Don’t try to explain the American way of electing a president to a foreigner…
I’ve tried but usually get little more than a blank stare.
And as an immigrant—a legal immigrant mind you—I feel their pain. It took me many moons to understand it.
The biggest confusion seems to be the length of our presidential campaigns.
In other democratic nations like Canada, it’s all completed within a 10 week cycle.
As for costs associated with campaigning oversees, Great Britain puts a ceiling of $30 million that each party can spend. And in free Germany political parties can release just one 90 second TV ad to convey their message.
The air time is supplied free of charge by the top two public TV networks and is based on a formula agreed upon by all parties.
Additional broadcast time can be purchased for more ads but spending is limited and negative ads are rare.
Another puzzling aspect seems to be our actual election day of the week.
Most democratic countries around the world hold their elections on a Saturday or Sunday when voters have the most available time for the process.
Instead we do it on a Tuesday when most people have to take time off from their jobs. It’s apparently a practice dating back to the horse and buggy days and definitely an inconvenience to voters.
Primaries versus Caucus?
I try to avoid that messy and drawn out state-by-state subject altogether.
But the biggest question mark has to be the cost of our (at least) year and a half long campaign marathon.
From exploratory committees until inauguration the estimated 2015-16 spending (including that by the political action committees) is estimated to be nearly $5 billion.
American excess at its finest!
And who are the winners?
The media, that’s who.
About $3.5 billion are poured into network, regional and local TV.
Another $1 billion into cable. And the rest allocated to other media and marketing expenditures.
It’s a gravy train beyond comprehension for marketeers and TV station group ownerships.
Capitalism at its purest.
And that’s not counting the TV spot rate increases the cable networks are able to charge other advertisers thanks to those highly rated Donald Trump debate circuses.
It boggles the mind……
Our grand presidential election process: little more than a license to print money.
Speaking of money, if you support Bernie Sanders and wonder why it is that he doesn’t have more delegates, then here is an article by a Democrat/Actress/Activist (A self anointed title, that I believe should come with the right to their own public restrooms.), who explains (Very eloquently and passionately.) how the primaries in the Democrat Party were completely unnecessary.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/04/01/how-hillary-clinton-bought-the-loyalty-of-33-state-democratic-parties/
It really is worth the read.
The media’s favorite word over the last couple of years is “Optics”. If Trump gets more delegates than the rest and still loses the nomination, while Hillary and the Democrat Party decided who would win the Democrat Primary, prior to the Democrat Primary, then poor old “Optics” should get ready to be rode hard and put to bed wet.
Again, Margot Kidder is NOT a Conservative, it is an interesting and revealing article.
Nice article Jack.
Dear chucklets….as a newbie in democratic party elections
I can understand your utter ignorance on this subject. You for
years have written articles /comments I have described as vile/racist/
angy/and most important devoid of facts.
In actuality dem presidential candidates have been chosen this way
for years. The rules are very simple to follow and have been used for
decades. The use of superdelegates is nothing new…it’s how essentially
Obama was able to get more delegates than Hillary in 2008. The superdelegates are the worker bees of the party…the elected and unelectex
officials who make up the party 24/7. Of course a loser like sanders who
knew full well how the operation and the elections were decided and how
the process worked should have read the rules before he got into the race.
He or Hillary may win Wisconsin but they will probably split the delegates.
Which means the delegates from Wisconsin will be 50% sanders/50%
Hillary. But then there are states where winner takes all…states where
if a candidate gets over 50% and wins that they get 100% of the delegates.
Cruz and your rethug buddies are playing the game in a completely different
way.. But your hero Chucklets (ron Reagan) tried to pull a fast one on
ford in kc in 1976….it worked but Gerald lost the general.
The sanders group understoodthe rules…or should have before the
game started…because after the game starts the rules aren’t changed.
Sanders had every opportunity to grab those superdelegates…but he didn’t.
