Let's Get Political!

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

Obviously you’ll know better than me, but 2 questions.

Why are there no younger candidates for both parties, and if there are, indeed, such candidates why don’t their respective parties vote for them?

Trump can hardly use the senile old man, Sleepy Joe, jibe when he’s not much better.

What did you make of that Tucker Carlson interview with Putin.

[RobertT]

Tucker is a click baiting, audience seeking dick - I'm not even sure he believes any of what he says.  He just identifies a highly controversial niche (a big niche, which is of course an oxymoron) and then panders to it.

The Democrats are basically holding their positions, knowing Trump was going to get selected again.  They don't fancy the very tiring fight against rabid stupidness.  keep their powder dry for four years.

The Republicans lost their Party to the weird combination of Evangelical Christian Right and Populists.  They really shouldn't agree on much, but they combined to over throw the old school Free Market groups.  The system here of Primaries is what they hooked into - meaning those most angry will turn out to vote.  Spread fear and "others", and those two groups turn out.  Trump does a good job of pretending he is fighting the establishment, sprinkles in some fear and nobody can fight him off without trying to be the same - and why vote for a copy?

[Bennett]

The thing I find wild about MAGA is that it's headed by a supposed billionaire whose campaign is propped up by other super wealthy types and is looking to empower the American (native, no i mean white) working man, by cutting taxes and regulations for the mega corporations.

It's a fascinating dialing up for the temporarily embarrassed millionaire.

From the outsider -
Biden is in power because he stands for nothing. He's down the middle on everything and presumably the "left" think he'll appeal to floating voters and never trumpers.
Trump is the antithesis of this, as he at least has opinions he says strongly.

Both are fucking awful, Biden is the least shit option

[RobertT]

There is a very strong anti-Government volume of voters here.  People who likely did not vote, or held their noses and voted Republican (in the past 30 years, but Democrat before that when they were the racist party in the South).  They see Govt's and corporations, and big Cities, as trying to seek control of their lives.  The old pioneer spirit is still alive and well - the bedrock of the American dream to an extent, that I can make it on my own if I try hard enough, but I should be left alone to try.

Trump was a good front of house face for some political types that had tapped into that and the rising irritation that the Govt was siding with all these new fangled things (progressive thoughts) and were coming for their way of life.  Bit of the Evangelical world view link into this - they are coming to take your right to express you religion away from you, just like they already took the right to life away by allowing abortions.  Populism fits in snugly - they came for your jobs and sent them oversees, they are coming for the rest of your jobs by pushing climate change etc.  Trump has no shame, just wants to be relevant and talked about, so he's always been game for a conspiracy theory and getting on TV.  They used him, he used them, and here we are.  Everyone sort of knows the hypocrisy, but they still see Trump as wlling to have that fight for them anyway.

[RobertT]

The odd thing, for me, is where on earth the old school Republicans have gone, in voting terms.  I presume many still vote R, because that is what they have always done.  I assume some have stopped voting, because they are not going to vote for a D.

The reason Biden won last time is another group decided to get involved - the Suburban Mum.  They hadn't voted before, or just voted R because it helped their life stay pretty nice.  Trump really annoys them and while they are generally more inclined to be R based on financial policies, they are much more likely to be on the side of many Progressive ideas.

[Bennett]

What did you make of that Tucker Carlson interview with Putin.

I liked that he used the opportunity to ask for Evan Gerahkovich to be allowed to return to the USA, i am sad about all the other stuff

[Ardiles]

Some day soon, the penny will drop in the US.  How, in a vastly-resourced country of 320m+ people, can the choice for President come down to 2 visibly deteriorating, mentally fragile old men?  What kind of system allows this?  (Isn't the US system meant to be about 'checks & balances'?  Where the f*** are they, then?)  There must be millions of smarter, better qualified candidates for high office.

Forget the 'land of opportunity' adage, or the line that anyone can grow up to be President.  The US political system - more than any other (incl, incredibly, ours) - is ossified.  It's founded on vested interests and obscene wealth.  If you're not independently wealthy, you're disqualified.

Take a step back.  In years from now, I suspect that the state of political discourse in the US - and elsewhere in the West, to a degree - will be seen as part & parcel of a period of Western decline that began some time around the end of the last century.  Massive change needed.

[ron dodgers]

Ronald Reagan was not exactly compos mentis, so they have had since 1989 to change it,

[Jimmy HaveHave]

They haven’t always been old

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj82_70_Z6EAxVjWEEAHR-mD-EQFnoECA4QAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FList_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_age%23%3A~%3Atext%3DAge%2520of%2520presidents%2C-Age%2520of%2520presidents%26text%3DThe%2520youngest%2520person%2520to%2520become%2CJoe%2520Biden%252C%2520at%2520age%252078.&usg=AOvVaw0x2rZYjjXvHufcw7BV7rH_&opi=89978449

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

David Cameron makes my skin crawl. Slimy-tongued lying toad.

[Batch]

that pig fucker gambled on something he didn't believe in just to shut down dissent in his party - and lost

[Legends-Lounge]

that pig fucker gambled on something he didn't believe in just to shut down dissent in his party - and lost

Unlike that cunt Blair who bottled it and lied.

[Posh Red]

Slimy-tongued lying toad.

that pig fucker

cunt Blair

And all of them are/were more trustworthy than Boris.

I still maintain that anyone who actually wants to be a politician should automatically be prevented from being one

[BambooToTheFuture]

RE: USA Presidential Candidates and current standing {just about} President.

I thought it was pretty common knowledge that Kamala Harris was the one really running the Biden era?

Talking of Harris and other relatively influential women in the USA, it's probably about time they had a woman running the joint.

Surely one of;

Kamala Harris
Michelle Obama
or even
Condoleezza Rice

Would be much better {and possibly much more healthy and coherent} options at this moment in time?! Just no one tell Hillary Clinton...

I do note that from the above, Rice has never really been interested in running for President but she has been Sec. of State. Likewise, Harris is Vice President currently in office and Obama was first lady and seemed to have the ability to cool many tensions just by making a public speech.

Similarly with Obama though, she seemingly is more of a soft campaigner/activist rather a Presidential candidate and also doesn't want the baggage that comes with the job.

Out of those three, that leaves Harris. But I'm not sure how USA politics works? Can she stand for President whilst in office as Vice President? Effectively running against her own boss?

By the way, I'm not saying any of those {or even disregarding Obama and Rice} would do a great job but they surely would be better than what is seemingly the top two candidates? I'm really basing it on the current leadership bar for Presidency in the USA is at about 2cm high - and that's being generous to ''Grandpa Delulu'' and the ''Pussy Grabber''.

[RobertT]

Anyone with sufficient cash to burn can spunk it on running for the Presidency, subject to meeting the necessary requirements (Over 35, USA native citizen etc.).

To get on the ticket as either the Republican or Democratic nominee they need to win a sufficient percentage of Delegate votes as the respective party conventions, which are normally gained by winning State Primaries.  Much like the Electoral College, the result of each primary is supposed to directly lead to the delegates voting at the convention accordingly.  Sometimes, the delegates can go a different way, if something catastrophic has happened in the meantime.

Harris has about as much chance as I have of winning, if she stood, and I'm not eligible.