2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumSo if there are recounts and massive fraud is found and Hillary won the EC
what happens?
Is there a chance that she would actually become president? One would think so, but I have to believe the Rs would fight it tooth and nail and that the media would take up their side of an argument as well.
Anyone who lived through the selection of W knows that Faux News put their thumb on the scale by declaring W the winner over Gore well before the results had been tallied. This was a strategic, conscious decision that came down from Ailes himself, because he knew that once a winner had been declared by the media it would be almost impossible to reverse the perception that W had won. Possession is nine tenths of the law, and the idea that a candidate has possession of the office of the president is a powerful idea.
As much as I'd like to believe that Hillary still has a chance, I also have to believe that a recount proving she won is the least of it. The real battle would start after that, and that battle would make Bush v Gore look like a cakewalk. What are our chances with the Obama WH already signaling that they don't want Hillary to demand recounts?
SHRED
(28,136 posts)But I'm game.
apcalc
(4,465 posts)InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,122 posts)tritsofme
(17,396 posts)SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)stopbush
(24,396 posts)Even if one entertains the idea that recounts would happen, it doesn't mean anything would change.
Bob41213
(491 posts)JTFrog
(14,274 posts)But, yeah, that happened.
What is wrong with an audit and investigation? Are you afraid we will waste your time?
unblock
(52,303 posts)i don't think it's viable to consider hillary becoming president in 2017. that doesn't mean she shouldn't challenge the vote count -- she should -- but as a matter or principle and positioning for the next run.
unless there is absolutely ironclad, caught red-handed on video and with fingerprints and everything evidence of vote tampering, at least half the country will never accept that the allegations of vote tampering have merit. they're not going to believe a bunch of computer experts. they're way to used to dismissing experts as biased or out-of-touch or elitist.
moreover, hillary would never be able to govern in any reasonable way. as tough as it would be anyway with a republican congress, they would feel even more emboldened to block everything and investigate and impeach her on a whim. yeah, i know, we figured this anyway, but it would be even worse if she took office in such an unusual fashion.
she's much better off going for 2020, hopefully with a democratic senate and possibly a democratic house.
dragonlady
(3,577 posts)it could not be seen as just the theories of a bunch of computer experts. Let observers from both sides watch and verify what happens. The one with more votes at the end of the process wins, period, and takes the oath of office. Later on, the experts can figure out why the computer tallies were wrong and appropriate steps can be taken to be sure it doesn't happen again.
unblock
(52,303 posts)but i maintain that hillary would then have the most miserable presidency ever. again, she's much better off using it to her advantage for a clean win in 2020.
northoftheborder
(7,572 posts)She should do something magnificent now (other than holding elective office) with her 3 million supporters that will emphasize the shallow, ignorant, backwards, racist, recidivist efforts of the "elected" president. I don't know what that movement is, but she can lead it. Others must lead the weakened Democratic Party.
JTFrog
(14,274 posts)northoftheborder
(7,572 posts)If she just wants to play with her grandchildren and read books and take walks ---- I'm OK with that. She's given so much of herself, her whole life, to service of others.
politicaljunkie41910
(3,335 posts)nominee for president in 2020. Hillary will never be the nominee for 2020 under any circumstances. Her best days are now behind her, and while I was one of her staunch supporters from the beginning, I'm a realist and it was quite apparent that much of the nation suffered from Clinton fatigue and there is no going back in time now to a more happier time. I do want the Democrats to fully investigate the possibility of voter fraud in those battleground states in question, and if they're unwilling to do so, I think the Democratic party that I've been a member of for the past 40 years will cease to exist. I will have no further desire to provide financial and physical support to a party that is to willing to roll over and play dead rather than standing up to a fight like the opposition party does time and time again, even when they are dead wrong.
unblock
(52,303 posts)certainly not as to who the nominees will be.
i'm just suggesting what i think is hillary's best political course of action.
Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)athena
(4,187 posts)If there is an investigation that shows that HRC won the EC, and this happens before the EC votes, the EC could vote for HRC, and that would be that.
I do think that if there is clear evidence of tampering, the people will accept the results. The opposite is what would be disturbing. We can't have a president who takes office because of election fraud. If that happens, then how can we ever convince anyone to take time out of their day to go out and vote again, when their vote is unlikely to get counted?
mopinko
(70,197 posts)the networks could reverse their calls. i know they likely wouldnt want to, but i think they would. they just arent stupid/brave enough to stand by cook numbers.
kydo
(2,679 posts)If orange man ascends to the throne, it will be very very ugly and not just for the USA, but for the world.
If Hillary contests and somehow manages to get an investigation it will be ugly. If she has proof and courts agree and she wins, it will still be ugly.
If Obama or another government agencies asks or does an investigation, it will be ugly.
If the electoral college votes for Hillary, it will be ugly.
So take your pick on which ugly you want. There are no easy outs on this one. Some of the options might just have the ugly last for a little while. Others the ugly will be longer. And some options will be forever and the end.
I will opt for the option that stops fascism from happening.