Phil Kessel running for President

[Frank Drebin]

he got a taste of power in the whitehouse

someone post the "they voted me last, so I became a god" pic

 

[Shockmaster]

Make America Skate Again.

 

[Karl Eriksson]

How are Canadian-based American players casting their votes today?

They get their ballots mailed to them, just like the 1 to 2 million American residents of Canada.

If they don't actually reside in Canada, they physically vote in their home district.

 

[Dying Alive]

Wouldn't this be a contract breach though, if he does get elected? He has a contract with the Penguins until 21-22 and the presidential term is 4 years. If he tried to do both things at the same time he would be an absolutely terrible president and his game would also suffer greatly.

Technically he'd just be a really, really important player coach.

This definitely seems like a smart idea in a battleground state where the votes actually matter. Let's flush a few thousand down the toilet on a celebrity gag campaign.

I doubt it'll matter. Anyone who would write in a silly throwaway vote for the Presidency probably was going to do a write-in candidate anyway. Besides, while PA is technically a swing state it very rarely goes red. The last time was 1988 and if you believe the polls it's not going to be very close this time either.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

This definitely seems like a smart idea in a battleground state where the votes actually matter. Let's flush a few thousand down the toilet on a celebrity gag campaign.

 

[Dialamo]

There will be hot dog stands at every corner! BIGLY!

 

[Mount Suribachi]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/phil-kessels-presidential-campaign-takes-off-grand-style/

I would vote for Phil, he would tackle the skyrocketing costs at hot dog carts

Given the content of the wikileaks emails I'm not sure running on a Hot Dog ticket is the best idea....

 

[Mitchy]

Man, I ****ing love Phil.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Wearing my Phil kessel Jersey in support right now

 

[Eb]

Philly for president!

 

[tarheelhockey]

...

To put it bluntly, there aren't many ways to have fun which are less appropriate than screwing around with your vote in a swing state during a Presidential election.

Those of us who were adults in 2000 remember why.

 

[Field of Dreams]

low key jays hat
we miss you phil

 

[KrisLetAngry]

To put it bluntly, there aren't many ways to have fun which are less appropriate than screwing around with your vote in a swing state during a Presidential election.

Those of us who were adults in 2000 remember why.

I hope this is you being super serious as a joke and ignoring the fact you have to be 35 years old to become president

 

[Inkling]

I hope this is you being super serious as a joke and ignoring the fact you have to be 35 years old to become president

Do people think he is actually on the ballot? I'm pretty sure he's just made up some joke T-shirts. Don't get these comments about messing around with votes.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Do people think he is actually on the ballot? I'm pretty sure he's just made up some joke T-shirts. Don't get these comments about messing around with votes.

I don't either and letang voting for him haha

 

[molon labe]

Do people think he is actually on the ballot? I'm pretty sure he's just made up some joke T-shirts. Don't get these comments about messing around with votes.

Whatever the case, he's taking votes away from Matt Cullen who IS eligible

 

[Raymoondo]

This definitely seems like a smart idea in a battleground state where the votes actually matter. Let's flush a few thousand down the toilet on a celebrity gag campaign.

This is a joke right?

 

[Pirate King Luffy]

Probably the best tweet by the NHL

 

[Bounces R Way]

Good one Randy.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

NVMind

 

[tarheelhockey]

I hope this is you being super serious as a joke and ignoring the fact you have to be 35 years old to become president

Do people think he is actually on the ballot? I'm pretty sure he's just made up some joke T-shirts. Don't get these comments about messing around with votes.

This is a joke right?

Obviously he's not on the ballot. Regardless of his age, ballot access isn't just freely given to anyone who wants to run. That's why we have write-in candidates.

And yes, I'm serious about this being a stupid thing to do. When a celebrity says "write in my name", a certain percentage of people who hear that message are going to think it's hilarious and actually do it on a whim. That percentage is going to be a lot higher when people are already actively looking for alternatives to the major candidates, and the celebrity in question is a member of a defending championship team who has a large social media platform.

This wouldn't matter if he were playing in NY, California, Texas... but Pennsylvania is an absolutely critical battleground state in this election. The result there dramatically impacts the electoral map one way or another. And as we saw in Florida in 2000, it's not unrealistic in a close swing state that even only a hundred joke-votes can actually make the difference in the entire race. It can be that close and it has been that close in the recent past.

The t-shirts by themselves are funny enough as an in-house joke, I get that, but tweeting it out to the world at large and now having official NHL communications get behind it just not a smart thing to do at all. It's actively encouraging people to act stupidly about something that's extremely important.

 

[Divine]

Obviously he's not on the ballot. Regardless of his age, ballot access isn't just freely given to anyone who wants to run. That's why we have write-in candidates.

And yes, I'm serious about this being a stupid thing to do. When a celebrity says "write in my name", a certain percentage of people who hear that message are going to think it's hilarious and actually do it on a whim. That percentage is going to be a lot higher when people are already actively looking for alternatives to the major candidates, and the celebrity in question is a member of a defending championship team who has a large social media platform.

