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Larry Lessig Reaches Funding Goal and Is Running For President
LetterRip writes: Lessig has met his funding goal of one million dollars, and thus is committed to run for President. ABC reports: "After exceeding his $1 million crowd-funding goal, Harvard Law School professor Larry Lessig announced today on “This Week” that he is running for president. 'I think I'm running to get people to acknowledge the elephant in the room,' he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. 'We have to recognize -- we have a government that does not work. The stalemate, partisan platform of American politics in Washington right now doesn't work.'”
While the idea of "hacking" an election is comical at best (especially for using the term hacking) I give him a solid B+ for commitment and sharing his belief that the politicians we have now are horrible and need to go.
News for Nerds?
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Spell check much, Slashdot editors?
Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!
Vote for Bernie in 2016!
You are all Presidents. Presidents say "Pulling up the (male) hemp!". "Pulling up the (male) hemp" presidents "Pulling up the (male) hemp"! "Pulling up the (male) hemp" say the presidents. YOU PRESIDENTS!!!
He won't be able to affect shit without media attention to his campaign. Guess what the media won't be giving him. Maybe if he had 500 million in funding, enough to run ad campaigns in influential districts, he could make a difference, but for now the only people that will hear his message are those of us that already agree with it.
"Campaign Reform" is not reform. If his campaign was honest, he would help people learn to tune out the the big money and not be so starstruck by bling. His whole shtick is typical politics, money and all.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
I watched the TV interview. I'm not American but US politics has a way of affecting everyone, so I think it's cool what he's trying to do.
That said, I think he needs to practice his TV interviewing style a bit. He spoke VERY fast, sounded kind of shrill, and the tumble of words didn't communicate as much as I expected given their quantity. There were a lot of things that sounded like generic political soundbites any candidate might say. The basic ideas of political reform are solid - he could slow down, hit one or two points solidly and then stop.
There are a few other issues I don't really understand.
The main one is that he's strongly Democrat. For reasons I don't fully understand (electoral college mumble mumble) it seems US candidates cannot ever be independent, they have to pick a side. So that's going to cause issues right there. Reform of Washington should be a bi-partisan issue: I had expected him to run as an independent and then resign and trigger fresh elections once his platform was passed. That way anyone could feel secure voting for him. But I guess that sort of thing isn't possible.
The other is that surely he it takes more than one man to deliver the reforms he wants. Why isn't he creating a political party rather than running for President? This must be the only-two-parties rule again? I heard once that there are more than just Dems and Reps in the US political system but I never hear much about them.
The original superpac was strictly non-partisan. However, it turned out that almost zero Republicans wanted anything to do with him, it, or campaign finance reform. So in practice, only Democrats supported the idea. The Republicans MAYDAY reached out to actively oppose campaign finance reform...
There really aren't viable candidates on the national stage outside of our two main parties. The vast majority of other parties are extreme fringe single-issue parties, and most of them are far right-wing or deeply religious. The only two parties that come even close to being worth mentioning are the Green Party and the Libertarian Party. The former can't get nationally elected, and the latter has caucused with the Republicans for over a decade now.
GeekNights!
Late Night Radio for Geeks!
There is no way you can effectively centrally plan for a country of 300M people. People keep saying we should be more like Europe and I agree. There are very few decisions made by the EU. Most of the decisions are made by the member States. Let's try that. One state could be very capitalistic but with a big welfare state like the Nordic countries. Others could be more socialist like the French. Some can be crazy libertarian gun and gold nuts like the Swiss.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
From what we hear about him, he seems to be a guy who raises money to spend to promote himself and his favorite political causes. And that's about it. Maybe he has ideas, but they're not news. Only the fundraising is news.
It's an expensive statement, no less, no more.
Lessig is exactly wrong.
Stalemate is great, because it keeps the inept groping hand of government from raping all of us, either from the left OR the right.
The problem recently is lack of a stalemate. One party held too much control and was able to progress, and after that period ended the president has decided to keep progressing despite a stalemate via executive orders. The next president, left or right, will decide that is a fine idea and carry on to a much greater extent.
Nope, the problem we have now is not lack of the ability of congress to do anything, but the lurching shambling mass of government has freed itself from the thin tethers we were trying to use as a bridle and is now unstoppable and un-steerable.
I'm in a position where it will not affect me too much personally; I just feel really bad for the younger generation being trodden upon.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I don't think he'd be as bad as Nixon:
http://2001-2009.state.gov/r/p...
Lessig is pushing a Democrat position.
John McCain is not a full blown, hardcore Republican like Ted Cruz. One of his issues of divergence, is limiting money in elections. Another is amnesty, and refusal to support a border fence. He opposed Dubya's tax cuts for the rich. McCain supports cap and trade.
The simple fact of the matter, is that americans have a broad range of political views on all sorts of things, and tend to know little about them. Somehow, decisions have to be made in Washington.
I'm glad Lessig was moved to action by the needless and cruel death of a fine young man. Lessig is right that the wealthy control our politics, and he is right that they are leading us down a path of spectacular self-destruction.
But I don't want a noble Harvard professor -- if there is such a mythical beast -- who promises to resign in favor of his Vice President, so as to avoid soiling his hands once he has saved us all.
Instead, I want a spectacularly good politician, who can rally crowds to bring about the change we all want and need. I'm guessing that such a politician will not be willing to say exactly the same things a noble Harvard professor may be willing to say, primarily because any spectacularly good politician values the idea of getting elected and having power more than s/he values the idea of returning to the ivy covered halls. But I'd still like that spectacularly good politician to be willing to stick his or her neck out for things they believe in, whether it makes them ultra-popular or not. And, if they believe in things like putting citizen's health above the needs of corporate health insurers, or things like educating all of a nation's children to the best of their abilities, regardless of their parent's ability to pay, and in the idea that even a full time burger flipper is entitled to enough money to participate comfortably in our society, regardless of whether that means raising the marginal tax rate on CEOs... I can actually drum up some enthusiasm.
