I have a scary, unspeakable question

but I have to ask because it really, really scares me - considering the opposition. What would happen, if something happened to our nominee shortly before the election? What is the protocol and is he as protected as he can be?

declared, for people would take to the streets in rage.
If that happened, god forbid, most americans would see it for what it really is. A political assasination in all probability carried out by the bu$h people.

Remember 1968. People were in the streets much more then than people are now. And within two months, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy are gunned down, and almost certainly by agencies of their government. What happened? Rage flared for a moment, but a movement died out as its leaders were killed and their followers dispirited.

And I have no answer, but I'm sure other DUers here can help out.

An obvious assassination might lead to war. A not so obvious assassination would probably mean that his VP pick would take the lead and demand a full investigation.

I think the current undertow is so negative against Bush (remember -it takes 24/7 of Bush propaganda on the big media outlets just to keep Bush afloat!) that fresh roadkill could beat George Bush in the coming election.

I would bet Clarke would be off'd long before Kerry.

I am sure they are guarding against, "pilot error."

he and his running-mate never fly together.

Too many Dems have died when it appeared they threatened GOP power.

But I would imagine it would up to the Democratic Party to then determine a new nominee. What it would mean for the timing of the election I don't know. Jeez, they better be protecting him. Civil war comes to mind.

That little collision sort raised the hair on my neck

But a very valid one, considering history and the moral character of the current administration.

the covention would reconvene and pick someone else, probably an elder statesman type.

I'm not so sure the 'murican people would take to the streets or anything like that.

only a week or so away from the election? There wouldn't really be any time to reconvene and pick someone else; even if we could do that, he wouldn't have time to campaign or anything like that. That's exactly what they hoped for when they murdered Wellstone, and that is exactly what happened. I wouldn't put ANYTHING past these people, ANYTHING!

cuz Rove would need more time to tear the new candidate apart. A dark horse coming at the malAdministration would be a threat also.

and won the Kerry Electors would vote for another Dem chosen after the election I suppose.

I actually read a discussion of this some time ago, and the person pointed out the party rule that was operative in that event, and the rule provided that the DNC would select a replacement. I would suspect that it would most likely be whoever our VP nominee was, as a practical matter.

it probably wouldn't be a good idea for anyone to do anything to our nominee, you think? I mean it would be a really dumb move for the other side. It would get them nowhere, is what I'm trying to say, right? And, that will save our guy.

But all it would take would be one unstable Freeper with a rifle, or a handgun, at the right time and place... :scared:

it would be handing us a win, were something like that to happen.

Hi all. Perhaps an attempt would be the BEST possible thing for our side ... if it looked like the repugnants set it up. It would certainly turn HUGE amounts of people against the rep-nazis.

already that we have several back-up candidates who are ready, willing and able. More than usual, actually.

Kerry is a wealthy, connected bonesman who alot of corporate interests and ties who will want installed come next election. He's a pro-free trade imperialist, after all. No one will touch a hair on his head.

On the other hand, with a nominee like Kucinich...he would have to be as wary as hell because not even the upper echelon of his own party is going to watch out for him.

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

Thank you, I was just thinking the same thing! Kerry isn't the corpocrat free-trade-loving mooching-off-the-people capitalist some people here like to paint him out to be.

yep...Kerry's "telling" tirade against Chavez, and his non-commitment to pull out of Iraq, and his free-trade voting record (including voting FastTrack powers to Bush)...really make me buy into that.

Yep...Kerry joined skull and bones as a young man (and remained in it as an older man), not to enjoy the exclusionive prieveleges it offered, not to hob-nob with the aristocratic elite and priveleged few, not to practice exclusionary classism -- but because he really loves the common man and believes in the egalitarian principles of this country. What a joke!

They wouldn't dare!!!!

the time period between the convention and the election. And I disagree, these scumbags would dare.

if there wasn't time to remove Kerry from the ballot.

nt

Missouri elected Carnahan over Ashcroft, even though Carnahan had died in a plane crash shortly before the election.

last few years. Gosh, and to think all we had to think about before were blow jobs in the Oval Office. Life was so much easier then.

We went to the St. Louis Rally yesterday. :)

The usual security screens were in place, the side that Kerry and Gephardt drove in from was cordoned off for several hours before hand, the "men in suits" were clearly visible B-
The area was also flown over a couple of times by a very "official" looking helicopter

:bounce:

and Ashcroft lost anyway... to a dead guy. Sorta explains why he goes after states that try to enact right to die (with dignity)laws. To Ashcroft, even dead people are a threat.

Something big. BUT. A lot of people are watching them now, including a lot of what I call 'real' republicans.

Bush and his gang are just that, a gang. A lot of powerful interests are aligned against them...and people would just go nuts.

I think they will find the WMD in Iraq instead...read where some had been unloaded there a couple of weeks ago, of eastern european manufacture.

After all, that is where he is weakest. No WMD.

like an attack taking out congress? Wipe your enemies out in a fell swoop, declare martial law and take over with no opposition.

Makes a lot of sense to me.

The malAdministration already behaves like there is no Congress anyway. They would like very much not to be bothered with this balance of power thing. And Congressional Republicans are starting to get difficult to herd around as many are reading the writing on the wall (and polls) about how Americans are feeling towards the shrubster.

...way too many Tom Clancy novels. lol.

I don't read Tom Clancy, (my husband does) but do you remember right after 9/11, maybe sometime around 9/12ish, 9/13ish, Tom Clancy was on CNN - I guess he wrote a book where people flew planes into buildings and so he was the "plane into building" expert du jour - and he said something that pissed them off so bad he was never seen, or heard from on cable news again? Does anybody remember what he said?

But I wouldn't put it past Asscroft/Himmler to do something like that within maybe a month of so of the election and knowing them, they would probably use a JFK/RFK style hit (ie "lone gunman") to pull it off. I hope that we don't get a repeat of something like that. I really hope we don't.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we vote for a slate of electors, and not a presidential candidate? Even if the deceased Kerry's name were still on the ballot, couldn't the Dem/Kerry electors legally vote for a consensus replacement (say, the Dem VP nominee) when they convene the Electoral College?

In this scenario, what sleazy legal tactics would the Repugs use to try to block the will of the people? Surely they would use all means at their disposal to declare the election of a dead man "illegal" (even though the replacement, and not Kerry, would actually be elected).

automatically becomes the presidential nominee.

Keep in mind that we do not vote directly for president/vice-president, and that we do vote for them as a unit.

Depending on how close to election day, a new v-p nominee would be chosen by the party, or perhaps after inauguration, rather like Rockefeller became VP after Nixon resigned.

It's so silly to dream up these scenarios.

And if you really stop to think about it, a lot of potentially "threatening" Dems are quite alive and well.

And yes, the secret service are surrounding Kerry already. In Kansas City yesterday we had to go through a screening process (although it was far less intrusive than typical airport security) and they (the SS guys) were doing their job, keeping Kerry well surrounded.

As he worked the crowd, there were two on each side and at least two in back of him, and maybe a couple of others. They were humorless and not good at making eye contact, even when the baby next to me gently reached up at touched one's tie.

nt

be. Why would they get rid of HIM?