2016 elections - because it's never too early

[derspiess]

Seedy doesn't know what's funny.

[CountDeMoney]

There's nothing funny about making jokes at the expense of Andre Agassi.

[garbon]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/10/14/this-girl-was-really-excited-to-meet-hillary-clinton/

[CountDeMoney]

And honestly;  who wouldn't?

[Ed Anger]

I did the exact same thing when I shook Sarah Palin's hand.

[CountDeMoney]

Hope you weren't wearing khakis.

[Berkut]

Man, I am becoming so incredibly pessimistic about politics.

I cannot for the life of me figure out how it can possibly matter who gets elected. We will get a choice between two candidates, neither of which actually differs from the other in any meaningful manner that matters to what the actual problems our country faces.

They will both be, no matter who they are, the same old bought and paid for politicians who will only differ in the narrow niche of what their backers allow.

The Republicans and Democrats will expends tens of billions of dollars telling us why the other will destroy America, while they both go about maintaining the status quo.

[derspiess]

Man, I am becoming so incredibly pessimistic about politics.

  You don't say.

[garbon]

I hate to be disparaging but your post, B, sounds a lot like what a teenager would say about why they don't vote.

[DGuller]

I hate to be disparaging but your post, B, sounds a lot like what a teenager would say about why they don't vote.

Or what a 20-something Asparagus would say about voting for libertarians.

[Jacob]

It seems to me that there are plenty of real, concrete differences that comes out of which party wins. Maybe none of them affect Berkut directly, because he's part of a demographic that neither side wants to upset, but it's my impression that there are lots people who see very concrete results.

Say Obama didn't win last time around? No health care coverage for CdM, right now; or he'd have it at ruinously high prices or low efficiency.

I think the gay marriage thing could easily have unfolded differently, or at different times, with different politicians (and judges) at the helm.

Gun stuff and immigration are other issues where plenty of people could have had different experiences, and whose lives can still be affected in the future, depending on who were and are elected.

[Berkut]

I hate to be disparaging but your post, B, sounds a lot like what a teenager would say about why they don't vote.

A fair critique, no question.

[Berkut]

It seems to me that there are plenty of real, concrete differences that comes out of which party wins. Maybe none of them affect Berkut directly, because he's part of a demographic that neither side wants to upset, but it's my impression that there are lots people who see very concrete results.

Say Obama didn't win last time around? No health care coverage for CdM, right now; or he'd have it at ruinously high prices or low efficiency.

I think the gay marriage thing could easily have unfolded differently, or at different times, with different politicians (and judges) at the helm.

Gun stuff and immigration are other issues where plenty of people could have had different experiences, and whose lives can still be affected in the future, depending on who were and are elected.

None of those things are what is really wrong with our country though, and most of them won't change materially at all based on who is in charge.

Gun control? Won't fundamentally change.

Immigration? What has Obama done materially that is different from anything Bush did?

Health care? OK. Some people now have some form of it who didn't before, and that is good. But again, I think that reform is happening regardless, and how BAD that reform has been even with the Democrats in charge of the Presidency and Congress goes to show just how limited their actually ability is even when they are running the show. The reality is that we get the reform that the powers that run Congress decide they want or can live with, not the reform that the people actually desire.

And again, none of these are the core problems that actually matter - they are just re-arranging the deck chairs.

[Jacob]

And again, none of these are the core problems that actually matter - they are just re-arranging the deck chairs.

While you can certainly convince me that the US could use some fairly fundamental and systemic reforms, I don't think the things that are up for grabs are deck chairs. I think a bunch of those things are incremental changes that set the direction of the ship for decades, and some of it is allowing some people to get on to the deck at all.

The battles are often for seemingly small stakes and for local things, but they add up over time.

[alfred russel]

The girl is astonished that the wax figure is moving and shaking her hand.