Bernie is looking good.
this has to work, please.
nothing else ever has.
imagine, solving a problem like america...
that really would be news.
What Lessig and his ilk fail to recognize is that when our government doesn't "work," it's working exactly as expected. Rather then running for president to make "government work," he should be focusing his efforts in the proper place: at the grass-roots level with the people, from where the real power of our government comes. Being president will just make him part of the real problem: that government is intruding more and more into the daily lives of the people gradually taking away peoples' own initiative, if not forcefully destroying it.
"How to spend $1 million dollars and have nothing to show for it"
I have been disgusted with the Republican Party's inability to pick a horse and run with it. Last election they went through the "anyone-but-Romney" candidate of the week for a year and then finally resigned themselves to Romney without enthusiasm. This time they have wandered around through Christie and Bush and Rubio and are now slopping through a Trump identity crisis. It's a circus. It is almost incomprehensible to me that the Republicans cannot field a candidate against the likes of Hillary Clinton. The party is so incompetent that they could not win a popular vote against Al "Cardboard" Gore. Before that they could not win a race because of Ross Perot.
Meanwhile, Hillary has had the stage to herself for two years? There are no real contenders.
I struggle to believe that the Democrats are really going with Hillary, but at least they are going. They have chosen a candidate. They can focus all their money and all their spin for her. With that kind of backing she overcomes all past scandals, all measurements of incompetence, all missteps and blunders. She becomes invincible.
I don't think Lessig can touch her, but I sure would like more people to try. It would be great to shake up the Dem Machine a bit. That might create some space for somebody like Carson to weather the Republic machine and not be DOA for lack of money.
In the end, the deepest pockets will advance. I know, I know. Lessig is trying to change that. But he won't. Our best chance is that the deepest pockets bleed each other out.
To run for President of the USA?
It doesn't seem especially difficult, since for the most part this country runs itself, and when parts of it don't work, we just bail those parts out.
Seriously though, I would like to run with a new, unique idea: Bring Back Indentured Servitude!
I would abolish the use of American money within the USA, and only permit it to be used for trading with other nations. I would end homelessness by giving everyone a house or apartment, in exchange for their willingness to work for a company or the government for a contracted number of years, with food being issued out with ration cards. Education would be free, and a system would be put in place where everyone was tested every couple of years for their aptitudes, and their educational career would be accordingly modified so that they can be trained to do what they are best at doing. Marijuana will be legalized, and tobacco and alcohol will be banned. I will also reduce the number of African-Americans in prisons (and people of other races), by banning prison or jail sentences of 5 years or more. If a crime or crimes were previously bad enough to warrant such a sentence, instead the sentence will be death, and the executions will be televised for free on a public channel.
I would also create a free health care system for all American citizens, and deport all illegal immigrants, and make it difficult for employers to hire non-citizens (without currency or the need to really pay anyone anything, what would be the point anyway). All goods, such as iPhones, and whatnot, would be free, but such devices can only be purchased with ration books (or given to employees by employers, such as in cases where they might need an additional phone or computer for work). Marijuana or THC, or perhaps a similar, cheaply produced compound will be placed inside all food consumed by citizens, except for food given to people who have committed crimes (at least until they have served their time). Homosexual sex will be legalized in all 50 states. Interracial marriage will also be legalized. I will also ban all lawyers, and give police officers the authority to issue sentences to people on the spot, and the authority to execute folks for especially egregious offenses.
I would transform the USA into the best country ever. Vote for Anonymous Coward in 2016.
Attention whore seeks attention. Maybe Julian Assenge can be your VP?
He'll run out of money long before campaigns really begin.
He'll be invited to exactly 0 debates.
He won't even get a chance to be laughed out of the room.
Rand Paul has better chances than him. WAY better chances.
Rand Paul won his seat in 2010 with 755216 votes.
Lessig reached his "MILLION DOLLARS!!!" with donations from 8328 donors.
So, to reach Rand Paul numbers he would have to have over 90 supporters not willing to donate a dime, for every supporter that DID donate money for his "campaign".
Which would be its own special version of depressing if it were true.
And that's just to reach Rand "Snowballs In Hell" Paul numbers.
What he probably WILL accomplish is to tie the ideas he is trying to push with attributes and phrases such as "fringe", "kook", "silly", "crazy", "nonsensical", "ridiculous", "armchair politician", "ivory tower academic", "incompetent", "egghead", "nutty", "loser" and "please stop helping".
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Who say that Lessig's campaign will only open the White House to a republican president. You are probably right.
All the same, here is to hoping that those posts equate to Roblimo's post about the first iPod and what actually followed. Well, so to speak.
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
I like him, of anyone I could want for president, he would probably be at the top of the list.
Thing is, I am just done with this broken system. I don't even want another President at all, I want to see the entire federal level eliminated and maybe re-created from scrtach....maybe just left dead.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
n/t
he is the best candidate for the job. The smartest and strongest willed of the runners. That's who I want for president besides myself or Steven Colbert.
I think politicians are afraid to touch campaign finance reform because they see it as an 'industry' in a world where industries are quickly vanishing or employing less people. The sheer volume of people employed by campaigns, news agencies covering these campaigns, and ad dollars made by news agencies during these campaigns is staggering.
Not that they aren't touching it because its their gravy train, but I think the jobs factor is a big one. I imagine major leaders of this country have nightmares every night wondering how in the actual fuck to choose policies that keep people employed in this country, a country that ties success and well being entirely to employment. I also think this is a big reason for the Military Industrial Complex, and some of the frivolous wars we fight, as well.