2016 elections - because it's never too early

[Valmy]

You want infuriating - see how much media coverage Trump has received compared to every single one of his competitors.   But to be fair it's not that they're pro-Trump - it's just that Trump drives ratings.

The sad thing is their ratings still suck.

[derspiess]

Kasich got beat in Arizona by Rubio. Not even close really--Kasich would have had to increase his vote total by ~50% to catch Rubio.

Kasich is undermining any attempt to stop Trump. Really selfish to stay in at this point.

would kasich voters vote for cruz over trump? seems like trump generally has the non-religious crowd

Trump also has a lot of the religious crowd.

[FunkMonk]

What's happening is that the media is saying that there's no way that Sanders can win, so people who refuse to vote for Clinton aren't bothering to go out and vote. They tend toward Bernie or no one, and if there's no chance that Sanders can win, it's no one.

What about would-be Clinton voters who opt to stay home or do something else with their time because they're hearing Hillary has this thing wrapped up? Or the Bernie voter who is actually more inclined to go out and vote because the media has it out for Bernie and they want to prove a point? It's hard to quantify these voters and their motives for voting so I'm not sure you can really say that the media is negatively affecting Bernie's campaign, unless you're just going by your gut feeling. That's fine, too, btw.

It infuriates me that the media is allowing themselves to have such a hand in the outcome. They're so blatantly and obviously pro-Clinton, and it's driving me crazy.

I don't question that the media can have affect on the outcomes of elections. However, to say that NPR is blatantly and obviously pro-Clinton is going too far. If the reality of the race is that Bernie has to make up a lot more ground than he currently is in order to win the nomination, is reporting that inherently pro-Clinton? In that case, is reality in fact pro-Clinton? And if they do have a pro-Clinton agenda, for what purpose is it? Do they just hate Bernie? If it's just about ratings and money I'd think that more positive coverage of Bernie would be their agenda, since a tighter race is more interesting and will likely increase their ratings.

Should the media simply read a table of numbers and election results without any context or should it also educate people about the how's, why's, and wherefore's?

[Eddie Teach]

I think people voting for Kasich at this point have mostly decided they don't like Trump or Cruz. And if they stayed home, Trump's percentiles would be higher. I don't think he's hurting the chances for a brokered convention by staying in.

[Drakken]

I'm sad that you want the charade that Bernie is going to win to continue. I think you'd recognize that it is a time for the Dems to start coming together not continuing to lunge at one another's throats.

Besides, nothing you've said really refutes that the narrative is basically true. I'll say it again so it can be heard in the cheap seats - Sanders would need a miracle at this point to win.

Agreed. He is as likely to be the Democrat candidate as me winning a coin toss a million times in row. Mathematically possible, but so unlikely to happen in reality to be nigh-on impossible.

The only way Sanders can win, right now, is if somehow Hillary is forced to step down, either by illness or by the FBI putting her under arrest. The jig is up, but for business reasons the media has to keep reporting him as a (false) contender to provide political content to feed the Democrat share of their audience and fill airtime for advertisers. Nothing is more boring for a news media that a foregone political race - there has to be a contender, even unlikely, to create and maintain suspense.

[Martinus]

I'm getting increasingly annoyed with the media. I'm not a Bernie supporter, but I really dislike foul play, and consistently sending the message that Sanders can't catch up to Clinton's "commanding lead" is an outright lie.

He won the day yesterday with 67 delegates to Clinton's 51. Yes, she won Arizona, but he pulled in more delegates than she did. Right now, he's about 200 delegates behind her. He needs 1004 pledged delegates to her 799 to win the majority.

What do I hear on NPR this morning? That because Clinton took Arizona, there is no way that Sanders can overtake her.

Both Sanders and Trump get shafted by the media.

[Valmy]

The media is biased against everybody. Everybody knows that.

[alfred russel]

Kasich got beat in Arizona by Rubio. Not even close really--Kasich would have had to increase his vote total by ~50% to catch Rubio.

Kasich is undermining any attempt to stop Trump. Really selfish to stay in at this point.

would kasich voters vote for cruz over trump? seems like trump generally has the non-religious crowd

Yes. And polling backs this up.

This poll found a current 14 point edge of Trump over Cruz. Without Kasich, that shrinks to 9 (with undecided growing by 3).

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/2016-republican-poll-trump-cruz-kasich-221111

[Martinus]

I read recently that Kasich is quite deeply religious but an Episcopalian who doesn't wear it on his sleeve. I'd imagine a low key but devout Christian (such as dps) could switch from him to Cruz rather than Trump (who seems very "pagan" in his passions and virtues).

[Jaron]

I read recently that Kasich is quite deeply religious but an Episcopalian who doesn't wear it on his sleeve. I'd imagine a low key but devout Christian (such as dps) could switch from him to Cruz rather than Trump (who seems very "pagan" in his passions and virtues).

Trump worships himself.

[Martinus]

Yeah, he is very pagan as I said. Which is what I like about him.

[Eddie Teach]

what I like about him.

Does he really know how to dance?

[derspiess]

I read recently that Kasich is quite deeply religious but an Episcopalian who doesn't wear it on his sleeve.

That's what I've read as well.  But since he practically never discusses it it's hard to know exactly how religious he is.  He did buy a six pack when he visited my local brewery a while ago, so he's not the kind that is too religious to drink.

[Barrister]

I read recently that Kasich is quite deeply religious but an Episcopalian who doesn't wear it on his sleeve.

That's what I've read as well.  But since he practically never discusses it it's hard to know exactly how religious he is.  He did buy a six pack when he visited my local brewery a while ago, so he's not the kind that is too religious to drink.

Anglicans / episcopalians aren't anti-alcohol.

[derspiess]

Anglicans / episcopalians aren't anti-alcohol.

Very devout Episcopalians tend to be, at least here in the US.