Open Thread on Elections

Time for a continuing conversation on elections - US, Canadian, Ruritanian, Barsoomian, etc.  pl

 

Comments

[turcopolier]

All

Trump's tacit acceptance in NH of a cretin's assertion that Obama is a foreign "Muzlim" ought to finish him off but it won't. pl

[Nancy K]

It will actually be a plus for him in New Hampshire. They are very provincial there and probably feel that everyone who did not have relatives on the Mayflower should be forced to leave the country. I wonder what they think of Cruz who was not even born in the US and Bush's wife who was born in Mexico and 2 of Trumps wives who were born in Eastern Europe I believe. We do live in strange times. My mother who is 90 thought the debates were wonderful, very entertaining, as good as dancing with the starts. I fear we have become a reality show nation. by the way she is a Democrat and liked that Trump was somewhat deflated in the debate. She lives in an independent living facility and the women at her table, all in their 80-90's like Trump and his stand on immigration.

[confusedponderer]

In a month my city will elect a new mayor. They planned to do so last weekend originally but managed to screw up the vote forms. There are unaffiliated candidates and party candidates.

Printing the party candidate's party affiliation so large put them at an advantage, the higher administrative suprvisory autority ruled, rendering the vote forms invalid, and with them the election.

http://polpix.sueddeutsche.com/polopoly_fs/1.2632123.1441264394!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/860x860/image.jpg

Genius. That joke will cost the town about one and a half million or so I gather.

[William R. Cumming]

Apparently CNBC which will host the Republican Debate on October 28th has decided against A PRELIM and ALL will be at the MAIN EVENT. Gilmore?

[William R. Cumming]

Presidential quarterly campaign financing reports due today to the FEC [Federal Election Commission]!

[BabelFish]

Watched an Anthony Bourdain show about Miami. One of the segments had an African-American activist bemoaning the fact that there was only a 30% voter turnout among his peers for the last election for the governorship. He stated that if had hit 50%, there would be a different governor in Tallahassee.

Other than the beauty contest for president, all these people who could change their relationship with the governments that really count, their local and state functions, continue to just not show up. They get the government they don't vote for. As I age, I find it increasingly more difficult to take their complaints seriously, given their refusal to participate.

[Bobo]

The only thing that the recent three-hour debate proved is that America we are in trouble as there is not one of them that will lead this nation to Peace or Prosperity. I now understand why the "outsiders" are leading in the polls cause we no longer have faith in our political system. Scary but it looks like HRC's path is a lot easier than most thought.

As to the "Cretin" in Rochester, come on, there everywhere. I mean who do you think grabs those microphones in Q&A sessions. I watched it live on the boob tube and cringed like everyone else in that audience as the wallflower had his shot and thought Trump handled it well as he blew the guy off and moved on. Looking at it in isolation today I can see a different view but then had he challenged this cretin it would of went on too long as he was not a little old lady like McCain settled down. Certainly the media got their panties in a twist over this but America is not as easy as some think.

[BabelFish]

Pat, he's a 'biddness' man. The customer many not always be right. However, the customer is always a customer. You never disagree with the customer, to his face.

Chris Christie was on the Today Show and stated that POTUS is a Christian and was born the USA. He also stated that being with the hosts was as close to the center of the stage he had gotten so far. At least he hasn't lost his sense of humor.

[John Minnerath]

Trump is a madman. I still find the fascination with him by some mysterious.

[turcopolier]

Babelfish

Seems to me I had said he was a bidnessman. I detest bidnessmen. pl

[turcopolier]

Bobo

Yes, there are cretins everywhere and they may well elect Trump with the witch Fiorina as his political consort. pl

[Matthew]

Col: Notice the decline. In 2008, John McCain answered that question with "No, he's not." And now one of Ted Cruz's teen flunkies is throwing feces at the President for supporting an innocent Muslim teen. See http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/18/ga-teen-blasts-white-house-invite-ahmed-mohamed/72385964/

Trump's right about one thing: we have a lot of work to do at home. Who are we becoming?

[Babak Makkinejad]

All:

UK Ambassador Jenkins on HC and Iran:

http://www.lobelog.com/hillary-clintons-aggressive-approach-to-iran/

[BabelFish]

Pat, you did. I do not disagree. It does, however, tend to explain his reflexes upon hearing such a cravenly stupid comment like that.

[robt willmann]

WRC,

That will be interesting!

[robt willmann]

BabelFish,

Ralph Nader spoke about Black voters, and I do not remember if it was when he was running for president or when he was commenting on an election. But he said -- and I think did so to a Black organization -- what the number of eligible Black voters was in the U.S. The number was quite large. And if enough of them would vote, they would decide who the president of the U.S. would be.

[ISL]

Babel Fish:

The question is, what do you do if you refuse to play the game of lesser evil-ism?

For most American's (an overwhelming majority, even many decades ago), they check out.

Because of civic responsibility (and the option of mail in voting - I travel a lot - but not all states allow), I choose one of the third parties that have no chance (usually some ballot initiatives of interest and local politico's) rather than play the "well Hillary is less worse than Jeb" (or vica-versa) game.

