Your Guide to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Elections: Part 4

Icons of politics and American ElectionsHere’s another post in our continuing series on the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. If you missed the first three, go here.

Buzzwords

Every presidential election campaign brings with it (creates or makes popular) certain buzzwords, terms or phrases that are used frequently by politicians and the media (newspapers, magazines, Internet news sites). Today’s buzzword is . . .

YUGE!

“Yuge” is just an alternate pronunciation of the word “huge,” meaning big, important, or very large. It is a favorite word of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump has a very distinctive (easy to recognize because it is so different) New York accent, so the letter “h” is pronounced more like the letter “y” as in “you.”

People now use the word as a joke, as in “The movie Batman v Superman is gonna (going to) be YUGE!”

As Seen On Twitter

This is one of the first American elections where Twitter has played a major (YUGE!) role or part. In particular, Donald Trump has used Twitter to communicate to his supporters and to criticize other candidates. Trump’s criticisms are often personal, meaning he doesn’t argue about policies (plans for how government will work) but instead attacks the other candidates for what he sees as their failures of character.

For example, he often refers to Ted Cruz as “Lyin’ Ted” – “lyin'” is just an informal way of saying “lying” (not telling the truth). Trump recently started to call Hilary Clinton “Crooked Hilary” – “crooked” refers to a government official or politician who takes bribes (money) in exchange for doing favors for other people.

Perhaps this name calling (criticizing people by insulting them) is one reason why Trump is now among the least popular politicians in recent memory (in the past several years). Yet, among a certain group of people, he is still very popular and continues to win elections. How is this possible?

Remember that Trump is winning elections only among Republican voters (who are less than half of the population), and even among Republicans, most voters don’t like him. But the way our nomination process is set up (arranged; organized), it is possible to win elections with a minority (less than 50%) of the votes (see a more detailed explanation in Part 3 of this series).

Those opposed to Trump are using the #NeverTrump hashtag on Twitter. The #NeverTrump group consists mostly of Republicans and conservatives who say that even if Trump wins the Republican nomination, they will never vote for him in November. (Most #NeverTrump people say they won’t vote for Hilary Clinton, either.)

Questions and Answers

Here are some questions that were asked in the last post in this series:

Can Americans vote for someone other than the Democrat or Republican nominee?

Yes, there are other candidates besides (in addition to) the ones nominated by the Democrats and Republicans. But the truth is they rarely get enough votes to get elected, even for state-level offices. But if the presidential election this year is between Trump and Clinton, two very unpopular candidates, anything is possible!

If one candidate has enough delegates for the first ballot, why even vote at the national convention?

Even if one candidate has enough delegates to win on the first ballot (vote) at the national convention, technically (according to the rules) you still have to have a vote. You cannot just “skip” (not do) the voting part!

If I don’t want to follow the U.S. elections and instead want to watch baseball, can you recommend a team to me?

Yes! The Los Angeles Dodgers are my favorite team, and everyone in the world should support them (although Warren would disagree).

Have additional questions? Ask them in the comments and I’ll try to answer them in a future post.

~Jeff

P.S. If you really want to learn more about the U.S. and its history and politics, check out our Introduction to the United States course.

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18 Responses to Your Guide to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Elections: Part 4

  1. Dan says:

    Hi Jeff, thank for this series. I love it.

    Here is my question/observation based on what I hear from various sources.

    It looks kind of a contradiction that in one of most important democracy in the world in the US 50/60% of the population do not vote.

    Just out of curiosity, I was looking at the turnout from 1908 to 2012 and the average turnout is 50% give or take.

    Beside that I often hear people say that “the best president is the one that do nothing” or people do not really like or trust the government.

    My question would be: why so many people do not vote?

    I was looking at Italy as a comparison and we average 70/80% turnout.

    Thanks!

  2. Dan says:

    Me again.

    Another observation more than a question is that during the last months
    from different interviews and debates I saw many spineless and subservient
    journalists that should be ashamed of themselves.
    I am saying that because I witnessed so many dogged questions from all the candidates.
    I would expect by the journalists to press and grill the person to answer the question asked.
    That is frustrating to watch!
    I yelled so many time to the screen “answer the # question!”

    Thanks

  3. Tania says:

    Hi,
    A real guide to the 2016 U.S. presidential elections this post.
    Funny and instructive at the same time.

