2010 midterms, Twefth Amendment could play big role in 2012 presidential election

[victoryparty]

If Palin fails to get the GOP nomination, she may well run as a Third Party candidate. If she does, there is a very good chance she would win the same states that George Wallace won in 1968, plus at least a few more. If she does, this could prevent Obama or the GOP nominee from getting 270 Electoral Votes, which would mean that John Boehner's House would determine the next president.

Scary? Yes...much scarier than "hanging chad" or any Halloween costume you will be seeing this weekend.

Full report: http://bit.ly/9HMQ9I

[Cosmocat]

1. oh for frucks sake ...

why on gods green earth do people feel the need to sit around all day trying to figure out how Sarah Palin is going to sneak into the white house in two years ... First the MSM clowns doing the mental gymnsatics to figure that PALIN, no one else, PALIN would be the only candidate on the R ticket that would bring bloomberg into the race and create the same scenario ... Now this ...

[victoryparty]

3. It's a kind of sickness, yes, but...

...it's also called being prepared for GOP/right-wing scheming.
The Whigs tried this move in 1836 and almost pulled it off.

[bigdarryl]

2. Palin can't even win Alaska O bama is more popular than her in that state

[Pab Sungenis]

4. Unlikely.

Most of the states Palin would take away are already certain to not vote for Obama anyhow.

Under his own scenario, Palin takes away 145 Electoral Votes all from McCain states. Under that model if we give Romney every other McCain state PLUS Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia, the vote total would be Obama 287, Palin 145, Romney 106.

To top it off, although the Electoral College votes in December, the votes are not opened and counted officially until January, by which time the 112th Congress will have expired and the 113th will have taken its seats. So even if the Republicans control the House in 2011, that Congress will not vote for President even if the Electoral College is deadlocked. It will be the new Congress elected in 2012 that will do the counting and then vote for President if there is no majority winner.

[victoryparty]

5. This is true, but 287 isn't too far from 269

My understanding is that the Electors meet on Dec. 17 to cast their votes, but you are saying that those votes wouldn't be counted before the new Congress was seated? That may be the case, but I would not put it past a Speaker Boehner to try and hurry the vote.

[Pab Sungenis]

13. That's always the case. Statute calls for the votes to be counted in January

That's why there's a 17 day gap between the seating of the new Congress and the inauguration of the President.

[Gman]

7. Very true. The 2013 - 2014 House would vote on it

I didn't think it all the way through

[NoPasaran]

11. And even then

The result would not be determined simply by the number of D's and R's in the House. Each state's delegation would have one vote, determined by how its representatives voted. In this day and age we tend to forget the importance the Founders assigned to the states.

[Gman]

6. NOW somebody beings this up

A scenario that flat got lost in the shuffle

Just one more thing to make me sick today

[tritsofme]

8. Unlikely and not exactly an accurate portrayal of the process.

"The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President."

Each state delegation casts a vote in the House. It isn't exactly John Boehner's House, and its not abundantly clear how the voting would go. I doubt very many states would vote against their voters.

[dionysus]

9. ROFL... sarah couldn't carry a single state....

[kwolf68]

10. As popular as it is with some

I can't imagine a possibility of sarah palin being President of this nation, EVER. She would make George W. Bush look like einstein and ghandi all rolled into one.

[Milo_Bloom]

12. No attack from the extreme right would have much impact.

The GOP is going to nominate a looney, b/c that is all that participates in their primaries.

If the candidate isn't looney enough that the tea party feels it wants to run an Ind, that just insures an Obama victory.

Let's say, for arguments sake, that Obama is extremely unpopular and the 2 party vote would go 43/57, which is a pretty outrageous margin.

Well with 2 wackos, Obama is going to keep his 43 and then the other 2 fight over the remaining 57... unlikely anyone gets to 43.

However.. if Obama is attacked from the MIDDLE, by someone who is perceived an Independent (ie, Bloomberg, Hagel, (Crist if he were to win), Obama would have a very hard time.