People Who Don't Vote Are The Problem

[Stephanie]

Yes, but do we have the FPS, DGR, the ABC, LMNOP, XYZZY? WTF?

I think we have a lot of candidates for TPP, The Pity Party.

that would be the now BUTThurt party, the Dem/progressive/commie party
oh how I'm loving it.

 

[Iceweasel]

Imagine if 20 million did.

That's the spirit, pass it along. Tell them the longest journey begins with a single step.

 

[frigidweirdo]

Imagine if 20 million did.

That's the spirit, pass it along. Tell them the longest journey begins with a single step.

But then how many people in the US actually manage to understand issues at all? Even those who are interested in politics often can't, let alone those who are apathetic.

 

[Papageorgio]

At least you agree how Obama got elected, I don't think making people vote is going to improve anything. They are low low no information voters that are worse than those the Democrats complained about this election.

How does Germany vote on what they are not told?

The German election has both PR and FPTP. In other words, the make up of parliament will be, more or less, as the PR vote is. Anyone who doesn't make 5% in PR is kicked out unless they win a FPTP seat. So the parties who do get in have a slightly higher percentage of seats than the votes they got.

CDU 34.1% of the PR vote. 40.5% of the seats
SPD 25.7% of the PR vote, 30.5% of the seats
Die Linke 8.6% of the PR vote, 10.2% of the seats
Gruene 8.4% of the PR vote, 10% of the seats
CSU 7.4% of the PR vote, 8.9% of the seats.

That's basically 4 parties (CDU and CSU are essentially the same party).

There's also a constituency vote, though no smaller parties this time around gained a seat when they still got under 5% of the PR vote. The last time it happened was in 2002 when the PDS got 40% of the vote and 2 seats. But the option is there anyway.

If you look at constituency votes the CDU got 3% more votes there than in PR. SPD 4% more. Die Linke got 2.9% constituency and 8.6% PR. Die Gruene got 1.9% constituency and 8.4% of the PR vote.

So what it suggests is that big parties thrive on FPTP constituency votes, people are more likely to vote for them there than in PR when they're more likely to choose a smaller party.

Hence Germany has a 4/5/6 party system (Two parties got just under 5% and no FPTP seats). It means people have more of a choice. The big parties can't just rely on being the big party as they do in the US.

What does this mean? It means you have the choice of lots of parties. Their platforms are different, so you don't like the CDU's platform but don't want SPD to get into power you can vote for another party, like FPD. This means political parties need to appeal to the voters. They can't control the media like the reps and dems do, they need to actually appeal. In the US the parties tell people what the election is about, what issues are important. In Germany the people tell the politicians what is important.

Initials? I am not going to look up a bunch of initials, if you are to lazy to use real words, your message is not worth decoding.

That has to be the laziest post ever. The initials don't matter ffs. Look at the MESSAGE I'M TELLING YOU. You took one look, see a CDU and SPD and then you turn off. What, is that the limit to your intellectual capacity?

What is the PR and the FPTP? For pete's sakes at least writ the fucking initials out at least once. I know nothing about German politics.

If I started throwing fucking initials out about my line of work you would not understand anything.

You are a lazy fucking dumbass that doesn't have the faith in the political system you are espousing to explain it.

I'll take the American system with the 100's of parties over the German initial parties.

 

[AKACL]

Democrats and Republicans are the problem. If we didn't and don't vote for the bastards we can't be the problem, and the idiots that did vote for them are the problem.

 

[hjmick]

People Who Don't Vote Are The Problem

Really? Seems to me it's the people who do vote who are the problem. Just look at the critters in Washington...

 

[frigidweirdo]

What is the PR and the FPTP? For pete's sakes at least writ the fucking initials out at least once. I know nothing about German politics.

If I started throwing fucking initials out about my line of work you would not understand anything.

You are a lazy fucking dumbass that doesn't have the faith in the political system you are espousing to explain it.

I'll take the American system with the 100's of parties over the German initial parties.

The first point would be that a lot of people don't have a clue about any other system other than their own system.

PR is Proportional Representation. It's when everyone votes, the votes get counted and seats get handed out based on this basis. In many places there is a threshold of like 5% (In Germany's case).
FPTP is what the US has, First Past The Post. Ie, winner takes all.

Also, I'd have to say I did it deliberately. Why? You said the system works fine. I wrote back "Anyone who has seen other countries and how their systems work in countries like Germany and others, will understand this. Ignorance is not an excuse for saying the system isn't broken."