    Thank you.

    All the best for you,

    Tania

  4. Tania says:

    Hi,
    I like English Cafe 552, even your tone is more cheerful.
    Talking about “The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama… I remember of my first year when I have started to listen to
    ESLPodcast. So many years?
    Yes, and I like it more with every day passing by thanks to the ESLPodcast team and , of course,
    our blog friends.

    All the best to you all,

    Tania

  5. Tania says:

    Hi,
    Like Aecio said, nice explanation of the word “reception”.
    It was easy to me to understand as we use “receptie” with all meanings mentioned.
    Useful and the explanation of the phrases “not at all”, “no problem”, “no big deal”.

  6. Tania says:

    Hi,
    I like the march songs in a military manner. I don’t know why, but they reveal a special emotion feeling.
    The same feeling and at a military parade.
    Inspired idea to listen to the orchestra singing “Anchors Aweigh” during our English Cafe.

  7. Tania says:

    Hi,
    “Anchors Aweigh”… the unofficial song of the U.S. Navy and the fight song of the U.S. Naval Academy.

    Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh!
    Farewell to Foreign Shores, we sail at break of day;
    Through our last night ashore, drink to the foam,
    Until we meet once more , here’s wishing you a happy voyage home!
    ……………………………………………………………………………………..
    Faith, courage, service true, with honor over, honor over all.

  8. Tania says:

    Hi,
    I have listened to America (My Country’ Tis of Thee), an American patriotic song, for the first time (English Cafe 548).

    My country’ tis of thee,
    Sweet land of liberty,
    Of thee I sing;
    Land where my fathers died,
    Land of pilgrim’s pride,
    From ev’ry mountainside
    Let freedom ring! AMERICA!

    My native country, thee,
    Land of the noble free,
    …………………………
    I love thy rocks and rills,
    Thy woods and templed hills.

    Let music swell the breeze
    And ring from all the trees
    Sweet freedom’s song.

  9. Dan says:

    Hello guys.

    Since election day is generally held the first Tuesday of November, which is a working day, probably that is one of the many reasons why people don’t vote.

    Another explanation I give to myself is for religious reasons.

    I don’t know, frankly looking at the current candidates and if I had to vote there, it would be really hard for me to pick one.

    Elections are often like that…you end up voting for what we perceive the lesser of two evils…or as we say in Italy you hold your nose and vote for a certain candidate.

    Thanks

  10. Aecio Flavio Perim says:

    Thanks, Tania, for remembering me in your comment. I feel proud of it, especially when it comes from you.
    From Brazil, green and yellow, blue sky, no sin
    Aecio

  11. hiro says:

    Hi, Jeff.

    I’m not sure if I make sense but here is my question.
    Let’s say I live in California and I want to vote in California primary, do I have to register either as a Republican or Democrat beforehand?
    Isn’t it possible to vote both in Republican and Democrat primaries?
    Is it possible in 2016 I vote in a Republican primary and then in 2020, I vote in a Democrat primary?
    Is it a matter if I register as a democrat or a republican beforehand?
    I wonder how in the world you can tell if yourself is democrat or republican. I know there’re characteristics of each party but is it a matter of black and white?
    I mean, in some parts you agree with democrat and in others you agree with republican. Are there people who don’t vote in primary because they are not
    sure if they are a democrat or a republican? Does such people have to wait to vote until November when two (one is from Democratic party and the other from Republican party)
    candidate compete for the last vote? Hope I made sense.

    Speaking of baseball, Kenta Maeda, rookie pitcher of the Dodgers from Japan got off to a great start. He’s not big and doesn’t look strong, but his techniques and the ability
    to adjust to MLB is superb.

  12. jetlee says:

    Thanks for another good post, Jeff.

    This year’s election may be the first that I have been interested in although all U.S. presidential elections have been main issues on TV here in my country as well.

    Additionally, I am also grateful for answering my question from the previous post’s comments section.

    Looking forward to the next ones~

  13. Dan says:

    Hi Jeff.

    There is a post on the Nytimes on Trump’s tweets where they show and link
    all the 210 People, Places, Things Trump has “insulted” on Twitter

    For example he famously called Jeb Bush “low energy”.
    Some of those are funny and frankly not even insults as it is claimed by the article.

