I don't about you guys, but I am completely checked out of the 2016 Presidential race. Granted, I know we're in the silly season portion of it where candidates are jockeying for postion and the media is blowing up any crumb of a story.

I watched the Trump interview on Meet the Press on Sunday. 100% pure gibberish from Mr. Trump and a weak interview by Chuck Todd. And then to go to the desk for "analysis". Every person on that panel should have gotten up and walked off the set. Instead, the provide commentary as if Trump is even remotely qualified to be President. Keep in mind, here is how Trump answered one of Todd's questions:

Todd: Who do you turn to for advice on defense?

Trump: I watch the shows. 

Meanwhile, on the Dem side, Hillary is a disaster with her e-mail server and guarded campaign with few policy specifics. How bad is it when people are floating Al Gore's name for a run!?

I'll admit, if the election was held tomorrow, I'd run to the polls to vote for Sanders even though I disagree with how much he'd insert the government into the daily doings of the economy.

Look, I know this will all get sorted out and the wannabees will drop off and we'll get to a serious race, but right now the noise of this election cycle is just unbearable.

Just Fred wrote:

The main reason I tune in to it periodically, Lager, is that I've never seen anything like this.  I find it fascinating and I'll admit, somewhat entertaining at some level.

I'll admit, if the election was held tomorrow, I'd run to the polls to vote for Sanders even though I disagree with how much he'd insert the government into the daily doings of the economy.

It's no secret that I'm a Sanders supporter, but I think his focus is on the fact he sees Corporate America inserting itself into government too much.  There has to be a balance, and he feels the pendulum has swung too far sending us down the road to plutocratic oligarchy.

 

You mean like this guy Fred?


Charles Koch scolds the 1 percent: The plutocrat’s surprising moment of clarity

Earlier this month, billionaire Charles Koch had a surprising message: In a speech to his fellow conservatives, he said politicians must end taxpayer-funded subsidies and preferential treatment for corporations.

Why is this surprising? Because the demand came from an industrialist whose company and corporate subsidiaries have raked in tens of millions of dollars’ worth of such subsidies.

The Koch-organized conference at a luxury resort in Southern California reportedly attracted roughly 450 conservative donors who have committed to spending nearly $900 million on the 2016 presidential election. The event included appearances by Republican presidential candidates such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

“Where I believe we need to start in reforming welfare is eliminating welfare for the wealthy,” said Koch, who, along with his brother David, is among the biggest financiers of conservative political causes. “This means stopping the subsidies, mandates and preferences for business that enrich the haves at the expense of the have nots.”

Yet, in the last 15 years, Koch’s firm Koch Industries and its subsidiaries have secured government subsidies worth more than $166 million, according to data compiled by the watchdog group Good Jobs First. The group says since 1990, Koch-owned properties have received 191 separate subsidies worth a total of $195 million.

Koch Industries and its subsidiaries, which are a privately held, are involved in everything from oil refining to manufacturing to high finance. In 2012, Charles Koch issued a similar jeremiad against government-sponsored subsidies for corporations. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, he said, “We are on dangerous terrain when government picks winners and losers in the economy by subsidizing favored products and industries.” In his essay, he specifically derided tax credits — yet even after the op-ed, Koch-owned properties accepted more than $77 million worth of such taxpayer-funded preferences from governments, according to Good Jobs First.