This Could Never Happen

[Sh1ne0n67]

"Lincoln and Douglas agreed to hold a series of seven debates, each in one of the nine Illinois congressional districts. There were no moderators; just the candidates and the people attending. The format was simple. One candidate would speak for 60 minutes. Then the other would speak for 90 minutes, and the first would have 30 minutes to reply. As the incumbent, Douglas spoke first in four debates."

Julius Sanks, PJMedia

The American voting public sadly has an MTV attention span.
Even our great national sport is divided into four 15-minute periods.

I think it starts in the colleges with 20-minute halves in the only American-invented game.
__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

 

[oggbashan]

It can and does sometimes still happen in the UK at a local level. The national TV debates (as in America) are soundbite-rich and usually uninformative.

But sometimes a neutral body (like a church) can host a debate between local candidates that goes on for hours. It is usually attended by the dedicated voters/worker from both sides and no one's opinion (or voting intention) is likely to be changed but the debates can be very informative about the details of policies as they will affect the local area.

 

[ll74]

I'll be interested to see what format occurs in 2024 now that one party has rejected the accepted mechanism that has been used for debate.

 

[oggbashan]

I'll be interested to see what format occurs in 2024 now that one party has rejected the accepted mechanism that has been used for debate.

In the UK, arguments about the format of TV debates (and who should be represented) can be vicious. The debate about the form of the debate is often more damaging than the debate itself.

 

[Sh1ne0n67]

You would have to have some other incentive here.
People just don't seem to have the attention span.

Hell, we don't have "debates."
Nobody ever says anything...
__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

 

[oggbashan]

You would have to have some other incentive here.
People just don't seem to have the attention span.

Hell, we don't have "debates."
Nobody ever says anything...
__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

Perhaps you need cheerleader displays and advert breaks?

Locally the attention span of voters can seem endless.

Thirty years ago I hosted such a debate between the local sitting MP and the rival candidates. It started at seven-thirty in the evening and I had to call a halt at midnight when the hall hire expired. The heated discussions continued in the car park...

 

[Sh1ne0n67]

We are a frenetic people.
We always have somewhere else to be
someone we just have to see
and something to be done.

If it cannot be done quickly
then it just cannot be attended to.
__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

 

[oggbashan]

If it cannot be done quickly
then it just cannot be attended to.
__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

And that seems to affect your legislators. They seem to react to today's news and ignore the longer view about things that should be done but will take longer than an election cycle to have an impact.

We experience the same in the UK but much of our legislation is not controversial and is approved by both sides.

 

[Sh1ne0n67]

Oh yeah.
It's not as bad on the local level, but the higher up you go,
the more in tune they are to what CNN and FOX are reporting and what they must respond to.

People just don't take the time here to get acquainted with issues,
they are much more focused on family and career and the advancement of both.

We can't even be bothered to read unless it's something picked up at the airport in case you cannot sleep.
And they don't sell anything there that might get passengers riled up...
__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

 

[Sh1ne0n67]

...

We experience the same in the UK but much of our legislation is not controversial and is approved by both sides.

Everything here (US) is Beyond Thunderdome.
You can see it (Lit). If I post innocuously, "It's a nice Day,"
There will be half a dozen angry replies of "NO IT'S NOT NICE! YOU LIE!"
and just as many, "YOU ARE A LIAR, IT'S NOT DAY [in China]!!!"

They don't care about the issue because they're so shallow that they think,
destroy the person, negate the argument, i.e., be the loudest, meanest voice in the room...
__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

 

[Rightguide]

I can't imagine Joe Biden speaking for an hour straight and at the end remembering why he was there speaking in the first place.

 

[oggbashan]

I can't imagine Joe Biden speaking for an hour straight and at the end remembering why he was there speaking in the first place.

Any UK Member of Parliament would find speaking for an hour very easy...

 

[JohnEngelman]

Trump likes to speak beyond his allowed time and to interrupt his opponent. A debate with Trump in would need to be disciplined. Each debater would have a specific amount of time to answer a question. At the end of that time his or her microphone would go silent. There would be fact checkers. If either debater said some thing that was flagrantly not true, his or her microphone would go silent, and the untruth would be exposed.

 

[pecksniff]

Any UK Member of Parliament would find speaking for an hour very easy...

P is our Parliament
Commons and Peers
They will talk if permitted
For months, nay, for years!

-- An ABC for Baby Patriots (1899)

 

[RobDownSouth]

Everything here (US) is Beyond Thunderdome.
You can see it (Lit). If I post innocuously, "It's a nice Day,"
There will be half a dozen angry replies of "NO IT'S NOT NICE! YOU LIE!"
and just as many, "YOU ARE A LIAR, IT'S NOT DAY [in China]!!!"

They don't care about the issue because they're so shallow that they think,
destroy the person, negate the argument, i.e., be the loudest, meanest voice in the room...
__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

^^^^
#PerpetualVictimhood