The Clintons past goes deep with the democratic party and Hillary and bill
are the most popular democrats in America. As America sees what
Obama has hadto put up with obstruction wise Americas attitude with
Obama will improve dramatically. Right now obamas approval rating
is higher than the loser and your buddy ron Reagan at the same time
in their holding office. Polls indicate Obama is at 52-53% approval but
that will go up as we see the republican hyenas carry out their back
stabbing and hate for each other and Obama and Hillary and Bernie
look to be the only adults running for prez.
The repubs don’t want trump. Over 50% of republican women view
him as unfavorable…its only the low educated/low income/lazy asses
who I consider free loaders (a survey found that many of trumps
supporters were on food stamps/free government assistance/section 8
housing…all the things you repubs hate. But now the republicans are
fighting over delegates..which makes them look horrible. And it will
cause Cleveland to be a battle royale like WWE in july.
The repubs are changing the rules on delegates as they go…
the dems have used the formula for years.
If the sanders group can’t win according to the stated goals
and rules they need to stop crying. We don’t change the rules
halfway thru the game. Sorry….your ignorance and hope that
Hillary doesn’t get the delegates is pure b.s.s The top political
people, who have pored over the numbers don’t see any way
that sanders can get the 988 he needs to get the nomination.
He’s no different than trump…a crybaby who says he’ll try to
“steal” enough delegates to win…won’t happen.
The rules were drawn, they worked the way they were drawn, and
if the sanders kids want to change the rules then come back in February of
2017 and try to change them ineachstate. Can’t these people read?
They’re novices and to be truthful I have found many of the sanders
people to be as rude/disgusting/and vile in person as any of the
supporters of trump.
Stay cool fool….Hillary will be at the podium taking the oath as prez
and you will stillbe digging ditches for a living.
AS FOR CURRENT ISSUES THAT WILL SHAKE THE WORLD AND
AMERICA….GO READ ABOUT THE PANAMA PAPERS. tHAT IS
JUST OUT AND IS SHAKING THE WORLD ALREADY. HARLEY
PREDICTS THAT THIS LEAD OF 1.5 MILLION DOCUMENTS WILL
HAVE MORE AFFECT ON THE WORLD THIS YEAR.
Neither Great Britain nor Germany have our freedom of speech. In fact, in Canada you can be sued for saying something true, if government does not want to hear it. Perhaps, that was the gist of Citizens United. It’s not party contributions to the candidates, but it is almost a game of spending years raising other people’s money to get your point of view out, thinking that if people just heard it more, you’d win their vote. From there, it almost becomes a ritual. Perhaps, the reason Congress doesn’t work is because they spend a year and a half of a two year term, raising money for the next election. The real sadness is the number of souls that have made a career out of being a member of a “citizen legilature”. Neither Party trusts the voters, from Democrat super delegates to Republican delegates that are not bound by a primary or caucus. My, how far we have come from what is printed in our history books. Yes, the money is obscene, but, in most cases, it’s not government money. It’s our individual contributions, and it is not even tax deductible. Perhaps the system needs a few tweets, but we still have more say in who we elect than in other countries. We still have the ability to say no, and we have the ability to complain, no small things in a world where ISIS chops your head off for disagreeing. The system is only as bad as people will tolerate, no more and no less. It’s just that this year, we’re tolerating the idiocy a little less, but at the same time, we’re seeing much more. Let’s hope the two political parties come to their senses in time to recognize it is still our government, no yours.
cOWBOY…..been riding the range eating too many beans lately (taken from
Blazing Saddles)…..
The democrats have tried to end citizens united. The repubs love it. Or at
least they said they did.
But showing ignorance about campaign financing is another miscalculation
on your part.
Politicians have had to raise money to run for office for years.
From the day after getting elected a politician has to start his reelection
campaign the next morning. It’s been this way forever. Nothing has
changed.
As far as super delegates…this has been going on forever that I can remember.
Now fools like you and chucklets complain/complain/and complain but
do nothing about it.
It’s the way of letting the party people who work 24/7 have some say
in the nomination process. and the rules are there for all candidates to
see and read and prepare for long before the campaign starts.
