If the Republicans win

[Alyrium Denryle]

What if Mccain wins the US election with, say 55% share of the vote (close but not enough for any recounts etc). What would the reaction be from the Democratic party with one of their best chances failing?

This is outright impossible. McCain cannot win with 55%. That is a landslide victory beyond any current projections. Only some unforeseen factor like, well, God declaring His presence to the world and commanding the faithful to vote Republican could cause that.

At any rate, if McCain won by a margin that large, Democrats would universally acknowledge that a majority of the country are just plain stupid and unwilling to elect a Democrat under any circumstance whatsoever. Even with a slim margin, that would probably still be the most common opinion among Democrats (though "We should have chosen Hillary" would be close).

As for how McCain would govern, well, by choosing Palin he's proven himself so reckless that it's too hard to predict, especially since he wanted Lieberman more. McCain could be like Bush's 3rd term, or he could throw the Republicans under the bus and work with the Democrats, or he could be even more hard-line than Bush and risk provoking WWIII. The only near certainty is that the Supreme Court would end up repealing Roe vs. Wade.

ANd a bunch of others. Lemon V. Kurtzman comes to mind, and O'Hare v. Curlett, Engle v Vitale (I am pulling these from memory, could have fucked up the names, but they are CHurch/state cases) Edwards v. Aguilaird...

[Eulogy]

If McSame wins, civil war won't be far off. Other countries will start sneering at Americans and bashing, insulting, and making fun of Americans will become even more popular. This won't be without reason, either, especially if church and state no longer stay separated.

[Guardsman Bass]

Relax. As long as the Democrats control Congress (and I mean control, as in having an actual majority in both houses), McCain won't be able to get a Bork-like or even Alito-like judge through. Bush only got his picks through because the Republicans controlled Congress and all the Democrats could do was try to filibuster the choices. He'll be forced to either let a seat sit empty, or to pick a more moderate judge.

[Edi]

If McSame wins, civil war won't be far off.

Put down the crack pipe.

[Mr Bean]

Relax. As long as the Democrats control Congress (and I mean control, as in having an actual majority in both houses), McCain won't be able to get a Bork-like or even Alito-like judge through. Bush only got his picks through because the Republicans controlled Congress and all the Democrats could do was try to filibuster the choices. He'll be forced to either let a seat sit empty, or to pick a more moderate judge.

You do know they have been in control the last two years and with a majority... and they have caved into Bush something on the order of 70% of the time? FISA, Torture, and more issues, the Democrats don't fight, the've not done it since the 50's and before.

Sure you get individual fighters who stand up(Biden is a good example of this) but on the whole the Democrats in Congress have as much backbone as an eel.

Mark my words if they lose the Presidency but keep both houses they will surrender to McSame on every issue.

[Block]

If McSame wins, civil war won't be far off.

Put down the crack pipe.

Oh there's going to be another civil war in this country at some point. There are some very deep divisions that have been created that are only going to get worse as time goes on, and the stabilizing influence of any society, the middle class, is slowly shrinking into non-existence. It may not be in my lifetime, but it's coming.

[Guardsman Bass]

Relax. As long as the Democrats control Congress (and I mean control, as in having an actual majority in both houses), McCain won't be able to get a Bork-like or even Alito-like judge through. Bush only got his picks through because the Republicans controlled Congress and all the Democrats could do was try to filibuster the choices. He'll be forced to either let a seat sit empty, or to pick a more moderate judge.

You do know they have been in control the last two years and with a majority... and they have caved into Bush something on the order of 70% of the time? FISA, Torture, and more issues, the Democrats don't fight, the've not done it since the 50's and before.

But on judges? They fought last time, with filibusters (hence why the GOP targeted Tom Daschle in 2004). Besides, the 2006 election actually didn't produce a majority for them in the Senate; they only have 49 seats, and even with Bernie Sanders voting for them pretty much every time, it makes them highly vulnerable to just a few defectors from their side jumping ship.

Sure you get individual fighters who stand up(Biden is a good example of this) but on the whole the Democrats in Congress have as much backbone as an eel.

Mark my words if they lose the Presidency but keep both houses they will surrender to McSame on every issue.

I don't entirely agree. They did, for example, at least try to fight Bush; they sent the SCHIP bill to him twice, if I recall, forcing him to veto twice. They also at least tried to shut down the government last year by refusing funding for Iraq military operations unless the Bush Administration released a timetable for withdrawal.

