this post was submitted on 15 May 2024
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politics

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[–] [email protected] 109 points 10 months ago (5 children)

He's not wrong, the two main parties absolutely do collude to create a duopoly.

He's also the wrong messenger to deliver the message.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

It's not just that.

Every other election debates are held by a nonpartisan organization and a third party that meets certain requirements can also join.

Because political parties are private organizations not attached to the government.

This election both parties agreed they will only do debates that they arrange.

Meaning they're in charge of who shows up, and they'll never both agree to let anyone else join.

People keep acting like it doesn't matter, but it's a big deal.

Edit:

Obviously RFK is a joke and won't win, but we shouldn't just shrug as the two private parties seize more and more power when they have zero accountability to voters and neither side will ever be held accountable by their own politicians.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago

The lower one side goes, the lower the other side goes. How are you gonna vote out fascism when the Democrats go a low as they can simply because Republicans go lower. Trump doesn't even need to win at this point for fascism to continue encroaching because Dems will continue to strip liberties like fair debates away under the guise of stopping the other sides fascism. Every day we march rightward.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago (2 children)

He's being left out not because Trump or Biden are keeping him out. He's being left out because he does not meet the minimum requirements to qualify for a place on the debate stage. He has to have a certain percentage of voters polling for him and he simply does not have that.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

I think the point was that the polling requirement was how it USED to work, but this election season the parties are holding their own debates with their own rules. I don’t have a source on it myself but I think that’s the claim here.

RFK Jr wouldn’t be invited regardless though.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You drank the kool aid bruh

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The two main parties are so big that they don't need to collude. Every single component of our media will do the work for them.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Colluding involves communication and coordinated ation. They don't need to collude because excluding third parties is in their best interest.

Both parties are still wary after the outcome in 1992 when Ross Perot received nearly 20% of the vote after being included in the debates. Neither want to risk having a wildcard on stage.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Neither want to risk having a wildcard on stage

Well thats really none of their business so long as this is a democracy. What they want is irrelevant.

He's polling high enough. He should be included.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Debates are not some kind of regulated and managed thing that exists for candidates to show up to. They are hosted by third parties and all of the rules and setup are decided by the third party and the political parties, so of course rhe two big names get to didctate how they are run. Even having a minimum amount of polling is subjective and part of the process of setting up the debate. If both of the major parties won'rlt show up if a third party candidate with around 10% in the polls is included, the the debate will exclude that third party candidate.

How the hell is captain brain worms polling at 10% without stealing a bunch of votes from Trump? This country is doomed.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

This is more of a warning to not listen to pollsters. 10% of voters are definitely not going to vote for this guy, maybe one or two percent. Clearly the polls are way off.

Don't even listen to them. Vote. Help your favored candidate. Donate if you want to. Help get out the vote.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

It's the network's rule:

Kennedy has already hit CNN’s 15% polling threshold in two out of four qualifying polls. But the network also announced that participants must “appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency prior to the eligibility deadline.”

I think as a bare minimum requirement, being able to appear on the ballots of enough states to actually have a chance of winning makes perfect sense as a rule. With all the things to shit on the parties for, why make up a strawman?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

He's polling at 10% nationally. He should be included.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (4 children)

The rules say it has to be 15%.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's way too high a requirement. I don't like this guy but it's essential we start getting more than two options each election

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Those are never taken seriously because they're never in the debate, which for most of my life where people actually made their decision on who to vote for.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It’s an arbitrary percentage they came up with in 2000. It should be lower, and it’s not like they stick closely to their own made up rules.

Lowering the percentage would be another step toward breaking this ridiculous 2 party system.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (8 children)

Hard disagree. He has the possibility to siphon off enough trump voters to maybe give Biden a way to win. We also didn’t have two 80 year olds on stage back then. The people deserve debate edit: this even if all we are allowed to add is someone with a starved-dead worm in their brain.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Oh my God, he's getting better, he finally invented a conspiracy theory that doesn't implicate the Jews! Progress!

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

Sorry this is the best your going to get.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 months ago (3 children)

This guy is pretty annoying.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

How did the son of one of the most progressive politicians end up like this?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

A worm ate part of his brain.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

To quote Invader Zim
"Have you the Brain Worms?!?!"

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

Biden and Trump couldn't collude on a place to order takeout

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

I highly doubt Trump and Biden are coordinating in any capacity

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

Rfk jr should just accept this as the blessing it is. These events aren’t debates, these are like all the worst parts of reality tv stitched together into an inane freakshow of attacking one another and dodging questions, without any accountability for their lies and deceit. It’s void of nearly any intellectual nutrition, served as entertainment to the American public.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

Now that made me laugh.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's just the worm talking Bobby. In reality, no one respects you or sees you as a real candidate.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

There are a few RFK signs by houses in a rural area by me. They used to have Trump signs though, so I think it's a wash.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

He should get someone to make a high quality edit of himself in there answering the questions alongside them and then release the video himself. He's not great, but the juxtaposition with those two would make him look great and people would get a kick out of some nice editing/AI tricks or whatever.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

"Vaccines cause health problems, WiFi gives you leaky brain, and that's how the worm got in my head"

Yeah, he'll look great.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Trumps brain worms died of starvation

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

No honestly, he should join the debates. I'll start getting a bingo card ready

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