Except for the lyin rethugs…who want to change the 8 state win rule
so candidates other than trump can steal the election from trump by
changing the rules.
No rules have changed in the dems program…it’s just that Hillary and
bills connections go deep into the party for over 40 years. Sanders had
the same info and knew the rules before the campaigns started. He’s
a crybaby.
as for ISIS…they too will go the way of al queada. HISTORY.
So for those who don’t follow the political landscape these convention rules
have been available to all take advantage of. Only the stupid are left
behind.
And if you read the panama papers you will see what’s about to
explode on the international scene. Harley predicted a bubble was
going to burst 3 weeks ago on my blogs and on kcc. …..and now it’s
busted……go read panama papers and see what the rich and powerful
leaders/banks (Citibank/hsbc and probably the rest of those too big to
fail)/billionaires/athletes/entertainers/large corporations have
screwed us all over using illegal uses to avoid having their money’
be unknown to the world. Harley predicted this because his contacts
told him about this leak long before the media published or knew
about it. It will be as your soon to be failed prez candidate says
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEE!
Lena Dunham’s apartment in New York.
*Lena pulls her ringing cell phone out of the Waist Bag on her belt*
LENA DUNHAM: “Hello.”
HARLEY: “Hey Lena, it’s Harley”.
LENA DUNHAM: “Jesus. I told you to quit calling me Harley. I will NEVER do another book signing in Sugar Creek again, EVER! It still pisses me off that I gave you this number after you lied to me about “transitioning”.
HARLEY: “Well…, you didn’t get “Raped” by a Republican either and I still talk to you.”
LENA DUNHAM: “As I told you Harley, in my position, I only have to make the claim of rape so the media picks it up. The facts are not part of the equation.” *Lena tries to hail a cab and fails* You Sikh Moth*rfu*ker!!!”
HARLEY: “Hey!! I am no sicker than you are Lena! I mean you just flashed your vag on HBO on Sunday night and were quoted as saying, that you wished you had a “fuller bush” for your fans to look at. Girls have come a long way since Mary Tyler Moore.”
LENA DUNHAM: “Sikh, not sick you dumbazz!”
HARLEY: “I am a supporter of open borders, but I don’t speak Mexican.”
LENA DUNHAM: “No Sikh, like in India”.
HARLEY: “Look, India will just have to get used to Mexicans like the rest of us. I need you to help me with this blog I write for, called kcconfidential. There is this guy, Chuck, who always calls me out on having a Journalism Degree from The University of Missouri. I think he can tell that I am lying because of my disease.”
LENA DUNHAM: “What disease?”
HARLEY: “Chuck calls it ‘Harley Hausen By Proxy”.
LENA DUNHAM: “What in the Wide World Of Fu*kin Sports is that?”
HARLEY: “Chuck says I keep killing the King’s English in order to get sympathy.”
LENA DUNHAM: “Makes perfect sense.”
HARLEY: “He also says that I don’t write for any National Blogs.”
LENA DUNHAM: “Do you?”
HARLEY: “Well, no. But, again, even with Suge Knight holding a shotgun to their heads, no Republican on earth would ever rape you.”
LENA DUNHAM: “Luck of the draw Harley. Don’t get me wrong, you are every bit as qualified to show your vag to the American public as I am on HBO, but, it just didn’t happen for you. If you actually want a “J” School degree and a gig writing for National Blogs, you need to actually go to college and graduate. I am reading your latest comments on kcconfidential and it would be easier to translate the Code of Hammurabi on acid.
HARLEY: “I don’t have a vag”.
LENA DUNHAM: “You can actually get one of those. A Journalism Degree might be a bridge too far. I gotta go”.
*Click*
Chuckling at chuck. 🙂
🙂
If Harley identifies as a “J” School Graduate, then he should be afforded every opportunity to write for any blog he wants and I even think that the NYT would consider his profferings!
tsu-ka-na-s-ta-ti Sh*t.
That is Cherokee for all you oppressors.
Harley, just click your heels together three times and say, “I wish I had a Journalism Degree from the University of Missouri” and you will get one in the mail!
