American Politics from 2019 on

[Tero]

Messing with election. elsewhere:

I can’t find a clear cite to what happens if some electoral votes just don’t show up because of shenanigans, but I found several cites that said you need 270 even if Kennedy won a few. For example, if Harris got 269, Trump got 268, and Kennedy got 3 (or however the math works out), Harris doesn’t win and it goes to the Senate or the House or something.

To be precise it is a majority of electors selected. If Georgia manages to avoid choosing electors then the number of EVs needed goes from 279 to 271.

There are only two scenarios where it goes to the House for a vote (called a “contingent election”). That is if Trump and Harris tied exactly, or if a third party candidate grabbed enough EVs that neither Trump nor Harris had the majority.

Such a thing has happened three times in American history. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied at 73 votes each, and John Adams came in third place with 65 votes. It then went to a vote between Jefferson and Burr, but the House still took a week to settle the voting, and of course Jefferson won.

(3 people)

[Tero]

On the lighter siede...donuts
https://www.threads.net/@debpixcom/post ... ak8V5ITTgA

[Tero]

NYT

Politicians in other advanced democracies don’t spend nearly as much time on campaigns. Mexico, Japan and much of the European Union, for instance, have laws limiting them. French presidential races can’t officially start until two weeks before the first round of voting. The U.K. held a nationwide parliamentary election this summer in about six weeks. In Japan, campaigns last just 12 days. Citing declining public trust, the country’s governing party last week announced that it would lengthen that period for its next leadership election — to 15 days.

[Tero]

The low information voter
http://esapolitics.blogspot.com/2024/08 ... r.html?m=1

[Brian Peacock]

NYT

Politicians in other advanced democracies don’t spend nearly as much time on campaigns. Mexico, Japan and much of the European Union, for instance, have laws limiting them. French presidential races can’t officially start until two weeks before the first round of voting. The U.K. held a nationwide parliamentary election this summer in about six weeks. In Japan, campaigns last just 12 days. Citing declining public trust, the country’s governing party last week announced that it would lengthen that period for its next leadership election — to 15 days.

Strict financial limits on campaign spending come into force once an election date is set too. In fact, the main source of election fraud is prospective MPs spending too much and/or not declaring everything they spend. Parties can spend centrally for things like tv and print advertising, events, or bussing volunteers into a constituency - but again only up to a limit. However, a legal quirk means there's no limit for internet or social media advertising.

[Tero]

Elsewhere:

Euphonious_Polemic
If Harris proposes a popular policy that is not fully costed out and completely airtight, she will be damaged more than if Trump wears his underpants on his head at a rally and says that he will ban rainbows in the sky because they are woke.

Me:
It’s not about policy. Never was. All the elections, 2016, 2020 and 2024 are strictly about Trump.

(He was right about the underpants)

[Tero]

Walz and Vance
https://www.threads.net/@lincolnproject ... iGgJD7PfDg

[Tero]

Social media manipulating elections. Again.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... or-america

[pErvinalia]

Tero posting endless context-less links again.

[Brian Peacock]

Headline reads: Inciting rioters in Britain was a test run for Elon Musk. Just see what he plans for America.

[Tero]

It was a bit of a mish mash story, so it was not that easy to summarize.

Where this social media influence is those stories and fake news spreading a week before election. The media loves conspiracy theories.

Perv, is there some cost involved in you clicking a link?

[pErvinalia]

I like to know it's worth my time first.

On X Alex Jones is warning Musk will be arrested if he steps foot in the UK or EU. Let's hope so.

[Tero]

I like to know it's worth my time first.

On X Alex Jones is warning Musk will be arrested if he steps foot in the UK or EU. Let's hope so.

No, it is never worth your time to click any link. Unless it is a link you looked up to do something. In the same vein, it is never worth you time to watch a Youtube video. Unless it is on how to zero the mileage counter of your car.

[Tero]

It's sick.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_ ... ted_States

Money from Billionaires and other super wealthy people comprises a disproportionate share of campaign financing in the United States.[53] Examining one slice of the campaigning season—Summer 2015 of the 2016 presidential campaign cycle—the donations of fewer than 400 super wealthy families comprised nearly half of all publicly disclosed presidential campaign financing, according to a New York Times analysis of FEC and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filings. These donors exploit the SuperPAC loophole, which bypasses the traditional donation maximum for an individual in any year. On the Republican side, just around 130 particularly rich families accounted for more than half of the publicly disclosed presidential candidate campaign financing. For several major Republican presidential candidates, a handful of donors and their businesses accounted for most of the donations to the candidate.[54]

[Tero]

Nebraska republicans focusing on farming not Trump

Boom and bust in agriculture
U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer of Lincoln, whose family owns and operates a ranch near Valentine, said most of the experienced farmers and ranchers she speaks with around the state understand and prepare for the boom and bust runs of agriculture.


U.S. Rep. Don Bacon answers a question as U.S. Rep. Mike Flood listens. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
She said she worries most for young producers, who haven’t seen three-dollar corn before. For them, this stretch is going to be difficult. But farmers and ranchers are in the business for the long haul, she said.

“People are just going to weather the storm, as we always do in agriculture,” she said. “You’re not going to be buying that new combine, you’re not going to be buying that new pickup, and that then has ramifications in your community.”

https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/08/29 ... s-leaders/