Worst Candidate Ever! (Election History)

[James T. Kirk]

Poll question: Worst Candidate Ever! (Election History)

It's time for a little history! Who do you think was the WORST Democratic Party candidate in American history? Cast your vote!

Helpful link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election_maps

[Tweed]

1. William Jennings Bryan ruled

[theboss]

2. Humphrey in '68

A good man who got the nomination for all the wrong reasons.

[AwakeAtLast]

28. But I love his soup!

MMMMmmmm.....tasty! :9

[YankeeFan]

34. Humphrey

A week or so ago TV Land ran retroactive commercial from the 1968 election. It was very well made. It got to make people wonder if Humphrey was good enough to be President.

I missed part of it, so excuse me where needed.
The commercial had Americans doing what they normally do. (I think. I started to read a magazine when the commercials started.) The music was pure Americana. Then a picture of Humphrey came on the screen. The music came to a jarring halt. This happened about two or three times. Then the words “Vote as if the future depends on how you.”
Now I might have gotten the exact words wrong, but the message was right on target.
After all, a comedian/impersonator on The Johnny Carson Show” had a line…”The HHH does not stand for Ho Ho Ho!”

Humphrey was doomed.

[Fenris]

3. Bryan...Scopes Monkey Trial prosecutor

[DODI]

4. I will always love George McGovern and Walt Mondale

and would never say a thing against them. McClellan on the other had was a bastard.

[ButterflyBlood]

5. Alton Parker - 1904

far more conservative than Teddy Roosevelt.

[James T. Kirk]

10. Good one! I forgot about him!

For some reason, you can get all the way through high school and college and never hear of Alton Parker.

[ButterflyBlood]

11. it is strange you hear so much about Teddy Roosevelt

but not the guy he beat.

[NoPasaran]

6. Gotta go with Little Mac

A monument to mediocrity.

[YankeeFan]

35. Mac

You got that right.

His ego was bigger than both Bush Leaguers put together.

[Zinfandel]

7. LBJ LBJ LBJ!!!!

The lying two-faced, back-stabbing, toad of a man.

[FredScuttle]

54. who got the Civil Rights and Voting Acts through Congress and signed.

n/t

[Renew Deal]

8. Nader

[KamaAina]

9. Woodrow Wilson: genuinely vile racist

Also took us to war after campaigning on the slogan "He kept us out of war." Not quite as bad as Bush* wishing to be known as the "peace president" (!!), but still far below the standard we have come to expect from our Dem candidates since FDR.

[WoodrowFan]

45. and the most Progressive Democrat until FDR.

tried to keep us out of the war but submarine warfare and the Zimmerman note prevented that. First 8 hour day law, the Federal Reserve, child labor laws, woman's sufferage (a late convert but still a convert, vetoed prohibition. Awful record on race and on civil rights during the war. Good record on labor before war. And then there's the League on Nations. He inspired both FDR and Truman, which should tell you soemthing.

he had the typical racial attitudes towards blacks that anyone raised in Georgia and SC during the Civil War and Reconstruction would have. (BTW, the "Bith of a Natio" quotes you're thinking of using were created by the film's producer as a marketing ploy, noone ever heard Wilson say them).

[WilliamPitt]

12. Perot's vice president pick, James Stockdale

Hands fucking down. Turn out the lights. This contest is over.

[Fenris]

13. HOLY SHIT I forgot about Admiral Stockdale!

He liked to sleep a lot. Not unlike our current President.;)

[James T. Kirk]

14. Who am I? Why am I here?

Technically, Stockdale was an independent, not a Democrat. Or was it Reform Party?

To be fair, Stockdale was a real hero, but a terrible candidate for anything.

[SarahB]

15. Ever see the old SNL skit?

Phil Hartman as Stockdale. Dana Carvey as Perot. Perot tries to leave him on the side of the road in the woods and drive off. Funniest thing ever.

