Ted Rall for September 11, 2020

Just maybe the people will vote for the person who is actually qualified for the job. Or are you Mr. Rall, against that too?

The founding fathers also hated and feared a two party system, but hey…

We know who Mr. Rall hates the most and he isn’t the sitting president!

I guess this is hypothetical, but in reality a majority of voters like Joe.

That’s just being human.

The people vote according to their conscience and will. Whether they vote for or against somebody, is none of my business, as long as they do it freely.What system would you propose to ensure that people vote in the (according to you) right way and right mindset, Mr. Rall?

Theodore, you should be reading Prickly City. Y’all could start a lil’ club or sumthin’.

Yes, exactly. Welcome to America. I suppose it’s very different from Rainbow Gumdrop Land. But I imagine the trip here on your unicorn was pleasant.

Sorry Ted, this the reality we have to deal with. Getting over it is a sign of maturity.

That’s human relations. We’re obviously a failed race heading for global suicide.

Republicans and Christians are hurrying the apocalypse along.

As is the usual case with Mr. Rall, “The people” consists of Mr. Rall.

Still beating the same old dead horse? Is your lower lip stuck in a permanent pout by now? You want progress, why not go after the obstacles in the Senate? Or the packing of the courts?

Grow up already.

One of the first things the pathetic GQP (Grand QAnon Party) put out after the Woodward tapes came out, was a clip of Biden saying, “Now is not the time to panic over coronavirus”, back in February. Out of curiosity, I found the whole speech. Biden went on to say, “It’s serious.” Then, he pointed out that instead of listening to experts on infectious diseases & epidemics, Trump was silencing them. He added, “This coronavirus isn’t something Donald Trump can make go away by tweeting.”

The holdouts can keep holding out for their perfect Socialist Saviour. Me? I like Joe. I hope he gets enough votes in the Senate to actually do some ambitious things, but at least he’s not delusional.

It’s worked for us since the founding.

That works for me. Sometime avoidance is the best path.

I’m not happy about only having two vialble parties either, but until the voting system is changed — and not only the Electoral College — we have what we have and should make it work the best we can.

“The founding fathers” thought they were setting up a system that avoided political parties. There were few enough voters so that most people knew (or knew someone who knew) their Representatives. Senators were sent by the State senates where everyone knew each other. The Electoral College was actually supposed to pick the President and the voters knew the Electors.

Of course things didn’t work out that way. It would be better to give up on the idea that we can "know the candidates and embrace a party system with true proportional representation. To figure out how to do that, it would be good to look at how Germany does it. They learned a lot from their own and other democracies mistakes.

Now don’t ask me how to get there from here, but I’m pretty sure that a bloody revolution is not the answer.

Pretty tepid. Very “Mad Magazine.” Acting like you’re taking a stand, but playing it safe.

Yeah. Politics as practiced these days (I cannot really speak to the time depicted above) seems to make sure that the most liked / qualified candidate cannot attain the office of President… and isn’t likely to make it to the House or the Senate either. It’s a problem that seems to me to have no perfect solution. I would have said that the UK countries’ system of voting for more immediate representatives who then choose their own PM works better… up until Boris… but now I think it just usually works better.

I’ve become inured to the idea that I’m almost always going to be voting for the lesser of several weevils in most elections at most levels, haven’t you?

It’s better than having the most-despised candidate become president.

The lesser of two evils is, by definition, better than the greater of two evils.

Does anyone even remember when Evil (as in the lesser of two) became acceptable to them?

Not quite. It has created all sorts of messes. For example, Aaron Burr was the Republican nominee for VP and Jefferson for President. But, they tied! Hamilton went crazy, scared as he was that Burr was a tool of the devil, where Jefferson was…an anarchist, at least as far as he was concerned. In the election of 1876, the Republicans were in danger of losing in the Electoral College. Their nominee, Rutherford B. Hays, a Union General during the Civil War but a career politician. began with some of his friends to negotiate for the Southern States electoral votes. In fact, when the electoral votes were cast, he in fact won. The payoff for the South? The end of Reconstruction. So, near ties, disasters, and potential problems in periods of great partisan turmoil are the danger.