4 ms·

Well, you don't vote for the guy with the better hair, do you? How do you distinguish between options at the voting booths, if not by their policies? I'm sorry

by dsuth 13y ago

Well, you don't vote for the guy with the better hair, do you? How do you distinguish between options at the voting booths, if not by their policies? I'm sorry, but that blows my mind.

AnthonyMouse 13y ago
>How do you distinguish between options at the voting booths, if not by their policies? You distinguish their policies when their policies are distinct. Obama hasn't closed Gitmo. Obama hasn't ended the warrantless wiretapping program. Obama hasn't discontinued the TPP negotiations or brought any useful transparency to the process. Obama hasn't refused to sign any budget unless it includes significant cuts to defense spending. I could go on. Which of these things do you imagine Romney would have done better?
- Volpe 13y ago
  Why was the contest only between Romney and Obama? Why do you have to be uber wealthy to run in a country ruled "by the people"? The U.S's primary problem seems to be that it has transformed into (or perhaps always was) a corporate run oligarchy. Except it walks around saying it's a democratic republic... The newspeak runs so deep, that what I say is controversial, despite being quite factual... it's very saddening (if you care about such things).
  - astine 13y ago
    "Why was the contest only between Romney and Obama?" This is why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-past-the-post#Effect_on_political_parties http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-past-the-post#Effect_on_p... "Why do you have to be uber wealthy to run in a country ruled "by the people"?" Because of the logistical costs of running an election. Though, technically, you don't need to be uber-wealthy, you just need enough donors. Obama is not that wealthy. "The U.S's primary problem seems to be that it has transformed into (or perhaps always was) a corporate run oligarchy. Except it walks around saying it's a democratic republic..." It's not an oligarchy. There's a perception that wealth is what give people a political voice but that's only true up to a point. Yes, you need money to run a newspaper, buy campaign ads, or higher a lobbyist, but that's true in any country (that allows those things.) But the fact is that politics is quite a bit more subtle. US politics is driven primarily by groups of extremely dedicated voters who vote narrowly on an a small range of cultural issues which they perceive as moral issues and upon which they cannot compromise: guns, abortion, marriage. This leads to some ridiculous factionalism, which means subtler issues get ignored.

by dsuth 13y ago

Well, you don't vote for the guy with the better hair, do you? How do you distinguish between options at the voting booths, if not by their policies? I'm sorry, but that blows my mind.

AnthonyMouse 13y ago

>How do you distinguish between options at the voting booths, if not by their policies? You distinguish their policies when their policies are distinct. Obama hasn't closed Gitmo. Obama hasn't ended the warrantless wiretapping program. Obama hasn't discontinued the TPP negotiations or brought any useful transparency to the process. Obama hasn't refused to sign any budget unless it includes significant cuts to defense spending. I could go on. Which of these things do you imagine Romney would have done better?

Volpe 13y ago
Why was the contest only between Romney and Obama? Why do you have to be uber wealthy to run in a country ruled "by the people"? The U.S's primary problem seems to be that it has transformed into (or perhaps always was) a corporate run oligarchy. Except it walks around saying it's a democratic republic... The newspeak runs so deep, that what I say is controversial, despite being quite factual... it's very saddening (if you care about such things).
- astine 13y ago
  "Why was the contest only between Romney and Obama?" This is why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-past-the-post#Effect_on_political_parties http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-past-the-post#Effect_on_p... "Why do you have to be uber wealthy to run in a country ruled "by the people"?" Because of the logistical costs of running an election. Though, technically, you don't need to be uber-wealthy, you just need enough donors. Obama is not that wealthy. "The U.S's primary problem seems to be that it has transformed into (or perhaps always was) a corporate run oligarchy. Except it walks around saying it's a democratic republic..." It's not an oligarchy. There's a perception that wealth is what give people a political voice but that's only true up to a point. Yes, you need money to run a newspaper, buy campaign ads, or higher a lobbyist, but that's true in any country (that allows those things.) But the fact is that politics is quite a bit more subtle. US politics is driven primarily by groups of extremely dedicated voters who vote narrowly on an a small range of cultural issues which they perceive as moral issues and upon which they cannot compromise: guns, abortion, marriage. This leads to some ridiculous factionalism, which means subtler issues get ignored.