I congratulate the U.S. Congress for ending the government shutdown and extending the debt limit Wednesday. I say that without any sarcasm. They could have let pride push all of us over the edge. They decided as a body not to do that. For that I am very thankful.
What did pushing it that far accomplish? Effectively nothing. Senator John McCain referred to the episode as a "fool's errand," and I have to agree. However, what would have been worse would have been to allow this episode to continue.
Did they kick the can down the road? Yes, but better than letting it explode in our face. I have the smallest sliver of hope that perhaps the Congress will have been singed enough from this fiasco to work to prevent it at least in the immediate future.
If not, I may have to consider supporting Jesse Ventura for president. And, the funny thing is, I don't know whether I'm kidding.
It's the night before the big day in the United States, Election Day. I felt the Political Scientist in me trying to break out the last couple of weeks. I found myself less interested in the actual outcome of the election than by the possibility that there would be a tie in the Electoral College, and the election results would be decided by the sitting U.S. Congress.
You may wonder why we even have such a thing as an Electoral College. Why don't we simply have majority rule? Bottom line is that it's the same reason that we have two senators from each state regardless of population, and we have the Bill of Rights. It is to ensure that "majority rule" does not become "mob rule." These things protect minority groups and give them voice.
In the case of the Electoral College, it gives states with lower populations a little more power. With a country as large as the United States, if we went with a strict majority rule, presidential elections could be decided exclusively by the people of New York, California, and Texas. This would effectively disenfranchise the rest of the population from the presidential election. There's certainly no way that New Hampshire or Iowa could seen as important swing states. The truth is that the results of the Electoral College are usually the same as the popular vote, so it usually isn't an issue. But, I'll concede that no system is perfect.
One of the weirder things is that if no one wins the Electoral College, the election will be decided by Congress. The House of Representatives chooses the president, and the Senate chooses the vice-president. If you think that it's crazy watching all the political commentators trying to pick the winner now, just imagine if the election went to the Congress!
The possibilities are intriguing. Could the House pick Mitt Romney and the Senate pick Joe Biden? It's almost too much. Then I stopped. I stopped and considered the chaos that would ensue. No, no, no. No ties, please. Let's not test it.
I've picked my candidate. Don't be too sure that you know who it is. If there's only one thing that you can be sure of about me is that I am an Independent with a capital "I." If I ever follow the tendencies of my demographic group(s), it's pure coincidence.
I am thankful that I have a vote, and I will cast it. After that it's out of my hands. No matter what the result, we will still be the United States of America.
Yay! I found my passport. No, no, I'm not planning on going anywhere, but what it means is that I get to vote!
I know. I know. My last post was how I was tired of all the pre-election blather, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to take advantage of this amazing privilege we have.
And why do I need my passport, you may ask? Due to circumstances entirely within my control, I can assure you. Yet, I will still be able to vote. I probably couldn't get a post office box, but I can vote.
Just remember, if you don't exercise your right to vote, you have no cause to complain. Who can turn down a deal like that?
I am so ready for this presidential election to be OVER! I can only imagine what it must be like if you live in a "battleground state." Both sides are lying misrepresenting the facts. Both are attacking their opponent in a fraudulent way.
It is times like these that I wish we had a system more like the one in the United Kingdom where the "official" general election campaign is about four weeks. Here in the United States the next presidential campaign will presumably begin the minute after all of the "hanging chads" ballots have been counted.
Right now, I have an intense dislike for both of the presidential candidates. I am not quite sure which is the least bad option (to paraphrase Argo). There has been a lot of talk about undecided voters these past few weeks. Many people do not believe that it is possible for an intelligent person not to have made a decision yet. Perhaps, it is more of a question of picking between the lessor of two evils. Who wants to make that kind of decision before they have to? For that, I have some sympathy.
Truth be told, I made my decision. I made it months ago. However, it's not too late for that person to lose my vote. I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't the only person that feels that way. I just wish it was already over!
P.S. I was going to include an image from the 2nd debate, but I really don't want to look at either of them right now.
commentary,current events,election,government shutdown,Jesse Ventura,politics,presidential election,United States politics
4 comments
commentary,current events,election,government shutdown,Jesse Ventura,politics,presidential election,United States politics
4 comments
