[ruok_throwaway]

To a reasonably informed outsider the entire US political system looks like a cynical dirty circus.

I have no horse in the political race; I only wish for the US to be strong, since I see it as a shining beacon for many good in the world.

That said, you mentioned the ridiculousness of one side, with completely ignoring what has happened on the other. So let me list some of the hard to believe details regarding that other side:

- the current presidential candidate has not won a single delegate in the primaries in 2020

- in 2020 they have had an attrocious performance while campaigning

- they've been a steady stream of cringe and embarrassment for the US in their public appearances for the last 4 years

- in 2024 the primaries have been shut down, only for this candidate to be hot-swapped in!

... so now as an opposition to the ridiculous orange candidate that you described on the other side, you now have a candidate that no one has voted for!

How is that a democracy?

Your entire two-party political system is rigged and you should own up to it, or not engage with it at all.

[trilbyglens]

Tbh the entire primary process is very skewed by the democratic machine. The outcome of the primary is only window dressing on what is essentially an anointment process.

It definitely is rigged, and those with the power to fix it have a vested interest in keeping it exactly as it is.

[matthewmacleod]

This seems like a silly comparison, doesn’t it? She’s been nominated by the party following their internal rules, and now the voting population has the free choice of whether or not to support her.

I’m not seeing where the democratic compromise is; this is exactly the sort of thing that happens pretty frequently, globally, where party candidates are nominated unopposed.

[reducesuffering]

That you think any of those are anywhere near the realm of a US President attempting to subvert the peaceful transfer of power, a la third world dictator status, is exactly what OP meant. Dems are trying to field the candidate that Americans will vote the most for, so that tragedy doesn't happen again. The prediction markets are way up for a Dem win compared to Biden. It's what most Americans that would vote Democrat want.

[klipt]

You can't say nobody voted for the vice president, they are part of the presidential ticket.

If the president can't serve, they literally become president.

Hypothetical scenarios:

1. Biden/Harris wins presidency. Biden steps down. Harris is now president.

2. Biden/Harris wins Democratic nomination. Biden steps down. Harris is now nominee.

How is 2. any less democratic than 1.?

[ruok_throwaway]

No one voted for them when they were campainging by themselves in 2020 - 0 delegates won.

2024 primaries were shut down - so no one voted them again. They wouldn't have won the primaries if the primaries were held.

---

The fact that you mention they have been voted for because they were the second person on the ticket that won the presidential election is exactly what is wrong with the US. They only managed to win by association and now they hope to fail-upwards solely on name recognition (gained through association!)

In the US you don't win on merit anymore, now the game is:

1. get a small win by association

2. use the newly gained name recognition to fail upwards

What a shame.

[conception]

I think your premise that historically US presidential elections have been won on merit is…. Not without some perhaps very incorrect assumptions.

[peutetre]

The internal processes of a political party aren't that interesting.

There is a presidential election coming up. That is the test that actually matters.

Kamala Harris will either win it or she won't. If she wins then she was good enough to win. If she doesn't win then she wasn't good enough to win.

[pintxo]

Minus the fact that the election logic can result in the overall more successful candidate to loose.

Because no one cared to adapt an over 200 year old rule to changes in transportation and communication technology over the last century.

[peutetre]

It isn't minus the fact. To win the presidency you need to win the electoral college.

That's how it works and the same system applies to everyone.

Whether or not that system should change is a separate issue.

[Gud]

Obviously they are interesting. It's the preselection of what the general population can vote for.

If you can only vote for two different candidates(which is the case now, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump), how the f*k is that democratic? It's a sham.

[matthewmacleod]

I absolutely agree that this entrenched two-party system is a clear issue that needs to be resolved if the US is to become a real functioning democracy. But also woe to noting that there are other parties in the race also; they just don’t have popular support.

[klipt]

Two parties is the mathematical equilibrium of every first-past-the-post system.

Only way to have more parties is to adopt something like a proportional parliamentary system. Which will never happen because you'd have to change the constitution.

[peutetre]

> It's the preselection of what the general population can vote for.

No. It's the candidate the party is putting forward.

> If you can only vote for two different candidates

There are five candidates in this election. Vote for the one you like best.

You can run for president too. When will you be announcing your 2028 campaign?

[Gud]

Actually I can't, because I don't live in the US.

Which I'm glad I don't, because I live in a country with a functioning democracy.

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