This wouldn't matter if he were playing in NY, California, Texas... but Pennsylvania is an absolutely critical battleground state in this election. The result there dramatically impacts the electoral map one way or another. And as we saw in Florida in 2000, it's not unrealistic in a close swing state that even only a hundred joke-votes can actually make the difference in the entire race. It can be that close and it has been that close in the recent past.

The t-shirts by themselves are funny enough as an in-house joke, I get that, but tweeting it out to the world at large and now having official NHL communications get behind it just not a smart thing to do at all. It's actively encouraging people to act stupidly about something that's extremely important.

You need to take into account that people voting for Kessel, even as a write-in do not like either of the major candidates. In that case, would forcing them to vote, or have them not vote all together be a better alternative? Sure, they may be able to swing the vote in battleground states, but that vote is going to be swung arbitrary, not because they necessarily enjoy either candidates' political agenda (assuming they even know what it is). Someone who votes for Phil Kessel most likely is not paying close attention, or is not interested in the election. Their vote may swing the vote, but that would be completely arbitrary because the fact they would vote for Phil Kessel shows they do not support either candidate. Would you prefer someone not interested in voting for either be forced to vote for one and arbitrarly swing the election based on how they're feeling that day?

This is no different than getting upset at people who don't follow politics and decide not to vote. The people who have a genuine interest in the results will make informed decisions, those are what the results should be dictated by. For all the people who make uninformed decisions, it would be more beneficial to a democracy if they vote for a third party candidate simply because that would more accurately represent a democracy.

 

[Regal]

Obviously he's not on the ballot. Regardless of his age, ballot access isn't just freely given to anyone who wants to run. That's why we have write-in candidates.

And yes, I'm serious about this being a stupid thing to do. When a celebrity says "write in my name", a certain percentage of people who hear that message are going to think it's hilarious and actually do it on a whim. That percentage is going to be a lot higher when people are already actively looking for alternatives to the major candidates, and the celebrity in question is a member of a defending championship team who has a large social media platform.

This wouldn't matter if he were playing in NY, California, Texas... but Pennsylvania is an absolutely critical battleground state in this election. The result there dramatically impacts the electoral map one way or another. And as we saw in Florida in 2000, it's not unrealistic in a close swing state that even only a hundred joke-votes can actually make the difference in the entire race. It can be that close and it has been that close in the recent past.

The t-shirts by themselves are funny enough as an in-house joke, I get that, but tweeting it out to the world at large and now having official NHL communications get behind it just not a smart thing to do at all. It's actively encouraging people to act stupidly about something that's extremely important.

I think the assumption is that nobody would be dumb enough to actually do it, but if this election has taught us anything, it's that you shouldn't underestimate human stupidity.

 

[Raymoondo]

Obviously he's not on the ballot. Regardless of his age, ballot access isn't just freely given to anyone who wants to run. That's why we have write-in candidates.

And yes, I'm serious about this being a stupid thing to do. When a celebrity says "write in my name", a certain percentage of people who hear that message are going to think it's hilarious and actually do it on a whim. That percentage is going to be a lot higher when people are already actively looking for alternatives to the major candidates, and the celebrity in question is a member of a defending championship team who has a large social media platform.

This wouldn't matter if he were playing in NY, California, Texas... but Pennsylvania is an absolutely critical battleground state in this election. The result there dramatically impacts the electoral map one way or another. And as we saw in Florida in 2000, it's not unrealistic in a close swing state that even only a hundred joke-votes can actually make the difference in the entire race. It can be that close and it has been that close in the recent past.

The t-shirts by themselves are funny enough as an in-house joke, I get that, but tweeting it out to the world at large and now having official NHL communications get behind it just not a smart thing to do at all. It's actively encouraging people to act stupidly about something that's extremely important.

I get your point, but I honestly think anyone that's indifferent enough to be voting for Kessel as a write-in really cares about which of the two major candidates wins.

 

[tarheelhockey]

You need to take into account that people voting for Kessel, even as a write-in do not like either of the major candidates. In that case, would forcing them to vote, or have them not vote all together be a better alternative?

This is a politically loaded question and I have NO interest in exploring it on the main board... but I would assume that the sub-demographic of "Pittsburgh-area resident AND follows Kessel on Twitter AND will vote AND is subject to influence by celebrity suggestion" has a particular demographic profile that favors one candidate or the other. I don't know and don't want to speculate which candidate that would be, but the effect wouldn't be completely arbitrary or randomized because there are demographic selectors involved.

I think the assumption is that nobody would be dumb enough to actually do it, but if this election has taught us anything, it's that you shouldn't underestimate human stupidity.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. I would not assume that people are too smart to ACTUALLY go and cast at least a few thousand votes for a celebrity because he's funny on Twitter and plays for a popular team.