[wautd]

Worst case scenario, McCain dies and Palin becomes president. I wouldn't be too suprised she starts a war against Iran. Good luck finding allies this time

[irishmick79]

I think a democrat congress might have an incentive to deal with McCain if he wins. It's not inconcievable that McCain will kick the bucket during his first term, and in that situation the dems are stuck dealing with President Palin (hold on, I just threw up in my mouth a little). It might be worth it to try and get as much out of McCain as possible because the prospect of a GOP agenda driven by President Palin is worth saving the fight for.

[ray245]

Worst case scenario, McCain dies and Palin becomes president. I wouldn't be too suprised she starts a war against Iran. Good luck finding allies this time

Irasel seems to be crazy enough to join the effort..

[Axis Kast]

I'd probably enjoy watching the anti-Bush, anti-American crowd squirm.

I'm waiting for one of your heads to explode.

But I'm also partly curious to see if whether, were Obama to win, he would be subjected to a fraction as much scrutiny as Bush was, by this board, over issues of policy.

[Guardsman Bass]

I'd probably enjoy watching the anti-Bush, anti-American crowd squirm.

I'm waiting for one of your heads to explode.

But I'm also partly curious to see if whether, were Obama to win, he would be subjected to a fraction as much scrutiny as Bush was, by this board, over issues of policy.

Since the board has only existed since 2001, it's hard to say - but Kerry took quite a bit of exposure and criticism on this board back in 2004.

[Drooling Iguana]

But I'm also partly curious to see if whether, were Obama to win, he would be subjected to a fraction as much scrutiny as Bush was, by this board, over issues of policy.

I'd imagine he'd be subjected to more since many gave Bush up as a lost cause long ago and only his most egregious offences warrant attention these days.

Of course, it may seem like less if you can't tell the difference between lack of scrutiny and having policies that simply stand up to scrutiny.

[Kanastrous]

if McCain is elected I'll expect all you plonkers talking about leaving the country to put your money where your mouths are. I think you're just talking big, however, and aren't going anywhere.

You don't happen to be in New Zealand, by any chance...?

[Alyrium Denryle]

I'd probably enjoy watching the anti-Bush, anti-American crowd squirm.

I'm waiting for one of your heads to explode.

But I'm also partly curious to see if whether, were Obama to win, he would be subjected to a fraction as much scrutiny as Bush was, by this board, over issues of policy.

I love you equate being against someone who has violated our constitution, turned the white house into a dominionist patronage system and committed warcrimes, with being anti-american. That says a rather large amount about you Axi.

[J]

If they win they get to preside over the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and depending on their actions it may well end up being worse than the Great Depression. If we look at the actions & policies they've adopted over the past years and carry them forward, the US will be looking at the greatest wealth transfer in recorded history as the poor & middle class have everything they own looted for the rich, and have the losses of the rich downloaded upon them in the form of taxes & debt.

If things get as bad as I think they will, American Idol may longer be enough to keep the masses doped up in an apathetic haze, people might actually become sufficiently upset to vote the Republicans out of power and keep them out of power for a couple decades.

[CaptJodan]

If things get as bad as I think they will, American Idol may longer be enough to keep the masses doped up in an apathetic haze, people might actually become sufficiently upset to vote the Republicans out of power and keep them out of power for a couple decades.

Quite frankly, if the American populace is not intelligent enough to vote for Obama in this election, I have serious doubts whether anything, even an even worse slump in the economy, will wake them up. The republican ability to twist facts as they have in this campaign, (and we have to assume they would have successfully twisted them in such a way that McCain gets elected) would suggest that no amount of logic could cut through the republican rhetoric. If the dems controlled either the Senate or the House for most of that time, they would simply lay the blame there.

[Darth Wong]

I'd probably enjoy watching the anti-Bush, anti-American crowd squirm.

So if "anti-Bush" = "anti-American", does this mean that you regard the entire Obama support base as "anti-American"?

I'm waiting for one of your heads to explode.

Why would that happen? I've been doubtful about the inevitability of Obama's victory all year. I have become all too aware of the mental deficiencies in the American voting public.

But I'm also partly curious to see if whether, were Obama to win, he would be subjected to a fraction as much scrutiny as Bush was, by this board, over issues of policy.

You feel that Bush has received undue criticism? Even his own support base has turned on him. Our only sin was that we picked up on it faster than everyone else.

