2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: After watching the Republican debate, I'm floored the Democrats aren't starting their debates. [View all]napi21
(45,806 posts)I was having fun ridiculing the various Pubs and their comments during last nights 2 clown shows. My hubby had been in the den watching whatever his choice for the night was. He walked out into the LR around 10:30 and said (in a very disgusted tone) "How long are we going to have to listen to THIS CRAP again?" I laughed and responded, "OH, about another 15 months."
He grumbled and went off to bed, but I started thinking...how many people are there like him in the US? Maybe starting with debates & TV Ads over a year before the election really IS too soon. I know all of us get really tired seeing & hearing that stuff a while', especially since there's very little "NEW" after a while. Maybe Debbie is right in waiting for a few months and let the Pubs become old and boring and mostly ignored, and let the Dems come on the scene Fresh & New 2 months later. A year prior to the election in my mind is still way too long to campaign, but it's at lease a little shorter. I'd still love to see it changed to the way the Brits do it.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-05-14/opinion/ct-oped-0514-british-20100514_1_campaign-spending-candidates-election-day
Conservative Party leader David Cameron ousted Gordon Brown as prime minister of the United Kingdom. On Tuesday, Brown resigned his post and Cameron moved to No. 10 Downing St. The campaign lasted one month and virtually nothing was spent by either campaign, compared with U.S. standards.
The national election in the U.K. should be a wake-up call to Americans.
Campaign spending in this country is out of control.
In the 2008 presidential race, the candidates spent a total of $1.7 billion, double what was spent in the 2004 race. In the U.K. election, a spending cap of 20 million pounds, about $33 million, was imposed on each of the major parties. Of course, campaigns there are less expensive partly because of a ban on paid radio and TV advertising or any ads on matters of "political or industrial controversy."