4 ms·

Representative democracy as practiced in the U.S. does not usefully solve for single-issue politics outside of things like abortion / gun-control that also spli

Representative democracy as practiced in the U.S. does not usefully solve for single-issue politics outside of things like abortion / gun-control that also split along a pre-existing partisan divide. So, sadly, it doesn't matter who you vote for; you need to start earlier in the process.

ProllyInfamous 3y ago
Ranked-choice voting, is a good start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting But Tennessee outlawed this voting method, last legislative cycle. So all they needed to do was redefine "fair elections" and —presto— they've saved their constituency from the nuissance of actual choice... [smell that, Mericuh'... it's the smell of "freedom"].
plagiarist 3y ago
Score voting or proportional representation are the real fixes. We need to be able to vote for a different candidate without it being equivalent to burning the ballot. Right now one can case a meaningful vote only for legislators who serve corporations and the wealthy, or legislators who serve corporations and the wealthy even at the expense of democracy and human rights. Of the two, I think it is obvious one should choose the group that isn't supporting the leader of an actual insurrection. But the fact that's a controversial suggestion gives me no hope that we'll ever have a sane voting system.
- ProllyInfamous 3y ago
  Honestly (and just a bit more than "pipe dream"), I'm a well-educated American that is actively planning exit to a former Balkan country... because the trajectory "seems better" / "more realistic" than attempting to die in what appears clear to me [at just-shy of forty]: unless I'm willing to shit all over my peers, I will die destitute in what this shithole is becoming. Perhaps I'll soon become one of the next few hundred annual American expat departures into the Balkans [if they'll have me — 'Mercuh has prettymuch chewn me up and spat me out, the few decades I've been employed here]. ::waves:flag:patrioticly::
- mulmen 3y ago
  Apathy isn’t constructive. In our lifetimes we have seen real improvements in voting systems. Washington has a successful vote by mail system as do other states. It’s not hard to find examples in living memory of seismic shifts in law, even at a national level. Look at gay rights and weed legalization for example. The status quo would have been unthinkable in the 1990s. Change comes from the bottom. Municipalities across the nation are implementing ranked choice. Get involved locally and prove your ideas work. The rest of us will take notice.
CoastalCoder 3y ago
Could you argue that California's proposition system addresses the single-issue problem? (I say "addresses" rather than "solves" because IIUC some people are very unhappy with it.)
- ProllyInfamous 3y ago
  If by "Calif.'s prop. sys. addresses..." you mean REFERENDUM (legistlation introduced by citizen initiative) then ABSOLUTELY YES this is what many redder states specifically DO NOT ALLOW — allowing citizens to actually self-govern is DANGEROUS, in their opinions.
  - NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
    (cough, Proposition 13)
    - Dylan16807 3y ago
      Yeah, it seems like a good system for what to allow or not allow, but not so good as a way to decide general-purpose taxes.

ProllyInfamous 3y ago

Ranked-choice voting, is a good start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting But Tennessee outlawed this voting method, last legislative cycle. So all they needed to do was redefine "fair elections" and —presto— they've saved their constituency from the nuissance of actual choice... [smell that, Mericuh'... it's the smell of "freedom"].

plagiarist 3y ago

Score voting or proportional representation are the real fixes. We need to be able to vote for a different candidate without it being equivalent to burning the ballot. Right now one can case a meaningful vote only for legislators who serve corporations and the wealthy, or legislators who serve corporations and the wealthy even at the expense of democracy and human rights. Of the two, I think it is obvious one should choose the group that isn't supporting the leader of an actual insurrection. But the fact that's a controversial suggestion gives me no hope that we'll ever have a sane voting system.

ProllyInfamous 3y ago
Honestly (and just a bit more than "pipe dream"), I'm a well-educated American that is actively planning exit to a former Balkan country... because the trajectory "seems better" / "more realistic" than attempting to die in what appears clear to me [at just-shy of forty]: unless I'm willing to shit all over my peers, I will die destitute in what this shithole is becoming. Perhaps I'll soon become one of the next few hundred annual American expat departures into the Balkans [if they'll have me — 'Mercuh has prettymuch chewn me up and spat me out, the few decades I've been employed here]. ::waves:flag:patrioticly::
mulmen 3y ago
Apathy isn’t constructive. In our lifetimes we have seen real improvements in voting systems. Washington has a successful vote by mail system as do other states. It’s not hard to find examples in living memory of seismic shifts in law, even at a national level. Look at gay rights and weed legalization for example. The status quo would have been unthinkable in the 1990s. Change comes from the bottom. Municipalities across the nation are implementing ranked choice. Get involved locally and prove your ideas work. The rest of us will take notice.

CoastalCoder 3y ago

Could you argue that California's proposition system addresses the single-issue problem? (I say "addresses" rather than "solves" because IIUC some people are very unhappy with it.)

ProllyInfamous 3y ago
If by "Calif.'s prop. sys. addresses..." you mean REFERENDUM (legistlation introduced by citizen initiative) then ABSOLUTELY YES this is what many redder states specifically DO NOT ALLOW — allowing citizens to actually self-govern is DANGEROUS, in their opinions.
- NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
  (cough, Proposition 13)
  - Dylan16807 3y ago
    Yeah, it seems like a good system for what to allow or not allow, but not so good as a way to decide general-purpose taxes.