Posted on Oct 8, 2016
How do we keep another Presidential race like this one from happening again?
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How do we get those who really need to be in the White House, in the White House? Clearly the established elite parties are not giving us fitting choices. Can we, as citizens, change this? How do we do this?
Election 2016
Elections
Office of the President (POTUS)
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 18
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We've always had the power to change it in our hands. We simply haven't been motivated to change it. Nor have we any idea of how to change it. A few of us want to strip away the unconstitutional institutions of government that have grown up in the past century. Reduce government and government spending to its bare minimum and allow the people to do what we do best, build a healthy and thriving nation and economy. Others want to build even more government, thinking that the failure of government has been the result of depriving intellectuals of the money they need to build a better nation as they conceive it. I'm sure there are a hundred other plans falling somewhere in between. Sadly, most of us simply are too confused to choose and we let others do the choosing for us. The result: More of the same.
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SSG (Join to see)
I agree that we've always had the power in our own hands. It's almost maddening that we don't do anything. I do have a question, though. If we are too confused to even change it, are we too many and too uneducated to hold up a system where the government doesn't have a lot of control? It's an interesting conundrum.
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CPT Jack Durish
SSG (Join to see) - Don't blame the uneducated. Blame the intellectuals who feel that it is their God-given right to rule over the uneducated masses. It's the same reasoning that every tyrant, king, emperor, Pope, and dictator has always used to justify their mastery. Then go read The Wisdom of Crowds. We the People are capable of governing ourselves. We simply need leaders who will instill that belief in us and then stand out of the way and let us have at it. BTW, if such a leader should ever throw their hat in the ring, gather round and protect them from the blood sport that American political campaigns have become. Until that happens, no decent person will ever step up and make the attempt.
https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Crowds-James-Surowiecki-ebook/dp/B000FCKC3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid= [login to see] &sr=1-1&keywords=the+wisdom+of+crowds
https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Crowds-James-Surowiecki-ebook/dp/B000FCKC3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid= [login to see] &sr=1-1&keywords=the+wisdom+of+crowds
Amazon.com: The Wisdom of Crowds eBook: James Surowiecki: Kindle Store
The Wisdom of Crowds - Kindle edition by James Surowiecki. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Wisdom of Crowds.
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SGT (Join to see)
We also need people to stop depending on the government for every little thing, there's state governments too!
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SFC Kenneth Hunnell
Alexander Hamilton said it best, " if men were angels, we would not need government".
So in short, get rid of the crooks and by default the government would shrink in kind
So in short, get rid of the crooks and by default the government would shrink in kind
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Most reliable way would probably to have a nationwide primary, for too long tiny states like Iowa and New Hampshire have had too much influence which lets candidates game the system.
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Cpl (Join to see)
Joel, the popular vote was frowned on by the founders. They knew that the mob, a true democracy, could easily strip the rights from those that worked and succeeded. When the mob can vote for "free" stuff, greed overcomes integrity and it will eventually strip away the incentive to succeed. Some people will do anything for a handout and never return the favor.
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SSG (Join to see)
Cpl (Join to see) In not trying to attack anyone in particular, is that why the Democrats have won the last two elections? People are voting for "free stuff" so to speak?
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PO2 Robert Aitchison
Cpl (Join to see) - SSG (Join to see) - IMO the main reason the Republicans keep losing (and will continue to for the foreseeable future) is because they are on the opposite side of social issues that the large majority of young people (under 30) are. Worse than that since the "social conservative" wing of the party has become dominant over the past ~16 years these unpopular social positions have become increasingly prominent parts of the party's platform.
As members of the party grow old and pass on they won't be replaced and the party will continue to shrink.
Couple that with changing demographics, for example once Texas becomes a swing state within a few election cycles. and it's not a recipe for Republican success.
As members of the party grow old and pass on they won't be replaced and the party will continue to shrink.
Couple that with changing demographics, for example once Texas becomes a swing state within a few election cycles. and it's not a recipe for Republican success.
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Cpl (Join to see)
Yes, Joel. People vote for the safety net in times of uncertainty and the longer they get the governments safety net, the less incentive they have to succeed. It is not the governments job to make us happy, it is our responsibility to succeed on our own merits.
Our government has created the uncertainty. It's a viscous cycle that eventually leads to the fall of an empire. Think Rome and watch the politicians live lavish lifestyles while telling you and I, "we need to make sacrifices."
"If taxes are laid upon us without our having a legal representation where they are laid, we are reduced from the character of free subjects to the state of tributary slaves." - Samuel Adams Quoted in History of the United States, Volume 1. Pg 259
Our government has created the uncertainty. It's a viscous cycle that eventually leads to the fall of an empire. Think Rome and watch the politicians live lavish lifestyles while telling you and I, "we need to make sacrifices."
"If taxes are laid upon us without our having a legal representation where they are laid, we are reduced from the character of free subjects to the state of tributary slaves." - Samuel Adams Quoted in History of the United States, Volume 1. Pg 259
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The media has a lot to do with elections like this. The media no longer informs us or provides oversight for the people like originally intended. The framers wrote in the federalist papers that the constitution was for an informed and educated people and the fact that an overwhelming majority of people don't know their rights or the constitution and powers of gov't and how limited their power should be allows gov't to do whatever with no say if the people or proper oversight of the media. I think it starts with a change in the moral climate and a shift in attitude that way people get more engaged and involved with politics whether they like it or not they should realize the importance of elections. Voter turnout is horrible and I think it's because of everything I just mentioned.
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PFC (Join to see)
SSG (Join to see) - Sure. Emphasis on the "informed" part though because although people of the time of our founding fathers were not very educated they were incredibly informed in the powers of gov't and their rights because they were fresh out of a war with a tyrannical gov't that had previously impinged their rights. It's for that reason that the founding fathers use disgustingly clear language in the constitution so as to not have it be misconstrued (which somehow still happens today) and also wrote the federalist papers so that the people were well informed in their voting decisions.
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PFC (Join to see)
TSgt Frank Shirley - Exactly. Instead of putting politics aside in order to properly do oversight like they are supposed to.
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SPC Erich Guenther
I agree with you and if you want I can go over a single Obama Administration issue and show or demonstrate how it was distorted by the LEFT and the RIGHT over the last 8 years........any interest in that? In that issue both the RIGHT and the LEFT wing press would distort each bullet and explain it to their audience in a way that was highly partisan. The truth was always somewhere in between.
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PFC (Join to see)
SPC Erich Guenther - Yeah. I don't mean to discredit what you're saying at all but it's blatantly obvious now that both left and right appeal to only their agenda under the claim of being fair and balanced when we all know it's bs. But I agree completely.
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