That is how I got one for Toto!
Here he is writing for the same blogs you do!
http://www.wordstream.com/images/improve-your-linkedin-profile-dog-meme.jpg
taking bets on whether Harley received j school diploma.
I don’t waste my time with spellcheck or grammar on kcc.
The readers (except stomp and southy) are the dumbest people
I’ve seen comment on a blog.
Lets be serious…not one commentator on here has challenged any
of the facts I have written about. Guys like ditchdigger chuck the bald
racist who gets his r*cks off by screaming at workers at loews…even though
they make more money then he does (hahahah)…and loves to quote
right wing Nazi blogs (think about that)…and who I love to hammer because
he’s really nothing but an agreggator for all the right wing nutso sites on kcc
(breitbart etc.)
No one can contest my comments with facts/information or even a good
argument.
SO FOR GLAZA (who is the worst sports picker on any blog)….CHUCKLETS…
who spends his time in dirt and mud digging holes and filling potholes….
and even the phony commentators who still can’t find anything to write about
except that Harley can continue to make predictions that come true…
(Harley picked villanova to win it all)…..He picked winners in 2008/2012
…..picked the super bowl winner (while glaza dumped thebiggest game of the
year…..while Harley picked the royals success (while Kerwacky and Glaza made
the dumbest comments of the year saying the royals wouldn’t do anything over
the last 2 years…including glaza famous “lets boycott the chiefs and arrowhead”
comment right before they went and won a long streak….YOU ALL GOT
SH*T IN YOUR FACE CAUSE YOU WERE WRONG….INCLUDING SOUTHY/
WHINEY/WISLON/GLAZA/HEARNE/CHUCKLETS AND KARL ROVE in the
past 2 and soonto be 3 elections.
And now, the crown prince of stupidity, glaza, who picked trump to win the
nomination, is looking like a freaking fool.
I’m open….5k or 10K to prove what I say….or are you just pimps for stupidity
and being wrong all the time. BE men…stand behind the comments…or STFU>
Harley is always right…in fact if you go back 2 weeks you’ll see Harley knew
before the facts were made public of the panama papers which were
published and will reach deep into the American business world (it already
has and will…with Citibank/HSBC and I’m willing to bet that Mr Skump ends up
being involved.
So go watch tv tonight and cry…your boy is about to be kicked out of the
big party (which Harley predicted) and he’d never win with 70% of female
votes with a negative and highly unfavorable attitude toward the dumpster.
Now…would someone keep to the subject and prove Harley wrong for once
or are you like the chuckles who gets dirt thrown in his fact everyday digging
holes and you’re not smart enough to prove Harley wrong.
Sorry guys….Harley knows all. and maybe one day he’llget really crazy an spill
the beans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
as I have said “DON’T JACK WITH HARLEY”
any takes on the MU journalism bet. Doubt it…most of you ain’t got the cash
to back it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will give you the 10K and let Melissa Click stick my dick in a blender if you send a copy of your diploma to Hearne.
Well, there ya have it Harley. Are you going to bark all day little doggy? Or, are you gonna bite?
you like that don’t you chucklets.
Tim…send me info to law4life1000@yahoo.com
and I’ll be more than happy to produce the diploma.
Bring your cash to a location and i’ll get a impartial
person to hold our money then i’ll produce the
diploma.
And chuck can go back to his ditch digging where
he loves his mud hole filled by other ditch diggers.
hhahahahahahaha!@
Chuck is my hero!!
🙂
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Harley can’t stand it that chuck has more fans than he does.
Just found a quote from Joseph Stalin that applies today in America.
“The people who cast the votes don’t decide the election, the people who count the votes decide the election.”
“Don’t try to explain the American way of electing a president to a foreigner…
I’ve tried but usually get little more than a blank stare.
And as an immigrant—a legal immigrant mind you—I feel their pain. It took me many moons to understand it.”
To be fair to foreigners… at least the ones we get mostly from the third world. Most elections and rule changes happend behind barrels of guns. They were shocked that a coup or a ten year war didn’t happen.