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The Menace of Populist Authoritarianism


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1 minute ago, RochesterRob said:

  That would require a change in the Constitution which I do not see coming any time soon and do not see the need for a change.  

 

It probably would, though I disagree with your assessment about "lacking a need for change".

 

First past the post is one of two major reasons for two party domination of our system.  It discourages voting for the true preferred candidate, and encourages voting for the perceived "lesser of two evils" from the two major parties in an effort not to "throw your vote away".

 

Alternative choice voting would allow individuals to vote for their preferred candidate, and then built in run-off system would allow them to also vote for the "lesser of two evils" should their own preferred candidate not advance.

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7 minutes ago, Tiberius said:

Ahhhh....now what? Time to go play with your male blow up doll you posts a pic of? Lol ? 

  By the way what do you have against gun owners?  I could guess and most likely be accurate but since I have not been on here for several years I would like to hear why you have a problem with gun owners.

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23 minutes ago, 3rdnlng said:

Noshit, Mr. Toll Booth. Come around tomorrow and I'll give you your next lesson.

You gotta be kidding asking these stupid questions you do?  Do they train you to ask these stupid questions @ Republican Operative Class?  

 

What are you Captain Obvious today?  I think even a third grader knows the difference between a water line and a natural gas line. 

 

You really are a great Mansplainer.

 

??

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1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

You gotta be kidding asking these stupid questions you do?  Do they train you to ask these stupid questions @ Republican Operative Class?  

 

What are you Captain Obvious today?  I think even a third grader knows the difference between a water line and a natural gas line. 

 

You really are a great Mansplainer.

 

??

And to think you needed it explained to you.

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Just remember to have the  $ to pay off the inspector  if you are in California.  Water heater installations have to be inspected there.  You have to attach the tank with straps to a wall stud  for earthquakes.

Edited by Wacka
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7 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  Still have not explained how having more parties will cause more gridlock than what we have today.  Politicians still have to reach out to other politicians that are not lock-in-step with them on major issues to get things done.  Nobody is talking about altering Constitutional provisions in regards to how Congress operates.  Why should elections in a given district be re-written by the state?  I have never implied or stated that a minor party should be given support by the state in order to survive.  As I said at the beginning the support should come from major financial players playing within the campaign donation rules.  As it stands today the major donors are firmly in the D or R camp.  It's going to take younger money that is willing to wait 20-25 years for a minor party to produce serious political fruit.  As it stands today most people do not achieve their wealth before their 50's and expect to be gone sometime in their 70's.  This is why most do not support minor parties as they want to see any benefits from their money to happen within their expected lifetime.

 

I see the problem. I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of how our electoral system works. Our system of single-member district plurality (which is a fancy way of saying the one person with the most votes wins the job) does not lend itself to more than two viable parties. Sure, you'll get the occasional third party candidate that wins a local or state election, but that's not the norm.

 

The only way to have viable 3rd/4th/5th/6th parties in Congress is to change the laws in all 50 states to a proportional representation system, like England/Germany/Israel/etc. have. It's simply not feasible (or realistic) to have numerous parties vying for one job in one district.

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6 minutes ago, Koko78 said:

 

I see the problem. I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of how our electoral system works. Our system of single-member district plurality (which is a fancy way of saying the one person with the most votes wins the job) does not lend itself to more than two viable parties. Sure, you'll get the occasional third party candidate that wins a local or state election, but that's not the norm.

 

The only way to have viable 3rd/4th/5th/6th parties in Congress is to change the laws in all 50 states to a proportional representation system, like England/Germany/Israel/etc. have. It's simply not feasible (or realistic) to have numerous parties vying for one job in one district.

Besides the coalitions necessary to actually govern create strange bedfellows and it also causes two steps to the right, then 2 steps to the left followed up by no real direction.

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24 minutes ago, Koko78 said:

 

I see the problem. I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of how our electoral system works. Our system of single-member district plurality (which is a fancy way of saying the one person with the most votes wins the job) does not lend itself to more than two viable parties. Sure, you'll get the occasional third party candidate that wins a local or state election, but that's not the norm.

 

The only way to have viable 3rd/4th/5th/6th parties in Congress is to change the laws in all 50 states to a proportional representation system, like England/Germany/Israel/etc. have. It's simply not feasible (or realistic) to have numerous parties vying for one job in one district.

  I don't see it as viable to only have two parties competing for a federal office but we are too far apart to see one another's thoughts and probably will not articulate enough to get any closer.  I am far from a radical but it seems to me a lot of thinking is influenced by the notion of "that's the way it has always been done" and "the other guy (government) tried something similar and experienced problems so it won't work here."  In any event I am not in favor of a compulsory system of multiple parties.  I just want more voices heard.  In current times both the Democrats and the Republicans have veered hard to the extremes of either favoring big business at all costs or destroy big business at all costs along with a few feeder issues to take party members in those directions.  Anyways, GO BILLS!

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16 hours ago, Wacka said:

 You have to attach the tank with straps to a wall stud for earthquakes.

 


Nevada too - well at least Las Vegas.  We are selling my MIL's home and that was a big "MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS!!" when we listed (it was already done... and you could see the straps. :wallbash: )

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