This election season sucks. All people are talking about is how big of a goon Trump is. I don't really hear anyone saying anything about our economy or the environment or anything I'm actually worried about. I think the focus is really starting to turn away from what we can do to help make this a better country.
I know and understand that. At the same time, we're not actually seeing much in the news of what Hillary or Trump are saying about job creation, tax reform, etc. Just because Trump is an idiot and juat because Hillary is likely to stick to the party line, that doesn't mean we can't talk about the issues. I can tell you what Trump said about the Khans. I can tell you what dumb thing he said about nukes. I can tell you that as each day passes, the Republican party is becoming more and more vocal about their concerns. I can tell you that apparently people want to discuss Ivanka's immigration status from way back when, how Trump's casinos and hotels are losing customers since he's been nominated, and on and on. I cannot tell you what Trump has said lately about taxes, immigration, education reform, national security, or tons of other issues. I bet the answers are just as horrifying now as when he first started to open his mouth. If we want to talk about how Trump is a goon and an idiot, that's fine. But we should talk about why he's a goon and an idiot about national policies. As it is now, this is just one big gossip fest that's fit for the celebrity magazines at your local pharmaciy's checkout, and I think that's a problem.
The discussion is now, has been and is likely to be whether or not Trump will even execute his ideas. There are occasionally mentions of what those policies would actually accomplish, but by and large, the prime motivator is "will he even do it." On the other side, the discussion is "is Hillary Clinton trustworthy" and "is Hillary Clinton in the pocket of big business." This is in no small part because the discussion is a comparative one. And for the record? I posted not one, but two political articles today that aren't even vaguely about what a goon Trump is.
Well honestly, it is difficult to have an open debate of ideas and policy, and then hash it over in the media, when one side isn't taking any position, and has no actual policies. Clinton has gone on and on about programs and policies she wants to push, and people say, "Ok, got it", then turn to the other side for a rebuttal, and get... babies being ejected from speeches, or abuse of fallen soldiers' families, or whatever Lord Orange comes up with today. Right now there should be a healthy, (and, because it's the 2000's) nasty, public policy debate going on with talking heads on both sides shredding the other side's positions, and proposing alternate plans in detail. But you can't play ball unless the other team gets on the field. (Honestly, I think this week we are going to see a message-binge from the Clinton camp. If they don't take this total vacuum of ideas and fill it up with their own, they are missing a HUGE opportunity! If they just blanketed their policies and programs over every media outlet this week, there is nothing Trump could do but spend the next several months responding to her detailed policies... and he SUCKS at that. It's be a total wipeout, come Nov.)
That all sounds pretty logical and when you put it that way, I'm kind of surprised Hillary and co. aren't taking the opportunity to steer the conversation. If I had to guess, it may be that they're just worried about third party candidates starting to throw their opinions in, but then again, most of the time they're not paid a lot of attention to anyway so I don't see that being much of a risk.
Easy way to tell if someone is interesting: varies inversely with how often they mention Trump. hubski has gotten far less interesting. EDIT: as a side note, I hope Johnson wins 12 percent of the popular vote. Third-party candidates who pull real vote counts give the historians a bit more to talk about down the road.
At this point the GOP should just rebrand themselves as the American wing of the national front. Libertarianism has enough broad appeal that it could become (or be co-opted by) the mainstream GOP. After the culture wars are definitively lost (and they seem to be in the last throes), what else do they have anyway?
Mark my words. Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, Nikki Haley and the like are gonna come rippin' up the center making the argument that the party of small government is the party of small business and small paychecks and be hailed as the ZOMGSAVIORS of America against the oligarchic overreach of those imperial capital-D Democrats.
rd95 for prez! Edit to add: what's something you think is being neglected in the election coverage?
You can see it up in my answer to bfv. My biggest two concerns right now are job creation and the environment. Protecting the internet, continuing to improve international relations, regaining some of the rights to due process and such that we have lost, and continuing to fight the rising costs of healthcare are some other concerns. Take my concerns with a grain of salt though. I'm a bit ill educated on a lot of things.