Bizarre Election Year OR a Grass Roots Counter Revolution From the Voter?
Poll: Half of Americans View Primary System As Rigged and Undemocratic
https://jonathanturley.org/2016/04/28...
Freedom_of_Speech
We have previously discussed the bizarre situation of two candidates (Trump and Clinton) with record negative polling numbers emerge as the front runners for the general election. Six out of ten voters say that they are unwilling to vote for either Trump or Clinton. Now a new poll shows that over half of American voters believe that the primary system is “rigged” and more than two-thirds want a new system for electing their leaders. What is remarkable is how detached the system appears from the voters. The GOP primary is advancing a candidate with negatives above the 70 percentile. In the meantime, the public is in open revolt of the “establishment” so the Democratic leadership has lined up to guarantee the selection of the candidate who is the ultimate establishment figure.
It is ironic that the GOP race appears the most responsive to voters. While Trump has huge negatives with the general population, he is clearly the anti-establishment candidate. He was able to crush a series of establishment figures and he is correct that the reason is the demand for a radical change in the system. Trump is the face of such change.
Many young people, including many of my students, view the Democratic party as a lock for the establishment this election despite its counter-establishment image from the 60s. While Clinton clearly has support among some core democratic voting groups, the independent and young voters are particularly estranged from her and the party. Many are not likely to show up in November though the Clinton camp is betting that most will ultimately come back into the fold. If true, the Democratic establishment could ultimately have engineered the one candidate that might elect Donald Trump. The fact is that we simply do not know. Trump is wildly unpopular with the general public but he is pulling in a record number of new voters. He has clearly tapped into this movement and the establishment seems in denial. Turnout is down on the Democratic side but the Democrats believe that they can win the “lesser of two evil” voters. As exciting as that uncertainty will be for commentators, the majority of voters are right: we have a system that has become dysfunctional and unresponsive to the majority of citizens.
I have previously written about reforms that we need to make in our system. However, the resistance of the establishment to change has never been more clear during this period of growing anger and unrest. The chilling fact is that these polls appear to have little impact on the parties. The isolation and unhappiness of the majority of the voters in this country seems immaterial.
While this is not a pure democratic system, it is supposed to be a representative democratic system where leaders represent the voters. It is that feeling of being unrepresented that is driving the passions and unpredictability of this election cycle.
What do you think?"
Well what DO you think. This forum has long been a leader in presenting and supporting that exact opinion depicted int he articles headline. Sill think there are no other choices but the lesser of two evils? Think again.
PS I added the perfect cartoon
https://jonathanturley.org/2016/04/28...
Freedom_of_Speech
We have previously discussed the bizarre situation of two candidates (Trump and Clinton) with record negative polling numbers emerge as the front runners for the general election. Six out of ten voters say that they are unwilling to vote for either Trump or Clinton. Now a new poll shows that over half of American voters believe that the primary system is “rigged” and more than two-thirds want a new system for electing their leaders. What is remarkable is how detached the system appears from the voters. The GOP primary is advancing a candidate with negatives above the 70 percentile. In the meantime, the public is in open revolt of the “establishment” so the Democratic leadership has lined up to guarantee the selection of the candidate who is the ultimate establishment figure.
It is ironic that the GOP race appears the most responsive to voters. While Trump has huge negatives with the general population, he is clearly the anti-establishment candidate. He was able to crush a series of establishment figures and he is correct that the reason is the demand for a radical change in the system. Trump is the face of such change.
Many young people, including many of my students, view the Democratic party as a lock for the establishment this election despite its counter-establishment image from the 60s. While Clinton clearly has support among some core democratic voting groups, the independent and young voters are particularly estranged from her and the party. Many are not likely to show up in November though the Clinton camp is betting that most will ultimately come back into the fold. If true, the Democratic establishment could ultimately have engineered the one candidate that might elect Donald Trump. The fact is that we simply do not know. Trump is wildly unpopular with the general public but he is pulling in a record number of new voters. He has clearly tapped into this movement and the establishment seems in denial. Turnout is down on the Democratic side but the Democrats believe that they can win the “lesser of two evil” voters. As exciting as that uncertainty will be for commentators, the majority of voters are right: we have a system that has become dysfunctional and unresponsive to the majority of citizens.
I have previously written about reforms that we need to make in our system. However, the resistance of the establishment to change has never been more clear during this period of growing anger and unrest. The chilling fact is that these polls appear to have little impact on the parties. The isolation and unhappiness of the majority of the voters in this country seems immaterial.
While this is not a pure democratic system, it is supposed to be a representative democratic system where leaders represent the voters. It is that feeling of being unrepresented that is driving the passions and unpredictability of this election cycle.
What do you think?"
Well what DO you think. This forum has long been a leader in presenting and supporting that exact opinion depicted int he articles headline. Sill think there are no other choices but the lesser of two evils? Think again.
PS I added the perfect cartoon
Each election cycle has had candidates proclaiming that we were on the edge of disaster and that their changes were necessary to save us. Each national emergency for almost two and a half centuries have been used to implement changes that have not made us better and are still being argued about.
I think that the rabble has been awakened by the inept leadership of the Bushes, Clintons and now Obama so they are making themselves heard. Most of the public could not define Socialist, Progressive, Democrat, Populist, Republican, Conservative or Libertarian. They do know that government has been taken over by crooked lawyers that conspire with crooked businessmen to empower themselves economically and politically and they are PISSED.
Their idea of electing some off-the-wall wacko, left or right, is probably harmless in the long run and might not solve any problems directly but could awaken the awareness in the minds of capable leaders that the country needs them to take the government from the felons that are running it into the ground.