5 ms·

That video is from the DNC, not from the US government. The Democratic Party is free to structure itself however it chooses, especially with regards to agreeing

by ender7 14y ago

That video is from the DNC, not from the US government. The Democratic Party is free to structure itself however it chooses, especially with regards to agreeing (or, in this case, failing to agree) on party policy. The days of convention delegates actually voting on anything of substance are behind us -- conventions are just infomercials now.

ajross 14y ago
It's also not a subject of government policy. They're voting (or not) on a party platform, which is literally nothing but a set of guidelines. I'm not saying that the DNC fight wasn't "undemocratic" either -- just agreeing that holding this up as an example of "government corruption" is a huge stretch. They held a fake vote on a fake document; the most notable thing here is that they did it embarassingly in public.
robomartin 14y ago
It's an example of the mindset more than anything else. The fact that they (politicians --not being partisan here) are willing to do stuff like this. We do have a perfect example of this at the congressional level: The healthcare law. Most senators did not read it. And it was rammed through by using parliamentary tricks (legal, of course) rather than votes. What's worst, nobody actually read the law ("We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what's in it"). And, of course, it was piled high with all sorts of pork. The general idea is that politicians (all parties, all levels), as a class, will work hard to optimize their own benefits --be it political or financial. They seldom act with a sincere aim of benefiting the people or the country, and certainly not with any real long term thinking (despite statements to the contrary). The problem is that nobody has come up with a viable alternative that could fix some of these issues. We humans are a sorry-ass species.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

5 ms·

That video is from the DNC, not from the US government. The Democratic Party is free to structure itself however it chooses, especially with regards to agreeing

by ender7 14y ago

ajross 14y ago
It's also not a subject of government policy. They're voting (or not) on a party platform, which is literally nothing but a set of guidelines. I'm not saying that the DNC fight wasn't "undemocratic" either -- just agreeing that holding this up as an example of "government corruption" is a huge stretch. They held a fake vote on a fake document; the most notable thing here is that they did it embarassingly in public.
robomartin 14y ago
It's an example of the mindset more than anything else. The fact that they (politicians --not being partisan here) are willing to do stuff like this. We do have a perfect example of this at the congressional level: The healthcare law. Most senators did not read it. And it was rammed through by using parliamentary tricks (legal, of course) rather than votes. What's worst, nobody actually read the law ("We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what's in it"). And, of course, it was piled high with all sorts of pork. The general idea is that politicians (all parties, all levels), as a class, will work hard to optimize their own benefits --be it political or financial. They seldom act with a sincere aim of benefiting the people or the country, and certainly not with any real long term thinking (despite statements to the contrary). The problem is that nobody has come up with a viable alternative that could fix some of these issues. We humans are a sorry-ass species.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]