Why Can't the Major Parties Produce Good Candidates? Why Can't We Elect Good Candidates?

[dblack]

It boils down to this: Only a stupid idiot moron would want to be president so we only get stupid idiot morons running for president. The only qualification for the job is being OK with wearing a shirt that says kick me on the back. Oh yeah, I forgot, you have to be US citizen and you have to be at least 37.

It seems to me that a President who wasn't trying to force one side's views on the other wouldn't get kicked so much.

 

[JWBooth]

Politics more than anything provides endless entertainment. It is in fact supposed to be a major source of humor for people.

I don’t know about humor, but it is about distraction

 

[Rigby5]

There are even fewer third party options and they are worse than the D/R

Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Christi, etc., are all way better than Trump or Biden.
Parties are not supposed to ever effect an election, in any way.
We need an open election with ranking to avoid the need for a run off.

 

[Rigby5]

It seems to me that a President who wasn't trying to force one side's views on the other wouldn't get kicked so much.

Forcing views would be trivial.
What is evil is deliberately starting illegal wars like Biden did with the Ukraine.
It was illegal for him to bribe the Ukraine with a trillion dollars worth of weapons.

 

[rightwinger]

Why Can't the Major Parties Produce Good Candidates? Why Can't We Elect Good Candidates?​

Well….let’s look at recent candidates

Joe Biden- Almost 40 years in the Senate and 8 years as Vice President. Probably the most qualified candidate in history

Donald Trump- No Government experience, Unqualified both emotionally and intellectually

Barack Obama- One term Senator. Least qualified since JFK

George W Bush- Texas Governor, Executive experience

Bill Clinton- Arkansas Governor, small state

George HW Bush- 8 years VP, CIA Director, Congressman. Highly qualified

​

 

[sartre play]

I know most people are here for the two-party food fight, so this thread likely won't get much traction, but it seems we have a real problem with our election system. Neither party seems capable of, or interested in, nominating someone who will be a good leader for the country as a whole. And voters can't seem to break out of the habit of voting for Ds or Rs no matter how bad the candidates are. Why is that? And how can we fix it?

In my view, strategic voting (lesser-of-two-evils) is the biggest culprit. It tells us that we need to vote for bad candidates because the "other guy" is even worse. Fear is an easy sell, so the parties lean heavily on this strategy, spending most of their time demonizing the opponent rather than holding up the virtues of their candidate (which are virtually non-existent). Ranked choice would eliminate lesser-of-two-evils voting and finally allow voters to vote "against" candidates they find unacceptable (by ranking them last). This would discourage divisive partisan fear mongering and make it more likely that consensus seeking candidates are elected.

There other problems, of course, and I'm curious what you all think they are. Although, to be clear, I'm not talking about corruption or "stolen" elections. I'm talking about the systemic problems with the way we're doing elections that make it seemingly impossible for good leaders to get elected.

EXCELENT QUESTION.

 

[rightwinger]

I'm talking about the systemic problems with the way we're doing elections that make it seemingly impossible for good leaders to get elected

Your thread

Who in the last 40 years was a good leader and would have made an excellent President but didn’t run or get elected?

Name names

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

I know most people are here for the two-party food fight, so this thread likely won't get much traction, but it seems we have a real problem with our election system. Neither party seems capable of, or interested in, nominating someone who will be a good leader for the country as a whole. And voters can't seem to break out of the habit of voting for Ds or Rs no matter how bad the candidates are. Why is that? And how can we fix it?

In my view, strategic voting (lesser-of-two-evils) is the biggest culprit. It tells us that we need to vote for bad candidates because the "other guy" is even worse. Fear is an easy sell, so the parties lean heavily on this strategy, spending most of their time demonizing the opponent rather than holding up the virtues of their candidate (which are virtually non-existent). Ranked choice would eliminate lesser-of-two-evils voting and finally allow voters to vote "against" candidates they find unacceptable (by ranking them last). This would discourage divisive partisan fear mongering and make it more likely that consensus seeking candidates are elected.

There other problems, of course, and I'm curious what you all think they are. Although, to be clear, I'm not talking about corruption or "stolen" elections. I'm talking about the systemic problems with the way we're doing elections that make it seemingly impossible for good leaders to get elected.

