The Scripps Howard Foundation Wire reports that “as of Thursday, 419 Americans seeking the presidency had filed a Form 2 statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission,” with 18 joining the race last week. The piece notes that this surpasses the total number of candidates to file four years ago, when 416 filed the necessary paperwork.
Among the candidates briefly profiled or mentioned are those of the American Marijuana Party, Helluva Party, and National Born Citizen Party, as well as Green Party candidate Jill Stein. No Constitution Party or Libertarian Party contenders are mentioned.
I think there’s more than two that fit that description.
I hope that amid the disorganized confusion, there arises a Lilburne, Gandhi, Thoreau, or Douglass. You know, that rare animal: a thoughtful “leader” (by example) who has ideas in mind other than extremely narrow self-interest.
Barring that, may these campaigns and their detractors all sling exactly the same large amount of very sticky mud (…or other frothy, brownish substance, in the case of sweater-vested theocrats). No matter what happens, we can be certain that whoever is elected, he or she will have far too high a ratio of firepower to brainpower, and far too low a ratio of possible pardons of victimless non-crime “offenders” to actual pardons of victimless non-crime “offenders.”
In this musical chairs contest for the world’s highest seat of power, let us laugh at the busted tail-bones and wounded grimaces, as the injured egos limp off-stage. The short, frowny clown with the red-and-grey powder-puff toupee. The fat blustering psychopath lifted straight from “the Sopranos.” The (parched) noncommittal youngster who won’t tell us whether he inhaled pot smoke “because knowing for sure might set a bad example for the children,” (such as “honesty,” I guess). The union-busting ball-park-protectionist. The doddering abolitionist of “Ooops,” (now with serious-looking glasses). America’s patronizing socialist Marie Antoinette, inattentive and self-aggrandizing. A CEO (of a company that foundered under her guidance). The guided-by-faith neurosurgeon from the last era of neurosurgery to not really understand the brain in any significant detail. Two confused, elderly totalitarians with wiry white hair, neither of whom likes the other, in spite of their similarities.
You’ve seen them all, and been bored by their pandering lies. If only there were a way to “shake up the jar,” and keep them all tussling like evenly-matched predatory insects.
Let us thus try in vain to keep our wits (and short-lived memories) about us as we prepare to be disappointed yet again by this recurrent iceberg-bound “Titanic” piloted collectively by the dim-witted, government-reared wards of the American police state. Too little, too late, and half-heartedly, they got involved …in determining what color the paint would be (if any) on the walls of the gulag they’ve made of America.
…And may posterity forget that such mindless and corrupt electors were our countrymen. (…present company [and NSA, and Sunsteinian agents provocateurs, of course —Ed.] excluded.)
What are the chances that we’ll see 1% of them on a debate stage at the same time? I’m thinking very low for 2016, maybe 50% chance in my lifetime.
Why only categorized as Green Party?