Let the Congress Vote to Elect the President?

The masters of deceit are having a field day. Unable to steal the election with
massive vote fraud across the country, they are now attempting to undo the
election results by finding ways to recount the votes selectively until the outcome
fits their fancy. It has been suggested that perhaps we should simply ignore the
voting in Florida and let the electoral college meet and vote without its electors.
The same could be applied to the electors from New Mexico and Oregon, not
to mention Wisconsin and Iowa, and perhaps several other states.

With so much of the voting in dispute, if the electoral college were to meet
sans some state delegations, no candidate would be able to garner the
requisite 270 votes needed to win. That would throw the election into the
House and Senate. But what would be the outcome there?

If the House has to select the President, it is prescribed by the Constitution
to vote by states. Each state gets one vote and the delegation in each state
votes to decide who the state's vote goes to. A majority of states -- 26 -- is
required to win. There are, with the new House line-up, it looks like 28 state delegations with Republican majorities:

1. ala 5 r 2 d
2. alas 1 r
3. ariz 5 r 1 d
4. col 4 r 2 d
5. del 1 r
6. fl 13 r 10 d
7. ga 8 r 2 d
8. id 2 r
9. ind 9 r 1 d
10. ia 4 r 1 d
11. ks 3 r 1 d
12. ky 5 r 1 d
13. la 5 r 2 d
14. mont 1 r
15. neb 3 r
16. nh 2 r
17. nj 7 r 6 d
18. nm 2 r 1 d
19. nc 7 r 5 d
20. oh 11 r 8 d
21. ok 5 r 1 d
22. pa 12 r 9 d
23. sc 4 r 2 d
24. sd 1 r
25. tn 5 r 3 d
26. ut 2 r 1 d
27. va 6 r 4 d 1 i
28. wy 1 r

Democrats hold sway over 18 of the delegations:

1. ark 1 r 3 d
2. cal 22 r 30 d
3. ha 2 d
4. me 2 d
5. ma 12 d
6. mi 7 r 9 d
7. minn 3 r 5 d
8. miss 2 r 3 d
9. mo 4 r 5 d
10. ny 12 r 19 d
11. nd 1 d
12. or 1 r 4 d
13. ri 2 d
14. tx 13 r 17 d
15. vt 1 i
16. wa 2 r 7 d
17. wva 1 r 2 d
18. wi 4 r 5 d

and four states are deadlocked:

1. conn 3 r 3 d
2. ill 10 r 10 d
3. md 4 r 4 d
4. nv 1 r 1 d

Given those breakdowns, there isn't even a doubt as to how the vote would go.
Even Texas wouldn't need to have Democrats support their Governor, and there
would be no chance for horse-trading in the evenly split states. Bush would get
28 state votes to 18 for Gore and would be elected President. Even with chicanery
in a couple of those states, Bush has a cushion of a couple of states.

The contest in the Senate, which would have to choose the Vice President, is
a little less settled. It appears that the division there will be 51 Republicans to
49 Democrats. Were Gorton to yet lose in Washington, the Senate would be
in the precarious position of an even split in a strictly partisan vote for Vice President and Al Gore, the President of the Senate until Jan 20, could vote
to elect Lieberman and give us a President and Vice President of different parties.
Of course, then Lieberman would have to leave the Senate and an appointment
of a Republican to replace him would give the Republicans control of the Senate
even without a vote whomever was Vice President. So, the Democrats might then
have good reason for at least one Senator to break ranks and vote for Chaney
to be Vice President and deprive Gore of a deciding vote. But at present, it appears
that Gorton will be there and Chaney should be given the nod 51 - 49.

The outcome is not in doubt. The only way Gore can hope to win is in court,
and by somehow recounting the votes until they come out in his favor. Of course,
the Republicans are not going to be disposed to sit idly by and let that happen.
They could keep challenging votes in half a dozen states. That would leave the election up to the House and Senate in January. And Bush and Chaney would
win there, too, just as they did at the polls November 7.

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