# What if Hillary took one for the team? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 7, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248 "2016-09-07T02:08:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/21 "2016-09-07T16:01:24Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > The Constitution, but we can probably fudge around that. Supreme Court is 4 - 4, I say go for it. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/22 "2016-09-07T16:03:32Z")
Many people are convinced that (Insert politician here) is a shape-shifting lizard person, who is bent on world domination. What if (insert politician here) took one for the team and admitted they were a shape shifting lizard person, and dropped out of the race for (office)? moral of the story… When your initial premise for your discussion comes from pathetic partisan conspiracy theories, don’t be surprised when nobody takes your discussion seriously. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/23 "2016-09-07T16:28:21Z")
She has high negatives only after 24 years of demonization by the right. Democrats like her fine. Some may have preferred Bernie, I would have preferred Biden, but Hillary is fine. Suppose Kaine did take her spot. I suspect that immediately there would be a smear campaign against him and his negatives would go up. Ditto for Biden and Bernie. Republicans are going to smear the Democratic nominee, that’s what they do. If Kaine were to win on Nov 8, then on Nov 9 McConnell would announce that the most important thing in the world for Republicans would be to make sure that Tim Kaine is a one-termer. Republican hatred is fully transferable, as you can see how seamlessly it went from Bill Clinton to Al Gore to John Kerry to Barack Obama to Hillary. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/24 "2016-09-07T16:39:49Z")
What if the Republicans took one for the good of the country and threw their support behind Democrats in every race because Democrats: 1. Are generally more honest 2. Get things done 3. Protect the poor, the weak, women, minorities, etc. 4. Typically create sensible laws not based on their interpretation of a book written by shepherds thousands of years ago 5. Want to create unity, not divisiveness among races If Reince Preibus were to direct the RNC to help out Democrats, he’d be hailed as the greatest statesman since Lincoln! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/25 "2016-09-07T17:17:32Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > What if Trump dropped out for being a nudnik? > > Pence could run as a far-right anti-woman anti-labor reactionary-slash-failed Governor of a shitty state, and lose in a landslide. > > What do you all think? It would still be an improvement to the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/26 "2016-09-07T17:20:08Z")
I think people are being a little too hard on the OP. Let’s give him credit: he used the candidate’s name, as opposed to “Queen of the Harpies” or other sexist nicknames that have appeared elsewhere on this board. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/27 "2016-09-07T17:39:53Z")
“Give credit”? In God we trust, all others, cash. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/28 "2016-09-07T17:51:41Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > What if Trump dropped out for being a nudnik? > > Pence could run as a far-right anti-woman anti-labor reactionary-slash-failed Governor of a shitty state, and lose in a landslide. > > What do you all think? As P.J. O’Rourke said about Hillary, he’d be wrong about absolutely everything, but at least he’d be wrong within normal parameters. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/29 "2016-09-07T18:13:57Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Her health isn’t failing her. > > Now if you’d like to discuss Trumpy Wumpy’s MENTAL health, we’ll need a bigger Internet. /thread win ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/30 "2016-09-07T18:15:46Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Ha! Do you work for NBC? 😃 > > Seriously though, go peddle your alt-right bullshit somewhere else. That’s enough of that. Keep it impersonal. No warning issued. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/31 "2016-09-07T19:22:19Z")
Hillary is not a person who would take one for the team. She believes that she already did that by allowing Obama to run. Nothing and nobody is going to get between her and that title this time, she didn’t rig the primaries for nothing. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/32 "2016-09-07T19:23:27Z")
I _think_ it’s a little late to get her name off of the ballot. Under California law (Elections Code Section 6906), the electors would have to vote for Clinton for President, even if she didn’t want the job. Of course, in that case, she could either refuse to take the oath (although I think that in that case, Kaine is only “acting President”), or take the oath and then resign. Doing it that way also gets around any possibility of a demand to recall the Convention to choose her successor, with the likely possibility that Bernie Sanders would end up as the new nominee. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/33 "2016-09-07T19:27:45Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Hillary is not a person who would take one for the team. She believes that she already did that by allowing Obama to run. Nothing and nobody is going to get between her and that title this time, she didn’t rig the primaries for nothing. How did the urban myth get started that Hillary Clinton rigged the primaries? In any case, in Clinton were to drop out for any reason, her successor would very likely lose to Trump. No matter who it was, they would be correctly perceived as someone who wasn’t good enough to be the nominee were it not for Clinton’s dropping out due to (health/death/death in family/scandal/winning Borgata poker tournament and can’t leave table/whatever.) The new nominee would be parachuted in as a Substitute Candidate, not someone with a real purpose, campaign team, and strategy that had been prepared for over a year. Quite frankly, if Clinton learned today that she had a brain tumour and would certainly die sometimes in spring of 2017, it would be her patriotic duty to hide that fact, win the Presidency, and deny it to Trump. On top of that her ambition is limitless. She will not drop out for any reason. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/34 "2016-09-07T19:33:31Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Hillary is not a person who would take one for the team. She believes that she already did that by allowing Obama to run. Nothing and nobody is going to get between her and that title this time, she didn’t rig the primaries for nothing. How, exactly, did she “rig” the primaries? Please explain. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/35 "2016-09-07T19:43:12Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > I _think_ it’s a little late to get her name off of the ballot. > > Under California law (Elections Code Section 6906), the electors would have to vote for Clinton for President, even if she didn’t want the job. Of course, in that case, she could either refuse to take the oath (although I think that in that case, Kaine is only “acting President”), or take the oath and then resign. Doing it that way also gets around any possibility of a demand to recall the Convention to choose her successor, with the likely possibility that Bernie Sanders would end up as the new nominee. I think this is basically right. It’s too late to easily get someone else on the ballot in at least some number of states, so removing herself would cause a ton of problems, up to and almost certainly including going to court in a number of states where deadlines have already passed. The closer in the election we get, the more difficult it would be to replace a candidate on the ballot in every state. [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_for_presidential_candidates) (who knew there was such a site?) says 20 states have August deadlines and almost 20 more have September deadlines for the general election. > [@](#): > > The bulk of the dates for certifying the names of major party presidential candidates are in August and September. The Democratic and Republican parties, then, would have until about mid August to find a replacement nominee and still be able to get his or her name on the ballot in enough states to be competitive in November. For example, if a nominee dropped out in late August, his or her name would already be certified to appear as their party’s candidate for president in about 20 states. If he or she dropped out in late September, that number rises to almost 40 states. That’s ignoring the fact that we know much more about Clinton’s health than Trump’s since her doctor wrote an actual professionally sound letter summarizing her general health, while Trump’s doctor essentially wrote, “LOL, he is totally Superman never gonna die!” ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/36 "2016-09-07T19:44:50Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > And admitted her health had failed her and she dropped out? > > BUT, she endorsed her VP Tim Kaine to be President? > > I have no doubt Kaine would win and still Hillary could go on her way with her head held high and still be honored as one of the greatest women in history. > > What do you all think? Hillary’s got plenty of problems but health does not appear to be one of them. The real reason Hillary should step down is because she is pregnant…with twins…and Bill’s not the father… and the twins are radical Islamic terrorists so she can’t be impartial about radical Islam… oh and they gave her foundation money… and they emailed Benghazi so she is totally in the tank for radical Islam. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/37 "2016-09-07T21:05:23Z")
DA: So, your theory is that ISIS was emailing Hillary while she was at Benghazi, murdering four people solely with her teeth, powered by insane bloodlust and an unquenchable thirst for power, while at the same time her cruel minions were rigging the DNC primary by convincing some old fart to join the party 1 month before he ran as its nominee for President, a man with no contacts, no initial organization, and not a great understanding of the rules? I think you cracked the case, good sir! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/38 "2016-09-07T22:11:42Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Hillary is not a person who would take one for the team. She believes that she already did that by allowing Obama to run. Nothing and nobody is going to get between her and that title this time, she didn’t rig the primaries for nothing. Cite that Hillary “allowed” Obama to run? Cite that Hillary “rigged” the primaries? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/39 "2016-09-08T04:06:03Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Cite that Hillary “allowed” Obama to run? > > Cite that Hillary “rigged” the primaries? People are saying. Lots of people, smart people, some of the best people, they’re saying this. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248/40 "2016-09-08T05:17:32Z")
nm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-hillary-took-one-for-the-team/765248.md?page=3)