[regularguy]

44. GRIDLOCK!

[AlabamaYankee]

16. How could you forget Harold Stassen?

Perennial candidate throughout the '50s and '60s

[James T. Kirk]

17. I didn't forget because I never heard of him!

I'd detter look it up!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Stassen

The encyclopedia said he was trying for the Republican nomination.

[Poiuyt]

33. He ran every year

It got to be kind of a joke because you could always count on Harold Stassen running for president.

[indigobusiness]

18. Pat Paulsen was best ever...George Wallace '68 was the worst

David Duke...dishonorable mention.

[YankeeFan]

31. Pat Paulsen

Pat Paulsen’s run was a joke. Remeber?:nopity:

His skit on the Smothers Brothers Show was one of the best running gags I've ever seen. During one show he got more and more frantic. He wound up putting a Hitler-like moustache on.

The funniest part of the whole thing was, after the Primary - I think in Florida - Election was over, he had more votes than a REAL World Politician. Namely Mayor Sam Yorty (spelling please) of Los Angeles.

Paulsen then had a skit taking himself out of the election. It was so funny!

Then Congress passed a law preventing such a thing from happening again.
Then in 1972 Paulsen ran a campaign saying that he was NOT running for President.

[WinterStorm]

19. Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Bush

Why aren't they on your list of choices?

[ButterflyBlood]

20. cause it's for Democrats only

n/t

[WinterStorm]

24. Sorry, I am so sleepy that I didn't read it right

Lieberman

[Grover Cleveland]

21. Joe Lieberman

nt

[Feanorcurufinwe]

22. With 3 losses, how could anybody come close to Bryan? nt

[James T. Kirk]

25. Lesson: If the candidate loses, pick someone else next time!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

29. Although Nixon did lose and come back to win...

[James T. Kirk]

43. And that didn't work out so well, either!

[No2W2004]

23. Little Mac could have won

but Union victories starting with Gettysburg saved Lincoln.

Horace Greely was pretty bad against Grant.

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

26. All of these guys were embarassments politically.

Nice guys, but Dukakis was a bore, Mondale a lost cause, and McClellan a hopeless underdog. Add McGovern to the list (I've stepped in it now).

[Zorra]

27. George W. Bu$h is the worst candidate ever. n/t

[James T. Kirk]

51. The question is worst Democrat.

Who do you think? Southerner Beckinridge? Walter "13 votes" Mondale?

Vote!

[Grover Cleveland]

30. James Buchanan (nt)

[ParisFrance]

32. George Bush without any doubt

If you reviewed every past candidates crudentials, plus intelligence this is a no brainer.(BUSH)

[name not needed]

36. Larouche

I don't even need to explain this one.

[Wednesdays]

37. Horace Greeley...

Just the fact that many of you are saying "huh?" to his name should tell you something.

Founded the New York Tribune, which in turn cheerleaded the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Greeley was then nominated by Dems and lost big-time in 1872. Goes to show you that newspaper owners shouldn't run for prez.

[NewJerseyDem]

38. John W. Davis

He was the Democratic nominee in 1924 against Calvin Coolidge and Robert LaFollette, running as a Progressive. Davis lost badly and later went on to be the attorney to argue in support of segregation before the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education.

[LSdemocrat]

39. McGovern just for the ultimate flip-flop on Eagleton

[asthmaticeog]

50. Eagleton lied to his face.

I would have given him the shoe, too.

[LSdemocrat]

52. Nothing came out between when McGovern gave 1000% support and dumping him

[asthmaticeog]

53. Nothing came out to the public.

Eagleton WAS dumped because of lying about his past.

[LTR]

40. Strom Thurmond of the Dixiecrats

Splintered the Democratic party in 1948. The South's been virtually red ever since.

Dukakis would be next for being such a weenie. Only Democrat I ever held my nose while casting my ballot for. They should have flipped the ticket and made Lloyd Bentsen the nominee.

And I won't badmouth William Jennings Bryan. He and my great grandfather were good friends back in Omaha.

