Big day for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump; Allegations of voter suppression & fraud on Democratic side
Given below are the contents of my Facebook post (slightly edited), https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/1731733707043199.
From http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/19/politics/new-york-primary-results-recap/index.html, dated April 20th 2016 :
With 93% of the vote in at 12:15 a.m ET, Trump was in the lead at 60% while Ohio Gov. John Kasich was at 25.2% and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was at 14.8%.
With 94% of the Democratic vote in, Clinton was leading Sanders 57.7% to 42.3%.
--- end short extract from cnn.com ---
Ravi: Big day for both the frontrunners, Secretary Hillary Clinton and Mr. Donald Trump. Looks like a tough road ahead for the challengers, Senator Sanders and Senator Cruz.
For the democrats, coming Super Tuesday results which includes Pennsylvania may decide whether Senator Sanders will take the fight right up to California or not.
Mr. Trump's victory speech, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OarcEO_d_A, around 12 mins (speech gets over around the first 8 minutes.
Secretary Clinton's victory speech, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG8cGkbGbYQ, around 19 mins.
==========================================
Given below are some of my comments from the comment exchange on the associated Facebook post (https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/1731733707043199). Readers who want to view the comments of others in this comment exchange may please view the Facebook post.
Ravi S. Iyer wrote (slightly edited):
Thanks for your comments --name-snipped--. I have no doubt that Senator Bernie Sanders, even if he loses the democratic nomination, would have made a very significant impact on democratic politics not only in the USA, but worldwide. I am sure that there will be many, especially young leaders, across the democracies spread all over the world, who would take inspiration from his mass-movement which was funded by the masses and without any big donor money being involved. Further, the way he has highlighted the danger to society if wealth and income inequality reaches grotesque levels, will surely be one of his lasting legacies to politics worldwide in the 21st century.
---
Ravi S. Iyer wrote:
And he has done, and is still doing (his campaign goes on), all this at an age of 74 years! What physical stamina! Awesome!
---
In response to a comment giving this youtube video link, CARL ICAHN warns of a Global Collapse! NEW VIDEO, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCWE5chTuOk, slightly less than 15 minutes, published on Sept. 29th 2015, Ravi S. Iyer wrote (slightly edited):
Had seen it earlier; Saw it again. He seems to be telling it like it is. Though, to be honest, this time around I think it may not be that much of a global issue as the 2007-08 crisis was. Now, in 2016, alternative finance bodies to the IMF & the World Bank, in some shape or form, are already in existence. E.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Development_Bank: The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to "mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries."
--- end wiki extract ---
Ravi: USA and the Western Europe economies tied closely to it and the IMF and the World Bank, will perhaps be most affected in any future financial crisis that Carl Icahn is warning of.
---
[A person put up comments related to allegations of voting impropriety in the Democratic primary of New York state.]
Ravi S. Iyer wrote: What you have said, brother --name-snipped--, is very disturbing. I do hope the NYC mayor's call for an investigation is heard by the authorities (the DNC bosses, I guess).
---
Ravi S. Iyer wrote (slightly edited):
BTW I should also say that I did come to know of these complaints, including some complaints made by either Senator Sanders or his senior campaign staff. I think I saw that on CNN international (on Television not the Internet) as they were reporting the results.
---
Another person commented about 27% of eligible voters of the state not being allowed to vote (in this democratic party primary) because they were independents. The (democratic election) process is rigged and that the people of the USA can see it. She went on to say that in the founding documents of the USA, political parties are not even mentioned, and that George Washington warned about political parties in his farewell address.
To this comment, Ravi S. Iyer wrote: Interesting input, --name-snipped--. Thanks.
---
The first person commented (again) that the majority of younger voters had not voted for years as they felt their vote did not really matter anyway. Along came Bernie Sanders (who energized these younger voters and got them to take interest in the political process). But they then learned about the Super delegates system (of the Democratic party) which is intentionally structured to thwart anyone the DNC does not want to be the nominee (of the party for USA president). The comment then alleges that these younger voters now see that the Democratic party is "orchestrating and facilitating massive voter suppression and fraud for their chose(n) candidate Hillary instead of the person (Bernie) who is actually winning the majority of votes".
Ravi S. Iyer responded to the above comment (slightly edited):
--Name snipped--, Hmm. Very strong words. But I do value your input as you have experienced it and are experiencing it first-hand. Indian parliamentary democracy has many disadvantages both because of the parliamentary democracy aspect and because of the India aspect. However, in my adult lifetime itself, both at the centre (New Delhi, Federal govt.) as well as in states, quite newly formed political parties which take up issues that particularly resonate with voters, have either been voted to power with a majority, or have won enough seats to be a significant partner in a coalition govt.
