Having stolen one election, will they postpone the next?

[RamboLiberal]

One of my local favorite columnists.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04195/345634.stm

It's interesting that the first president to suspend the writ of habeas corpus along with a handful of other constitutional rights was a Republican.

When the Civil War broke out at Fort Sumter in 1861, Abraham Lincoln convened a special session of Congress to inform it that despite the clear language of the Bill of Rights, the prerogative for suspending individual liberties belonged to the president alone. He pronounced the legislative and judicial branches irrelevant during wartime.

"I'm a war president," Lincoln said before uttering a Cheneyesque expletive. Most of the assembled Union generals looked away in embarrassment. "If we have to shut down every newspaper and jail every dissident who questions our authority, well, that's the price of liberty," he said.

As much as Lincoln regularly made mincemeat of constitutional niceties, even he never dreamed of suspending the election of 1864, Civil War or no Civil War. Gen. George McClellan, the disgruntled Army officer Lincoln fired several years earlier, was the Democrats' standard bearer in an election every pundit assumed would oust the 16th president.

"The election is a necessity," Lincoln said between clenched teeth. "We cannot have a free government without elections. If the rebellion could force us to forgo or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered us."

[burrowowl]

1. I liked this part too

"Twenty years ago, when nuclear war seemed more imminent than it does today, the U.S. Postal Service assured us that mail delivery and tax collection wouldn't skip a beat no matter how thick the mushroom clouds were. By contrast, this crowd wants us to restrict our votes to "American Idol" and forget about American democracy until they give the "all clear" signal."

Frigthening question: How many Americans will care if the elections are 'postponed'?

[blackcat77]

2. A lot...

This one touched a nerve, and people all the way across the political spectrum reacted very strongly and very negatively to it. That's why the White House was so quick to distance itself from the idea and to assure everyone that it was just talk.

Whether they really mean it, who knows, but certainly they're aware that this is not something they'll be able to just do without serious repercussions.

[colonel odis]

3. they'd better be prepared for the consequences

if they take the ultimate plunge and "postpone" the election, the gop will be committing itself to a path of totalitarianism.

they should think long and hard about doing this just to ensure that the wealthy and privileged enjoy the reins of power a little longer.

average citizens won't like such a thing. generals won't like such a thing. there will be protests bigger than even they can imagine. what would happen, for instance, if 500,000 people marched straight for the white house? they can't kill or arrest all of them.

i suppose they could call out the national guard, hoping citizens would shoot fellow citizens. but hell, the guard's in iraq.

should the republicans pull a stunt like this, i would look for civil disobedience en masse, small acts of disruption against the federal govt., work stoppages, and -- most importantly -- a complete destruction of the republican party should we ever be allowed to have free elections again.

if i were ed gillespie and heard talk like this, i'd be sweating bullets. these people in the white house are psychos. and they're going to destroy everything they touch.

[The Zanti Regent]

4. Ashcroft will NEVER take my gun from me.

The arrogance of the Nazi Party is the #1 reason I oppose any gun control!

[Demeter]

5. I Wouldn't Like to See Them Try To Postpone The Election

One civil war is more than enough for any country.