Senate Elections - 2004

[Nym90]

Well, Bush being at the top of the ticket would help Murkowski, but I doubt he'll make very many campaign appearances to help her out.
In fact, when was the last time any Presidential candidate campaigned in Alaska or Hawaii in the general election? There isn't much point, since neither is competitive, and they are so far away from the rest of the country.

[Nym90]

Well, there would have had to have been a lot of fraud in Texas...Kennedy won it by 2%, or about 46,000 votes. It seems highly unlikely that margin could have been produced by fraud.
Is there evidence to support the claim that Texas was stolen for Kennedy?

[Nym90]

I don't see how LBJ could have had that much control, having only been a Senator. Had he been Governor, he could have appointed political cronies to high positions, but I just can't see how a Senator could have that much power to manufacture that many votes. Even if only 46,000 were manufactured, that's 1 out of every 50 statewide, and I doubt the fraud could have been spread exactly evenly statewide.
Then, rbt, you use the standard conspiracy theory argument of saying that the evidence that makes the conspiracy less likely (the fact that the vote margin was relatively confortable) is deliberately manufactured by the conspiracy itself as cover. Obviously, once a conspiracy has been established in one's mind, that line of logic can be used to refute any evidence...
It gets to be pretty convoluted when you are saying that not only did Johnson steal the election, but he stole it by a large enough margin so as to deflect suspiscion.
Nixon should have demanded a recount if the election was stolen. The reason he didn't challenge the election in court is because he knew he wouldn't win. He didn't even challenge Illinois, much less Texas.

[Nym90]

Bayh could definitely be on the ticket, he's a moderate Dem, but definitely not too far right. A DLC "New" Democrat. He'd be a good choice for someone like Dean to balance out the ticket ideologically.

[Nym90]

I can't think of any examples of past election though in which a lack of tact cost a candidate the White House. I think most voters would prefer a candidate who honestly speaks their mind than one who lets polls and focus groups determine what to say.