Trump’s supporters and conservative media say he won. Hillary’s supporters and the liberal media say she won. But who lost the presidential debate last night? Well, America did.
America lost because Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are among the most unliked candidates in American political history. We lost because Trump is a billionaire who spent his entire career benefiting from politicians to make his fortune. We lost because Hillary is a politician who spent her entire political career benefiting from billionaires to make her powerful (and rich).
America lost because corporate politicians make promises they never deliver on. We lost because both candidates say they are going to change things, but we already know they won’t. We lost because both candidates stood in front of 100 million Americans last night and lied to us with straight faces. We lost because the main reason people are voting for Trump is he’s not Clinton, and the main reason people are voting for Clinton is she’s not Trump.
America lost because the debate was just a highly publicized reality show episode that seemed to focus more on personality wars than policies or ideas. We lost because the few ideas that these candidates do propose are simply stale, old philosophies that have been proven to fail the majority of working Americans for decades. We lost because the two mainstream political parties are almost indistinguishable when it comes to their top priorities (save for wedge social issues, which continue to divide the populace).
America lost because only 9 percent of the population voted for Hillary and Trump in the primaries. We lost because over 40 percent of Americans don’t identify as Democrat or Republican.
America lost because the political discussion has been limited to these two (very unlikable) choices. We lost because Republicans and Democrats have a duopoly over our political system. We lost because the media refuses to give fair coverage to third-party candidates. We lost because 50 percent of us wanted third-party candidates in the debate, but the private corporation that runs the debates refused. We lost because this corporation is deeply entrenched with the two-party system it protects.
America lost because despite the overwhelming unpopularity of Trump and Clinton, paired with Congress’ approval rating, which can hardly out-poll cockroaches (or Nickleback), we continue to vote for these people thinking something will somehow change. We lost because career politicians continue to be reelected at an overwhelming rate despite being completely unrepresentative of their constituents.
America lost because this country has become an oligarchy. We lost because both Trump and Clinton have been longtime members of this ruling class. America will continue to lose the debates. America will also lose the 2016 election because one of these candidates will win. Our only hope is for some kind of drastic change by the time the next election rolls around.
This article (Who Lost Last Night’s Presidential Debate? America Did) is an opinion editorial (OP-ED). The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anti-Media. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Nick Bernabe and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email [email protected].
I’m not an American ., I do not have the opportunity to vote because I’m a dutch guy…
If I had the opportunity I would vote Trump…
Why ?
It’s just the way I think it’s the right way.
He is like Nigel Farrage in my opinion a real patriot.
YES he is a business man, America needs that one.
Remember the words of Sir. Nigel Farrage.
He is my hero in the first place.
You want a change., do it together. VOTE !!!
I hope you are a troll
write in Bernie
The only way we can have real meaningful political process is by having more informed citizens not voting simply on stage performance and televised written speeches but also eliminate potential or perceived preferential treatment to candidates by debate moderator (s). This document is not perfect but serves as an outline of what could be developed.
Suggestion is to properly defined but suggest these functions
1. Have a group (5) entitled “Fact-Checkers” (“FC”) impartial knowledgeable persons from academia sitting nearby debate hosts.
2. Prior to the debate the moderator provide FC a copy of the questions and in the presence of public and television cameras.
3. The FC group acts on consensus in a real-time mode in response to debate answers given by a candidate.
4. The FC may press a buzzard if the candidate respondent has provided an answer FC believes requires fact checking.
5. The FC provides moderator a “card” or “notice” of false or unsubstantiated answer given by candidate. The moderator provides the candidate a second chance to correct answer. If improper response given a second time, the FC report this at the end of debate (10).
6. The FC may press buzzard if the candidate fails to answer the question.
7. The FC may press warning buzzard at the moment the candidate begins to give an off
subject response to avoid a direct response to the question or has not fully answered the
question.
8. The FC may add follow-up questions for the moderator if an answer is not provided by the
candidate or if in the back and forth discussions between moderator and candidate the question asked by moderator differs from what was asked of the other candidate. This is to
prevent moderators from using the other candidate’s arguments or giving the perception of
siding with one candidate
9. The FC does not interact with candidates but may also over-ride the moderator in the
event the moderator has misdirected the question.
10. The FC provide a summary of the responses by candidate, this includes; proved wrong in
fact check, unanswered, partially answered, misinformation, etc.