Well as the kids on the street say… “Sh*ts about to get real.”

Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race and has endorsed Kamala Harris. It’s uncertain if she’ll be the nominee. What is certain is the Trump campaign has already started attacking the process of getting a new Democratic nominee.

One of the talking points that is floating about claims that the Democrats are a threat to democracy by negating the votes of the millions of people who voted for Biden in the primary. While that charge might look valid on the surface let’s take a deeper look into whether it’s true. 

Biden’s resignation didn’t negate the will of the 14,465,519 people who voted for him be-cause most of those people never had a choice in the first place. The same thing can be said for the 17,015,756 Republicans who voted for Donald Trump.

It has nothing to do with the fact that Biden never had any serious competition. Even though Trump competed against Nikki Haley, the majority of Republican votes didn’t count either. By the time most people got a chance to vote, the decision had already been made by a handful of voters in a couple of states. 

I’m looking at you Iowa. You too New Hampshire.

The Nebraska Republican and Democratic votes for their party’s candidate didn’t mean squat because the decision had been made long before we had a chance to have our say. 

The primary system of electing presidential candidates has got to change. Or at least stop the illusion that states like Nebraska really matter in who the nominee will be.

Before I continue, let me state that I am fully aware that the powers that be don’t want every state to have a say.  It’s much easier to put your resources into Iowa, New Hampshire, and Super Tuesday than call it a day. 

If I were in charge, I would suggest a series of 4 regional Super Tuesdays.  I’d have the coun-try divided into quadrants, and then every other week the citizens in the North East, South East, Midwest, and West would cast their ballots.  Every 4 years these quadrants would rotate so that different regions would have a shot at being first. 

I know nobody asked me but that seems to be a far more democratic way of doing things.

It would be a far more democratic way to elect a President if every state divided its electoral votes like Nebraska and Maine do.  That way there would be Republican Electoral votes in California and Democratic Electoral votes in Alabama. 

Don’t tell me the way to do it is a popular vote because then all any candidate would care about is New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and a handful of other major cities. The needs of places like Butte Montana, or Evansville Indiana would be ignored even more than they already are.

But then again, as I said, nobody asked me.

However, some people have asked me how I think this will all play out.  Who the hell knows?  A month ago, did you think that Trump would have been shot and Biden would have stepped down?  I’m guessing you didn’t.  We’ve got 4 months and a convention yet to go.  Who knows how this will all play out? 

I do know that it’s going to be intense, it’s going to be nasty, and it’s going to be a campaign unlike any that we’ve seen in our lifetime.  I do know that the Democrats have a better chance than they did last week.  And I do know that Trump is now the old guy running for office.  The talking points have changed. 

And as important as all this is, make sure you take some time before the kids go back to school and enjoy the summer.  We’re all Americans first and there’s a lot more to life than politics.

But then please make sure you focus on the election and regardless of how you vote, take the time to educate yourself on the issues that are important to you.  As I’ve been saying for the last couple of years, we don’t need voter ID we need voter IQ.

Because as they say on the street… Sh*ts about to get real.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.