sure...

yea, you have it exactly backwards. the electoral college favors small states. so in california, a voter has something less than a whole vote for president, and someone in wyoming has something more than a whole vote.

originally the system was put in place because the founding fathers were really scared of people voting. and they put up a backup system, so people's votes could be overturned. thats why the college is there. and small population states get more voters because virginia wanted it that way (they had a very small population of eligible voters, with no interest in giving blacks the vote, so they tweaked the system to favor the small states).

isnt our consititution perfect!

[eeldip]

what happens if kerry wins?

according to dick cheney the terrorists will attack us! so vote bush!

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040907/D84V15AG0.html