Freedom of Choice

[scott]

Democrat or Republican: two different ways of being an asshole and a bully.

[rlortie]

Edited; A boo-boo on my part, sorry!

Ralph

[scott]

I don't agree with Ralph's post. He has skewed my idea beyond recognition. I'm tempted to delete it.

[Ed]

I realise that we are in off-topic and that everyone couldn't care less about what I have to say, but I suppose I come here somewhat to escape all the other politically charged BS that is easily encountered everywhere else. However, hippies-of-the-right manage to tear down my little hideout. Then there is what Ralph put...

[rlortie]

Scott, Ed,

Sorry about that, it just happened to be available at the time. It is now gone.

Ralph

[winkle]

if you're looking for a better deal stop trying to fix what's wrong and start working on how to turn back time to maybe right after the dinosaurs disappeared

[erick]

This issue is a functon of the fact that it has now become big business to run for national office. The "little guy" (libertarians, greens, etc.) haven't got a chance next to the behemoth "mainstream" parties (the republicrats). It simply costs too much money to run a campaign for national office. It costs tens of millions of dollars to run for a senate seat or to be a representative (nevermind president) and in order to raise that money you need to sell your soul, either to one of the supposedly different parties, who are already in the back pocket of big business, or to the big businesses themselves who are not too interested in an unknown quantity such as a fringe political movement. They know that the big two will play ball, why would they change their strategy?

It would seem that some sort of campaign finance reform with strictly public financing would be the answer but how? And from where would the federal government derive that power?

It seems to me that generally speaking these positions wield too much power in the first place far outside of what the Constitution originally intended. Perhaps if their power were reigned in to their mandate this wouldn't be so much of an issue.

[John Collins]

I'm naive where politics is concerned but aren't all our overbearing governments an inevitable conclusion to the fine ideals our forefathers believed in and wouldn't the same cycle of power and corruption ensue from every idealistic enterprise they initiated, because it's human nature for those who seek to lead, to seek more power to lead more and guide us to their 'right' way of thinking, using their increasing powers to coerce?

You only have to look at the revolutions around the world in history to see that. England, France, Russia, China, Argentina, various African countries etc etc etc...

We have the governments we deserve.

JC

[erick]

Except in the case of America's forefathers who specifically designed our style of government (according to the Constitution) to be decentralized. That is why the powers enumerated to the federal government have to do with the issues which require national consensus (which is very few issues). All other policy was meant to be left "to the citizens or states, respectively" (Article 4 Section 4) . That was their ideal, not the ever increasingly centralized government we see today. They realized that human nature would always lead to individuals seeking to increase their power over others so they specifically restricted it. Since that time both parties have willfully ignored the parts of the Constitution that don't serve their agenda, while at the same time swearing to uphold it. No one calls them on their sh*t though because they keep the masses ignorant of its actual content and meaning through a public education system that is an absolute joke.

/rant

[winkle]

Eric wrote

they keep the masses ignorant

that's not true

look on the Internet everyone's bitching

the masses are willfully ignorant and keep voting for the same two parties

the parties that are trashing the system

the masses are just following their instincts vote the same as you did last time and when things go wrong blame the other guy and stand around bitching

[Grimer]

Sounds just like Britain. I suspect at the next election the votes of both the main parties will be way down. I certainly won't be voting for either of them.

[docfeelsgood]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hFiab7fjak

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