stupid com.. no, just stupid

[davemerrill]

Been following the narrative of the upcoming midterm elections with interest and amusement as the Republicans attempt to wipe the memory of eight years of failure out of the minds of the American voters. And you'd think that after the spectacular train wreck of their governance (see: 2000-2008), they would dust themselves off, look at what they did wrong, and try to fix things, to try to get some smart, principled candidates with the best interests of the nation at heart. But instead, they're determined to saddle America with an even more brain-damaged,fraudulent, looney-tunes gang of screwheads. Thus demonstrating their contempt for the intelligence of the American voter. And who knows? Maybe the American voter deserves it. I mean, they gave the Bush gang the full eight years to screw things up. Do I think the Dems are perfect? Oh hell no. But if it's a choice between a wishy washy Dem and a R who thinks America is under Sharia law, I'll go with the wishy washy every time. Better than insane.

Comments

[sobieniak.livejournal.com]

I still can't find myself going to a ballot box anytime soon.

Being reminded one Rep. down here already got labeled a Nazi all because he played a soldier in a WWII reenactment group. Expected people to blow that out of the water.

[x-expat.livejournal.com]

Oh good. Someone voices what I've been thinking. I grieve for my country right now, where its public figures compensate for hard times by going batshit insane.

[frustratedpilot]

I'm going to the Election Commission for Early Voting first chance I get--just to I can tell the politicos in my Facebook list to stop their blustering to me.

There was a piece on the radio today to the effect that the election climate is so poisonous now that nobody in their right mind would WANT to run for public office anymore. The only people the political parties can GET are ALREADY batshit insane.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

What needs to happen? Public funding of election campaigns. End of story.

[sixstop.livejournal.com]

nah, that would just make anyone in control of its revenues a co-conspirator, and wrest even more power from the people into another government agency.

if what FP says is true, i welcome that mentality; a generally disinterested party should hold most elected offices. (tho i don't believe that such a climate is changing or is so poisonous as to repel those who seek power as an end.)

anyways. I definitely have no empathy for any political philosophy but my own. And when its not being served, all i can do is suck it up until the next election and try to be persuasive to others in the meantime.

Which is something most people don't even bother trying to be. You know, persuasive? Because they're to busy trying to craft smarmy sounding attacks to portray a perception of intellect where none exists. I'd love it if someone tried to be persuasive to me again...

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

No, it puts all candidates on a level playing field. "People" do not have ANY power as it stands right now. Corporations and billionaires like, oh, say, the Koch brothers and their "tea party" (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-billionaires-bagged-the-tea-party/article1695897/) have vastly more influence than "the people". The NRA wouldn't be able to buy senators, pressure groups and lobbyists would be crippled, the Mormons wouldn't be able to buy elections in California to enforce their hatin', and maybe "the people" would get to have a say in government again.

Also, maybe our elected officials wouldn't have to spend 90% of their time in office attending rubber-chicken fundraising dinners, they could get back to work. That'd be nice.

[theengineer.livejournal.com]

There was an article in The Economist last week that backs that up. A study found that once you spend enough money so that people recognize your name, you get vastly diminishing returns for money you spend after that. Just enough may actually be enough.

[(Anonymous)]

Playing the time-machine game for a moment, I'd head back to the Constitutional Convention and get them to enact "Government Duty." It would work exactly like jury duty, except it would be for six months to a year in congress. Coupled, of course, with a ferocious enhancement of general education with a heavy duty focus on Social Studies. The other branches of government would work essentially as they do now, but Legislative would be stocked with real citizens who weren't required to be rich and/or pandering to get their job. Plus, built-in term limits.

Could it happen today? Only if congress was willing to vote itself out of office. P'shit.

-Tim Eldred

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

I think that would be a swell idea. I'd love to have a Congress full of the middle class rather than millionaire lawyers.

I have a similar idea for professional sports - every city has a lottery and every year they pick nine local people to play baseball, however many guys to play basketball, football, etc. Locals only. Certainly would make the games more interesting.