2016 and yes Gertrude we have another election and it has turned into my unofficial day of elections……why not talk about the election process.

We hear all the time about this group or that bitching about the elections in some form or another…..either it is rigged for minorities or the guys are buying their wins……but all of this is just fodder for the media.

Elections may be in worse shape than even you can imagine…….

We have a group that is suppose to oversee the elections to be sure that they are fair and free……the Federal Election Commission.  This commission oversees the elections to be sure that NO federal laws are broken…..many to include me think that they are not doing a good job……we can place a lot of blame on Citizen United ruling…………what is most humorous is that the head of the FEC does not think so either……..

Sure, people moan about political kingmaking, the soaring cost of campaigns, and the money bombs both sidesare dropping, but when the person doing the moaning is the chairwoman of the federal body set up to regulate money in politics, one tends to take notice. “The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim,” Federal Election Commission Chair Ann Ravel tells the New York Times, speaking of the 2016 election. “I never want to give up, but I’m not under any illusions. People think the FEC is dysfunctional. It’s worse than dysfunctional.” The body is made up of three Democrats and three Republicans, notes the Times, describing the state of affairs thusly: “Some commissioners are barely on speaking terms, cross-aisle negotiations are infrequent, and with no consensus on which rules to enforce, the caseload against violators has plummeted.”

“It’s the Wild West out there in some ways,” says one campaign finance lawyer. Part of the issue: Presidential aspirants (looking at you, Martin O’Malley and Jeb Bush) are legitimately raising millions outside the FEC’s purview by simple virtue of not having declared their candidacies. It’s worth noting, however, that Ravel’s complaint appears to be a Democratic one: Republicans see little issue with how the FEC is functioning, notes the Times, with one commissioner saying, “Congress set this place up to gridlock. The democracy isn’t collapsing around us.” Adds another: “We’re not interested in going after people unless the law is fairly clear, and we’re not willing to take the law beyond where it’s written,” while Democrats tend to see the law “more broadly.”

Sadly…..we may never see a fair and free election ever again…..that is until the voter wakes up from their comatose condition and truly want a free and fair election……and thanx to the media that will not happen in my lifetime.

Thoughts?