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I've been thinking for a long time that Democracy, while an awesome concept, falls prey to many shortcomings in creating a perfect society. I love the idea of everyone having a say in the happenings of this country, how laws are written and who we choose to lead, but if the Re-election of Michele Bachmann proves anything it's that the people don't make the right decisions sometimes.
I believe that the system of Democracy hurts those who are experts on politics. The people who know most about what is going on really have the least say. The dumbest and most ignorant are what make up the masses and that is who chooses our leaders. There have been cases where a dead person was elected because nobody who voted had actually read a newspaper. So how is our nation expected to succeed when the majority of voters have no idea what they are voting for?
I want to start a debate here, maybe some ideas on how intelligent, well-informed people can have more influence while taking influence away from the ignorant.
if the Re-election of Michele Bachmann proves anything it's that the people don't make the right decisions sometimes.
In your opinion.
I could say the same thing about Harry Reid or Barack Obama. You could disagree. People are entitled to their opinions, and they vote based on them. That's kind of the whole point.
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The people who know most about what is going on really have the least say.
No, they have just as much say as any other individual.
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how is our nation expected to succeed when the majority of voters have no idea what they are voting for?
I want to start a debate here, maybe some ideas on how intelligent, well-informed people can have more influence while taking influence away from the ignorant.
That is an extraordinarily dangerous road to go down, and goes completely against everything this nation stands for. Who should we start with? What group loses their right to vote first? Women? Blacks?
I think that your mere mention of this idea indicates that you really haven't given it any serious thought. Either that, or you're one of the first who would lose their vote under any such system.
I think that your mere mention of this idea indicates that you really haven't given it any serious thought. Either that, or you're one of the first who would lose their vote under any such system.
LOL I had exactly the same thought after reading the OP's last sentence!
I don't believe we are a democracy anymore. In a true democracy you have freedom of speech, you don't really have it anymore. Sure you can speak out but you had better not step on any toes doing it or you will be shut up real fast.
I don't believe we need an electoral college anymore. IF it was retained then a National law should be made to say that the states can split their electoral college votes rather then a state having to be for one or another candidate. To my knowledge only one state and thats Nebraska is the only state that can do that.
I think there should be RULES about lying in political adds.
I also think there should be a cap on how much money can be spent by the people running.
I think there should be an age cap on every office.
There should be a cap on how many terms a congressman should have in office.
I also don't believe in political dynasties. I don't believe a president should have any family members in a position of power such has been with the Kennedy's and the Bushes.
I could say the same thing about Harry Reid or Barack Obama. You could disagree. People are entitled to their opinions, and they vote based on them. That's kind of the whole point.
No, they have just as much say as any other individual.
That is an extraordinarily dangerous road to go down, and goes completely against everything this nation stands for. Who should we start with? What group loses their right to vote first? Women? Blacks?
I think that your mere mention of this idea indicates that you really haven't given it any serious thought. Either that, or you're one of the first who would lose their vote under any such system.
No, the people who lose their right to vote first are not a specific group other than Stupid and Ignorant people. Obviously you're someone who hates Democrats no matter what, just from your Obama bashing. My point about Bachmann is that she is clearly not a smart woman, she denies saying things that have been seen by millions of Americans on every single news program. What she said was something that was stamped out in the McCarthyism era and that should not be tolerated by ANY American, no matter their political affiliation. When someone proves themselves to be stupid, they should not be re-elected to their office.
I would say the same about Mark Pryor, a Democrat. He said in "Religilous" that intelligence isn't a qualification for office and that if it were, he would not qualify. Come on people!
LOL I had exactly the same thought after reading the OP's last sentence!
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Originally Posted by lammius
LOL I had exactly the same thought after reading the OP's last sentence!
