The most powerful country on earth can't count and elects a dead man

[NicColt]

Please don't take this wrong my American friends but how in the world can it come to this?

In Canada we only have 1 Electoral power that is responsible for Federal elections, when we goto the polls we vote for 1 level of government, every ballot across the country has the same inline format that is very clear. In the U.S. I think you people vote for several levels of government and amendments at the same time, you also have 3 levels of electoral power, a county, a state and a federal. The federal doesn't know what the state is doing and the state leaves the county to decide what the ballot should look like and on top of that the ballot is approved not by neutral election officials but by the candidate's representative. All this can then be challenged in a court where the Judge can decide on a voting statistical indiscrepancy. I just can't believe that this would ever happen in Canada.

 

[Pretender]

Canada is too simple. They need at least 3 more levels of checks and balances to even try to parallel the utter useless complexity of the American system.

 

[Feisters]

You're correct; it probably wouldn't happen in Canada. Then again, we still have the right to own firearms to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government! You can't equate Canadian history with U.S. history.

 

[Zenmervolt]

About electing the dead guy. How the hell do you run a campaign against a dead guy? I'd be tempted to go on TV and shout: "MY OPPONANT'S DEAD FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! HOW CAN YOU VOTE FOR A DEAD GUY?" Then I'd get slammed in the election because I didn't show respect for the dead. One nice thing about running for office after you're dead, it becomes very hard to critique your issue base as you no longer have one. You can't compare Canada and America, the national psyche is too different. You could no more get the Canadian system to work in America than you could get the American system to work in Canada.

Aaron Meyer

 

[juiio]

The acting governor said that if the deceased man was elected, he would appoint his widow in his place. Hence she won on sympathy vote.

 

[GL]

I think you Americans would have a heart attack if you had 5 major parties the way us Canadians do. On the scale, from left to right, of liberal to conservative you have:

NDP-->Liberals-->Canadian Alliance (cough Reform)-->Progressive Conservatives

And off the scale you have the Bloc Quebecois who just represent Quebecers and whose ultimate mandate is to split Quebec from Canada.

As I said...I think you Americans would have a heart attack. The democrats are already pissed there's a third party

-GL

 

[SexEPid]

I love Canada

Pid, TYRP

 

[Poontos]

Meeee too!

At least we know how to count ballots!

 

[Tripleshot]

A voter in Mo. would have to have lived under a rock in the Ozarks to not know before Tuesday the wife had accepted to take office if her dead husband was elected.That is nonsense that it was a "sympathy" vote. The republican Ashcroft lost to her,not her dead husband. Democrats outnumbered votes Ashcroft Republicans and voted him out.

Someone in these threads tried to state how noble Ashcroft was to "not contest" the election. BULL. You should have seen and heard him on Tuesday night when it became obvious he lost.He b!tched,stomped,cussed and threatened to take it to the supreme court! Someone got to him and made him eat his words on wednesday and hastly put together a press conference to retract his threats. This board spins more BS than any where I've seen.
Thats why I love it so.

 

[hendon]

Someone should get to Al Gore and make him eat his words...
(not that he hasn't done it before..)

 

[JellyBaby]

<<How the hell do you run a campaign against a dead guy? >>

Very, very carefully.

 

[GoofusMaximus]

He was alive when the campaign started. Their plane went down not too far from where I live, a few weeks ago, on their way to a campaign stop.

Ashcroft didn't have a chance after Mel Carnahan's widow agreed that if Mel was elected, the Governor would appoint her to the Senate. Sympathy factor, you know; hard to run negative ads against...

 

[AndrewR]

<< That is nonsense that it was a &quot;sympathy&quot; vote. >>



Damn, how naive are you?

 

[Capn]

&quot;A voter in Mo. would have to have lived under a rock in the Ozarks to not know before Tuesday the wife had accepted to take office if her dead husband was elected.&quot;

Yes exactly, sympathy vote. Same way hillary got elected. You only look bad if you try to play hardball with some candidates even more so if it was attempted with a recent widow.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

<< Canada is too simple >>

Yup. I've seen Strange Brew too.


Anyway, we're not the most powerful country in the world. Don't get me started on the &quot;Scroll And Key&quot; group. I'll wait until the elections are finally over.

If you pay attention to what's really going on and know UnitedStates law on what to do if elections are so close, you wouldn't be complaining! Shut your mouth and read up on things before you go spouting through your orifice that you call a mouth with what should be coming out your ass.

 

[SpeedGod]

that made me wonder too. How do people vote for a dead guy. Maybe, most of them didn't know he was dead. Oh well...

 

[NicColt]

I was reading that they were waiting for the overseas absentee ballots, my question is, can you not vote in early elections. For example, for overseas people can they not vote a week in advance to that the ballots arrive the same day the election is held? In Canada if I know that I will not be able to vote on that day or if I know that I will be away I can vote in pre-elections.

 

[bonk102]

ok, i for one do not think canada can say anything to the united states, any country that produced celine dion is evil

did you see the south park movie???

 

[Soulflare]

We may have produced that freak, but she would have remained some
obscure Quebec pop chick had you guys (US) not made her an
international superstar.


&quot;Then again, we still have the right to own firearms to
protect ourselves from a tyrannical government!&quot;

Ummm... Feisters, anyone who's over a certain age, isn't a
criminal, and has the proper license can legally own a firearm in
this country. Secondly, we have enough sense to never elect a
tyrannical goverment. Thirdly, since our military are really only
geared for search &amp; rescue and disaster relief operations (and
little else), the worst a tyrannical government could do is raise
taxes or replace our national anthem with a Celine Dion song (heh,
we hate her too).

Luckily us Canadians don't have to live with the high level of
paranoia that you NRA supporters seem to exude... when are you guys
expecting the next U.S. civil war?

 

[Zucchini]

<< Yes exactly, sympathy vote. Same way hillary got elected. You only look bad if you try to play hardball with some candidates even more so if it was attempted with a recent widow. >>



She got more then a sympathy vote, if you look at the percentages, it was slaughter.

 

[LAUST]

Anyway, we're not the most powerful country in the world


It's my opinion the US is actually, Saddam had the 3rd or 4th largest army in the world and look at Desert Storm. The USSR was powerful in it's time but now well it's gone. As far as everything else I think we flex our muscles in how we havent lost a war and we also get our noses in EVERYONES affairs. Look at what we are trying to do in the middleast.

I think the one thing that helps us achive this greatness is that were a melting pot so we have people from all over the world to team up and create and invent great things, Even Canadians

I just wish we could get those Maple Leaf Cookies down here as good those things rule

 

[3615buck]

When there are elections in the countries of Eastern Europe or in Africa, we used to wonder &quot;Will it happen democratically or will they cheat again ?&quot;

We weren't used to wonder the same for the US !!!