Sunday, February 03, 2008

The popular vote is in serious Jeopardy again, The Dream match up McCain Obama is in danger, because of Bill Clinton, and President Carter!


First I must admit that because of Bush I have found myself forced to learn about the political process from the ground up under duress. Most of what I have found is very distasteful. The Political system does not favor us the voter but is designed to clandestinely take the voting process out of our hands. We have been determined not to be trusted with picking our own leaders!
I don't know why but I heard today that Obama McCain would be the dream match up this fall but something else I learned today really scares me and stinks to high heaven of a set up! I don't like the implications at all. First John McCain is a solid favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination. Barack Obama is an ever-so-slight underdog on the Democratic side. Obama-McCain, however, would be a dream general-election matchup, the most defining American presidential race since at least 1980. Just think of the contrasts.

The age gap between the 46-year-old Obama and the 71-year-old McCain would be the widest in the history of presidential elections. (The current record: 1996, with Bob Dole 23 years older than Bill Clinton.) Before Obama was even born, McCain was shocking his uptight naval colleagues by bringing a stripper dubbed the "Flame of Florida" to the Officers' Club. More than any other Republican or Democrat, they appeal to independent-minded voters while still parting ways on crucial issues. On Iraq, taxes, health care and the Supreme Court, the differences between these two men are profound. McCain would want to focus a race on national security and terrorism, Obama on domestic concerns and economic insecurity. "This would be an extraordinary contest, an opportunity to see striking contrasts, from age to public philosophy," says Tom Mann, a political scientist at the Brookings Institution, based in Washington.

It would be change versus experience, the audacity of hope versus the faith of our fathers. A small though instructive moment of discord marked their first real engagement. It was in early 2006, and they were the leading point men for their parties in trying to fashion an ethics bill for the Senate. The Senate Democratic leadership, which had put the freshman Illinoisan in a visible role for public relations reasons, pressured him to back off on dealing with McCain. Obama acquiesced, sending a letter to McCain, yet releasing it to the please read on about the Obama McCain relationship

This so called ideal matchup I fear will never be! It's a setup and I was stunned to hear this and that it is acceptable! First I must admit that because of Bush I have found myself forced to learn about the political process from the ground up under duress. Most of what I have found is very distasteful. The Political system does not favor us the voter but is designed to clandestinely take the voting process out of our hands. We have been determined not to be trusted with picking our own leaders! Americans like a level playing field and we are not going to get it this fall again!

* We wouldn't watch the Super Bowl if one team was given a free touchdown to start. We're apoplectic over the idea of baseball players loading up on steroids. No wonder the Democratic Party is facing serious scrutiny over the idea that super delegates are tilting its presidential playing field in favor of Hillary Clinton. If you haven't heard of these folks in past elections, don't feel bad. They have been, at times, a rather obscure bunch.

** Here's their story, in short: A few decades ago, Democratic leaders felt that sometimes, Democratic voters were choosing poor presidential candidates: campaigners who couldn't win elections, or even if they could, they didn't please Democratic kingmakers. Jimmy Carter, for example, was an obscure candidate who developed so much popular appeal that he essentially forced Democratic Party leaders to accept him as the nominee, even though not everyone was thrilled by it. See? So the party changed the rules for picking its nominee. They made the super delegates: a super class of super Democrats, each of whom could vote at the convention for a candidate of choice -- in effect, giving each of these Democrats the power of tens of thousands of average citizens. Who are they? Democratic members of Congress, governors, big-shot party members: Bill Clinton, for example. The theory was that the super delegates could help steer the party toward solid, competitive candidates, and away from Monday morning regrets.

There are about 800 of them, and that's a lot when you can win the nomination with only about 2,000 delegates. Hence the controversy. Even though Barack Obama is winning more delegates in actual primaries and caucuses, Hillary Clinton is substantially ahead of him in the overall delegate count because many more super delegates say they will vote for her. Maybe that shouldn't matter. Both candidates knew the rules when they started. If she's better at securing these delegates, good for her, too bad for him. But that argument may clatter like a counterfeit quarter with the general public if this race continues neck-and-neck down to the convention, if the Democratic nominee is not selected by a sea of Americans voters, but instead is anointed by party leaders.

