Shawn Griffiths
Photo by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash
In the latest episode of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, comedian Bill Maher said Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign proves something about American politics:
Namely, we don't need the endless campaign cycle.
"Now that we have shown that it is possible to begin a campaign for president just 3 months before the election, let's always do that," he said.
He noted that despite concerns from some analysts that Biden dropping out of the race so late in the campaign cycle would lead to chaos, it largely hasn't. The Democratic Party's transition from Biden to Harris was practically seamless.
"They always say. 'Voters don't pay attention until Labor Day,' well then let's start the election on Labor Day and end it on Election Day," said Maher. He pointed to several countries that do this without issue.
He mentioned Japan, for example, where the "season" lasts 12 days. He talked about England, where their campaigns go for 25 working days with an immediate transition of power. In Brazil, campaigns go for 45 days.
"The only reason we stay stuck in permanent campaign mode is money, " said Maher. "It is estimated this year that $16 billion will be spent on political ads." That's right. Just on ads.
"It is time we admit that the endless campaign exists only to enrich advertisers, political consultants, and what's left of the news media." It is worth including the political parties and their allied political action committees.
Maher says that the winner of elections these days is who voters are less tired of, and his assertion is not baseless. Pew Research found in 2023 that about two-thirds of Americans get exhausted just thinking about US politics.
Maher's opinion on this matter raises an obvious question: What about the presidential primaries? After all, the times in the nation's history where campaigns were much shorter were before the wide use of primaries.
However, the 2024 presidential election exposed a truth that IVN has educated voters on for years: the presidential nomination process has never been about elevating democracy.
The Democratic Party switched who was on top of the party's ticket well after the presidential primaries were said and done. But even before that, both parties wrapped up their nominations by March.
And yet, much of the country hadn't voted yet.
It is the parties' right to determine how the nomination processes for their presidential tickets are conducted. Both major parties have changed their rules in various cycles to better get the outcomes they want.
It is an absolute waste of taxpayer money to conduct publicly funded and administered elections that don't directly nominate a candidate, especially when millions of voters are told to sit out of the process.
Ideally, if states conduct presidential primaries, all eligible voters should be allowed to participate and the parties -- as they do right now -- can decide what votes to count toward their delegates and nomination processes.
It is possible to have a presidential primary system like this and still give voters a break between the midterms and the presidential election and between the final primaries / conventions and Labor Day (or even later).
Because right now, by November, voters are worn out, and then it all starts again by December. "They are just constantly on us. TV, radio, the mail, on our phones, texting," said Maher. "They're everywhere, all the time."