Monday, 29 July 2024

Endless Electioneering

   The Olympic games are being played, the sun is shining and you surely don't want to read or hear any more about the 2024 U.S. presidential election which has been going on for years. Trump started campaigning in November 2022. It is hardly a snap election. 
   I think the U.S. campaigns should be shorter, much shorter. The fact that the 'new' candidate has only about 100 days left, does not mean that she can't be elected since other governments around the world often choose leaders after brief elections. That brings me to the real point of this post which is to present a graph which appeared recently in the New York Times. I hope the authors don't mind since attribution is provided.


Source: 
   
"Is 100 Days Enough Time to Pick a Leader? Around the World, Yes." Josh Holder and Keith Collins, NYT, July 25, 2024.

Post Script:
   Less time and much less money
should be spent during election campaigns. Perhaps the citizens south of here would be less divided if there had been no Citizens United decision. While I go look for a supporting graph, I will leave you with an example of excessive private donations:
"He has surprised even political insiders with the size of his contributions this year, throwing $75 million behind Mr. Trump’s attempt to return to the White House and an additional $25 million toward Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential run, making him both candidates’ single largest benefactorAll told, he has given $227 million in contributions to federal candidates and political committees since 2020, nearly all to Republicans — a sum that puts him in the top echelon of the party’s donors, alongside far better-known megadonors like Miriam Adelson and her husband, Sheldon, who died in 2021, and Liz and Dick Uihlein."
  To find out who "HE" is, you will have to consult this article: "A Pedigreed Rail Magnate is Pouring Millions Into Electing Donald Trump," Alexandra Berzon & Mike McIntire, NYT, July 28, 2024. [Hint - It's not Mr. Musk]

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