Ridiculous - Corrupt - Congressman

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SkirtsDad
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Re: Ridiculous - Corrupt - Congressman

Post by SkirtsDad »

crfriend wrote:I use the USA here as an example simply because it's what I'm familiar with, not because of any redeeming virtue of the place or its system of government. I suspect that the "Brexit" vote was carried out along similar lines with massive dis-information being spewed by both sides.

If we don't find a way around this problem then the Western World headed for one Hell of a mess.
Perhaps worse. The media is virtually all right wing and they have had a 20 year campaign of blaming immigrants for all the woes of the country. The leave campaign put out a lot of misleading and false information. Regarding remain, I think it is generally accepted that they were complacent as they thought the vote would go their way. As a result the information put out was somewhat lack-lustre. The referendum was not legally binding, however, David Cameron, who put party before country, thought people would vote to remain, so said he would honour the result. A lot of people voted leave to improved their lives based on what they believed will happen. Unfortunately, so so many, they will not be getting what they want. Here's a sample of one misplace belief:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFjfbL1KWNI

Probably he worst deceit, imho, is the Tory mantra of "Take back control of our Laws and out Borders".... the idea that Brussels is making the majority of our laws is a gigantic exaggeration for a good many reasons. "For instance, the House of Commons Library concluded that ‘6.8% of primary legislation (Statutes) and 14.1% of secondary legislation (Statutory Instruments) had a role in implementing EU obligations’, whereas the campaign group Business for Britain claims that the true number is 64.7%." but even that is not the whole picture as some laws we already had. Furthermore, many of the laws we have adopted strengthen workers rights, so why would the general public not want those? It is virtually a guarantee that some of these will be repealed when we leave so people will find their working conditions deteriorating, not improving. That was not on the leave campaign posters!

When it comes to the borders the only ones we will be "taking back control" of are those with EU countries. Although less workers will be coming from EU countries, few people are mentioning that immigration will increase from non-European countries. The NHS has already been told to increase recruitment of nurses from developing countries, for instance. No mention of that by the xenophobic Theresa May that has deported, and tried to deport, so many that are entitle to be here. Look at Windrush, for example.
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r.m.anderson
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Re: Ridiculous - Corrupt - Congressman

Post by r.m.anderson »

It many help to have RANK CHOICE VOTING in place to eliminate
the continuous voting/elections till a satisfactory candidate is found.

For those not familiar with Rank Choice Voting:
A field of candidates names are placed on the ballot
The voter votes for the candidate that would be their first choice
and then marks their choice for second third and so on - - -
If one of the candidates does not get the required majority - - -
the bottom least voted candidate would have his votes spread out
among the field - still no winner - then the next bottom candidate
would have his votes redistributed - - -
Eventually one candidate will achieve the majority vote and be elected
and no further elections need to take place.

This may not work with a selection of NONE OF THE ABOVE who may
win the election but then None of the Above would not be a valid choice
with Rank Choice.

And YES I affirm that Election Day (the first Tuesday in November)
should be a National Holiday - with mandatory participation required
Early voting by Absentee Ballot or in person absolutely acceptable
voting by mail will be a valid method
Realistically some voting places could not handle the crowds
Delays acceptable for our troops in foreign countries
Even if none of the candidates or measures on the ballot are acceptable
the voter must make his presence noted by voting present to meet the
requirements.

AND I know this one will be impossible - Two Weeks before election day
NO MORE broadcast campaigning on the air - newspapers - by bill boards
or physical presence in public spaces.
All the muck dirt thrown must have a period of settling to dust so a level
headed look at the candidates and what they have to offer is fairly presented.
Ya wishful thinking the Man from La Mancha fighting Windmills -
Dream the impossible dream !

Another Impossible Dream - END the Electoral College - I want the winner
of the election to represent the MAJORITY of the people by the people and
for the people and may GOD save the United States of America !


And further more:

"If nominated I will not run - If elected I will not serve" *****
***** with thanks to Pat Paulson from the TV Show the LAUGH IN !
"YES SKIRTING MATTERS"!
"Kilt-On" -or- as the case may be "Skirt-On" !
WHY ?
Isn't wearing a kilt enough?
Well a skirt will do in a pinch!
Make mine short and don't you dare think of pinching there !
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Uncle Al
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Re: Ridiculous - Corrupt - Congressman

Post by Uncle Al »

r.m.anderson wrote:Another Impossible Dream - END the Electoral College - I want the winner
of the election to represent the MAJORITY of the people by the people and
for the people and may GOD save the United States of America !
Oh - So, you'ld rather have 5 major U.S. cities, whose combined population is greater than
the rest of the country, dictate to the rest of the country who will be the POTUS?