Super delegates can change their minds, and if Obama starts running away with the popular vote, you can bet your house some of them will stampede from Camp Clinton. But if the race remains very tight, and the super delegates are the deciding factor, the Democratic Party can expect some tough questions. Remember, many staunch Democrats have always felt Al Gore had his presidency stolen by the courts and the Electoral College. If the super delegates decide this race, there will certainly be a lot of heated debates within the party, and perhaps a very cold November awaiting the nominee. Bill Clinton can determine our nominee

** We have got to get involved, change the system, take it Back!

James Joiner
Gardner Ma
www.anaveragepatriot.com

10 comments:

jmsjoin said...

time to watch the Superbowl! Goog luck we'll talk later.

jmsjoin said...

Halftime and I have to run. Larry if you're out there I have an email from Danny and one from Jerome you would be interested in. It is right on in its predictions but forgets when everything that was stated collapses so goes the nation. As I always say by the time the so called experts get to it, it is already too late to stop!

amphibious said...

Although in your system it is inconceivable, an Obama/McCain ticket is quite common in Europe and has occurred several times in Britain, the most recent being in the late 70s, the so-called 'Lib-Lab' governement.
Jim, when you say you've had to suss out your akshal voting system (as distinct from what is generally believed - without the slightest evidence)I hope that you and other concerned citizens consider the function of the Electoral College. It was installed to basically correct the vote when the citizens got it wrong. The analog used to exist in Europe preWWII but that little, ..err.. unpleasantness proved its deathknell, long after time.
Not that I'm opposed (in principle) to an unelected Upper House but in practice they've been corrupted to the point of obscenity.
The last extant, the Lords in Britain, is soon to be turned into a sycophants' sinecure but once, pre Thatcher, was a repository of non partisan debate, unaligned and imbued with noblesse oblige, like the Monarchy.
I'm sure you've read the essay (I think it was Updike but might have been Sinclair Lewis)who, whilst debating with a staunch patriot friend about, amerikan exceptionalism/Manifest Destiny/ the usual self serving crap, drove over the Canadian border and then posited the question, "so, how is this any different?"

jmsjoin said...

amphibious
I have to laugh as I am not sure what language difference is but when you say you've had to suss out your akshal voting system (as distinct from what is generally believed - without the slightest evidence)I hope that you and other concerned citizens consider the function of the Electoral College.
The electotral College did serve a purpose when America was too rural for Americans to know what was going on and to get out and vote. We do not have that problem today. We can speak for ourselves.
The electoral College, the Delegate system, electronic machines, are only a few of the ways to steal the election from the American people. It was stolen the last 2 times and I fear it will be this time too. I can't friggen stand this crap!

TomCat said...

Jim, I agree that there is no place for super delegates, especially when they control 20% of the votes at the convention. I beat the big blogs to this issue and have posted on it at least half a dozen times now.

jmsjoin said...

tc
I saw reference to it on your site but didn't think much of it until I found out Bill Clinton is a super delegate! Like the electoral college it is a set up for elections to be taken out of our hands. Hell them underhanded bastards can be trusted and we can't? Heeelllooo!

TomCat said...

Democratic super delegates include every Democratic Senator, Representative, Governor, past President, past VP, DNC member, and a few other party hacks. At my place do a search on the term and you'll find sever articles from before you started coming. The first I did on it went national at BuzzFlash.

jmsjoin said...

tc
I didn't know that. To me that really stacks things in Hillary's favor unless they are peeved at Bill. I have never done a search on someone elses site but I will try it on yours. It will be a worthy education.

TomCat said...

Glad you did. Although Bill Clinton is a super delegate, so are both Barack and Hillary.

jmsjoin said...

geezuzHcrist! How the hell can anyone think their votes count? This system is a damn travesty of Justice!