WASHINGTON (AP) — A surly electorate that holds Congress in even lower regard than unpopular President Barack Obama is willing to "keep the bums in," with at least 365 incumbents in the 435-member House and 18 of 28 senators on a glide path to another term when ballots are counted Nov. 4.
Looks like the vote count will be at a record low. I wonder what would happen if no one voted. http://news.yahoo.com/surly-2014-electorate-poised-keep-bums-125604173--election.html
ReplyDeleteAn interesting thought Mick but about as likely as people coming together to boycott a truly harmful company... too many people have stock in the companies and representatives who 'bring home the bacon'
ReplyDeleteYou are right, of course. As long as representatives are able to provide pork for their state they will be reelected. Just some wishful thinking.
Deletefor the house it's called gerrymandering safe districts. It would take the hand of god to unseat them.
DeleteThe Scott and Mick.
ReplyDeleteProbably the same world wide where Democratic processes provide the government "of the people for the people”. Of course I have bastardized the famous quotation to make it more applicable for the self centered, greedy, uninformed and ignorant populations which make up the electorates in the aforementioned nations.
One thing about so called democracies, or Democratic Republics if you will; is the gradual decay in work ethics and the growth of "begging bowl” populations. After almost eight decades on this planet I see members of my own family who have no interest in politics or world affairs, they eagerly reach out for the largesse the government provides in order to encourage them to vote for whichever party happens to be in power.
I believe we are the generation who wasted the opportunity we inherited from our parents. In so many cases parents died during WW2 or returned unable to contribute to society. We their children were given victory upon which to build the future. In many cases we succeeded but in so many others we saw the good life and squandered our opportunities.
We have seen the rise of overt consumerism, welfare dependency, and proliferation of drug use which is treated not as a crime but as an anti social habit. We have seen all the “isims” come and go. Materialism, Feminism, Fascism (again) Communism and of course Socialism; this latter, like death and taxes is always with us, That so many now believe in the maxim To each according to his needs. From each according to his ability…. Seems to me to be the beginning of the end of so many democratic regimes.
There you area bit of SOL this morning (that means shit on liver to you blokes). But I do despair when I see so much negativity in politics both in your country and in mine.
Cheers from Aussie.
It is interesting how we can kick the can down the road and forget that we are connected to this cluster. We continue to send our poorly prepared representatives to high office in DC, while we blame the problem on the executive that someone else elected. Wake up and realize that this problem is directly because of your inaction. You are to blame for this horrible situation. You have the means to change it. Do it or STFU.....
ReplyDeleteLol. Best political analysis on this site in months. Good to see ya, Stormy :-)
DeleteI hate to fit the mold of the horny sexist internet troll, but you have always been my favorite internet nemesis/friend Pfunky. You an Mick, keeping it real. I still love the group that came from AP. I hope we can always stay in touch.
DeletePeople run for office with the best intentions. Shortly after arrival on the job they all seem to be corrupted by the power of office.
DeleteRound 2, to remain in power, the elected politician begins to buy votes via handouts, favors, tax cuts, etc. Re-election is easy as the governments pockets are deep. How many seniors would be willing to take a cut in benefits if proposed? How many people on medicaid would be willing to be tossed off medicaid should a financial crisis occur? How many people receiving SNAP benefits would be willing to stop receiving benefits? How may kiddies getting cheap government loans would be willing to forgo the loans? How many people getting subsidized insurance would be willing to give up their subsidy? It's easy to get re-elected, just keep passing that spending bill ensuring the flow of money continues at least until it stops.
If ever there were a case for term limits, our current politicians are stellar examples.
Hi Storm, thanks for injecting a breath of fresh air into this discussion. I couldn't agree more. Iouman, our system has made corruption a necessity since congressmen can't be elected without millions in funding, which is most easily obtained by catering to special interests and their lobbyists.
DeleteThe quest for power has corrupted the system. Takes money to be elected and re-elected which leads to the political favors we see today. A sad commentary for those who profess to represent the voters who sent them to Washington.
Delete1. Take care of yourself first.
2. Monied interests.
3. Political party.
4. The electorate is it doesn't conflict with 1-3.
Our politicians, one and all make a great case for term limits.
@Stormy -
DeleteFlattery will get you everywhere, my friend!
;-)