Stupid voters enable broken government
POSTED BY: Niki2
UPDATED: Tuesday, August 25, 2026 20:27
VIEWED: 12310
PAGE 2 of 17
Niki,
Real World.
--Anthony
_______________________________________________
"In every war, the state enacts a tax of freedom upon the citizenry. The unspoken promise is that the tax shall be revoked at war's end. Endless war holds no such promise. Hence, Eternal War is Eternal Slavery." --Admiral Robert J. Henner
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I think it is the voters’ faults, including those who choose not to vote. People are unwilling to pay attention and debate the issues, but willing to vote based on single stances and rhetoric.
...and that is on both sides.
I do not fear God, I fear the ignorance of man.
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Oh. Thanx, Anthony...I didn't think there was more than one, so the plural confused me...
"Yup" to everything you said, Nick.
And yes, 6ix, it's subjective, but which of the Republican candidates do you figure is the lesser of two evils? I shouldn't ask, because you already expressed a preference for Ron Paul, but in my subjective opinion, they are ALL nutcases...so far.
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off 
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Speaking of people who elect trashy folk to office. My city's current mayor was kissing his 17 year old intern during his stint as Commissioner, keep in mind that he was in his 40s, and as soon as the intern turned 18 they rutted. And then he lied about it on top of that, while he was running he said he didn't do that stuff and then after he was elected it slipped out that he was lying. And my stupid city mates didn't even recall him, there were a few efforts but my city is so morally screwed up that it didn't work and he's still the mayor. Talk about embarassing, :8 Yucky.
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
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Yep. Time for a return to literacy tests, poll taxes, property ownership requirements, loyalty oaths, etc. so only the right people get to vote. 
Sorry, but if you want a democracy, you gotta put up with people voting however they will. If you can't sell your vision, it may be the wrong product, or you may be telling the wrong story.
BTW, Marion Barry being returned to the D.C. Council by the voters in his (mostly African-American) ward, after his crack arrest and more recent troubles with the IRS, might be looked upon as supportive of Herman Cain's contention that Blacks are brainwashed.
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
Yep. Time for a return to literacy tests, poll taxes, property ownership requirements, loyalty oaths, etc. so only the right people get to vote.
Sorry, but if you want a democracy, you gotta put up with people voting however they will. If you can't sell your vision, it may be the wrong product, or you may be telling the wrong story.
BTW, Marion Barry being returned to the D.C. Council by the voters in his (mostly African-American) ward, after his crack arrest and more recent troubles with the IRS, might be looked upon as supportive of Herman Cain's contention that Blacks are brainwashed.
See, no one is arguing which side is right, or that voters are stupid because they don't vote for a particular side.
The issue is that people vote but take no responsibilty for the flaws of government.
I do not fear God, I fear the ignorance of man.
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Oh.
...
Well, I still don't think FAULT or ENABLE are the right words here, but if we're arguing about how money can buy someone out of anything, even crime, criminally negligent leadership, or really stupid policy and decision, and therefore how the voters are powerless to make their representatives behave, then okay. I can get behind that point.
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BYTE: part of "holding politicians accountable" is to vote them out. Fire them, as it were.
BUT... you all seem to accept the idea that the only entity with an interest in a stupid populace is gubmint.
Well, government does not control the media. It doesn't air daytime soaps and reality shows and endless (ENDLESS!) commercials. It doesn't push the idea that the only goals in life are to be sexy and popular, to buy lots of shit, that everyone lives fulfilling lives, and that YOUR happy ending will come in 30 minutes (or an hour, less commercial breaks). It doesn't encourage hero-worship. It doesn't create loan documents with such obscure legalese and fine print that it would take a dual-PhD in accounting and law to parse them. It doesn't preach nonsense from the pulpit, or blather nonsense over the airwaves.
Any entity that wants to control what you do... and that includes business and religion... wants to make you stupid. God forbid you should think for yourself.
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Yeah, like firing them really stops them. They usually just end up in some non-elected position, either government or corporate, and the corruption goes on.
Really, you'd have to hold the possibility of jail time or punishment over their heads, but unfortunately with how things currently work they can get out of that.
...But, okay, yes, the government relies on a stupid - or rather, partisan indoctrinated - public to function. But that's not to say the public is to blame for a guy being bribed by big oil with hookers, or convinced to start a war because Lockheed Martin has some shiny new tech they want to test out. Public stupidity doesn't even really ping on the "criminal action" scale, whereas politicians and corporate entities dominate it.
It still seems like blaming the victims to me. If someone is dumb enough to get conned, they're still a victim, aren't they? And aren't the con-artists the ones to blame?
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Quote:
Originally posted by m52nickerson:
See, no one is arguing which side is right, or that voters are stupid because they don't vote for a particular side.
I'm not arguing that any particular side is right, either.
But the argument is being made by the article Niki cited, and apparently by Niki herself, that "Stupid voters enable broken government".
This leads to the question "What are we to do with those stupid voters?"
Unfortunately, "stupid voters" usually ends up being defined as "People who don't vote as I would". And the result of anyone controlling who can vote, by poll tax, literacy test, etc. is that the folks who don't vote the 'right' way - in the opinion of those controlling - don't get to vote.
The only answer I can see is to let folks vote for Barry or Bachmann if they wish, but try to convince them it's not the best idea.
If you have any other suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.
Quote:
The issue is that people vote but take no responsibilty for the flaws of government.
Or support the government they elected. This has been pointed out here as one of the problems with Pres. Obama's term so far. Many of his supporters, once he was elected, said "Our job here is done." and left him to try to deal with Healthcare and other issues without grassroots pressure and support.
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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