"Well, if I were him I’d want to debate me too. He’s got nothing else to do.”

  • nickwitha_k (he/him)
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    1911 months ago

    It’s not even “dumb nerd shit” these days. Current “debates” are little more than ways of generating soundbites. The moderators don’t do moderation and they refuse to cut mics for those who aren’t up. It’s entertainment and propaganda/campaign marketing, not debating.

    • @UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      211 months ago

      The moderators don’t do moderation and they refuse to cut mics for those who aren’t up.

      You don’t really need to cut mics when you control the cameras and get to edit this shit in post during the Sunday Morning Talk Shows.

      The vast majority of people don’t watch the debates live. They just get the reactions after the fact.

      It’s entertainment and propaganda/campaign marketing, not debating.

      The future of politics is a new generation of celebrity candidates. And I don’t even know if that’s a bad thing, considering how many of our last generation’s candidates came out of a vat in the basement of some East Coast Ivy League boarding school.

      • nickwitha_k (he/him)
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        411 months ago

        The vast majority of people don’t watch the debates live. They just get the reactions after the fact.

        I gave up on any of em after getting annoyed at the complete lack of debate in the “debates”.

        The future of politics is a new generation of celebrity candidates. And I don’t even know if that’s a bad thing, considering how many of our last generation’s candidates came out of a vat in the basement of some East Coast Ivy League boarding school.

        New boss, same as the old boss. Hard to say that there will be any difference as, since the embrace of neoliberalism, there’s been virtually zero politicians doing anything more than attempting to look like they’re trying to do anything for the populace but are somehow completely powerless to do anything but help their bribers-erm…“lobbyists” squeeze more out of those that can barely afford anything.

        • @UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          411 months ago

          there’s been virtually zero politicians doing anything more than attempting to look like they’re trying to do anything

          One of the big appeals of Trump is that he grasps at every lever of power he can find and pulls it.

          Nine times out of ten, it isn’t connected to anything. But if you pull on enough shit, maybe a big border wall or a Muslim ban or a repeal of Roe v Wade or a giant bucket of cash falls out and your voters love you for it.

        • @JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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          311 months ago

          America has had playboy celebrity politicians since Jefferson.

          And by that I mean politicians who attain celebrity, not the other way round. There’s nothing really “wrong”, per se, with having some celebrity in your politician. It’s when you get politician in your celebrity that we’ve learned bad things happen.

          Celebrity scientists like NdGT and Hawking are considered net positives for STEM, yes?