Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: RoadKingLarry on October 30, 2012, 05:28:58 AM
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We've got a significant chunk of the country being hammered into varying degrees of destruction by this storm. It is conceivable that there may still be large numbers of people without power and other basic services 7 days from now. What affect will that have on the election?
I'm not aware of any constitutional provisions for a rain delay. Is it possible to delay/extend voting in the worst hit areas? If so is it possible to hold the results from the rest of the country so as not to sway the late voters?
Never let a crisis go to waste.
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I think there is enough time to get power to critical facilities and voting centers. We'll see. I don't think I am in favor of a delay.
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Congress has the power to change the date of counting the electors and the uniform date of national polling. Nov 6 is not a required date.
But changing it is probably unnecessary.
One of the natures of the electoral college is that it is not a national vote. So whether NY get 8M votes cast, or 1M; if Obama still wins NY, then he still gets all the electoral votes and doesn't change the national scene at all.
The only effect it might have is on swing states, in which case the vote balance will favor the party with the most motivated base... "come hell or high water, I will vote".
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I think "delaying" anything would turn a lot of [tinfoil] people into [ar15]
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It wouldn't surprise me to see Obama's camp calling for a delay. It wouldn't surprise me to see him try to circumvent Congress and try to delay the election himself.
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It wouldn't surprise me to see Obama's camp calling for a delay. It wouldn't surprise me to see him try to circumvent Congress and try to delay the election himself.
Yea, only Congress can do that. And the states have to implement it anyways. There's a lot of logistics involved.
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Yea, only Congress can do that. And the states have to implement it anyways. There's a lot of logistics involved.
Agreed. There is no legal or practical way Obama could change the date of the election. But, given his narcissism, I would not put it past him to try.
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There's been some talk that certain reports that come out of Washington - consumer confidence, employment, etc. - could be delayed.
A delay of bad news would help Obama.
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There's been some talk that certain reports that come out of Washington - consumer confidence, employment, etc. - could be delayed.
A delay of bad news would help Obama.
Unless it is worse than what has already been issued, I really doubt it would matter. I figured no really bad stuff would be issued until after the election anyway. Now they have an excuse.
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Watching from over here on the calm side of the pond, it does seem that the organization at a state level seems to have been vastly superior to that seen during Katrina, especially in New Jersey.
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Watching from over here on the calm side of the pond, it does seem that the organization at a state level seems to have been vastly superior to that seen during Katrina, especially in New Jersey.
Different type of people that live there.
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It wouldn't surprise me to see Obama's camp calling for a delay. It wouldn't surprise me to see him try to circumvent Congress and try to delay the election himself.
Unselfishly volunteer to serve another term and delay the election until 2016 =|
"Circumvent Congress" ??? Heck, they just need to get on board and do as he says ;/
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State law controls most of the issues regarding elections, such as the times polls are open, etc. While Obama may call for a delay in the counting of the electors, it won't matter because the state results will already be in the news, and anyone with a civics book and a calculator can figure out the results.
Where I see it getting interesting is come next Tuesday when someone argues that because of flooding, etc., people should be allowed to vote on Wednesday. When the state says no, watch the lawsuits fly.
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Where I see it getting interesting is come next Tuesday when someone argues that because of flooding, etc., people should be allowed to vote on Wednesday. When the state says no, watch the lawsuits fly.
Too busy looting to bother with voting? [popcorn]
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Too busy looting to bother with voting? [popcorn]
And they were disenfranchised when the State actually closed the polling places, so these people should be allowed to vote on November 7, 8, and 9!
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And they were disenfranchised when the State actually closed the polling places, so these people should be allowed to vote on November 7, 8, and 9!
With "and" being the key word there in place of "or". =)
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The more time goes by and this gets discussed on the airwaves, the greater the concern that ANY delay is going to throw such a massive monkey wrench into the political scene that it would be better to get cracking at figuring out how TO vote next Tuesday than to reschedule it.
While NJ Gov. Christie was correct in noting that at the moment his state had "bigger fish to fry" than worrying about the election, that will not necessarily be the situation by, say, the weekend. The same holds for the other states that are now engaged in disaster recovery. As long as Obama does not do to the vanilla cities what Bush did to the chocolate ones, there is a good chance that folks can be un-stranded in time to fill in a ballot while getting bottled water off the back of a NG truck.
Quite frankly, my personal view is that the storm and aftermath can do nothing to help Obama and may do enough to cause him to lose by a mandate. He must "act Presidential" but there is no way he can speed up relief/clean-up/recovery, let alone keep abreast of the toll as Sandy now sweeps towards the Great Lakes and threatens to literally tear down his home town, then sweep up to Minneapolis-St. Paul. (Honestly, I am greatly conflicted at the threat of Chicago, Madison, and St. Paul being flattened.) If you thought "Bush slow to respond" was ugly, think what it will be like when the entitlement classes are literally left cold and hungry by the Light-Bringer.
As I say, I am greatly conflicted.
stay safe.
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He must "act Presidential"
Yeah, his first step was to flee to Florida before the storm.
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Yeah....but he took along a bucket to help "bail out".
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Yeah....but he took along a bucket to help "bail out".
and a TARP to cover a leaking roof?
*gets coat*
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Minimal, In my humble opinion
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What an ass. During a stop to check on Hurricane relief...."I want every agency to lean forward" [barf]
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I think Obama's personal popularity will increase as a result of the storm. Whether or not that translates into votes is another matter. He's the President and has center stage.
