With the U.S. presidential election ( as of 6th November 2020) , hanging in the balance, we are reminded of the extraordinary and bizarre process this purportedly ‘exceptional nation’ has to find its new exceptional ‘president of the free world’.
Not only do United States citizens only have a binary choice between two right wing corrupt elderly white males, but the process of the election itself is deeply flawed.
Not only does the U.S. Electoral College process mean that the majority of voters may or may not have the president of their very limited choice ( No Green candidates, no left-wing candidates – only the candidates of the monied), but each state’s electoral process for counting and accepting votes is different and open to manipulation from both major party supporters (and legal challenge). It is extraordinary that the federal election of the U.S. president and Congress does not have one national federal electoral process that everyone can understand.
Even more amazingly, the process by which each state has a declared winner for president is determined, not by a federal national election office, but by private national media outlets like Fox News, or AP. Hence, as of 6th November, we have different national figures reported of Electoral Office delegate totals for Trump or Biden depending on which media outlet is making the call. IN addition the complexities of the Electoral College process mean more opportunities for confusion and leverage.
Jo Biden however can assure us though (6th November 2020) that the American voting system is ‘the envy of the world’. ‘Democracy is sometimes messy. It sometimes requires a little patience as well. But that patience has been rewarded now for more than 240 years with a system of governance that has been the envy of the world.’ !!!
As a country which purports to be the model of democracy for the rest of the world, and which continually makes calls about other countries ‘lack of democracy’, it is time to consider whether future US presidential elections require independent foreign observers to ensure their fairness and accuracy.
Combine this bizarre electoral process with extraordinary levels of ignorance and a consequent monochrome view of their own U.S. world, let alone the outside world; by both candidates and electors, and you have a recipe for disaster.
The level of systemic incompetence demonstrated by this electoral system to elect the “leader of the free world” is a salutary lesson to us all.
And lastly; a sobering outline of America’s future, from Jonathan Cook.
ELECTION 2020: ‘Sleepy Joe’s’ Task Is to Put Liberal America Back to Sleep
Postscript
Trump’s “baseless” fraud claims
My definition of of ‘baseless’ in this instance, is that there is no basis for claim election fraud took place- and yet media outlets across the Western world are using this word to describe Trump and the Republicans’ allegations of voter fraud. Now unless the media has got total access to all the votes and each state’s practices on election night- which seems a little unlikely- they have no means of knowing whether the allegations are ‘baseless” or not, till courts make a ruling.
As noted in my post above- there is certainly plenty of opportunity for fraud and errors in polling practice in the U.S. Whether the fraud and errors this time are sufficient to overturn the current presumed Biden presidency, is currently unknown.
So why would mainstream media , with one voice, be saying the allegations are “baseless” at this point? I’ll leave you to figure that one out….
Links
Results are in: Americans lose, duopoly wins, Trumpism not merely a cult (1/2)
Other Relevant New Antarctica Links
Democracy & the Power of Persuasion
New Antarctica 
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