Re: They're under our beds!
A logical idea, Lusty, but of course they've got that covered. The person wasn't far wrong who pointed out that if voting made any real difference, it would be illegal. If a new set of candidates were required, the established parties could easily find them. There are armies of hack politicians just waiting to be put in harness.
What always amazes me about these discussions is how so many Americans - and British people too, apparently - seem to believe that there is any significant difference between the established parties. So they waste all their time and energy arguing about whether "Hillary" is worse than "Trump", and whether Obamacare is worse than the previous system... instead of standing back a little and allowing themselves to notice that the entire political setup is carefully designed to prevent voters from having any impact whatsoever (other than cosmetic). That's why David Cameron is so utterly disgraced - he found a way of letting the British people exert some influence on their fate, by holding the Brexit referendum. He thought it was safe enough, the proles would never be able to escape their brainwashing - but they did.
Haven't you seen the classic study by Gilens & Page of Princeton that conclusively proves the USA is an oligarchy, not a democracy? Or Gilens' book "Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America"? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746
It's about 40 years since Gore Vidal summed up the American political system. "There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party… and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt – until recently… and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties".
Incidentally, what brilliant portraits of Trump ("a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism") and Hillary and her friends ("cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt – until recently… and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand").
As Gilens and Page have proved - and everyone who knew anything about American politics has understood for centuries - there is no important difference between the parties, and Presidents, when elected, mostly do what they are told. (Exceptions like John Kennedy get eliminated).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