The most recent and quite famous example of that is the election of the Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man Party) led by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal to the state govt. of Delhi (different from federal govt. seated at the same Delhi/New Delhi). His focus on the masses seems to be somewhat similar to Senator Sanders, though Mr. Kejriwal's scope is much smaller as of now (state level), as against Senator Sanders' efforts to change the policies of the USA Federal govt. by getting elected as its president. Mr. Kejriwal is famous in India for publicly being critical of some of the biggest companies in India, as well as being vehemently critical of the established national political parties of India (e.g. Congress, BJP). So he does have some similarities to Senator Sanders. Mr Kejriwal is an engineer from one of the prestigious IITs of India (mechanical engineer from IIT Kharagpur), and was a senior tax officer in the government bureaucracy (Joint commissioner in the Indian Revenue Service), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvind_Kejriwal, before he quit his government job to plunge into politics with a stated motive of cleaning up Indian democratic politics of unethical (and illegal) practices like corruption. His political party's symbol is a broom,
http://www.aamaadmiparty.org/sites/default/files/AAP%20Symbol_3.jpg!!! Note that this is the election symbol along with the party name and candidate name that is put up as one of the options to choose from in the voting paper or electronic voting machine, in the voting booth at actual election voting time in India. The symbol is what most people look for first, I guess, rather than the party or candidate name, when they cast their vote.
Some info. about AAP from its wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aam_Aadmi_Party:
The party made its electoral debut in the 2013 Delhi legislative assembly election, where it emerged as the second-largest party, winning 28 of the 70 seats. With no party obtaining an overall majority, the AAP formed a minority government with conditional support from the Indian National Congress. A significant part of its agenda was to quickly introduce the Jan Lokpal bill in the Union Territory. When it became clear after the election that the other major parties would not support this bill, the AAP government resigned. It had been in power for 49 days.
In the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, AAP won 67 of the 70 seats available. Its chief opponent, the Bharatiya Janata Party, was reduced to three seats, while the Indian National Congress was reduced to zero.
--- end wiki extract ---
Ravi: So a new masses-oriented party could win a massive sweeping victory (67 out of 70 seats of the state assembly) within two years of its electoral debut in India. I think the same may be possible, at least to some extent, in some European countries which follow parliamentary democracy.
Perhaps the USA presidential system of democracy where the top leader (president) is elected directly by the people (in Indian parliamentary democracy, the prime minister is elected by the majority of the elected members of parliament), makes it difficult for new political parties to effectively compete in a US presidential election. I mean, Ron Paul was a famous figure as a kind-of alternative candidate for President and I believe he was associated with a Libertarian party too. But the impression I have is that Ron Paul never seemed to be able to really become a serious contender for USA president.
---
Please note that I have a NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about the USA presidential elections. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me voting in these elections.
[I thank cnn.com and Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts (very short extract from cnn.com) from their websites on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
From http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/19/politics/new-york-primary-results-recap/index.html, dated April 20th 2016 :
With 93% of the vote in at 12:15 a.m ET, Trump was in the lead at 60% while Ohio Gov. John Kasich was at 25.2% and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was at 14.8%.
With 94% of the Democratic vote in, Clinton was leading Sanders 57.7% to 42.3%.
--- end short extract from cnn.com ---
Ravi: Big day for both the frontrunners, Secretary Hillary Clinton and Mr. Donald Trump. Looks like a tough road ahead for the challengers, Senator Sanders and Senator Cruz.
For the democrats, coming Super Tuesday results which includes Pennsylvania may decide whether Senator Sanders will take the fight right up to California or not.
Mr. Trump's victory speech, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OarcEO_d_A, around 12 mins (speech gets over around the first 8 minutes.
Secretary Clinton's victory speech, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG8cGkbGbYQ, around 19 mins.
==========================================
Given below are some of my comments from the comment exchange on the associated Facebook post (https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/1731733707043199). Readers who want to view the comments of others in this comment exchange may please view the Facebook post.
Ravi S. Iyer wrote (slightly edited):
Thanks for your comments --name-snipped--. I have no doubt that Senator Bernie Sanders, even if he loses the democratic nomination, would have made a very significant impact on democratic politics not only in the USA, but worldwide. I am sure that there will be many, especially young leaders, across the democracies spread all over the world, who would take inspiration from his mass-movement which was funded by the masses and without any big donor money being involved. Further, the way he has highlighted the danger to society if wealth and income inequality reaches grotesque levels, will surely be one of his lasting legacies to politics worldwide in the 21st century.
---
Ravi S. Iyer wrote:
And he has done, and is still doing (his campaign goes on), all this at an age of 74 years! What physical stamina! Awesome!
---
In response to a comment giving this youtube video link, CARL ICAHN warns of a Global Collapse! NEW VIDEO, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCWE5chTuOk, slightly less than 15 minutes, published on Sept. 29th 2015, Ravi S. Iyer wrote (slightly edited):
Had seen it earlier; Saw it again. He seems to be telling it like it is. Though, to be honest, this time around I think it may not be that much of a global issue as the 2007-08 crisis was. Now, in 2016, alternative finance bodies to the IMF & the World Bank, in some shape or form, are already in existence. E.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Development_Bank: The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to "mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries."
