When Kerry is declared winner, does Bush get to stay in the WH til Jan?

[captainjack]

IS that what they call lame duck? IF he gets to stay, what's preventing him from screwing up everything - from nomiating insane justices to high level positions, removing all blockage on mining/drilling/logging pristine areas, starting another war or two, eliminating social security and public school funding, and calling martial law for 3 months while they figure out how to manipulate the law to continue to stay in stolen power? i'm scared that this fight will not be over in a week.

[LisaM]

1. We'll all just picket it non-stop

screaming, "Get out of Kerry's house! Get out of Kerry's house!"

[11cents]

7. He won't be able to get any nominations through the Senate

...and probably won't try. As for changing regulations, etc., the beauty part is that things done by executive fiat can be undone by the next executive. Most of Bush's environmental insanity comes under this rubric.

[wysi]

2. There's nothing to stop him...

... apart from Congress (in cases where he requires approval). He can still use the executive order privilege, but Kerry can reverse any executive order once he takes office.

[Spinzonner]

3. Maybe we can arrange

White-House arrest

[Tamyrlin79]

4. The election is their only chance.

Staying in power longer than allowed is unprecedented in presidential history. Doing so would NOT go over well. Doing so WOULD trigger a backlash/response/revolt. His best chance is to keep everything muddled and cloudy for the election so that they can have time to manipulate the outcome in their favor. And if they still lose, they've successfully undermined/stained Kerry's legitimacy.

[drb]

5. We're counting on the...

...peasant mob with torches and pitchforks to keep him awake!

[cally]

6. Well Kerry's going to win

then * will have 2+ months to issue executive orders and appoint folks to interim positions. Judges need Congressional approval and they won't have time to get that. So Kerry will just issue new Executive Orders and offer new nominees.

We have a huge mess to fix that won't happen soon but I'm not too worried about the next two months after Kerry wins.

[bacchant]

8. Hopefully he'll go straight from the White House to the Big House. n/t

[Gman]

9. Lame duck means not running for reelection

because of either choice or by law. In the case of a president, he/she is lame duck the day they are sworn in for a second term. Nothing prevents Bush from nominating insane justices in his last days should he lose. However, the nominees still need 60 votes to clear filibuster in the Senate for confirmation. Bush can also issue all the executive orders he wants on driling, etc. but those are easily reversed by another executive order from Kerry and likely will never be implemented for exactly that reason.

The rest of what you mention is a doomsday scenario, but no, this will NOT all be over the evening of 11/2 or morning 11/3. We won't know who won for weeks. Maybe months this time.

[karlrschneider]

12. And that is what actually terrifies me....that litigation might go on

beyond 1/20/05. If it isn't resolved one way or the other by then, we're well and truly fucked. Pardon my French.
:eyes:

[karlrschneider]

10. He will be there until noon EST on 1/20/05 for sure. But I don't think he

can really do much more damage to the country and the world before then.
(How much more FUBAR can it really be?)

[BlueMole]

15. Damage

Poopy sent the troops to Somalia on the "humanitarian" mission, knowing just how big a turd he was dumping in Clinton's lap.

Then there are the pardons.....

[wanpete]

11. kerry should be on the lookout for some of those missing explosives!

[Sinnerman]

13. When Kerry's Elected Next Tuesday BUsh will Pardon a few

Like - Ken Lay @enron - His other buddy

[AngryLizard]

14. If and when Kerry wins, Bushco is going to fuck up as many things

as they can. Believe it. They're going to leave as big a mess as they can. Lame duck appointments, pardons from here to the moon, trashing documents. These people are petty, and they are vicious, and they're going to leave the republican faithful with as much ammo as they can. It's going to get ugly.