"You only hate Obama because he's black"

[Brian37]

And, yes, Congress is a huge issue that everyone is ignoring.  Single digit approval rating, yet everyone seemingly thinks their elected official isn't part of the problem.  People in power who think 'legitimate rape' is a thing, and for all the talk about it being a group that represents us, it's still overwhelmingly male, old, straight, white, and rich.  But, they convince the working class that they're 'fighting for them' and other nonsense.  It'd be laughable if it didn't come with very real consequences.

GOP voters are consistent.  They always vote.  Midterms, Presidential years, etc.  They're clockwork.  Voters in the middle and on the left often feel disenfranchised, or are otherwise not interested (not that constant media distractions and pressure to feel that way plays a part, or increasingly restrictive voting laws, or intimidation, nosiree).  And that's one of the problems I have with Clinton edging closer to the nomination.

There is a portion - I'm not sure how large it is because corporate news media sucks - of Bernie supporters who simply won't vote for Clinton.  There's also no guarantee that this grassroots momentum will continue past November.  The same problems that have plagued the center and left - inconsistent voter turnout stemming from disenfranchisement and malaise - are still there.  Bernie is the outlier.  An awesome one, but I'm not sure how it continues past November.

So, if/when she gets the nomination, I see the movement ending with a thud because the left has never been able to sustain it like conservatives, and she represents the status quo remaining immovable.  I really, truly hope I'm wrong.

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Influencing others to vote Bernie (or for people like him going forward) is impossible for me.  I'm the only true independent voter (I largely vote left on the political spectrum, but I don't identify as Democrat because I hate our political party setup, and have never been a "rah rah team" kind of person anyway) in my family.  Everyone else is Republican.  They loathe Bernie.  They don't actually know him, or his politics, but when the 'socialist' dog whistle is blown, they react predictably, and my voice and reason is too feeble to break the hold.  My friends are almost all Bernie supporters.  Those that aren't are Clinton supporters, for a variety of reasons ranging from emotional to illogical.  I literally only have my vote, which I always use.

We really need viable third, fourth, fifth, etc. parties in this country.  I don't think it'll ever happen, but it would be the perfect balance to the insidious parasite that has infected and spread throughout the GOP over the last 2-3 generations.  I can only hope that the RNC is split, and that what few semi-rational members of the GOP remain try to forge their own party.  It may backfire if it happens - I can see them fading into obsolescence if the current wave of hate mongering is more permanent than I think - but something needs to happen.  The two party system simply isn't working the way it's constructed.

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I wonder when Trump will start handing out armbands?

I am not so sure more choices would work, India has far more many parties and tons of people running for all local and national elections, and they have not managed to break their caste system.

One party certainly is bad, that is what China and Cuba are and what Stalin was. But the only way a 3rd party would work would be a constitutional amendment taking money out of elections.

[Brian37]

...why are you yelling at me when I'm largely on your side?  Why are you assuming things that I haven't said, and otherwise putting things in my mouth?

In case you haven't noticed, I'm agreeing with you.  I'm most certainly not a Republican.

Apologizing again since my next post showed up on a new page. I am sorry, I get that "don't tax the rich" and "job creator" garbage so much, I simply misread what you said. Again, I'm sorry.

[KevinM1]

...why are you yelling at me when I'm largely on your side?  Why are you assuming things that I haven't said, and otherwise putting things in my mouth?

In case you haven't noticed, I'm agreeing with you.  I'm most certainly not a Republican.

Apologizing again since my next post showed up on a new page. I am sorry, I get that "don't tax the rich" and "job creator" garbage so much, I simply misread what you said. Again, I'm sorry.

It's all good, man

[Mister Agenda]

If America is the richest country in the world how come it's debt is so massive?

I bet $3 trillion+ in wars and drone strikes over the last 15 years has something to do with it.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm sure the "birther controversy" having him being born in Africa has no racial subtext. At all.

The Clintons started that rumor.

[Drich]

Their not racist, he is just as white as I am. The man is bad for the country and has set us down a dangerous path just so he can feel he as left 'lasting' a legacy on the US.

PLEASE Read what I wrote. I said I was sure your view point  was NOT Racist, just knee jerk right.

And the words you want are "they are" not "their."  They are not racist.  Their not racist doesn't make sense.

....and I agree my comment was not racist... where are you confused in what I said?

[Wyrd of Gawd]

If America is the richest country in the world how come it's debt is so massive?

I bet $3 trillion+ in wars and drone strikes over the last 15 years has something to do with it.

The more money you have the more debt you can take on.

[Brian37]

I bet $3 trillion+ in wars and drone strikes over the last 15 years has something to do with it.

The more money you have the more debt you can take on.

The bullshit the global uber rich don't seem to understand is that the earth is a globe, and finite, not flat and infinite. There is something horribly immoral about 62 individuals having the same wealth equal to 3.5 billion of 7 billion.

The more money you have can also cause you to be a complete selfish power hungry narcissist.

Dept is bullshit. We raise it all the time. The real dept isn't because the rich need all that profit, the real reason we have so much dept is because the top uses the rest of us as their ATM and make bad bets, and dump the losses on us when they lose. And on top of that pay is not keeping up with the cost of living. There is something also horribly wrong when you pay rent of $1,200 a month not for an apartment, not for a room, but for a bunk in a room with others. 

There is something horribly wrong with cell phones that cost so much people make payments on them like a car. And everything is going like that, you look at QVC and Home Shopping Network, and just about every product is a "flex pay" option. 

It is boiling the lobster slowly. No, the uber rich don't need our money, we don't need to be supporting them through tax cuts for them. We need them to invest directly in workers in livable wages and cheaper cost of living.

[abaris]

We really need viable third, fourth, fifth, etc. parties in this country.

For that you'd have to change the whole electoral system. I don't know how deeply the current system is embedded in the constitution, but fat chance of a third party really getting a foot in the door as long as it's the winner takes it all. And as long as the presidency is as powerful as it is.

[KevinM1]

We really need viable third, fourth, fifth, etc. parties in this country.

For that you'd have to change the whole electoral system. I don't know how deeply the current system is embedded in the constitution, but fat chance of a third party really getting a foot in the door as long as it's the winner takes it all. And as long as the presidency is as powerful as it is.

Yeah, the Electoral College is put into place in Article 2, Section 1.  That said, AFAIK, the winner-take-all aspect is up to the states, as some (Maine, and at least one other) divvy up their EC votes based on the percentage of the popular vote, which is far more fair.  At least then the losing side's votes still count.