Sep 6, 2012

_NC

Fill in the blank up there with either a D or an R. Doesn't really matter to me which one you prefer. I've watched about as much of the Democratic National Convention as I did the Republican National Convention. One to watch what the other side is cooking up and the other to watch in hope that my team steps up their game a bit. You may have done the same thing.

But, honestly, it all seems like a bunch of bullshit to me.

The Republican challengers get to go first and outline their attack game-plan against their adversary. The Democrats get to afterwards, attacking those attacks. None of that really interests me, and the discussion of actual issues seems pretty damned sparse.

So the President will accept his nomination tonight. Great. Did we need a three-day dog and pony show to get that done? The party would never allow it, but wouldn't it be wonderful if he just made his acceptance speech from the White House Press Room and concluded with "Now, let me get back to the business of running this country the best possible way I know how, and I look forward to your support in November." Three days of bullshit could be wiped off the ledger if the party allowed it.

I mean, I guess I understand the need for the challenging party to hold a convention. Not that there were any surprises in order. The Republican candidate was decided months ago. Seems to me that these convention are multimillion dollar boondoggles for the delegates, analysts and whomever else benefits from these things. And who, exactly, is paying for all of this? I've read that it comes from donations to the parties themselves. But what does that mean? I can't help but feel that somehow these things are screwing somebody over somewhere.

In this day of the the 24-hour news cycle and the Internet, do we really need these conventions anymore?

9 comments:

Slyde said...

NEED them? no.

but the parties WANT them. They are PR machines and kinda like free-advertising for them....

Heff said...

Ron Paul went on Jay Leno because he was shunned from the convention. Hopefully we didn't foot the bill for THAT, lol.

Verdant Earl said...

Slyde - Nothing is free.

Heff - Uh, Leno is in need of a funny bailout.

savannah said...

it is all insane, i know, sweetpea, but thankfully, football season has started! ;~D xoxoxoxo

Happy Mommy said...

I agree. The conventions are stupid. If a person is in to politics, then that person has probably decided who to vote for months ago. And if a person is not into politics, I doubt either convention is being turned on in that household.

Verdant Earl said...

Savannah - I'm kinda done with the NFL, but I'll still watch Notre Dame lose to good schools on Saturdays (and win against the bad ones...sigh).

HM - It's a circle jerk, plain and simple.

RW said...

Every time I say I'm over it yet another person says something stupid and gets me riled up. Makes me want to cram my ill-tempered opinions down more people's throats. But I soon check myself and have a vodka cranberry instead. Makes everybody else look much more intelligent then. So it's all good.

Verdant Earl said...

RW - Vodka cranberry makes me look stupid. That's the point, right?

Mrs. Hall said...

it's ugly out there, politics wise. people get so frothy mouthed and ridiculous.

so, that is why i stand firm in my policy of NO DISCUSSION.