And it's taken you quite a few posts to admit you know nothing. Which is fine in itself, I'm not going to disparage someone for not knowing something. HOWEVER, you are making claims that the US system isn't broken, without much of a clue of how other countries work.

Now, I've shown statistics that the best govts in the world for The People are generally those with PR.

But the US "doesn't want PR", why? Because those in charge of the system don't want people to know about PR. It doesn't get in the news, if they talk about an election in Germany it's not going to be a big thing that PR exists. The guys who fund politics, make politics work for them, are not going to pay for PR to destroy their well made system for themselves.

Yeah, If you started throwing initials out at me for something that had nothing to do with politics, I might not have a clue. However this IS A POLITICS FORUM, is it not? And you could potentially learn something by actually looking things up. Or hey, you could ask.

I'm a lazy dumbass because, er... I've put a lot of effort into understanding the political systems of places like Germany, Austria and Switzerland and you're the hard worker who can't be bothered to find out, or ask, about a few letters that are generally well known in politics. AND you make comments about how the US system works so well but don't know, and don't bother to find out about other systems that may possibly work better.

Oh please.

You'll take the US system over the German system with "100's of parties", which equates to FIVE, yes FIVE parties, and why? Because you don't have a clue about the German system.

That's like saying you'd rather eat shit than eat nshima, because you know what shit is and I doubt you know what nshima is.

 

[frigidweirdo]

Democrats and Republicans are the problem. If we didn't and don't vote for the bastards we can't be the problem, and the idiots that did vote for them are the problem.

That's such bad logic there isn't much point in explaining why. If you don't know it, you're lost to humanity anyway.

 

[Harry Dresden]

One hardly blame people for not wanting to vote considering parties are absolute jokes. Their apathy is understandable when all you do is chase the devil out with Beelzebub.

It is not understandable.

I can tell this is probably coming from a rich person who likes it that the masses don't vote. That's their narrative. "Oh why bother voting, their all the same" Meanwhile they're voting every 2 years because they know it matters.

How else can I tell you are rich? Who starts a sentence with "One hardly blame people...." You sound like Thurston Howell 3rd. Lovie, one knows not to mix the chardonee with the grey popoun and cavier.

Lets see the next midterm if the Republicans just sit it out because "it doesn't matter who wins". Bullshit! They know better.

 

[Harry Dresden]

What good is voting if your elected official never carries out his duty? Kinda renders voting a moot point. I voted, though, for the lesser of two evils. I believe voting has a purpose, but also that not voting sends a message.

Then if people stopped voting the main two parties, they might actually get representatives who represent.

never happen.....to many paranoid "party" people....

 

[Treeshepherd]

I don't vote. Blame me or don't blame me, I probably wouldn't vote the way you like, after all.

The last several elections I've been out of town away from my polling station, and I don't check my snail mail, so the mail-in ballot doesn't work for me. The mailman hates me. I think I've worn him down though. He no longer litters my property with a weekly Bed Bath and Beyond glossy coupon.

I don't vote. Screw the government.
http://reelauthors.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Legends-of-the-Fall-family.jpg

 

[frigidweirdo]

What good is voting if your elected official never carries out his duty? Kinda renders voting a moot point. I voted, though, for the lesser of two evils. I believe voting has a purpose, but also that not voting sends a message.

Then if people stopped voting the main two parties, they might actually get representatives who represent.

never happen.....to many paranoid "party" people....

And no one seems to know what PR is in the US either. Too much media control, too much political control.

The people are well and truly OWNED> Freedom? No thank you, we like being owned. Liberty? No. But you can tell us we have these though.

 

[Harry Dresden]

I don't vote. Blame me or don't blame me, I probably wouldn't vote the way you like, after all.

The last several elections I've been out of town away from my polling station, and I don't check my snail mail, so the mail-in ballot doesn't work for me. The mailman hates me. I think I've worn him down though. He no longer litters my property with a weekly Bed Bath and Beyond glossy coupon.

I don't vote. Screw the government.
http://reelauthors.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Legends-of-the-Fall-family.jpg

 

[Harry Dresden]

Now, the ONLY way to change the US system is to vote for a 3rd party. It doesn't matter if you get the worst of the main two candidates, you're still getting a candidate from the main two parties. Nothing will change regardless of whether it's a monkey, a chimp, a dem or a rep in that seat.

