2004 was only as high as it was because it was Bush after 9/11.
But seriously though, trying to pass off Al Gore as a "young" candidate at 52 is hilarious, that man came out of the womb with bifocals complaining about "kids these days".
The sheer audacity of claiming 52 is young just highlights how normalized this has become. A 52 year old running for their first term should already be considered too old.
It's a bit morbid, but thank goodness for COVID happening when it did as that forced the rapid expansion of early and mail in voting which helps mitigate this issue without addressing it directly.
I don't think there's enough political will to do the sensible thing, make Election Day a federal holiday, because that would promote access to democracy to the lower classes and that is a threat to both parties.
All making it a holiday would accomplish is giving bankers the day off while most of everyone else who works for a living would still have work. On a day the buses aren't running because it's a holiday.
But now we have a holiday, so there's no need for early voting.
Hmm, I think that's a very fair point. It seems very unlikely that the US would accommodate a holiday without asking service workers to work through it, or even incentivize it with extra pay.
Do you think compulsory voting, like in Australia, would be more effective, then? Or perhaps another alternative?
I'm not sure what country you're referring to, but if you're referring to the US then you're spouting false information. Be a better person than spreading sensationalized misinformation for karma.
A 2018 survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found 23% of civilian workers in America don't get any paid holidays. "Civilian" is defined as state and local government workers, as well as those in the private sector.
Federal government, military, agriculture workers, and self-employed workers are not included. Of the 77% percent who do get paid holidays, they average having about eight per year.
That doesn't guarantee having the day off. Many people will still go to work on a holiday, however they will be compensated with higher pay or be allowed to use the holiday off in the future.
Which holiday do people most often get off from work? Christmas was the top guess at MSP Airport, but that comes in second place right behind Thanksgiving.
For civilian workers who get paid holidays, 97% of them get Thanksgiving.
For Independence Day, it's 92%, followed by Labor Day at 91%, then New Year's Day and Memorial Day both at 90%.
A steep drop occurs from there. Only 43% of civilian workers who get paid holidays get Black Friday as a paid holiday, followed by Martin Luther King Jr. Day at 32% and Christmas Eve at 28%.
You could have at least read the part you quoted chief...
That doesn’t guarantee having the day off. Many people will still go to work on a holiday, however they will be compensated with higher pay or be allowed to use the holiday off in the future.
So 1/4 dont get holidays, and of the 75% who do, "many" still work.
You're also ignoring that the 75% include everyone that gets a single day off. And acting like they'd also get this new holiday off.
She would turn 35 before inauguration, so she'd technically be eligible. Not speaking as to whether it would be a good idea or a bad one, but it's possible.
I’ve been hearing this argument around every election for well over twenty years. What bottom must be reached before we actually do something about it?
That's because it won't. Elections aren't a panacea for society's problems. Each election is a stepping stone, not the end goal. We get to decide if we take a step forward or fall backwards.
Okay, so don't let them. Work to ensure we take that step forward. Join a campaign. Canvas for a candidate. Get your friends signed up and pumped to vote. Look up any relevant laws regarding voting (early voting, mandated paid time off, etc.) and make sure people know about them.
But most importantly, vote. Vote often. Vote strategically. You may not always win by trying your hardest, but you will surely lose by doing nothing.
I never said it would. What you are asking for is authoritarianism, and nobody but a few wins in that system.
It will always be a fight. That doesn't mean it's not worth fighting for, because the people trying to regress back to 1850 certainly seem to think it is.
"We"? We can't really do much about it. It's the RNC and DNC that control that.
It would take the mass mobilization and coordination of a majority of Americans across party lines (big caveat there) to make a third party candidate viable. That's an issue, especially when a significant part of the nation does indeed want fascist rule.
Edit: I'm not even sure it would be useful to primary better candidates as it's the DNC and RNC who controls who is on their primaries. Even when the DNC allowed someone like Bernie Sanders on the ticket, they did everything they could to squash his campaign.
This is the problem. The RNC and the DNC are both private businesses looking to profit in one way or another. Neither give one fuck about the citizens. They only run candidates that are willing to serve the PARTY.