Why? Because you're not able to question what you've always been told? I read about politics for at least an hour or two a day in addition to watching political programs on TV. I study the policy choices of the candidates (which is why I thought Clinton, Obama and Edwards were basically the same candidate and not worth voting for, just as Guiliani, Thompson, Romney, McCain and Huckabee were.) and how their choices would affect THE COUNTRY, not myself. I majored in political economics at one of the top ranked Political Economy departments in the country. I am much more well informed than those idiots at the rallies (for either party) who just yell and scream without any real idea of what they are yelling for. My GF was all anti-Obama during the primaries because, as a woman who doesn't really follow politics, she was gung-ho about Hillary even though Hillary supported the war that my GF was against. Once Obama became the guy and she got over her pain of losing Hilary, she became super gung-ho about him without really knowing anything other than his education and ability to speak well. There are many more like her than like me who end up voting.
If the primaries were up to the informed voters, McCain-Obama would not have been the race.
And anyone who votes for Michele Bachmann, is an idiot. The woman doesn't even understand that video exists. She keeps going on interviews and then goes on another one and denies what she said in the last one and calls it an "Urban Legend". Before I knew who she was, I saw her on MTP I think, and all I kept saying is "who is this moron?", "How did she get elected?" and "at least people will see how stupid she is and not re-elect her". I am a registered Republican, I have never voted for a Democrat for a national office. I believe that both parties are full of idiots, I was not making a partisan comment (read my quote), I was simply stating a fact.
By definition, intelligent people are outnumbered by stupid people. Intellect works on a Bell Curve, not an upward slope. The average person is actually quite stupid when you think about it. A 100 IQ is incredibly low, but that's considered average by definition. But people even dumber than that are allowed to vote.
I believe that only those who know what they are voting for should be able to vote. On top of that, only those who know the ramifications of those decisions should be able to make them. To deny that the majority of the population is uninformed and ignorant is to prove your own ignorance. Since only a small portion of people are "Experts" their opinions SHOULD matter more.
I support both Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich because while completely opposite in views, both hold some similar views that prove an intellectual look at policies and not just a partisan one. I support Chuck Hagel, The two Doles and Bob Barr.
After all, would California have elected Arnold if he hadn't been the Terminator? What does that prove about how the masses vote?
I don't believe we need an electoral college anymore. IF it was retained then a National law should be made to say that the states can split their electoral college votes rather then a state having to be for one or another candidate. To my knowledge only one state and thats Nebraska is the only state that can do that.
I think there should be RULES about lying in political adds.
I also think there should be a cap on how much money can be spent by the people running.
I think there should be an age cap on every office.
There should be a cap on how many terms a congressman should have in office.
I also don't believe in political dynasties. I don't believe a president should have any family members in a position of power such has been with the Kennedy's and the Bushes.
Don't forget the Clintons, the Romneys, the Doles, the Rockefellers, the Gores, the Dodds...people don't realize how much of a monarchy we live in...
Bush was not only descended from a president on his father's side, his mother was directly descened from Franklin Pierce!
When did I bash Obama? I'll give you a hint - I didn't.
You're clearly an ignorant person, who's too stupid to master basic reading comprehension - you just lost your right to vote.
Do you understand now why your idea is utterly insane?
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I could say the same thing about Harry Reid or Barack Obama.
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[Insert clueless-obama-voter joke here]
There, just like Michele Bachmann, you are too ignorant to realize that people can look back at what you just said.
Clearly you can't even comprehend your own writing.
My idea is not insane, letting morons decide how to run a country IS insane. Electing an idiot to run the country because "I'd like to have a beer with him" IS insane.
The funny thing is that I asked for an intellectual debate with IDEAS on how to improve the democracy, not knee-jerk reactions to my idea. When you have no thoughts of your own, you bash those of others.
If the voters weren't complete idiots, why would Ted Stevens get a single vote? A convicted felon who is due to spend the rest of his life in Jail is still close enough to being elected that they had to delay the results by two weeks? That proves my point that stupid people have too much power.
Last edited by Pug Life; 11-20-2008 at 06:00 PM..
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