--- end wiki extract ---
Ravi: USA and the Western Europe economies tied closely to it and the IMF and the World Bank, will perhaps be most affected in any future financial crisis that Carl Icahn is warning of.
---
[A person put up comments related to allegations of voting impropriety in the Democratic primary of New York state.]
Ravi S. Iyer wrote: What you have said, brother --name-snipped--, is very disturbing. I do hope the NYC mayor's call for an investigation is heard by the authorities (the DNC bosses, I guess).
---
Ravi S. Iyer wrote (slightly edited):
BTW I should also say that I did come to know of these complaints, including some complaints made by either Senator Sanders or his senior campaign staff. I think I saw that on CNN international (on Television not the Internet) as they were reporting the results.
---
Another person commented about 27% of eligible voters of the state not being allowed to vote (in this democratic party primary) because they were independents. The (democratic election) process is rigged and that the people of the USA can see it. She went on to say that in the founding documents of the USA, political parties are not even mentioned, and that George Washington warned about political parties in his farewell address.
To this comment, Ravi S. Iyer wrote: Interesting input, --name-snipped--. Thanks.
---
The first person commented (again) that the majority of younger voters had not voted for years as they felt their vote did not really matter anyway. Along came Bernie Sanders (who energized these younger voters and got them to take interest in the political process). But they then learned about the Super delegates system (of the Democratic party) which is intentionally structured to thwart anyone the DNC does not want to be the nominee (of the party for USA president). The comment then alleges that these younger voters now see that the Democratic party is "orchestrating and facilitating massive voter suppression and fraud for their chose(n) candidate Hillary instead of the person (Bernie) who is actually winning the majority of votes".
Ravi S. Iyer responded to the above comment (slightly edited):
--Name snipped--, Hmm. Very strong words. But I do value your input as you have experienced it and are experiencing it first-hand. Indian parliamentary democracy has many disadvantages both because of the parliamentary democracy aspect and because of the India aspect. However, in my adult lifetime itself, both at the centre (New Delhi, Federal govt.) as well as in states, quite newly formed political parties which take up issues that particularly resonate with voters, have either been voted to power with a majority, or have won enough seats to be a significant partner in a coalition govt.
The most recent and quite famous example of that is the election of the Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man Party) led by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal to the state govt. of Delhi (different from federal govt. seated at the same Delhi/New Delhi). His focus on the masses seems to be somewhat similar to Senator Sanders, though Mr. Kejriwal's scope is much smaller as of now (state level), as against Senator Sanders' efforts to change the policies of the USA Federal govt. by getting elected as its president. Mr. Kejriwal is famous in India for publicly being critical of some of the biggest companies in India, as well as being vehemently critical of the established national political parties of India (e.g. Congress, BJP). So he does have some similarities to Senator Sanders. Mr Kejriwal is an engineer from one of the prestigious IITs of India (mechanical engineer from IIT Kharagpur), and was a senior tax officer in the government bureaucracy (Joint commissioner in the Indian Revenue Service), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvind_Kejriwal, before he quit his government job to plunge into politics with a stated motive of cleaning up Indian democratic politics of unethical (and illegal) practices like corruption. His political party's symbol is a broom,
http://www.aamaadmiparty.org/sites/default/files/AAP%20Symbol_3.jpg!!! Note that this is the election symbol along with the party name and candidate name that is put up as one of the options to choose from in the voting paper or electronic voting machine, in the voting booth at actual election voting time in India. The symbol is what most people look for first, I guess, rather than the party or candidate name, when they cast their vote.
Some info. about AAP from its wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aam_Aadmi_Party:
The party made its electoral debut in the 2013 Delhi legislative assembly election, where it emerged as the second-largest party, winning 28 of the 70 seats. With no party obtaining an overall majority, the AAP formed a minority government with conditional support from the Indian National Congress. A significant part of its agenda was to quickly introduce the Jan Lokpal bill in the Union Territory. When it became clear after the election that the other major parties would not support this bill, the AAP government resigned. It had been in power for 49 days.
In the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, AAP won 67 of the 70 seats available. Its chief opponent, the Bharatiya Janata Party, was reduced to three seats, while the Indian National Congress was reduced to zero.
--- end wiki extract ---
Ravi: So a new masses-oriented party could win a massive sweeping victory (67 out of 70 seats of the state assembly) within two years of its electoral debut in India. I think the same may be possible, at least to some extent, in some European countries which follow parliamentary democracy.
Perhaps the USA presidential system of democracy where the top leader (president) is elected directly by the people (in Indian parliamentary democracy, the prime minister is elected by the majority of the elected members of parliament), makes it difficult for new political parties to effectively compete in a US presidential election. I mean, Ron Paul was a famous figure as a kind-of alternative candidate for President and I believe he was associated with a Libertarian party too. But the impression I have is that Ron Paul never seemed to be able to really become a serious contender for USA president.
---
Please note that I have a NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about the USA presidential elections. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me voting in these elections.
[I thank cnn.com and Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts (very short extract from cnn.com) from their websites on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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