Question about the elections...

Question about the elections... (Full Version)

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tazzygirl -> Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:13:07 AM)
According to most who post, the Independents seem to be gaining favor among american voters. Who can blame them. The Democratic and Republican parties have no one to blame but themselves. I post this with the understanding that it will be considered a far fetched question by most, but i wanted to get the ole thought process going for some. What happens if neither party wins a majority of seats in the House?

pahunkboy -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:14:12 AM)
A recount?

DCWoody -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:14:21 AM)
Is there some third party that stands a chance of any seats, or just a few independants?

tazzygirl -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:15:33 AM)
Im going with a few independents being able to take enough seats to prevent an overall majority for either of the major parties.

juliaoceania -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:17:11 AM)
They would have to caucus with the parties

Louve00 -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:24:26 AM)
Tazzy, I'm not sure of the answer to that. If dems or repubs dont win the majority of seats, I don't think there are enough independents that could win majority...unless you mean the tea party independents. But I don't know what they (tea partiers, that is) call themselves politically. Are they independents or are they a real party of their own? Up until some of them started winning political nominations they were just a movement. I think we're all in a world of trouble if they do manage to win the majority and go ahead with their rants to make gov't stand still. We'll see our nation get poorer and poorer, as no taxes are collected to pay for schools, roads. And mob rule will start to dominate with no gov't to enforce the laws. Things that we take for granted will become privitized and then we'll be at the mercy of the ones who own those services. Price wise and every other way. **Edited to add...and as I stated in my first sentence to this post...I'm just not sure. You're question made me think out loud and post it on your thread here [;)]

tazzygirl -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:30:44 AM)
I agree, Louve, that there are not enough independents even running to win a majority. Majority is considered when a party wins at least 218 seats or more in the House. My question is simply... what happens if neither party wins that many?

Aylee -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:30:50 AM)
There are 435 seats. Someone will have to have a majority. *There are also some delegations for places like DC and Puerto Rico.

TheHeretic -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:33:00 AM)
Tazzy, I think our two party system is seriously screwed up, but it's what we have. Show me a viable third that matches up with my views and I'm in. Get them into Congress and they can form their own caucus and force a rewrite of the rules. I don't see it happening right now.

maybemaybenot -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:42:55 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: tazzygirl What happens if neither party wins a majority of seats in the House? I think that would be just marvy.[;)] Seriously tho, I do. It would force deeply imbedded Dems and Reps to actually have to work and compromise. I think the " the people " would be more fairly represented. I look at the two " twue Independents " < imo > Lieberman and Brown and I think they look at bills and proposals more closely than the others and have a methodical process in deciding which way to vote. More importantly, they generally listen to their constituents, which something sadly lacking by Dems and Reps in general. mbmbn

servantforuse -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:43:08 AM)
There is no viable 3rd party. Indepedant voters will vote either for democrats or republicans.

tazzygirl -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:44:02 AM)
I think many of you are far ahead of me. Perhaps its the wording of my op, so i will try again. Much is being made of the parties both gaining a majority, like its some magical being. My question was aimed at that magical number... which seems to be 218. What happens if neither party gains that majority? Im asking because i truly dont know myself. Do the independents choose who they will side with and gives that party the majority? Can they keep to themselves and cause a huge split in the House? Or does it matter? If it doesnt matter, and which ever party gains the simple majority, is that the ruling party in the house? If that is how it works, then does the independent party have any say at all? Just some questions out of curiosity.

servantforuse -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:47:27 AM)
Independant voters have to choose which party. There are no other options for them. There will always be either a democratic or republican majority.

DarkSteven -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 8:48:08 AM)
Then the system works better. The way it is SUPPOSED to work is that a bill is crafted and each officeholder looks at it and weighs the effect to the country and to the constituents that elected him or her, and votes accordingly. That's close to how it used to be in the 60s and 70s. Since then, party affiliation has come to mean a lot. You now have Dems and Repubs that are expected to line up behind party lines on a vote. That's utter bullshit.

TheHeretic -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 9:05:13 AM)
I'm a bit too lazy to go looking for the chart right now, Tazzy, but there just aren't enough independents in the House to make any sort of difference. I live in California, the most populous and diverse state in the Union, with 53 Reps in the House, and every one of them is a Dem or Repub. Hardly an accurate reflection of who we are out here. I often think that we would be better served by proportional representation instead of the current laundry list of gerrymandered districts.

tazzygirl -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 9:24:44 AM)
But all seats are in the election cycle, no? So, lets assume, for the sake of the question... that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans get the magical 218. Whats next?

TheHeretic -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 9:27:53 AM)
Given our current circumstances, Tazzy, that's like flipping a coin, and asking who wins if it lands on the edge.

tazzygirl -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 9:29:16 AM)
Its an interesting scenario... and one i see playing out soon, if not in this election, perhaps the 2012, maybe a bit later, but definitely in my lifetime.

pahunkboy -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 9:39:21 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Aylee There are 435 seats. Someone will have to have a majority. *There are also some delegations for places like DC and Puerto Rico. No. There could be 200 D, 200 R, and 35 I.

pahunkboy -> RE: Question about the elections... (9/19/2010 9:40:23 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: DarkSteven Then the system works better. The way it is SUPPOSED to work is that a bill is crafted and each officeholder looks at it and weighs the effect to the country and to the constituents that elected him or her, and votes accordingly. That's close to how it used to be in the 60s and 70s. Since then, party affiliation has come to mean a lot. You now have Dems and Repubs that are expected to line up behind party lines on a vote. That's utter bullshit. In a few countries only 2 parties would be an insult to the people.

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