Term limits, problem solved.

 

[miketx]

I know most people are here for the two-party food fight, so this thread likely won't get much traction, but it seems we have a real problem with our election system. Neither party seems capable of, or interested in, nominating someone who will be a good leader for the country as a whole. And voters can't seem to break out of the habit of voting for Ds or Rs no matter how bad the candidates are. Why is that? And how can we fix it?

In my view, strategic voting (lesser-of-two-evils) is the biggest culprit. It tells us that we need to vote for bad candidates because the "other guy" is even worse. Fear is an easy sell, so the parties lean heavily on this strategy, spending most of their time demonizing the opponent rather than holding up the virtues of their candidate (which are virtually non-existent). Ranked choice would eliminate lesser-of-two-evils voting and finally allow voters to vote "against" candidates they find unacceptable (by ranking them last). This would discourage divisive partisan fear mongering and make it more likely that consensus seeking candidates are elected.

There other problems, of course, and I'm curious what you all think they are. Although, to be clear, I'm not talking about corruption or "stolen" elections. I'm talking about the systemic problems with the way we're doing elections that make it seemingly impossible for good leaders to get elected.

Why? Because power corrupts.

 

[miketx]

Term limits, problem solved.

No, that just rotates the traitors every few years.

 

[GMCGeneral]

Excellent observations. I think many of our political problems are tied to the fact that government has become too powerful. When government is limited in power and scope, it doesn't really matter who is running things. There's only so much damage they can do. But as government has grown to impact our lives more and more, it becomes more and more important to have "your guy" in there. And more and more frightening to see someone elected who doesn't share your values.

Well, one of the first things that should automatically happen is the repeal of the 17th Amendment which changed how states select their Senators. That should revert back to the State legislatures.

 

[rightwinger]

Well, one of the first things that should automatically happen is the repeal of the 17th Amendment which changed how states select their Senators. That should revert back to the State legislatures.

We the People should select our Senators

 

[dblack]

Term limits, problem solved.

Never really saw how that does much good. As long as people are making up excuses for voting for bad candidates, we'll keep getting bad candidates.

 

[rightwinger]

Never really saw how that does much good. As long as people are making up excuses for voting for bad candidates, we'll keep getting bad candidates.

What if we like our Senator?
Why can’t I vote for him?

 

[GMCGeneral]

We the People should select our Senators

You the people are completely clueless as to the proper function of government. This is why we're in the mess we are in. From Wilson to Roosevelt to Johnson, Carter, Clinton, the Mulatto Menace, and now Potatohead. Sorry, but Democrats are traitors to the country.

 

[GMCGeneral]

What if we like our Senator?
Why can’t I vote for him?

Doesn't matter. After his/her term is up it's buh bye. Gone would be the career politician.

 

[dblack]

Doesn't matter. After his/her term is up it's buh bye. Gone would be the career politician.

I don't see how that does anything to improve the quality of candidates. And it guarantees that, at any given time, half of Congress will be lame duck reps looking to land profitable gigs after they're forced to leave.

As long as we're voting for bad candidates, we'll get bad leaders. The math isn't hard. Just say no.

 

[rightwinger]

Doesn't matter. After his/her term is up it's buh bye. Gone would be the career politician.

So your theory is that even though I like my Senator/ Congressman and think he is doing a great job….

I should replace my experienced representative after ten years with a complete novice…..just because of some arbitrary term limit?

No thanks

 

[GMCGeneral]

So your theory is that even though I like my Senator/ Congressman and think he is doing a great job….

I should replace my experienced representative after ten years with a complete novice…..just because of some arbitrary term limit?

No thanks

The Founders never intended for "professional" politicians to be in office for 4, 5, or even 6 DECADES!!!! The idea, and Trump was correct on this, was, is, and should be ordinary citizens coming from a variety of backgrounds to serve for a limited time in government, then leave when their term is up.

 

[GMCGeneral]

I don't see how that does anything to improve the quality of candidates. And it guarantees that, at any given time, half of Congress will be lame duck reps looking to land profitable gigs after they're forced to leave.

As long as we're voting for bad candidates, we'll get bad leaders. The math isn't hard. Just say no.

See my post above. DC today is NOT what the Founders envisioned.