Iowa Hiho!

[Mattus]

I am not intimate with the process.

What happens once Romney is the number 1 contender. Can they force Abama to not be a candidate in the election, forcing to be only a 1 termer.

Has this ever happened?

Surely the Abama has the poll position for the throne.

Welcome to your audience, Mattus.

Crikey!

SN, in the USA each party has a "primary" to select their presidential candidate before the federal election. This is done in an open election process, not a back room party "caucus" knifing like in Australia or the UK.

Romney is running in the "primary" to be the Republican party candidate. If he wins (it looks nearly certain) he will run against Obama, who is virtually unopposed as the Democratic party candidate, in the Federal election which takes place in November.

This was sort of assumed knowledge for the entire thread, but perhaps I should have included that in the opening post for people new to the USA system. *


* edit: Looking at my opening post, I sort of did explain this.

[Super Nova]

Thanks Mattus.

"Welcome to your audience." They do not have a 'political' clue!

Never said I did. That's why I asked the dumb question.

All the flies in London must be sitting on you.

[Mattus]

Thanks Mattus.

No problem.

So the party candidate is actually decided at a national convention. The republicans are holding theirs in Tampa in August, where the convention delegates will vote to decide the nominee.

Each state is allowed to send a certain number of delegates to vote at the convention, depending on the size of the state, and whether it's traditionally a democrat, republican or swing voting state. These "primaries" are how the state republicans decide which candidate their state delegates will vote at the congress. In order to be certain of obtaining the nomination, a candidate for the republicans needs 1,144 delegates who have pledged to vote for them. Right now Romney has 648, and his nearest competitor Santorum has only 264.

Now instead of holding state primaries all on the same day, they stretch the process out for 7 or so months, with 1 or 2 states deciding per week. The campaign rolls into town, holds the vote, and moves onto the next one. It has become an economy of its own.

[Mattus]

All that aside, and back to our regular scheduled programming for the political cognoscente, in a deus ex machina moment, it now appears The Supreme Court will be the republican nominee in this year's federal election.

[AiA in Atlanta]

Neither of the two "Southerners" you mentioned are Southerners as all. A Florida Cuban? Huh? And New Mexico isn't in "The South."

What an odd thing to say, notwithstanding the fact that I listed 3 southerner, rather than 2. Florida is a fully fledged confederate southern red neck state, so having the Junior senator from Florida on the presidential ticket will absolutely buy much needed credibility in the south for this Massachusetts governor.

New Mexico may not be a confederate state but there's no disputing that at least the eastern parts are in the bible belt, so it's hardly a Yankee doodle dandy. Bordering with Texas and Mexico makes it pretty fucking southern.


In any event, Romney has swept today's trifector, and it's really time for the other 3 to step down.

Yeah, the Virginian is a Southerner. The other is a Cuban from Miami. Not a Southerner. South Florida is it's own region. And he's Cuban, not a white Southerner. But maybe the South, at least the Deep South doesn't matter: Obama doesn't have a chance there and most citizens will vote for the Republican no matter who it is.

[boxy]

Now instead of holding state primaries all on the same day, they stretch the process out for 7 or so months, with 1 or 2 states deciding per week. The campaign rolls into town, holds the vote, and moves onto the next one. It has become an economy of its own.

Sounds like a shit way to run a democracy.

Means you can tailor your image in the mass media depending on which state is voting this week.

[AiA in Atlanta]

Sounds like a shit way to run a democracy.

The primary system is relatively new in the history of America. Before primaries the candidate was decided in a smoke-filled room.

[boxy]

At least with the smoke filled room, if they make the wrong decision, the "faceless men" need to own the problem.

Someone (with more than a 10 minute attention span) needs to be responsible... won't someone think of the childrens?

[AiA in Atlanta]

Gingrich as conceded that Romney would likely end up as the nominee ... after acknowledging that his campaign isn 4.5 million dollars in debt.

[Jovial Monk]

Santorum pulled out of the race.