    Trump is a character, it almost seems to be some comedian doing the impression of someone else.

    I do not particularly dislike the man. He even makes me laugh sometimes with his ways.
    I mean, just how he presents himself, the hair the orange rakoon face his hands gestures and so on.

    I almost wish him to become the POTUS only because I need to laugh.

    Just thoughts

  14. Peter says:

    Guys
    Now that we are telling secret. I have another one for u.
    It is a biggie folks.
    I stopped listening to my Jeff and Lucy over 6 months ago.

    Guys
    Hear me first
    Before biting my head off 🙂

    As u may know , I m a learning guid member.
    Well , I still have eslpod app on my phone upload weekly audio recordings as they come on.
    But , the thing is , I m running a very hectic ,crazy life. I mean bussy all the time. As I , like Dan , doing double shift. U know ,I gave bills to pay.
    So , I have no time for both listening to my good professors and reading them on learning guid.
    At first , I tried hard to juggle work life with my life with ealpod. But , I reached to the point that I threw the towel and officially gave up.
    So , everything comes down to taking a pick among the two.
    Well , I picked learning guid.
    U know , the way I figured it is with learning u get to read everything Jeff and much say and then some. By that I means on top of reading what u listen in the Audio lesson , u get some extra features on learning guid that I find them very practical and dearing.
    Besides ,honest , my main reason of listening to Jeff and Lucy was to pick up Lucy ‘s Accent.
    Well ,sadly it never happened. So , at one point I officially gave up on that.
    I must say I m happy with the choice I made over 6 moths ago.
    But here comes the kicker , things are different woth reading , in terms of reading if u will.
    U know , u can listen to audio lessons everywhere and anytime. While walking and running errands , doing some chores around the house and even driving around.
    But , u can’t do any of this while reading.
    U know I have to set a time and a place to sit and read. It mostly occurred during my Lunch break or evening cofee break while trying to reenergize. U know I work everyday from 9:00 to almost midnight
    It has been a bumpy road ,I tell u
    Anyway, my job description is mainly: talk ,talk ,and talk. I mostly specially in evening hours talk woth people on the phone. So , the last thing I need is another thing to listen to.
    So , u might say , I restored to reading.
    But , to my surprised , I find it refreshing and material sticks longer. Plus , the extra features i m greeting on learning guid are totally worth the time I put away for it.
    Well , it is not like that I gave up listening to eslpod all together. No
    The split second I found a window , I will get to it.
    The good thing is eslpod is it doesn’t have repeat value. By that I mean, u are never behind as u can listen to them any time in any order and u still feel u r up to date.
    U know , reading takes more time thsn listening ,so I m basically behind
    I m not current with the audio lessons but I m catching up.

    A learning guid member

    🙂
    Pete

  15. Dan says:

    Hey Pete

    I do the opposite. I only listen to them.
    There is no a particular reason for me to prefer that option.
    I listen to other podcast as well.
    As a factory worker I had to operate a huge piece of machinery.
    As you can imagine the noise is intense in that environment and not pleasant.
    So what I do, as I will do tonight, is downloading a bunch of podcasts and listen to them during my night shift.

    And finally on the accent issue, my view on that is that I do not care at all.
    My accent when I am talking with someone is the last of my thoughts.
    I would say it doesn’t cross my mind. Who cares.

    Thanks Pete! Enjoy your weekend.

  16. Dan says:

    Sorry Jeff me again.

    Since I have mentioned the fact that I listen to other podcasts, I want to go
    a step forward and tell you guys what I have downloaded for tonight.

    Actually, now that I am looking at my files, for tonight I have no Jeff but that just because I have already listened to the latest pod.

    So, I have got an episode of The Rubin Report, a podcast from The Daily Wire and the last episode of the Milo Yannopoulos show.

    As I am done with those I always listen to a compilation of Mozart.

    What do you guys listen to? Do you have any suggestions for me? Podcasts anything.

    Thanks.

  17. jetlee says:

    Unfortunately, today I saw a TV news saying Trump will probably win the enough of 1237 delegates.

    I have been expected to see a contested convention taking place, so it is no good news.

  18. Dan says:

    Hello.

    Just to add that that name calling Trump is doing can also be called
    “ad hominem attacks”

    I have learned that watching countless debates between religious Vs atheists.

Comments are closed.