[James T. Kirk]

47. How The South voted in each presidential election

If by "red" you mean Republican after 1948, I don't know about that. Let's set the Wayback Machine and look at the old presidential election results!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election_maps

I'd say that 1948 was not the start of a loss of the South to the Republicans. The Republicans didn't win most of the South until 1964 and then Wallace got it in 1968. The Republicans swepth the South in 1972 (along with the rest of the country). But then in 1976 it was back in Democratic hands. The South has gone back and forth (and in other directions) quite a bit since 1944.

1876 - mostly Democrat, some Republican
1880 - Democrat
1884 - Democrat
1888 - Democrat
1892 - Democrat
1896 - Democrat
1900 - Democrat
1904 - Democrat
1908 - Democrat
1912 - Democrat
1916 - Democrat
1920 - Democrat
1924 - Democrat
1928 - mostly Democrat, some Republican
1932 - Democrat
1936 - Democrat
1940 - Democrat
1944 - Democrat
1948 - split between Democrats and "States Rights" Democrats
1952 - mostly Democrat, some Republican
1956 - mostly Democrat, some Republican
1960 - mostly Democrat, some Republican, some Independent
1964 - Switch! Mostly Republican, some Democrat
1968 - mostly Wallace, some Republican, some Democrat
1972 - Republican
1976 - Democrat
1980 - mostly Republican, some Democrat
1984 - Republican
1988 - Republican
1992 - half Democrat, half Republican
1996 - about half Democrat, half Republican
2000 - Republican

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

41. George Wallace

Wallace was a Democratic candidate in 1964 and 1972. In '64 he actually garnered about 30 to 40 percent of the vote in several states including Wisconsin. Before an assassination attempt and his complete confinement to a wheelchair seemed to change his heart, George Wallace was one of the most monsterous fire-breathing racists in the history of American politics, with slogans in his campaign such as: "Segregation now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!" In 1968, Wallace ran as a third-party candidate with the American Independent party and received approximately 10 million votes, a significant number considering the size of the American population in 1968. In 1972, Wallace also tried to run as a third-party candidate, but Richard Nixon feared losing his southern strategy if Wallace pulled segregationist votes away from him. Nixon conspired to set the IRS after Wallace to harrass his third-party candidacy by digging into possible campaign finance transgressions to the point where Wallace finally decided halt his third party candidacy and become a Democratic Party candidate. When Wallace decided to run in '72 as a Democrat again, it automatically ended Nixon's harrassment of his campaign through the IRS (they dropped all charges when he dropped his campaign). But then Wallace fell to a would-be assassin, a Mr. Bremer, if I recall. It seems that Bremer was found in the possession of significant amounts of Richard Nixon campaign literature in his residence and was a Republican whackjob. Nixon is said to have discussed the possibility of removing it before a full investigation could be made and planting Democratic literature instead, a typical Tricky Dick Dirty Trick. Unfortunately for Dick, investigators had already photographed Bremer's dwelling and made notes of all the evidence.

[Jackson4Gore]

42. Dukakis by far

Although Walter's loss was worse, Dukakis was a worse candidate. Mondale had an uphill battle, and he knew that he was a sitting duck. However, Dukakis was ahead in polling late and blew it with stupid ass stunts. Therefore, he is the worse CANDIDATE.

[in_cog_ni_to]

46. The idiot-in-chief!

He wasn't elected and he didn't win the popular vote. He's, HANDS DOWN, the WORST candidate ever! He's STUPID!

[James T. Kirk]

48. The question was worst Democrat.

It's a historical discussion.

Who do you think? Dukakis? Mondale? Bryan?

[WI_DEM]

49. Why all the anti-Mondale people?

He is one of the great men of the democratic party. Tell me who could have beat Ronald Reagan in 1984? Rant over now my choice.

McClellan--who wanted to broker a deal with the South to end the civil war and leave slavery in tact. Yeah, Mondale is worst than that asshole.

[noonwitch]

55. Bryan-a good man, but bad candidate

They say he was a great speaker and evangelist. Allegedly he gave a standard speech "The Cross of Gold" that people loved. He did win, in a temporary sense, the Scopes Monkey Trial. I believe Scopes won on appeal.