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Pull up, Pull out. My Inevitable Recall Rant.
It does not matter whether Ahnold will be a good governor or not.
It does not matter whether Ahnold is a Republican, a Democrat, A liberal or a conservative.
It would not have mattered if Cruz had won.
Although this recall, redistricting in Texas, the Clinton Impeachment, and Bush V. Gore were all about Republican power grabs, the real issue is non-partisan and bears examination by anyone who cares at all about a free society, which is to say, it would seem, practically no one in America.
We have, with the success of this recall, proven that election outcomes are negotiable. What this means is that no matter is ever truly settled and that if one side does not like an outcome, it can lobby to reverse it. And although, at the moment, the wins from these seem to be going to Republicans, and that makes a lot of Democrats unhappy, we really need to think about this from a non-partisan point of view.
The question is what happens to democracy when:
a) People with sufficient power and privilege can reverse the outcome and
b) Voters unhappy with the consequences of an election can "take it back."
The outcome of "a" is, of course, oligarchy, which is happening in the US, and will continue to happen until people get pissed off enough to revolt. I regard oligarch as the less dangerous, ultimately, of these, because people WILL get pissed enough to revolt and things will be set right again. It happened after Hoover, and can happen again/
The outcome of "b" is more serious, because it relieves the voters of selecting their candidates with due care and prudence. Part of the outrage at Ahnold's victory is precisely the impression that he was selected because he was a big movie star and therefore cool. But the question is also moot, because, like drugged sheep plugged into the TV we tend to vote for who looks best and who has the slickest ads. We do not exercise, as a nation, the care and prudence we should with regard to our elections and have thus created a government that is a reflection of our worst impulses.
The winners have been winning for years by sneering and condescending, and we are all like the hangers on of bullies, happy to be associated with the power of the bully, but too weak to exercise it ourselves. We would rather side with power than with virtue, and have thereby become the thugs of the international community.
It does not matter whether Ahnold is a Republican, a Democrat, A liberal or a conservative.
It would not have mattered if Cruz had won.
Although this recall, redistricting in Texas, the Clinton Impeachment, and Bush V. Gore were all about Republican power grabs, the real issue is non-partisan and bears examination by anyone who cares at all about a free society, which is to say, it would seem, practically no one in America.
We have, with the success of this recall, proven that election outcomes are negotiable. What this means is that no matter is ever truly settled and that if one side does not like an outcome, it can lobby to reverse it. And although, at the moment, the wins from these seem to be going to Republicans, and that makes a lot of Democrats unhappy, we really need to think about this from a non-partisan point of view.
The question is what happens to democracy when:
a) People with sufficient power and privilege can reverse the outcome and
b) Voters unhappy with the consequences of an election can "take it back."
The outcome of "a" is, of course, oligarchy, which is happening in the US, and will continue to happen until people get pissed off enough to revolt. I regard oligarch as the less dangerous, ultimately, of these, because people WILL get pissed enough to revolt and things will be set right again. It happened after Hoover, and can happen again/
The outcome of "b" is more serious, because it relieves the voters of selecting their candidates with due care and prudence. Part of the outrage at Ahnold's victory is precisely the impression that he was selected because he was a big movie star and therefore cool. But the question is also moot, because, like drugged sheep plugged into the TV we tend to vote for who looks best and who has the slickest ads. We do not exercise, as a nation, the care and prudence we should with regard to our elections and have thus created a government that is a reflection of our worst impulses.
The winners have been winning for years by sneering and condescending, and we are all like the hangers on of bullies, happy to be associated with the power of the bully, but too weak to exercise it ourselves. We would rather side with power than with virtue, and have thereby become the thugs of the international community.
no subject
There is one exception that I know of. In 1934 some Roosevelt-hating Republicans tried to convince Col. Smedley Butler to participate in a Coup to depose him. Butler, being a true patriot and an honorable man, refused and turned the conspirators in. The political landscape is beginning to look more like Germany in the late twenties and early thirties than any reasonable vision America and honorable men are laughed at for being suckers.
I have a very bad feeling about the upcoming Presidential election. A very very bad feeling.
One can only hope that the current tactics will backfire on them, much like the twenty-second ammendment eventually backfired on the Republicans. If not for that, I think Reagan would probably have been President until 1996, Altzheimer's or not.
It's a rather tired quote at this point, but none the less:
Have you been reading my mind?
I've been saying this for years. Two to be exact. Since September 11, 2001, when, after the shock, my first thought was "everybody kiss your civil liberties goodbye, 'cuz they're going to use this like the Nazis used the Reichstag fire." Immediately after the terrorist attacks, a very paranoid person I know was saying that bin Laden was working for Bush, that it was all engineered to help him get rid of those pesky civil liberties. At the time I thought the very thought was appalling, as well as just WAY OUT THERE. Now I'm not so sure.
I have a very bad feeling about the upcoming Presidential election. A very very bad feeling.
Would that be the sinking feeling that the next election is going to be called on account of terrorism? Or the certainty that the winner will be a forgone conclusion?
Ahhh, Goering. Ashcroft's role model I believe?
Re: Have you been reading my mind?
You've pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as what i'm afraid of, except the Reichstag hasn't caught fire yet and our civil liberties have been eroding for a lot longer than 2 years.
Re: Have you been reading my mind?
/* DieBold Voting OS (c)2003 DIEBOLD Corporation and the RNC */
/* Function: To deliver Ohio to George W. Bush in '04 */
intRepublicanVotesCounted=0;
intDemocraticVotesCounted=0;
intOtherVotesCounted=0; //third party votes never matter, so we can save space by grouping them.
/* Republican Votes Count for Republicans */
If KeyPressed=Republican{
intRepublicanVotesCounted=intRepublicanVotesCounted+1;
}
/* People expect Democrats to get votes, so we have to count their votes */
/* But we'll count them for the Republicans too! */
If KeyPressed=Democratic{
intRepublicanVotesCounted=intRepublicanVotesCounted+1;
intDemocraticVotesCounted=intDemocraticVotesCounted+1;
}
/* "A Vote for Nader is a Vote for Bush" */
If Keypressed=OtherParty{
intRepublicanVotesCounted=intRepublicanVotesCounted+1;
}
/* In the unlikely event EVERYONE votes democratic, the result would be a tie. */
/* The following code resolves that */
if intRepublicanVotesCounted==intDemocraticVotesCounted{
intDemocraticVotesCounted=trunc(intDemocraticVotesCounted/2);
}
/* The wonderful thing about a secret ballot is that although people may be */
/* surprised by and outcome, they cannot quantify their suspicions */
Re: Have you been reading my mind?
(Anonymous) 2003-10-16 12:40 pm (UTC)(link)- Inkan
Re: Have you been reading my mind?
Re: Have you been reading my mind?
(Anonymous) 2003-10-16 12:52 pm (UTC)(link)The sky is falling.
- Inkan
no subject
(Anonymous) 2003-10-16 12:45 pm (UTC)(link)- Inkan
no subject
I also applied these arguments when our Republican governor, who won fair and square, came under the attack of democrats in our legislature for some flaky campaign finance stuff. I detest him as a Governor, but he won by the rules of the game without having to rely on his brother and his father's Supreme Court appointees to secure it. It is not the place of the legislature to override the wishes of the 40% of voters who voted for him. (the remaining 60% split evenly between the Independence party and the Democratic party).
As for the philosophical inconsistencies you are pointing out, I will openly and freely confess to them. I contain the same contradictions as the people who reduced national political discourse to who did what with a cigar and then turned around and called for civility when their boy came under fire.