When Democrats Had Guts Part 231

Great dailykos post. CLICK HERE to read the whole terrific thing.

. . . "Back in the Presidential Election of 1876, there was close election where vote fraud had been claimed and which involved no less, the State of Florida. That election was between Samuel Tilden (Dem) and Rutherford Hayes (Rep). Tilden had received 250,000 more votes than Hayes, and he needed just one (1) electoral vote from the four disputed states of Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Oregon to win office. On the other hand, the very determined Rutherford B. Hayes needed to take the electoral votes from all four of those states in order to win the Presidency.

Because the Constitution did not give the U.S. Supreme Court the relegated power to decide the election controversy, the dispute eventually fell to the Republican Congress which swiftly voted along party lines and awarded the election to their brethren, Rutherford Hayes. At that point in time, Tilden and his brethren could have sheepishly walked away like Al Gore had done in 2000, as appears Kerry is doing now; however, they didn't.

The Democrats were so outraged and DETERMINED not to be defrauded, they fostered nationwide threats of civil war. With the country in such grave turmoil, the two parties subsequently entered into negotiations and finally reached the famous "Compromise of 1877" by which the Republicans acceded to several hard demands of the Tilden forces which included guaranteed appointments of Democrats to certain Federal offices and posts as well as a promise that Hayes would not seek a second term of office as President. Gosh, if only Gore had been more like Tilden.

The main point of the above history lesson is that Democrats should not be afraid to stand up at any cost and declare they will not be hoodwinked by Republicans fraudsters. Incidentally, Rutherford B. Hayes kept his promise and did not run for re-election in 1880." . . .
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Tilden's threats of Civil War were harsh, but when you deal with thugs that act without honor, that feel themselves above the law, ya gotta be willing to play hardball and be prepared to go down swinging.
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BTW, the travesty forced on our nation is not over. The stench coming from Ohio is getting more pronounced. CLICK HERE

This is also a story crying for investigation in the SCLM. CLICK HERE

-Prodigal Son