DBWI: American Electoral Conclave meeting to vote on next POTUS.

Penelope

Banned
Well, after the surprising abdication of President McCain, the American Electoral Conclave is finally meeting to select the next President of the United States. The short lived, eight-year Presidency of John McCain has been quite the controversial one, and I think most of us are hoping for a more stable, successful, and most of all lasting Presidency this time. We can only hope they select someone fit for the job.

In the highly publicized climate, I think we've figured out who at least most of the major candidates are, so who are you supporting?
 
I really don't know why the conclave selected McCain. They knew he wouldn't stick around too long. When they selected Kemp in '82 it was a good long term decision. 23 years of nothing but good service to the nation.

Richardson nearly won last time around, wouldn't be surprised if he pulled it off.
 
I really don't know why the conclave selected McCain. They knew he wouldn't stick around too long. When they selected Kemp in '82 it was a good long term decision. 23 years of nothing but good service to the nation.

Richardson nearly won last time around, wouldn't be surprised if he pulled it off.

Oh my goodness, they've picked 76-year-old General Colin Powell, who is just a few months younger than McCain. He is seemingly a compromised candidate, even though I'm still very surprised at the choice of an African American, which would usually be blocked by Southern electors.

Frontrunners Marco Rubio, Michael Bloomberg and Bill Richardson may have been just too controversial to obtain a two-thirds support, you know.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong. Does the Secretary of State serve as acting President until the conclave elects a new President?
 
OOC: Are we doing life long presidential terms?

I think it's about time we have an African-American President. I mean TR signed off on the Civil Rights act just before he died in 1932. And General Powell is a good and honorable man, and pretty healthy for someone pushing 80.
 
Call me a moron if you wish, but could someone please explain how the whole system works? When McCain was elected, I was not really surprised even if I wouldn't have voted for him. But I couldn't explain to anyone who the system worked and I still can't do it today.
 
My memories of civics class are a bit fuzzy, but I think it's a hybrid system:

Every life-tenure federal officeholder (mostly judges) is a member of the conclave, in order to maintain continuity of sound governance.

Every Senator is a member of the conclave, in order to give the states a voice.

The remainder of the conclave is apportioned between the states on the basis of population, selected within 60 days of the conclave being scheduled by whatever process the state constitution provides for. Most states select these by lot from among eligible voters, but a few hold snap elections, and a few have the state legislature appoint their conclave representatives.
 
My memories of civics class are a bit fuzzy, but I think it's a hybrid system:

Every life-tenure federal officeholder (mostly judges) is a member of the conclave, in order to maintain continuity of sound governance.

Every Senator is a member of the conclave, in order to give the states a voice.

The remainder of the conclave is apportioned between the states on the basis of population, selected within 60 days of the conclave being scheduled by whatever process the state constitution provides for. Most states select these by lot from among eligible voters, but a few hold snap elections, and a few have the state legislature appoint their conclave representatives.

Only South Carolina, Vermont, and Michigan appoint through representatives still. Michigan is getting rid of it soon.

New York has a "jungle election" whenever a member retires. Mark Grisanti is the newest member from New York, Mario Cuomo is the eldest.
 
It will be very strange to have two presidents living at one time. Do you think McCain will have some influence over Powell's decisions?

And what was the name of that president who only lasted one year?
 
It will be very strange to have two presidents living at one time. Do you think McCain will have some influence over Powell's decisions?

And what was the name of that president who only lasted one year?

It was Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson, 1966, he only served 8 months before his heart attack (March to November) so most people don't even put him on the list.
 
I think it says a lot that not many of us can remember the names of the presidents.

Just goes to show how much of a figurehead the office-holder is. Why can't we just cut out the middleman and have the SCOTUS be official heads of state? They do more to "enforce the law" than any part of the so-called Executive Branch.
 
I can't believe you guys are still ruled by a bureaucracy only formally democratic. We might have a lot of problems in the European Federation, but at least our Optimal Popular* is elected through direct universal suffrage.
Well, at least you have direct democracy within most of the states...

*Not Chief Mugwump, as you guys say in the States.
 
Have you just watched the news? President Powell has called for a constitutional convention to review the political system. President Johnson had attempted to call for one in July 1966, but his heart attack and resignation aftermath changed everything.

Seemingly the only unanimous consensus among progressives and conservatives is that the President should serve a renewable 7-year-term, but the proposal jointly sponsored by moderate conservatives and progressives that replace the electoral conclave with an electoral college first round and a popular vote round-off will likely be blocked by the filibuster of a weird coalition of states' rights conservatives and Southern conservatives.

The Supreme Court has just ruled last week, just before Powell's election that the only Socialist-controlled states of Washington, California and Cuba are not unconstitutional in making members of the electoral conclave coming from these states directly elected every four years using proportional representation starting from 2014, let's see if other states would follow this direction of reform, but I remain a bit pessimistic, when the lot system remains that popular in the plurality of states due to the "absence of elite control" where socialists would however refer as "illegitimate".

The only likely reform that we would see is the end of life presidency, so that I really don't think the constitutional convention could do much, to be honest. Just think of those deeply conservative MCs (members of the Conclave) coming from Tejas, and you know nothing can be done.
 
I wish they had kept the Vice-Presidential reforms they had made in 1900: it was after William McKinley was elected and he had wanted for there to be a permanent second in command, elected on by popular vote as a means to connect with the government more closely. Then New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt was the first and only one to hold that office for a year until McKinley got shit. And when the conservatives realized that another man like Roosevelt could get into office, they disestablished the office before an election was scheduled.

And yeah it is amazing how many people don't know most of our President's, I think more people know about the Speaker's of the House and the Chief Justice's than the President.
 
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