Alan King Quotes
There's only one problem with this year's upcoming Presidential election—one of the candidates has to win.
Alan King, Humorist, October 1988
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Al Gore had substantially won the popular vote but needed Florida to win the electoral vote. There had been a series of vote counting irregularities with many people being denied the right to vote to the point that no one was sure who had won Florida. The election moved from the ballot box to the courts and the Florida Supreme Court ruled that there should be some recounts in areas where Bush had supposedly won. The Bush forces and the Republicans appealed to the Supreme Court where the judges all reversed their traditional positions to support the party who had nominated them. Liberals who usually voted to have the Federal government override the states, voted for Florida to be upheld. Conservatives who usually supported the right of the States to decide such things without Federal Interference, voted to overturn the State Supreme Court. There were 5 Republicans and 6 Democrats and George W. Bush won the election by one judge’s vote.
For a later version of this “advice” see Josh Billings {594820}
Madison was right on most things, but got this one wrong. Of course he did not anticipate the era of mass communication which makes demagoguery in large areas possible.
Description of the 1876 race between Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes. This election was very similar to the 2000 Bush v. Gore election. Tilden received more votes and there were shady dealings in Florida and other states which went to Hayes. Instead of the Supreme Court making the final decision as in 2000, a special Congressional Commission gave the Presidency to the candidate for whom fewer people had voted.
This was the result of Gerrymandering over the last decade where the Republicans outmaneuvered the Democrats in enough states so that they could control the House even of the Democrats had a large majority of the votes for congress members. See {632784} for an explanation of Gerrymandering technique.
Alan King was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of movies and television shows. King wrote several books, produced films, and appeared in plays. In later years, he helped many philanthropic causes.