[Darth Wong]

I'd probably enjoy watching the anti-Bush, anti-American crowd squirm.

I'm waiting for one of your heads to explode.

But I'm also partly curious to see if whether, were Obama to win, he would be subjected to a fraction as much scrutiny as Bush was, by this board, over issues of policy.

Since the board has only existed since 2001, it's hard to say - but Kerry took quite a bit of exposure and criticism on this board back in 2004.

I went on record saying that Kerry was a stupid choice because he was the antithesis of the economic issues that they needed to be pushing: a guy who married into vast wealth and whose only real qualification to be president was his war hero status. No such person could push economic issues about reversing the decline of the middle class with any credibility. Anyone can search my posts from the time to see that, although I still felt he was better than Bush (hell, my dog would have been a better choice than Bush).

In any case, this election will be historic no matter what happens. We will either have the first black president or the first trailer-trash vice president.

[cosmicalstorm]

Anyone can search my posts from the time to see that

This is a bit off topic, but when I try the "Find all posts by Darth Wong" function it only throws me to a blank page, I've tried this function with a couple of different forum posters and it works on everyone except you.
Is there any way to work around this issue?

(P.S im not doubting your statement, im just curious about this forums general posting history)

[Alyrium Denryle]

I'd probably enjoy watching the anti-Bush, anti-American crowd squirm.

I'm waiting for one of your heads to explode.

But I'm also partly curious to see if whether, were Obama to win, he would be subjected to a fraction as much scrutiny as Bush was, by this board, over issues of policy.

Since the board has only existed since 2001, it's hard to say - but Kerry took quite a bit of exposure and criticism on this board back in 2004.

I went on record saying that Kerry was a stupid choice because he was the antithesis of the economic issues that they needed to be pushing: a guy who married into vast wealth and whose only real qualification to be president was his war hero status. No such person could push economic issues about reversing the decline of the middle class with any credibility. Anyone can search my posts from the time to see that, although I still felt he was better than Bush (hell, my dog would have been a better choice than Bush).

In any case, this election will be historic no matter what happens. We will either have the first black president or the first trailer-trash vice president.

Lets be fair to her mike. She is not trailer trash. She is anti-environment wilderness hick... So we will have the first Walking Internal Contradiction of a vice president.

(Note: Wilderness hick is different from nature lover or nerd hermit biologist at a field site. The later two dont have kids that tote assault rifles...)

[Drooling Iguana]

If things get as bad as I think they will, American Idol may longer be enough to keep the masses doped up in an apathetic haze, people might actually become sufficiently upset to vote the Republicans out of power and keep them out of power for a couple decades.

But don't you know? The Republicans are always the fiscally responsible ones. All the Democrats ever do is raise taxes until we're all in the poorhouse! Ignore the fact that everything has gone completely to hell under Bush, that's just due to natural economic cycles and the need to fight them dirty brown terrists.

Seriously, if these ideas are so deeply ingrained in the American identity that the last eight years haven't been able to budge them, what makes you think the next four will? If logic and reason had any place in American politics we'd be watching John Kerry's re-election campaign right now.

[Battlehymn Republic]

I still think that all-out war with Iran is impossible. The military is overstretched as it is, and a draft is political suicide. And even if a war does occur an occupation is definitely physically impossible.

[Pablo Sanchez]

Anyone can search my posts from the time to see that

This is a bit off topic, but when I try the "Find all posts by Darth Wong" function it only throws me to a blank page, I've tried this function with a couple of different forum posters and it works on everyone except you.
Is there any way to work around this issue?

Mike has over 60,000 posts, so a search for everything he's posted, sorted by individual posts, is just more than the archive system is capable of sorting. A search by threads will return nearly 20,000 hits but works fine. If you search by the keyword "Kerry" you'll get results.

My personal reaction to a McCain victory would be profound disgust and fear for the future. We're talking about somebody who either has nonexistent or stupid plans for the great issues of our time (infrastructure decay, alternative energy, the Middle East, financial crunch) or doesn't even believe that there's a problem at all (Global Warming, rising inequality). Plus, if he won, it would only be by a margin slim enough as to be assigned to pure, unadulterated racism, people simply unwilling to vote for a black man.

[Guardsman Bass]

McCain actually does believe in stopping Global Warming; it's his VP that is ambivalent over it.