By all means, vote third party. Pass it along to your friends.

 

[MisterBeale]

 

[MisterBeale]

 

[frigidweirdo]

Maybe.

California railroad accident Two couples hit while taking pictures of sunset - Yahoo News UK

"California railroad accident: Two couples hit while taking pictures of sunset
Reports suggest that two couples walked onto a railroad trestle near a Santa Barbara, Calif., beach to watch the sunset. Pedestrian train accidents are rising."

Car hits kills woman running to catch bus in Phoenix azfamily.com Phoenix

Car hits, kills woman running to catch bus in Phoenix

pedestrian causes road accident - Yahoo Search Results

A pedestrian crossing the road causes a pile up, incredibly he manages to cross the road unscathed. Visit

Yeah, pedestrians don't cause car accidents at all.......

 

[BlackSand]

Incumbents always have an advantage over challengers.

If the Republicans had been the incumbents this could have been much worse than it was.

Think about that.....

The problem is that the Republicans still have it all wrong. The Republicans are running around and on television telling everyone that the American people want them to take over and to get things done. Not true. Had the American people wanted something done in Washington D.C., they would have voted out the Republicans and voted in the Democrats. They would have given the liberal Democrat president both the Senate and the House and paved the way for him to get whatever he wanted accomplished easily. The American people sent the Republicans a message and indeed the President a message that they want Obama's policies stopped in their tracks. We have far too many laws infringing on our daily lives and finances already. We don't need any more laws enacted. We need laws repealed, programs stopped, and liberties restored. The American people have spoken. The election was a denial of support for the liberal agenda of the past six years. I do pray the Republicans come to their senses as to why they were given the Senate and House majorities.

It's clear that we don't have enough.
We have nothing in the Constitution that addresses a criminal in the Whitehouse and facilitators in one party that prevent him from being brought either to heel or brought to justice.

The Second Amendment ... You have to remember personal responsibility, self sufficiency and a bit of patriotic courage where encouraged at the point the Constitution was written.

.

 

[mudwhistle]

Incumbents always have an advantage over challengers.

If the Republicans had been the incumbents this could have been much worse than it was.

Think about that.....

The problem is that the Republicans still have it all wrong. The Republicans are running around and on television telling everyone that the American people want them to take over and to get things done. Not true. Had the American people wanted something done in Washington D.C., they would have voted out the Republicans and voted in the Democrats. They would have given the liberal Democrat president both the Senate and the House and paved the way for him to get whatever he wanted accomplished easily. The American people sent the Republicans a message and indeed the President a message that they want Obama's policies stopped in their tracks. We have far too many laws infringing on our daily lives and finances already. We don't need any more laws enacted. We need laws repealed, programs stopped, and liberties restored. The American people have spoken. The election was a denial of support for the liberal agenda of the past six years. I do pray the Republicans come to their senses as to why they were given the Senate and House majorities.

It's clear that we don't have enough.
We have nothing in the Constitution that addresses a criminal in the Whitehouse and facilitators in one party that prevent him from being brought either to heel or brought to justice.

The Second Amendment ... You have to remember personal responsibility, self sufficiency and a bit of patriotic courage where encouraged at the point the Constitution was written.

.

My point is we don't have that. Democrats are ignoring their responsibility to the nation in favor of their agenda. Patriotism is something the to be sneered at these days. Looney leftists openly proclaim that our military is something to ridicule. We are considered by Harvard students to be the worst threat to peace on the planet. Something is definitely wrong here. We're breeding traitors.

 

[frigidweirdo]

My point is we don't have that. Democrats are ignoring their responsibility to the nation in favor of their agenda. Patriotism is something the to be sneered at these days. Looney leftists openly proclaim that our military is something to ridicule. We are considered by Harvard students to be the worst threat to peace on the planet. Something is definitely wrong here. We're breeding traitors.

A military which is doing the bidding of the rich. A military that is going around messing everything up on orders. What's to be proud of?

It IS the biggest threat to peace on the planet. Two invasions in 3 years, and a complete ballsing up of the supposed reconstruction process. Then more wars to try and rectify the previous errors. You can try and spin this which ever way possible, but backing the wrong horse is not patriotism. Being in favor of damaging policies is not patriotism. It's idiotic. The only people who benefit are the rich, they use US soldier's lives for their own gains. Not the gains of the nation, they don't give a damn about the nation. They spend a lot of money making you think they care and this is all about the American people, but it's bull.