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1.55 MB

Extraction Summary

3
People
6
Organizations
1
Locations
2
Events
2
Relationships
3
Quotes

Document Information

Type: Political commentary / memo
File Size: 1.55 MB
Summary

This document is a political commentary analyzing the role of a hypothetical third-party president in the U.S. political system and the process of a contingent election in the House of Representatives. It references the 2016 election, involving Michael Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump, to illustrate the strategic challenges and speculates on scenarios for the 2020 election. This document has no apparent connection to Jeffrey Epstein or any related matters; its content is exclusively about U.S. politics.

People (3)

Name Role Context
Michael Bloomberg Potential Presidential Candidate
Mentioned as having reportedly declined to run for president on a third-party ticket in 2016 for fear of splitting vo...
Hillary Clinton Presidential Candidate
Mentioned as the 2016 candidate whose support might have been split by a Michael Bloomberg third-party run.
Trump President
Mentioned as the person the GOP-controlled House would have elected in 2016 if the election had been thrown to them, ...

Timeline (2 events)

2016
US Presidential Election where Michael Bloomberg reportedly considered but ultimately declined a third-party run, fearing it would lead to a Trump victory by splitting Hillary Clinton's support.
America
2020
Hypothetical scenario for the US Presidential Election where no candidate secures 270 electoral votes, leading to the House of Representatives deciding the outcome.
America

Locations (1)

Location Context

Relationships (2)

Michael Bloomberg Political dynamic Hillary Clinton
The document states that in 2016, Bloomberg declined to run as a third-party candidate for fear of 'splitting support from Hillary Clinton'.
Hillary Clinton Political opponents Trump
They were the major party candidates in the 2016 presidential election, a context established by the discussion of Bloomberg's potential run.

Key Quotes (3)

"Congress now only allows bills to move forward when a “majority of a majority” supports the policy and on many levels seems fundamentally broken."
Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026307.jpg
Quote #1
"In 2016, reports suggested Michael Bloomberg declined to run on a third-party ticket for fear of splitting support from Hillary Clinton and throwing the election to a GOP-controlled House of Representatives who would then vote to select the president."
Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026307.jpg
Quote #2
"Each state delegation has a single vote in selecting a president and it is the incoming Congress - the class elected in 2020 that would decide the election."
Source
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Quote #3

Full Extracted Text

Complete text extracted from the document (2,316 characters)

decisions on all the underlying structural policy matters damaging America's long-term prospects and distorting our democracy. No more kicking the can down the road.
• This candidate should also pledge to push for laws passed that reflect the will of simple majorities in Congress. Congress now only allows bills to move forward when a “majority of a majority” supports the policy and on many levels seems fundamentally broken. This third-party president could force votes based on a transparent reading of where the votes lie via coalition building. The Senate filibuster power will present a high hurdle, but a third-party candidate would be a de facto disruptor of the two-party system. Party discipline could well break down, and moderates in both parties could form a powerful, decisive block willing to work with the new President. The policies passed into law may not be ideal for either Democrats or Republicans, but for the major agenda items that must be addressed for America's long-term health, an imperfect fix that corrects course is better than those that now have us hurtling toward national bankruptcy.
And if no candidate secures 270 electoral votes in 2020? The House of Representatives would choose the next president. In 2016, reports suggested Michael Bloomberg declined to run on a third-party ticket for fear of splitting support from Hillary Clinton and throwing the election to a GOP-controlled House of Representatives who would then vote to select the president. The fear was the GOP controlled House would have just elected Trump.
Would Democratic control of the House mean that the House would pick an alternative to Trump as president? Each state delegation has a single vote in selecting a president and it is the incoming Congress - the class elected in 2020 that would decide the election. But no matter which party has the speaker's chair, the GOP would almost certainly have the upper hand in the majority of state delegations controlled. Would the state delegations pick a president based on party majority control of the delegation, the winner of the popular vote in each state or their own calculations as to who is best for America? Precedent suggests that delegations use secret ballots, which means individual lawmakers may vote their consciences.
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