[EM] Christopher Hitchens, "Our Rigged Elections"

[Bart Ingles]

I think there was a fair amount of "poetic license" used.  Something to
rail about, I guess.

The idea that Pat (loose cannon) Buchanan is well known as "someone
absolutely reliable" seems laughable.  He was at the forefront of the
platform battle in '96 that was partly responsible for the so-called
"gender gap", IMO (it certainly didn't attract female voters).

The idea that McCain-Feingold would make the difference between an
unfair election and a fair one seems odd, as well.  Bush's early
fund-raising lead is probably due to his perceived winnability more than
anything else, and money attracts more money.  Given Bush's success as
governor of Texas, one of the larger states, this process doesn't seem
all that mysterious to me.  I wonder what the author thought of
Clinton's anointment in '92?

As far as restrictions to the entry of third-party and independent
candidates, I have absolutely no sympathy regarding third-parties'
problems getting on the ballot, when those groups don't even take a
position regarding the kinds of single-winner reforms discussed on this
list.

Bart Ingles

-------------------------------------------------


Tom Round wrote:
> 
> I'd be curious for a US subscriber to give their opinion on how accurate
> this is ... Tom
> 
> Christopher Hitchens
> "Our Rigged Elections"
> The Nation, November 15, 1999
> http://www.thenation.com/issue/991115/1115hitchens.shtml
> 
> Tom Round, BA (Hons), LL.B,
> Research Officer, Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice &
> Governance (KCELJAG), Griffith University,
> Queensland 4111, Australia
> ph (07) 3875 3817, fax 3875 6634