Now if everyone did as I do, there would be many choices that could get elected. Would that lead to better gov't? Dont know, they have lots of real choices in Italy and nothing changes and they have lots of choices in Norway, and things do change.

I voted for the current POTUS once, the first time, and this made a "change" - No Pres. Romney. Sadly, I think the country would have been better as then the Democrats would have exhibited backbone, and I think our system works better when there actually is an opposition that forces compromise. Takes the edge off the extreme's of both parties.

Either we get the money out of politics, or my advice is throw your support behind a billionaire who favors the policy you want to change. Seems those activists ain't got the right friends.

[jld]

The Muslim teen is indeed innocent but his father probably not (of media propaganda manipulation)
http://www.unz.com/isteve/more-on-the-medias-latest-chump-out/

[Nightsticker]

Col Lang,

The Fiorina woman reminds me ever so much
of Mrs Iselin in the "Manchurian Candidate",
of course without Iselin's warmth or looks.

Nightsticker
USMC 65-72
FBI 72-96

[no one]

John, What I gleaned from the debate was the opposite. The madmen (madpersons?) are everyone running accept Trump and Paul and, possibly, Sanders.

Trump and Paul are the only ones not committed to AIPAC/Israel, neocons, R2P and, essentially, an imperial US engaged in endless war.

Fiorina sounds positively like Hitler with her call for more divisions and war with the entire planet (including Russia). We know who Bush's foreign policy team is; the same gang that brought us the Iraq war.

But Trump is the madman?

[Fred]

Matthew,

Yeah we can't really expect USA Today to do any investigation of just what kind of "Clock" a thirteen year old who's father keeps returning to Sudan to run for President might build. Sure can't point out poor victimized immigrant from attention whoring family builds something to guarantee attention. Let's trash some white kid - from Georgia - instead of pointing out the obvious.

Here's the "Clock":
http://www.unz.com/isteve/more-on-the-medias-latest-chump-out/

Here's the rest including an embeeded link to the Dallas Morning News:
http://www.unz.com/isteve/that-pubescent-obama-lookalike-invited-to-meet-president-is-son-of-man-who-regularly-runs-for-president-of-sudan/

[Margaret Steinfels]

Or maybe Cruella Deveille.

[ex-PFC Chuck]

The only currently announced or likely candidate of either of the two USA legacy parties that I would vote for is Lawrence Lessig of the Democrats.
He is the only one who has offered a specific plan to address the most fundamental issue of our time, and that is the accelerating disempowerment of all but a few American citizens over the direction of their governments. He proposes that as president he would focus exclusively on the passage of the Citizens Equality Act of 2017, which in the words on his campaign website would guarantee "the freedom to vote, ends partisan gerrymandering, and funds campaigns in a way that would give us a Congress free to lead." As soon as this bill has become law Lessig commits to resign the presidency in favor of the elected vice president.

Lessig's candidacy has received almost no MSM coverage, nor has he been invited to participate in the forthcoming debates. These omissions are not accidents. Lessig is one of the most brilliant and energetic lawyers of our time and is a compelling speaker. The powers that be fully realize that significant exposure of his proposal would catch the imagination of the American people, and that once the toothpaste of his plan gets the public awareness it deserves it will be impossible to put it back in the tube. Please check out the links below for more on Larry Lessig and his campaign.
https://lessig2016.us/the-plan/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig.

[Fred]

robt,

Nader might have said so but it misses the point. Black voters are not turning out in local elections but are sure complaining about the conduct of local government (as are allot of us). What the latest two ground zero's of incompetent local governance - Ferguson and Baltimore - point to is a failure of local residents to stay involved in local governance. The party leadership (democratic) is taking this voting block for granted just as the right has ignored core constituent issues (immigration) and gotten Trump as a result. The democratic failure has resulted in a couple of riots, a 1960s style astroturf group "Black Lives Matter" and a backlash in the way of increased voter turnout amongst non-democratic voters wondering why their interests - and lives - don't matter to the national party's leadership.

[Fred]

Col.,

I think Trump is speaking the unspeakable to the powers that be which delites the folks from "flyover country" to no end and infuriates the elites in "The City" as Joe's morning coffee klatch calls it. The new media click bait business model incentivizes the sensationalistic stories on social media which pumps up the coverage of "The Donald", which combined with a great deal of complicity amongst the MSM means he's the only one most of the low information voters know anything about at this stage - almost six months before the first primary election. I think as the 1 percenters (poll numbers that is) start dropping out like they should we'll see some actual media attention to something beside bloviating and Benghazi, which is probably going to help Kasich on the right; though I don't know just who amongst the Democrats will benefit or just who they are going to wind up with since Bernie, who couldn't handle to black ladies crashing his speech, doesn't strike me as one who'll rally the party any better than Dukakis did. We're already starting to see the usual stage setting stories about our elections machines not working, massive new citizen voter registration drives and the counter of that - voter registration roll purges. I'm sure it will be lots of fun. Maybe we can even have our October Surprise early this time?