In the LC Thread, we all were discussing the craziness that this year's election show.

So, we have on the right corner: 17 starters, all a certain shade of fundamentalist or not. What we have left:

Ted Cruz: some guy from the United State of Texas (excluding Austin, obv) who... I don't know his policies, but apparently he's anti-abortion and everyone hates him.

Kasich: From what I've seen of him, the only semi-sane person in this whole race. Apparently the most level-headed people in the nation love him (hooray Ohio).

Trump: well... someone else was "saying it like it is," but he sort of blew the top off of that one. Now backed by a Neurosurgeon who doesn't believe in evolution.

On the left corner:
The first viable woman candidate for president. The fact that she's the husband of a well-liked president is both good and bad. 4 more years of Clinton just doesn't go well over for those who want to rail against the establishment. Loved by women, minorities, and older people.

Some other guy who is a socialist democrat, or democratic socialist. In any case, the young college kids like him.

I'm sorry, I've been sucked into the drama, but haven't paid much attention to the politics and I just assume everyone is nuts.

This latest... wife war...?

I'm appalled, and I'm actually a bit on Trump's side on this one. Even if Cruz didn't expressly approve of the ad, his camp started it, and I really think that he should be questioned harder on this one. "I didn't put up the ad" doesn't quite ring with me. He's supposed to be a leader, and he's supposed to be in control of his image, right?

Not to say Trump's reaction was amazing, but yikes... once you thought the blows couldn't get any lower, they keep on hitting for the floor.

What could possibly be next? I suggest having a boxing match!

Anyways, I'm hoping that this doesn't turn into some crazy political ****storm. We've said "pick your poison" a million times before, but this year really is poison. I don't really care about the "why" of all of this. I just assume that it was a combination of Poe's Law gone sour and the festering cancer of "social media" finally showing it's true value. We all like a bit of drama, and we all like a bit of trolling, but I think the dramatists and the trolls have taken over the asylum here, and it is hard to say who is in on the joke and who isn't anymore. Or was it all a joke? I don't know. I don't take any sides in all of this, just enjoy observing it.

Isn't there a Politics forum somewhere around here for this ****? Let's not tard up the Lounge with election/politics bull****.

I'm fairly ignorant of US politics. What powers does the President actually have?

I think Bernie Sanders has more than enough exceeded the expectations of those who hated on and doubted him by now, for him to deserve to be called more than just 'some guy.'

The politics forum is full of tards though. Where else can we have a tard-free political discussion? Lounge regs are capable of having an intellectually honest discussion about things. If it can be contained to 1 thread, what's the harm?

The tards will come though. Threads like this are a beacon for them. Lounge doesn't need it.

On this basis, I believe the Wookie might allow it.

Wookie loves wading in the cesspool of the politards. Let him stay there with his kind and leave the Lounge be.

I think we should debate about having a political thread without actually having a political thread. That would keep the lounge purists happy and keep the tards at bay.

Wetdog for President

I like this in the Lounge. It's fascinating.


Though I do expect someone to announce 'ok guys, enough joking, here are the real candidates...' any time now.

As I pointed out in the OP, I'm not overly concerned about the politics, but the grand show.

The battle heats up. Some article in the National Enquirer says Cruz is a bit frisky with women who aren't his wife.

For those who aren't American... National Enquirer is most famous for reporting on alien abductions and printing minimally-sourced "articles" about celebrities. When National Enquirer is now turning into a serious political force... sigh.

Salon and other sources even goes one step further and suggests that Rubio's camp may have "leaked" the story.

http://www.salon.com/2016/03/25/ted_...p_report_says/

My sentiments exactly.

Haha! So true. But we're going to be stuck with one of these wonderful candidates I'm pretty sure. Every time I think of Hilary Clinton I picture that actress on SNL who plays her in their skits, with that big smile. It cracks me up.

Dave -
I bet that Rubio is behind the Trump photos. Lol.

I haven't had time to learn about these candidates. I have no idea what is going on. For example, how does Bernie differ from Hilary? Like what are their major differences? If someone could boil it down for me into a little nutshell that would be cool .

It's really fascinating to listen to people's opinions on the candidates. We only hear what we want to hear. We don't have the time or the interest to learn about the candidates. I live in a conservative part of Ohio. A lot of people here do not like Clinton this year. Which is weird, because she was pretty popular about 8 yrs ago. Now she seems to have a huge image problem in southern Ohio.

