Election update—The circus rolls along with Trump almost winning and Hillary almost locking it up

As the primaries and caucuses play out throughout the country, we see the various candidates and what they stand for.

REPUBLICANS:

Donald Trump has been a thorn in everyone's side except a large section of the Republican electorate. I actually like what he is doing to the Republican Party. While he has been protested by leftists, he has been seen as a problem for the more professional political hacks, such as Ted Cruz, who wants him out of the way. And while Trump seems like a bully, a racist, intolerant of opposition and maybe even a bit of a fascist, Cruz is really no better. Cruz is a professional politician and like his other fellow candidates, he is extremely conservative; being anti-abortion, anti-Obamacare (Affordable Care Act ), anti-unions, Against legalizing undocumented immigrants, et cetera. He is a lot smarter and smoother. He is a slippery weasel and a very dangerous man. This country will be worse off if he gets to be president. Plus it is possible that Trump will be way easier to beat than Cruz.

The big score after Tuesday's primary in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio is:

673 delegates for Donald Trump

411 delegates for Ted Cruz

169 delegates for Marco Rubio
143 delegates for John Kasich

Rubio has dropped out and it looks like Kasich will also. That leaves it to a two man race. And even though Trump is way out ahead of all of them, it looks like he may never actually get the nomination. Republican hacks are talking about a "brokered convention."

There are those within the Republican Party who have made statements to the affect that their party does not have to listen to the will of the people.

For example: From Yahoo News;

"Political parties, not voters, choose their presidential nominees, a Republican convention rules member told CNBC, a day after GOP front-runner Donald Trump rolled up more big primary victories.

"The media has created the perception that the voters choose the nomination. That's the conflict here," Curly Haugland, an unbound GOP delegate from North Dakota, told CNBC's " Squawk Box " on Wednesday. He even questioned why primaries are held."

We live under a two party system and by the time the parties are done with their conventions we are handed two candidates of someone else's choosing. We get only two candidates and that does not leave us much choice. The system allows a third party candidate but the deck is stacked against them to the point where they really can't possibly win. So the real chance to choose a person who will run for president is in the primaries and caucuses. That is where we have a range of candidates. That is where we have more than just two choices. And it is quite elitist to insist that a group of party hacks- only- get to choose who runs for president. Then again this is not a pro-Republican blog.

DEMOCRATS:

There is less drama as Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton fight it out for the nomination. Hillary is now way ahead. And it is beginning to look like the end for Bernie and his "revolution." But he isn't throwing in the towel yet.

The score is:

1606 delegates for Hillary Clinton and

851 delegates for Bernie Sanders

As it stands now, there will be no brokered convention for the Democrats and there seems to be no bad feelings between the candidates. They are far apart on the issues, but both sides seem more concerned with beating the Republicans than blocking the nomination from each other. For those who want a more humane foreign policy—forget that. Both candidates support an imperialist foreign policy with support of Israel, drone strikes and a war against ISIS for the mid-east oil fields. Although to be honest, Bernie has made some complaints of Israel calling for a "level playing field" between Israel and the Palestinians.
Since the days of Bill Clinton, the Democrats have mostly followed the same foreign policy as the Republicans.

But on local issues, there is the supreme court justice choice, saving Obamacare and a possible end to the Republican's relentless war on poor Americans. There is also the possibility of a more humane policy on immigration. Bernie has made it OK to be a socialist for the first time in more than 100 years. That is something we will not get from Hillary. 

So that raps it up for now.