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OK, that's more indirect than I understood the point to be: you're saying that he used unacceptable speech to get elected, and that resulted in the imminent ove
by chmod600 4y ago
OK, that's more indirect than I understood the point to be: you're saying that he used unacceptable speech to get elected, and that resulted in the imminent overturn of Roe.
I have to say that I'm very uncomfortable limiting any kind of speech on the grounds that it may get the wrong person elected.
If someone says something hateful and gets elected, that's just one of the flaws of democracy. But I haven't heard of any better system.
The U.S. has checks and balances to slow down the worst of it. I mean, given how much Trump wanted to do vs how much he actually did, it's pretty clear the system worked.
I'm pro-choice, but I also know that many people aren't, and the Constitution is certainly not clear on the point. So even though I don't want Roe overturned, it's basically the system working as designed.
Even perfect systems don't produce perfect outcomes all the time. If you have an idea for improvements to the system, I'm all ears, but limiting speech of political candidates is very likely a regression. It doesn't take much imagination to see how that could be turned against you.
- zimpenfish 4y ago> the Constitution is certainly not clear on the point. So even though I don't want Roe overturned, it's basically the system working as designed. Anything that's not clear in the Constitution is fair game, then?
- chmod600 4y agoWell, judges have limited power, too, and it comes largely from the text in front of them (not entirely, but largely). SCOTUS is not the only mechanism for preserving rights. We also have state constitutions, elected representatives, etc., and it seems like those are also (mostly) doing their part to protect bodily autonomy. With a strong enough mandate, there could also be federal laws. But we are in a country where not everyone agrees and the text is ambiguous, so I don't really know what you expect to happen that would be in line with democratic principles.