If the Election is Invalid, Who Should be President?

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Wednesday March 22, 2017 · 11:28 PM PDT

2017/03/22 · 23:28

It strikes me that we are getting closer to removing Trump as President on the grounds that he and his team colluded with a foreign power to throw the election in his favor. There is a lot of speculation as to who would then become President, mostly focusing on the line of succession — Pence, Ryan, Hatch, Tillerson, Mattis …

That is one possible outcome, perhaps the most probable, and the easiest to implement. But it begs the question, if the election was illegitimate, how can anything that followed stay in place? There is no blueprint for this situation. Some are calling for a new election. But there is an entire mechanism in place for quadrennial elections that is cumbersome and time consuming. Who decides what the rules are, when do we hold the election, what guidance do we give the parties, and who rules in the meantime?

One solution, one that I have not seen a lot of talk about, is that if the “winning” candidate is disqualified for cheating, then the candidate with the next highest number of votes in each state should be awarded its electoral votes and declared the winner. Would not the easiest and fairest solution be to disqualify Trump (upon arrest or impeachment) and declare Hillary the winner?

If Trump manages to hang on until 2020, or if Pence, Ryan, or Hatch take over, I am all for fresh leadership to take the reigns of the Democratic Party. But if the election itself is tainted, should not Hillary Clinton be our legitimately elected President?

Poll

346 votes Show Results

If Trump does not finish his term, who will the next President be?

346 votes Vote Now!

If Trump does not finish his term, who will the next President be?

Pence

83 votes

Ryan

18 votes

Hatch

11 votes

Clinton

198 votes

Putin

36 votes

Election Day - I voted thread

clambake

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Tuesday November 08, 2016 · 3:47 AM PST

2016/11/08 · 03:47

Maybe I missed it, but I haven’t seen an “I voted” thread for election day. I am just back from voting in Stafford, VA — I think I found the missing African American vote — pretty heavy in this republican-leaning county.

The Case Against Trump

clambake

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Sunday November 06, 2016 · 4:41 PM PST

2016/11/06 · 16:41

I just posted this to my Facebook account — I know there are many others who have stated much the same more eloquently than me, but I have tried to condense the multitude of reasons against voting for Trump into a digestible bite.

The Case Against Trump

I have voted for the Democrat in every presidential election since I first became eligible in 1984, so it is no surprise that I support Hillary Clinton for President. But this is the first time I fear for the Republic. While I would have been unhappy with a President McCain, a President Romney, or a President Dole, I would have dusted myself off and consoled myself that this was democracy at work, and that this is a beautiful thing. Not this time. Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the values we hold dear, as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Here are the reasons you should not vote for Trump:

He is not qualified – Donald Trump has shown scant knowledge of U.S. or world affairs, often repeating that he’ll have the best plan and the best people, but he doesn’t want to tip off our enemies. How about letting us, the people you are asking to elect you President, know your plans for defeating ISIS or reducing poverty? And you really think Mexico is going to pay for your wall?
He is bigoted – From the beginning of his campaign he has denigrated Latinos for being murderers and rapists, warned of vote rigging in “certain areas” and has a history of housing discrimination. Normally I wouldn’t bring a father’s sins into this, but since he was in the KKK, one wonders how far the apple fell from the tree, particularly given that the KKK has endorsed Trump as representing its values.
He is a misogynist – Remember “blood out of her whatever” and how “disgusting” it was that Hillary Clinton took a longer bathroom break than her opponents during a primary debate (the women’s bathroom was further away than the men’s bathroom, by the way), that he has referred to Rosie O’Donnell as a pig, and for the rest of it, see the next point.
Sexual harassment, at a minimum – We all know of the Access Hollywood tape where he said as a celebrity he could do anything he wanted with any woman on the street, up to and including grabbing her by the p*ssy without her permission. Then there was his penchant for walking into beauty pageant dressing rooms unannounced while the women and girls (as young as age 15!) were half-naked. At least a dozen women have come forward with claims of unwanted sexual advances. Howard Stern interviews are fodder for creepy comments about his daughters (Ivanka as a “nice piece of *ss” and speculating about the future breast size of his infant daughter Tiffany). There are sordid stories about the practices of his modeling agency, Trump Model Management.
Trump is Putin’s puppet – Donald Trump has gleefully shared news stories from Russian propaganda outlets, including those that have not made it into the American press. He has praised Putin as more capable than President Obama (and has also praised other despicable dictators around the world, including Kim Jong Un of North Korea and Bashar al-Assad of Syria). He has pushed Russian talking points that run counter to U.S. government policy, including those that are damaging to our allies (remember “Russia wouldn’t go into Ukraine?”). He and his lackey Roger Stone have trumpeted Wikileaks, much of which is sourced from Russian hacking and manipulation of emails stolen from the Democratic party. Many of Trump’s associates have strong ties to Russia, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who worked to prop up Viktor Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian President who fled to Russia after protests there unseated him.
Conspiracy theorist – Trump’s current campaign CEO is the former Chairman of Breitbart News, known for pedaling unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about the Clinton’s and other democrats.
He is a liar – There are many, many, many examples of Trump lying on camera. Some are of the more mundane variety, like, “I never said that” about supporting the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Others are more blatant, such as this weekend giving an account of President Obama’s handling of a pro-Trump protester at a rally that completely contradicted what really happened (it is on film – check it out). Donald Trump, Jr. was peddling the story of an assassination attempt this weekend at a Trump rally, when there was simply a protester with a “Republicans Against Trump” who was manhandled by Trump supporters.Oh, and about that “Crooked Hillary” thing where he states she should be in jail (and some of his supporters have advocated execution or assassination) – based on completely unsubstantiated claims.If you want to look for corruption, how about asking where Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani got insider information from the FBI on trumped up allegations days before they were delivered to Republicans in Congress?
About that temperament – Donald Trump is rude and boorish, responds in a tirade to any perceived affront (particularly on Twitter at 3am – remember Alicia Machado?), consistently offends large categories of people of all stripes, including the disabled, women, African Americans, Latinos, and many others. Is this a person we want to represent America, to negotiate with foreign leaders, to lead this great nation?

