Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines
before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules
when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
The Mod with the Migraine
To be fair, Elle's right. Unlike the presidency, qualifications aren't optional for supreme court justices.
Leviticus 19:34The nature of an elected position is that in theory there's nothing stopping a complete outsider from winning (but in practice they also have to be rich enough to fund a campaign). Filling a Supreme Court vacancy is much more like a very big job interview where you've been invited to interview by someone already on the inside.
There's a minor scandal surrounding Bill Clinton breaking election rules by both campaigning within 150 feet of a polling station, and then by going inside and talking with voters.
Sanders supporters claim his Secret Service agents barred them from entering for as much as two hours until he finally left.
The MA attorney general has given the Clinton campaign a "reminder" not to do that.
In practice, money is not the only concern in presidential campaigns; Trump is a bizarre anomaly. People who get elected have had some sort of legislative or executive experience which means people know who they are. Reagan was famous at the time for being an actor but he'd also been governor of California by that point. The campaigns are the candidates touting their resumes to the general public that hires them.
Basically, anyone can run but who's going to vote for you if they don't know who you are?
edited 1st Mar '16 3:10:14 PM by AceofSpades
He buys other people. That's his narrative.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Mostly what I'm saying is that you need a fair bit of money to even get enough attention to make it on the ballot which in practice excludes "just anyone" from running. However there is a statistic that there is a strong correlation between spending the most money on a election campaign and winning it. [1]
[2]
edited 1st Mar '16 3:23:00 PM by Elle
And as results start flowing in, the basic outcome of Super Tuesday stands thus:
The Good: Rubio showing strong in Virginia (might actually win), Hillary mauling Sanders
The Bad: Trump and Sanders supporters, please see above statements
The Freaky: Okay, raise your hand if you had Kasich leading the exit polls in Vermont!
Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!
