I don’t want to disillusion any readers, but....

[ND-Dem]

I don’t want to disillusion any readers, but most of what they read and hear in politics is deliberate, strategic and ongoing propaganda...propaganda is, after all, the language of politics, and the secret is not only speaking the language, but knowing how to translate it.

We now enter the “announcement” season of the presidential campaign cycle. The “propagandismo” nature of our political language is in one of its purest forms in this season. Debates between candidates, and the conflict between their differing “propaganda” messages, have not yet taken place. Media and commentary analysis challenging the propaganda is mostly ahead. Political consultants and other advisers have carefully crafted, after much discussion and editing, the persona, biographical “story,” and overall image of their candidates. The political horses are lining up to get into the starting gates. By the late autumn and early winter, we’re off to the race!

Not so long ago, announcing for president was a more simple and straightforward event. Radio, TV and the internet, as they came along, provide expanded platforms for the formal declaration of candidacy, but “in the old days” when a candidate decided to get “in”, he or she simply got “in.”

Today, there are usually a series of orchestrated steps to the actual announcement. First, there is an often extended period of”speculation” during which a potential candidate gives interviews, answers media questions, and makes public speeches in which an “interest” in running for president is made of “hints,” “maybes,” and “possibles.” Then there is an announcement of the formation of an “exploratory committee” which propels a candidate into fundraising and more specific testing of the political waters. (This step arose primarily to fit the campaign funding laws introduced several years ago.) Finally, there is the formal announcement itself. Sometimes, a candidate only goes through step 1, or steps 1 and 2. We are now, in most cases, ready for those who will take step 3.

For the 2016 cycle, each major political party will have its own schedule of announcements. Senator Ted Cruz has just become the first to formally announce on the Republican (he skipped step 2, that is, he did not form an exploratory committee). He will be followed soon enough by a number of others, including predetermined “major” candidates Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Scott Walker. Most of those who will go to step 3 have already formed exploratory committees. There is likely to be one or two surprise or late entries (like Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2012). On the Democratic side, the party and its potential candidates are awaiting the formal announcement of Hillary Clinton, reportedly set for April. Should she decide not to run, the number of formal candidates would likely increase dramatically. If she does announce, there will still be rivals in the race, most notably now former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, and possibly, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Since a Democratic field without Clinton would be considered a relatively light one, the chance for surprise candidacies is high...


-Copyright (c) 2015 by Barry Casselman. All rights reserved.

http://race42016.com/category/martin-omalley/

[merrily]

1. For the love of all that's good and wonderful, surprise me.

O'Malley, Warren, Sanders and many more.

Most of all, Democratic Party, surprise me by not putting your massive thumb on the scale.

[longship]

2. And, there are those who just do not care 19 months out.

This dude abides. What will be will be. I will start worrying when there is an election approaching, now many months away. (Really too soon. The UK gets it all done in six weeks, sometimes less.)

Only in the USA are we in perpetual presidential campaign mode. It is a hideous and ugly aberration of our culture. And it will be the end of us all.

My recommendation...

A late August national presidential primary. Early September nominating conventions. A two month campaign. Voting should be by mail, like in Oregon. And everybody qualified should get a ballot. The ballot should be return postage paid.

KISS. Keep it simple, stupid.

[Katashi_itto]

3. I think I have gotten to the point of not caring at all. Unless we get a real dem, none of the

extinction issues will be addressed at all

[brooklynite]

4. The chance of surprise candidates is NOT high...

...because before the announcement phase is the quiet planning phase in which candidates secure pledges of financial support, develop campaign concepts and staff up, generally out of the public view. Except that, in today's world, it's impossible to do things without people paying attention. Hence the stories of all the staff Hillary Clinton is lining up. Bottom line, if someone is thinking of running, the world knows it (Clinton, Sanders, Webb, O'Malley), and if someone isn't thinking of running yet, they're going to have a very hard time jumping in later, because all of the political resources will be committed to someone else.