I believe any one of these is enough to disqualify Donald Trump from consideration. Eight is surely enough! If you agree, please vote for Hillary Clinton for President on November 8^th if you haven’t voted early already. Thank you!

Sandy will save the pundits

clambake

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Wednesday October 31, 2012 · 11:51 AM PDT

2012/10/31 · 11:51

First of all, my heart goes out to everyone affected by Sandy. I was on the outskirts of it and escaped with nary a scratch. Many have commented on how Sandy will influence the election, with focus on it allowing President Obama to distinguish himself, leaving Romney on the outside looking in. While I believe this analysis is correct, the greatest beneficiary of Sandy is the punditocracy. The MSM has been so focused on making the elections a horserace when all objective data show a clear Obama lead, it was bound to have egg on its face come election night. The question will be asked how they got it so wrong. The answer they will give? "Sandy did it!"

clambake

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Tuesday January 26, 2010 · 12:40 AM PST

2010/01/26 · 00:40

Lately there have been a lot of Good-bye Cruel World (GBCW) diaries here, and I must say that I have some sympathy for the sentiments therein. The level of bickering between the "Obama has sold us out" and the "Obama is the best thing since sliced bread" crowds has reached a crescendo. Disclaimer - I happen to belong to the second group, which is something coming from me, as I really do like sliced bread (so much easier to toast!).

clambake

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Monday June 09, 2008 · 9:43 AM PDT

2008/06/09 · 09:43

Tomorrow Virginia is holding a primary to select general election candidates for its 11 congressional districts. I have been receiving mailings from both Democratic candidates for the 11th CD, Leslie Byrne and Gerry Connolly, along with endorsements from high profile officials within Virginia Democratic Circles, including Jim Webb and Tim Kaine.

Poll

34 votes Show Results

Who will you support in the Virginia 11th CD race?

34 votes Vote Now!

Who will you support in the Virginia 11th CD race?

Lori Alexander

2 votes

Leslie Byrne

23 votes

Gerry Connolly

8 votes

Doug Denneny

1 vote

Big Unity Bounce

clambake

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Sunday June 08, 2008 · 7:33 AM PDT

2008/06/08 · 07:33

Excuse the short diary. Today's Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll shows a big jump for Barack Obama over John McCain in a general election matchup. Today he leads 48-40, up from 46-42 the day before and 43-41 two days before that. When leaners are included, the lead is 50-43.

clambake

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Monday April 28, 2008 · 2:44 PM PDT

2008/04/28 · 14:44

DailyKos today has been full of handwringing Obama supporters worried that the Reverand Jeremiah Wright has sunk the Obama candidacy by reappearing today at the National Press Club and generally not shutting his trap.

My message to Obama supporters - get a friggin' clue! If the original controversy did not sink Obama, with the clip showing "God damn America" repeated ad nauseum, and in fact Obama's national standing relatively unchanged since before the hubbub, how is a much tamer interview going to do squat to Obama?

clambake

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Wednesday April 23, 2008 · 12:19 PM PDT

2008/04/23 · 12:19

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I took Northern Sky's excellent diary today noting that after Pennsylvania, Clinton now needs 71% of the remaining vote to catch Obama in pledged delegates. I decided to expand upon this analysis and add in currently pledged superdelegates and split the remaining unpledged superdelegates evenly to see how much Clinton will need to overcome in order to catch Obama.

clambake

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Wednesday March 26, 2008 · 3:24 PM PDT

2008/03/26 · 15:24

That's it. Having watched this campaign over the last year, I am ready to declare my candidacy for President in 2012. After all, I have the experience it takes to be the leader of the free world, and since none of it is on YouTube, nobody can come up with any embarrassing fact-checking to disqualify me.

Poll

25 votes Show Results

In 2012 you will vote for

25 votes Vote Now!

In 2012 you will vote for

Senor Clambake

2 votes

Herr Clambake

3 votes

Mr. Clambake

2 votes

Gospodin Clambake

2 votes

Comrade Clambake

9 votes

Dipshit Clambake (my cousin) - see, not a rigged election

7 votes

Diary 2: Obama's passport data compromised multiple times

clambake

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Thursday March 20, 2008 · 6:23 PM PDT

2008/03/20 · 18:23

There was a request on Scoopster's Diary for a new thread on this breaking story. CNN now finally has a story up about it as well.

clambake

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Wednesday March 19, 2008 · 4:34 PM PDT

2008/03/19 · 16:34

There have been a spate of diaries lately intensely worried that Obama has taken a bit of a dip in several recent polls. While it would be preferable to be comfortably ahead at this point, the angst expressed is misplaced.

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If the Election is Invalid, Who Should be President?

Election Day - I voted thread

The Case Against Trump

Sandy will save the pundits

GBCW - Not!

Virginia 11th CD - help me decide

Big Unity Bounce

The Wright Stuff

More delegate math - it's in the bag!

2012 Candidacy - Me!

Diary 2: Obama's passport data compromised multiple times

BREAKING: OMG!!!! Obama Trailing in the Polls!!!!