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I think Obama's personal popularity will increase as a result of the storm. Whether or not that translates into votes is another matter. He's the President and has center stage.
That is only going to happen if he "acts Presidential". I am not sure he is capable right now. Despiration and arrogance are a bad mix.
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I think Obama's personal popularity will increase as a result of the storm. Whether or not that translates into votes is another matter. He's the President and has center stage.
Agreed. He gets to look important without having to actually do anything. Governor Christie won't stop singing his praises while the media has nothing to ask Romney except why he wants to cut FEMA.
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Most people made up their minds some time ago. Or should have.
If Obama were the best FEMA guy in the world, it wouldn't change anything.
Obama creates disasters, he doesn't heal them.
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Tamara gets all over "acting Presidential" in the wake of the storm.
This is going to be the annoying part of the disaster, where everybody's busy busting arse as hard as they can to fix things, but the weather has calmed down enough to let all the politicians and wannabe-politicians get out from under cover and, along with their flappers and sideboys, get all underfoot trying to look officious'n'concerned where people are trying to do actual work.
In a perfect world any politician, from president down to dog catcher, that showed up would be handed a mop and told to get busy. If they could not figure out how to operate the mop and demonstrate a minimal level of competence with it, they would be booted from whatever office they held.
I have not been listening - has Obama extended his timeframe for power to be restored and everything made all better?
stay safe.
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Never let a good disaster go to waste.
I believe Obama was also planning on cutting FEMA. My question is "what is the responsibility of the Federal Government?" A talk show host locally was spewing his garbage about Romney privating disaster response. He used an example of a big snow in a small town in Maine as not being worth the interest of a private contractor because the town can't afford much. My thought is "When did FEMA get into the snow plowing business?" I mean, what on earth is a disaster anymore? My water line broke.... should FEMA be called?
I think there needs to be a discussion about just what is FEMA's responsibility in a disaster? Clearly Sandy was a disaster requiring a federal response. But where is the line drawn? There was talk about judging a disaster by how many Waffle House's were closed due to a storm. Works for the South, but not the northeast.
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I believe Obama was also planning on cutting FEMA.
Obama cut government? :O
Got a source on that one?
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Cut FEMA? Aren't they supposed to run the re-ed centers and the detention camps?
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FEMA used to be the folks that lost your SBA/FHA loan paperwork after a disaster. It was the Salvation Army and Red Cross (among others) who came in an provided food, clothing and shelter to get people back on their feet.
Let's see which one works better.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303404704577309220933715082.html
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I heard that Obama planned on cutting FEMA (a little) via Fox News. I have no written source.
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http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/11/02/nys-board-of-elections-its-possible-voting-may-be-permitted-beyond-tuesday/
NYS Board Of Elections: It’s Possible Voting May Be Permitted Beyond Tuesday
If Turnout Is Less Than 25% Of Registered Voters, Second Day Could Happen
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Cut FEMA? Aren't they supposed to run the re-ed centers and the detention camps?
I think the UN marked passenger box cars are parked outside Omaha or something ;)
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There was a short bit on TWC about some private company that was first on scene to one of the coastal towns and were the only people clearing the only access road. They also cleared the way for an ambulance to assist a woman in labor.
FEMA shouldn't be cut. It should be disbanded. All responsibilities should fall to state and local governments or private entities.
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If Turnout Is Less Than 25% Of Registered Voters, Second Day Could Happen We Might Get a Better Result
Fixed!
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Watching FNC this morning, and there was a LOT of discussion of elected officials and Feds driving around and making self-congratulatory statements in front of cameras, but not actually DOING anything to help anyone. Plus, Tweets and e-mail telling people how to access resources...people who don't have power for phones and computers. Suggestions as well that the death toll may skyrocket, based on large areas which have not yet been searched or cleared. Don't know if any of this will be widely reported or impact the election, but it should make the follow-on discussions that much more interesting.
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Watching FNC this morning, and there was a LOT of discussion of elected officials and Feds driving around and making self-congratulatory statements in front of cameras, but not actually DOING anything to help anyone. Plus, Tweets and e-mail telling people how to access resources...people who don't have power for phones and computers. Suggestions as well that the death toll may skyrocket, based on large areas which have not yet been searched or cleared. Don't know if any of this will be widely reported or impact the election, but it should make the follow-on discussions that much more interesting.
I got an email from Lautenberg on my corporate address.
I suppose that the very large corporation for which I contract, does have facilities in Joisey =|
The email said something about "because you have corresponded with me in the past" - I replied and said no, I never have, am 2000 miles from NJ, and furthermore I don't like your anti-gun agenda :P
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Here's an effect on the election: the Northeast is gaining new respect for the RKBA.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/klyn_bat_man_run_looters_VxfnY8FAH2MYZZ9GrKM6eJ
Oh, and does anyone know what a "double pump action gun" might be?
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Here's an effect on the election: the Northeast is gaining new respect for the RKBA.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/klyn_bat_man_run_looters_VxfnY8FAH2MYZZ9GrKM6eJ
Oh, and does anyone know what a "double pump action gun" might be?
Remitington 1740?
http://www.lesjones.com/2008/06/16/double-barrel-pump-shotgun-moe-szyslak-style/