Political Playoffs. in Whey and Sonic Screwdrivers.

I wasn’t even aware there was a Republican undercard debate. That’s the Republican Machine for you. No, no, think about it. As much as they want to have a Frontrunner™, the more television time they have, the more media coverage they’ll get. That, and they’ll be having a total of ten debates to the Democrat’s six. C’mon guys, step it up a notch.

I like that Carly Fiorina got promoted from the Undercard in the second debate. Not that I agreed with a single thing she said, but it’s nice when people polling (less than) 1% get exposure. (I strike that. Fact-checking and shit. According to realclearpolitics, Fiorina is polling 3.3, same as Rand Paul.) I kept hearing that the main debate required polling greater than 1%; all the undercard debaters were under that 1%.

Anyway. Some people think having ten/eleven people on stage is chaos and a media circus. This early in an election cycle? I reckon I like it. Let there be a media circus. Let there be rises and falls in pollings.

Speaking of pollings. I don’t really believe Hillary has that big of a lead. If anything, I think everybody has been feeling the Bern for the past two months. I have yet to hear a single positive soundbite from Hillary. Look, I want to like her. I love Bill Clinton. But since her obvious ploy (back in 2000) to move to New York state to become a senator, to voting for the war in iraq, to being against gay marriage, I just have yet to see anything that makes me want to rally behind her. Meanwhile, a quick trip down youtube yield a trove of soundbites from Senator Sanders which makes me wish he was my white fuzzy haired grandpa. Where Obama had that grassroots support, Sanders is number one in social media relations. HE LIVE TWEETED THE SECOND REPUBLICAN DEBATE. And while a certain republican did the same, like you’d know who he is. (While I’ve yet to hear a single positive thing about Hillary via social media, I will acknowledge she at least does something Trump does not, which is…) Yet the leading Republican candidate has a single issue on his website. One. Just one. Take a wild guess which one it is.

But wait. Take a look at that Democratic polling. I count six candidates. Only six? That’s it? And Biden isn’t even declared. And I doubt he will run. His son died of brain cancer last May, cut the guy some slack.

Well, there goes the first part of what I was going to write about. I was GOING to say that I like the idea of undercard debates. Give lesser known candidates a rare chance to shine, say something people identify with, and show their poise under pressure. If the Democrats had a Republican Circus, I’d suggest starting with a main ticket of at most ten, then narrowing it down by one each debate until you’re left with three or four. After the primaries start, stick with those 3 or 4.

(Okay, okay,

But what I’ve thought for at least a decade now is that a winner-takes-all presidential election seems a bit much. Forget the Electoral College. That’s another issue. Imagine an entire month of elections, three rounds. First Tuesday in November: First round. Top four advance. A single week later: Top two advance. And two weeks later, the final binding election of the US President. You know damned well why people don’t vote for third-party candidates on a national level: they don’t stand a chance.

Fuck man, take it back a month. Imagine if, on the first Tuesday in October, we had a general election, and the top EIGHT were to move on. That’s enough time for a complete darkhorse to sneak into the top four. I know, I know, people campaign for 1.5 years for this job. But if that person has something valid to say, even if they’re unelectable, the other candidates are forced to deal with them.

I don’t know. Wishful thinking. A lot can happen in two months. Just look at Bernie Sanders.

(Who popped out to me in the 2nd debate? Rand Paul, John Kasich, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio. Even Jeb Bush had some really nice moments. But, that’s me. And saying I’d give Christie any props is saying a LOT, because I live in Jersey, and he’s a total asshole. Don’t vote for him.)

Last updated September 18, 2015