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Sunday, November 7, 2010

Everything Old is New Again

"...And, face it, the twenty-ten elections are so last Tuesday."
Candy Crowley, Host of State of the Union
As President Obama admitted, "...I'm not recommending that every future president take a shellacking like I did last night."  Why should I even care about last Tuesday elections?  Today, while watching American History at C-Span 3, I was reminded of the U.S. Presidential Election of 150 years ago, yesterday.

Consider the Tea Party fringe movement within the Republican Party.  Generally speaking, third-party candidates benefit the incumbent party.  And what happens when there are four presidential parties as was the case in 1860?

  • Stephen A. Douglas
    • Northern Democrats won 29% of the Popular vote
  • John C. Breckinridge
    • Southern Democrats won 18% of the Popular vote
  • John Bell
    • Constitution Unionists won 13% of the Popular vote
  • Abraham Lincoln
    • Republicans won 40% of the Popular vote 

As you see the Democratic ticket (today's Republicans) was divided.  Will history repeat itself in 2012?  Time will tell.  Question? Comment?  Email me!

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