This is why the Electoral College was created, to allow all states to be on an equal footing
with each other.

Uncle Al
:mrgreen: :ugeek: :mrgreen:
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2018-202 ? (and the beat goes on ;) )
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I respond-The why is F.T.H.O.I. (For The H--- Of It)
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crfriend
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Re: Ridiculous - Corrupt - Congressman

Post by crfriend »

Uncle Al wrote:Oh - So, you'ld rather have 5 major U.S. cities, whose combined population is greater than the rest of the country, dictate to the rest of the country who will be the POTUS?

This is why the Electoral College was created, to allow all states to be on an equal footing with each other.
The problem with the EC is that in close elections it can -- and does -- produce perverse results. That's one of the reasons I'd like to see a general election have a clear mandate of at least a 10 percent victory in the general election, and if that margin is not achieved the election is re-run as a snap election with new candidates with minimal campaign time to keep the overt corruption of money and spin out of it. For that matter, I'd like to see an end to the current situation where the re-election campaign starts immediately following the general election.

Even reversing Citizens United would be a start, but there's no possibility of that happening for at least another fifty years.
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crfriend
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Re: Ridiculous - Corrupt - Congressman

Post by crfriend »

r.m.anderson wrote:It many help to have RANK CHOICE VOTING in place to eliminate the continuous voting/elections till a satisfactory candidate is found.
In the (artificially) highly-polarised world of today, and in a land where there are but two parties (even though they represent precisely the same individuals) I can see rank-choice voting still failing to produce a "winning" candidate.

For instance, in the US "election" of 2016, a mere 2.9 million (2,868,686) votes separated the two major candidates with a grand total of 6.9 million (6,881,640) cast for all the others combined. So, even with a rank-choice methodology the odds of getting the same result were very high.

The US desperately needed a "No Acceptable Candidate" option in 2016 -- which quite possibly may have taken a clear majority as both of the major candidates were so awful. The repulsive nature of the main contenders showed up in the ratty turnout of the electorate -- only 60-odd percent of those eligible to vote, with too low a turnout in my view to produce a reliable and fair count; in short, the thing should have been declared null and void, but there is no mechanism in US law for that to happen.

Mandatory voting and rank-choice may have produced something different but the odds of getting either of those, much less both, is likely impossible because -- put flatly -- the system is working just fine. It just doesn't work for the general populace. Not voting is not an option, either, no matter how desperate the situation looks.
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Re: Ridiculous - Corrupt - Congressman

Post by dillon »

Uncle Al wrote:
r.m.anderson wrote:Another Impossible Dream - END the Electoral College - I want the winner
of the election to represent the MAJORITY of the people by the people and
for the people and may GOD save the United States of America !
Oh - So, you'ld rather have 5 major U.S. cities, whose combined population is greater than
the rest of the country, dictate to the rest of the country who will be the POTUS?

This is why the Electoral College was created, to allow all states to be on an equal footing
with each other.

Uncle Al
:mrgreen: :ugeek: :mrgreen:
YES. Because doing otherwise is an abuse of the EC. It was NEVER established to equalize states; to assert otherwise is REVISIONIST HISTORY, and the claim of Fox News (such a reliable source). There is only one Constitutional establishment for equalizing power between large states and small states, and that is the Senate. Using the EC as such a vehicle was never the intent of the Founders. The EC was an institution designed to prevent the new Republic from falling again under the rule of European royalty, and that’s all. It was presumed that electors, in those early years, would be of the same Independence mindset as the Founders, hence it kept the Presidency in line with the intent of the Constitution, because the Founders were essentially aristocrats, and did not trust the unwashed rabble in the countryside. It became irrelevant after the Civil War, when we began saying THE United States instead of THESE United States. How can you possibly say, with any sense of ethics, that one citizen counts less than another for the election of only TWO national offices? Which is essentially only one, since both are elected by a single vote? Especially as a Texan; knowing one vote from Vermont counts for two and a half votes from Texas? If the only way a Party can have a prevailing candidate is through a less than popular-plural EC vote, then that Party stands in disgraceful rule by usurpation. As it stands today.
As a matter of fact, the sun DOES shine out of my ...
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