Wednesday, March 23, 2016

The Fix Is In

Yesterday I was watching CNN (don't judge me) and Wolf Blitzer clearly introduced Hillary Clinton as the "Democratic nominee for president." It's only March. Obviously a slip of the tongue, right? Maybe not. Is it possible that the Wolfman knows something we do not when it comes to this presidential election? If all you watch is CNN for your news (you shouldn't - but some do) then you are inclined to think that Trump is the Republican nominee and Hillary will be wearing the uniform of a Democratic nominee for president. Is the fix in?

There are several elements of the presidential election cycle that seem suspect to me. First, let's talk about the 24-hour news media and their meddling in the election process. Remember when CNN gave Florida, and the presidency, to Al Gore before any other network did? CNN has claimed that it has since cleaned up its projection act, but I don't know. I distinctly remember CNN calling winners in this year's primaries with not even one percent of the vote counted. I understand that CNN does exit polls, but maybe there is a chance that the public is messing with CNN and giving them wrong exit poll information. If that is the case, then did Hillary really win all of those states on Super Tuesday?

Ever since the 24-hour news networks have been around, the idea that votes on west coast count in a presidential election has all but disappeared. The election is usually called long before the California votes are in, which kind of takes a lot of the fun out of the process. If I lived in California, I would wonder what the point would be in voting. When was the last time California or Oregon decided a presidential election?

Now let's talk about this completely unbalanced coverage CNN and Fox News give the candidates. CNN is infatuated with Hillary Clinton and has completely forgot that Bernie Sanders is drawing tens of thousands of people to hear him speak in large hockey arenas and stadiums around the country. Bernie gives a speech over the weekend to 30,000 people in Seattle and Hillary is named the Democratic presidential nominee by CNN just three days later. It would be interesting to see what this Democratic race would look like if the news networks actually did cover the campaign for all of the candidates.

If you watch Fox News, you would swear that Trump is running for Pope and winning. The guy can do no wrong, and none of the other Republican candidates are getting any coverage at all. These 24-hour news networks know that they can influence who becomes president, and they are using that power to their maximum abilities.

Now let us talk briefly about the scam that is the Democratic superdelegates. Please keep in mind that the Republicans have about 168 superdelegates in this presidential election campaign, but GOP superdelegates usually follow their state's vote. The Democrats have a 712 superdelegates and they consist of Democratic congress people, governors, and even Obama himself. These superdelegates are not bound to any criteria, and can vote for whomever they want. While they must commit their vote by the convention, they can go back and forth all spring and summer long and influence the vote in many ways.

As of yesterday, Hillary has a total of 1,630 delegates, while Bernie has 870. But Bernie only has 26 very intelligent superdelegates, and Hillary has 467 uneducated superdelegates on her side. There are still a lot of state primaries left, but if the remaining 219 superdelegates commit to Hillary before the convention, then the race is over. Let's say that Bernie grabs the majority of the remaining state delegates and the superdelegates wind up deciding the race in Hillary's favor. Did the Democratic Party give the people the candidate they wanted? Nope, they didn't. But that is exactly what will happen.

Between the 24-hour news networks and the corrupt superdelegate system in place with the Democrats, it is almost time to swear in another President Clinton. But we have months to go yet, and anything could happen. Or could it?

George N Root III is a Lockport resident who doesn't trust politics. Follow him on Twitter @georgenroot3 or send him an email at georgenroo3@gmail.com.