America has finally chosen a woman to represent a major political party as their presidential nominee. Whatever you think of Hilary and her politics, it’s a significant and historical moment. Of course it happens long after other major countries have already had female leaders, but hey, late is better than never. The next few months of campaigning are doubtless going to be painful to watch (although it does bring out the best in political comedy), but it’s nice to pause and just enjoy this long overdue event.
Hillary Clinton’s nomination may be historical, but she’s not exactly the most loved or unifying political figure. If you’re looking for a powerful woman president, but don’t want to vote for Hillary, then maybe you could consider Mistress Tara Indiana? She’s not the best funded candidate, or the one with the biggest organization, but if you want an authoritarian in the White House, you could certainly do worse. Anyone in LA on the 27th of August, and wanting to help her run, can show their support at her birthday bash and gala.
I know I’m being a bit of a wet blanket, but I’m not a fan of people who do jokey runs for office. The stakes in the election are serious, and it scares me when people don’t take it seriously.
Trump himself started out as a TV performer running to promote himself (much as Tara is doing), and somehow it all turned real and terrifying.
I’m not a fan of someone who sees what’s going on now and thinks, “Hey, I can use this to get publicity!”
I think it depends on the type of ‘joke’ candidate.
I don’t mind examples like Mistress Tara, as it has zero impact on the end result. She gets some free PR, magazines get some fun articles and, come November, nobody is going to be complaining that Donald Trump won thanks to Mistress Tara stealing votes from Hillary.
However, I am with Dan Savage when it comes to examples like the Green Party and the Libertarian Party: http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/07/19/24362128/dan-savage-on-jill-stein-just-no
They can affect the end result and they are a joke as a presidential run. They should work to build a proper base first, as Dan suggests.
Trump is something else again. He might have been treated like a joke initially, but I don’t think he thought it was, and now he’s frighteningly fucking real. A major political party just picked him, so the jokes really on us.
-paltego