When I ask my friends and coworkers I get meaningless descriptions of the candidates...

Clinton: "She can't be trusted." (no further explanation)
Bernie: "I don't like him. He's a hippie."
Cruz: "I don't trust him. He's a liar."
Kasich: No response. Just an eye roll.
Trump: "He can get the job done. He wants to protect his business interests."

Why the eye roll at Kasich? lol. Didn't he win Ohio?

I feel the same way as you, Katy. I honestly don't know what is signal and what is noise this year.

Reminds me of the state of professional boxing over the last so many years. Of all of the millions of people we could pit against each other, this is the best we have to offer? We're doomed.

Also, I like the idea of a boxing match. It would certainly be cheaper to set up than these campaigns -- didn't I read somewhere that one (or is it all of them combined?) of the candidates has spent over a billion dollars? I mean, if you're going to put an idiot in the White House, why not entertain us to the maximum? If their supporters are going to beat each other up, might as well get the nominees in on the fun, too.

Do US Loungers prefer a two-party system? I realize you vote for a specific candidate, both in presidential and congressional (?) elections, and that each candidate have different views and policies, but it still feels limited to me to only be a able to vote for party A and B.

I don't have a real opinion on it, to be honest.

I was, back in the day, a fan of Nader (Green party) and I felt he should have been allowed in the presidential debates. I don't really buy into the whole spoiler idea; like Trump loves to point out, the vast majority of Americans don't vote, and I, had I voted, would not have voted for either Bush or Gore at the time.

I think that Americans really do want an alternative, which is why Trump is making so many waves now. I think that he could have reasonably ran on a Democratic ticket and still had a pretty large impact. With that thought, I think joining the Republican Party was purely a strategic move, where the field was weak and too spread out, so gaining the upper hand would have been much easier than facing Clinton.

In a strange way, we have more than a 2 party system. We have a two-party system where each party is fractured between one extreme and the center. The local elections work the exact same way as the presidential election: you have a few people running for the chance to run for office, and they are slowly weeded out. Each candidate brings variations of the theme to the table, and the wide gulf between a classic Republican and Tea Party Republican effectively creates a multi-party system.

But... we do have a multi-party electoral system, it is just that the other parties aren't making much news, outside of a few instances, like Jesse Ventura and few others. In fact, Conservatives and Liberals where a distinct party from the Republicans and Democrats that now hold those labels.

The problem is that, today, we have a divided two-party system in Washington, where nothing can be compromised and bills are passed as add-ons to other bills or pushed through on executive order, and that bothers me.

I want to back-peddle a bit on my post. I'm not sure if Trump is true Red or Blue. Considering he supported both sides in the past, I'm not sure if he is one or the other.

Also, if matters at all, Bernie Sanders was originally elected as an Independent, so now he's playing along with the two-party game or he is totally converted to being a Dem.

One thing I'm really appreciating about this election cycle is how much I'm learning about how the delegates work. Yes, it is on the back of complaining, but it's interesting to see how the process is working.

It appears Sanders is trying the delegation coupe as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faXLfQABEiQ&t=5m22s

I find the idea of super delegates a bit strange. So many had chosen Clinton months ago. I wonder if Sanders will be able to pull this plan off. I feel like the voters should have the choice here, but what do I know?

Even the Super Delegates that have already pledged themselves to Hillary could still switch to pledging themselves to Sanders during the convention in July. Not saying it's likely to happen, but it could. And it did happen in 2008. Similar to this election cycle in 2008 Hilary had an early lead on Obama in pledged delegates and thus had more Super Delegates pledged to her as well. By the time of the convention Obama had actually eclipsed her in pledged delegates and so at the convention many of the Super Delegates that had pledged to her early on switched over to pledging for Obama and in turn he became the official nominee of the party.

So those Super Delegates pledged to her right now, aren't actually locked in to be pledged to her, and do have the option to switch their pledge, if they so desire to.

As an Australian, we don't get a tonne of coverage here.

But what we do see does shed America in a pretty dumb light. I mean look at the people who are in the running to be the next president!

I would find it pretty hilarious if Trump gets in. The **** that comes out of his mouth is quite amazing. It's entertaining watching all of this but man If I lived over there I'd be extremely worried. Is there a legitimately decent candidate at all? Hillary Clinton? I mean c'mon America!!

Bill Clinton stopped in yesterday at the Community College of Rhode Island and delivered a nice speech, much of it extemporaneously, in support of Hillary. Fun and exciting day for us.