General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm told "If you ever want a balanced SCOTUS, set your values aside and shut up and vote for HRC." [View all]brooklynite
(94,581 posts)Last edited Sat Mar 28, 2015, 04:26 PM - Edit history (1)
Dream all you want about simpler and shorter elections, but absent constitutional changes, they won't happen here. Our political process has evolved based on our legal and political structure and our cultural preferences.
1) You must run in Primaries in order to win enough delegates to get the nomination
2) You must campaign in Primaries in order to win the State's delegates
3) You must campaign in MANY primaries at once to win delegates fast enough
4) Campaigning in many States at once means you can't just do face to face campaign activities.
5) Paying for television advertising and a campaign team that CAN do face to face campaign now costs tens of millions of dollars.
6) Raising tens of millions of dollars takes months before the first primaries.
7) Having a campaign that can raise tens of millions of dollars requires preliminary organization and financial commitments.
8) If you not already in the field collecting a campaign team and financial commitments you won't be competetive.
Like it or not, the campaign is already underway. Cruz has announced. Others will announce next month. Hillary Clinton is laying the groundwork to announce. Elizabeth Warren, by comparison, is not.