And They're Off! The Democratic Candidates for 2020

[Florestan]

In a democratic system, the politicians are selected by you.

If they were selected by me, they would perhaps be better than the current ones, but then the system would certainly not be democratic anymore. 

In a democratic system politicians are selected by the majority of voters. And as you correctly pointed out, the majority of voters tend to reward power-grabbing more than governing.

As for myself, I'm neither completely cynical nor completely indifferent and I regularly fulfill my civic duty to vote, but I must say than in 30 years of voting I have never been completely or even moderately happy with the results, even when my vote happened to be in the majority.

[drogulus]

As for myself, I'm neither completely cynical nor completely indifferent and I regularly fulfill my civic duty to vote, but I must say than in 30 years of voting I have never been completely or even moderately happy with the results, even when my vote happened to be in the majority.

     My choice is to hit goals and if that fails establish a trend that heads in that direction. I want the government to send more income into the economy and invest in the big projects that will make us substantially richer than we are today. These projects are called "problems".

   

     

[Muzio]

...In a democratic system politicians are selected by the majority of voters. And as you correctly pointed out, the majority of voters tend to reward power-grabbing more than governing...

In the US, as you know, politician #1 -- the President -- is selected through the electoral college (thanks to our ingenious Founding Fathers) to avoid 'the tyranny of the majority.' 

I feel moved to post one of my favorite photos of the God Emperor of the United States at His Inauguration in Washington, DC.  O, Blessings from Heaven!



Thread duty:

[drogulus]

      Hillary and Biden are poor candidates who would make decent Presidents. They would top up the alliance system TrumPutin thinks important enough to be worth destroying. They would probably get Congress to adopt an economic program that builds things, which will be green or at least green-ish. Everyone could then complain about how much/little is done.

[drogulus]

I'd say that complete cynicism about politics and politicians is fully justified and so is complete indifference about them.

    Most Ukrainians would disagree. Certainly cynicism and indifference benefited the Putinist kleptocrats.

    So, what's cynicism and indifference for? What does it do?

    The best realists have a little optimism in them. If I do something it will matter, if only a little. If I don't try I won't be able to take heath insurance away from millions of people and the Deep State will win.

[Florestan]

       So, what's cynicism and indifference for? What does it do?

Cynicism protects one from being duped by unscrupulous, unprincipled and untrustful politicians (are there any other?) posing as honest, principled and trustworthy ones.

Indifference protects one from wringing one's hands and losing sleep over matters which are far beyond one's control.

They might not be the best antidotes to the extreme politicization of just about everything, but certainly yields better results than having confidence in politicians and passionately following their (mis)deeds.

[drogulus]

Cynicism protects one from being duped by unscrupulous, unprincipled and untrustful politicians (are there any other?) posing as honest, principled and trustworthy ones.

Indifference protects one from wringing one's hands and losing sleep over matters which are far beyond one's control.

They might not be the best antidotes to the extreme politicization of just about everything, but certainly yields better results than having confidence in politicians and passionately following their (mis)deeds.

     You don't need that kind of protection and you'll abandon it right away when something bigger than usual scares you straight.

[Florestan]

     You don't need that kind of protection and you'll abandon it right away when something bigger than usual scares you straight.

Personally, I vote in every election. Usually I am moderately interested in politics and policies. When the events accelerate I am massively interested in them. All I say is that I can very well see where cynics and indifferents are coming from.

[drogulus]

Personally, I vote in every election. Usually I am moderately interested in politics and policies. When the events accelerate I am massively interested in them. All I say is that I can very well see where cynics and indifferents are coming from.

     Yes, the "coming from" isn't mysterious at all. The mask of cynicism and indifference slips easily.

[Karl Henning]

Personally, I vote in every election. Usually I am moderately interested in politics and policies. When the events accelerate I am massively interested in them. All I say is that I can very well see where cynics and indifferents are coming from.

And then there are the onanist cynics who exult in a president who flouts the Law.

[drogulus]

     People who have a healthy emotional response to events don't pretend they don't matter. It's healthy to panic and virtue signal, within reason.

     It's good to want to promote values, even your own.

     I depart somewhat from my philosophical semi-hero A. J. Ayer who said that values propositions are like the barking of dogs. I think it's more like the barking of an intelligent dog aware of its own reasons.

[greg]

In the US, as you know, politician #1 -- the President -- is selected through the electoral college (thanks to our ingenious Founding Fathers) to avoid 'the tyranny of the majority.' 

Well, the tyranny of the big cities/states. The whole system is conceptualized wrong... it's more like community vs. community (rural vs. urban). Not individual vote vs. individual vote.

[Todd]

Bernie Sanders to scale back campaign schedule in the wake of heart attack

It's CNN, so it's fake news.

[drogulus]

Well, the tyranny of the big cities/states. The whole system is conceptualized wrong... it's more like community vs. community (rural vs. urban). Not individual vote vs. individual vote.

     The big cities and states are on the losing side. The empty zones rule. Wyoming has the same number of Senators as California.

[Muzio]

And then there are the onanist cynics who exult in a president who flouts the Law.

Totally agree, man.  Thank God the Obama years are over!

[drogulus]

     After consulting with a psychic I have determined that Million Dollar Man does want to testify.

     He has a lawyer. This lawyer is very OK. He doesn't even a little bit work for Trump, or Pompeo, or Barr.

     The lawyer says don't get in trouble for these people who don't have your best interests at heart. You want to have a life when this is all over. As soon as a court says you have to testify, do so and with righteous vengeance take these fuckers down.

[milk]

Totally agree, man.  Thank God the Obama years are over!

There's still fluoride in the water so the jokes on you.

[Florestan]

Personally, I vote in every election.

Lest I be misunderstood I must add: the fact that I vote does not mean I entertain any hopes or illusions about the outcome, irrespective whether my vote is in the majority or in the minority. I have long since ceased to believe that the grave problems that plague Romania can be fixed by the very same people who created them in the first place. My vote has one, and only one, goal: to limit the power of the Socialists by voting for the party which has either the best chances to defeat them (this is a rare occurence, though) or the best chances to come second. Usually, this means the National Liberal Party --- but given that just a few years ago they were allied with the socialists in the government and are thus directly responsible for the abovementioned problems, I vote for them without any conviction that they are really better and more competent. The only field where they are clearly superior to the Socialists is that they are less corrupt and do not wage war on the independence of justice.

To sum it up, the Romanian government is indeed by the people, with the people, for the people. The problem is that they are always the same people. 

[Muzio]

There's still fluoride in the water so the jokes on you.

Sorry, I have a private well.  My fluoride is in my toothpaste.

[drogulus]

Lest I be misunderstood I must add: the fact that I vote does not mean I entertain any hopes or illusions about the outcome, irrespective whether my vote is in the majority or in the minority.

     Way to think outside the box! No, you are not misunderstood. It doesn't matter what hopes or illusions you think those other people entertain. They vote for practical reason not unlike your own, even if they sometimes get a little too hopey for your refined sensibilities. I do, too, by the way. I have illusions about more health insurance under Obama than before he was elected. If you have illusions about the recent past it's not too hard to imagine similar illusions in the near future.