This election feels different for me though. And I'm not just referring to the heightened polarization between the two parties. I'm referring to how this election is being conducted. This is the first election where there is no limit on how much broadcasting money a corporation can contribute to a campaign. This explains the unbelievable amount of shit smearing you have seen on tv and heard on the radio. It's nauseating. I'm gonna put it out there that high school student government campaigns across the country are ran with far more class, reasonableness and intelligence than almost any state race in the U.S. The sad reason for this is because it works. Shit smearing, no matter how true or false works. It will make you lose faith in humanity.
Take Democrat Alan Grayson from Florida into consideration. Look at this ad he ran against Daniel Webster where he edits a speech from Daniel Webster to 100% convey the opposite intended meaning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu3DAlwD5oc
Webster was giving a speech about how people should not literally interpret verse's from the bible particularly the ones about how wives should submit to the their husbands. And Grayson just leaves that little part out of the Ad.
Here is one from Republican David Vitter in New Orleans running against Charlie Melancon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8UEtDJSb7M
It's just flat out insulting your intelligence.
The way in which our campaigns are ran is one the biggest fundamental flaws in our system. A simple analogy:
Say little Timmy is gonna run for class president against Sally at Bayside High. In order to run though you have to have money to pay for campaigning and let people know you are running. Sally runs a lemonade stand and raises $40 dollars. Timmy on the hand is friends with Assblaster Mcgee who is the richest kid in school and also captain of the wrestling team. Assblaster Mcgee tells Timmy he will give him $500 dollars because he believes Timmy is the shit. Timmy paints the entire school with ads about how he will personally organize every one's Sega Genesis cartridges if he is elected. Sally on the other hand can do little more than post a couple flyer's. Timmy wins by a landslide and as his first order of business as president is to decide between getting new textbooks for all the students or new wrestling gear for the wrestling team. The students need the new textbooks but Timmy is clearly in debt to the help Assblaster Mcgee gave him during election and must base his decision not on what is good but what is in the best interest of his presidency.
It seems so obvious campaign financing needs to be limited, otherwise elections can be bought not won. I'm watching every ones ads today and just going down the line voting for the person with the most civil one. It seems stupid to not take the actual issues into account but I've been doing that for 8 years and it has been less than productive. Maybe voting for politicians by using a rubric that determines who has the highest baseline intelligence and can behave like an adult will lead to a better run government.
The political system in america is def in shambles.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how I feel about this one. Everyone doesn't "deserve" the same oppurtunity to hold some office. I don't think Timmy should be penalized for having rich friends just because Sally got some half-ass job too little too late in the election to make a difference. But I also don't think Timmy should be able to buy an election. I agree that the system is flawed, but is there a better one out there?
ReplyDeleteThat being said, if Sally went to my school, I would have given her an extra $40 to make lemonaide on my face while I lie in the bathtub.
yeah i agree to a certain extent. I think there definitely is a valid argument that it is not the governments responsibility to prevent people from being stupid enough to fall for smear tactics. But I don't know where that line is. It's somewhere between a communist society and a plutocracy.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very complicated area and I don't have enough time to formulate a well-written response to some of your questions but I'll try to add some talking points:
ReplyDelete1) I have no use for voting. Politicians appeal to what the majority of voters want and the marginal impact of my vote isn't going to matter.
2) Given (1), I also have little use for campaign finance reform. I think the influence of money and negative ads is overstated. Ultimately, the politicians do what the voters want, which is scary in its own right. Moreover, I'm opposed to campaign finance reform on Constitutional and libertarian grounds. The government should not be able to limit speech. In my opinion, political speech by interest groups, corporations, and unions is simply one avenue for individuals to express their opinions and that avenue should not be closed.
3) I don't think intelligence alone would be a good indicator for who should hold office. In fact, I think it would be an unmitigated disaster. When I think of the ideal politician I think of someone who respects the rule of law, understands the limitations of government, and respects the freedom. Usually, really intelligent people (especially on the left) believe they can bring about optimal government solutions. I don't want to go all Glen Beck on here but communism is a good example of when this goes bad. Communists believed that through proper government design they could usher in an equitable and just society. But in reality this was an impossibility. I'm not claiming that those on the American left are communist or that the same disasters that happened in Eastern Europe would happen here but I think the direction would be the same. That is, the results of their designs would be the opposite of their intentions.
I think its funny that you made Assblaster a wrestler since they are some of the biggest dbags in high school. They are right up there with lacrosse players. Painter, I hope you didn;t play either of those in high school.
ReplyDeletehahah Assblaster Mcgee's name and sport were intentional. I was a soccer player in high school and had to always try and defend why soccer is not gay.
ReplyDeleteBilly, good points. I agree to disagree. I just think the national discussion about the role of govt has gotten rediculously galvanized. It seems now its either yes or no. on or off. black or white....instead of discussing a specific degree of governement involvement. government needs to and should play a vital role in the well being of a nation. I think we are far closer to becoming an Oligarchy than a communist society. The top 5% of income earners in this country hold around 90% of its wealth. Thats an amazing statistic to think about objectively. Because it seems like if you were starting a country up and came out and told everyone thats how it was gonna be the majority of people wouldnt agree to it. It may just be the way things are. But sometimes It just doesnt make sense to me when I see these extremely poor redneck idiots talking about how "that nagger obama is trying to take my paycheck and give it to Pablo down the street" And I just want to pull them aside and let them know they have got it all backwards. I Remember at my last job a middle aged guy who confided in me how in debt he was to the IRS and how he was making a salary similar to someone straight out of college. But he was the most staunch Republican and I would ask him why and he replied "Cause I dont want the government in my pocket! taking my wealth!" I wanted to be like "what wealth?" but obviously that would be pretty messed up. But his story i think embodies the kind of blindness the middle class has. The lower class I think gets it.....they are pretty poor. But the middle class seems to have some kind of shade pulled over their eyes. They have been tricked into believing the american dream. They think any day now they are gonna break it big and get that big job that gives them that big paycheck and they will be part of that top 5% of income earners. Its at the root of our culture. We are obsessed with money. People put stock in pretending they are rich.....or are going to be rich when for most all of them its not going to happen. It's like Warren Buffet famously said "It's class warfare, my class is winning but they shouldn't be".
Its all a delicate balancing act. Free enterprises should be preserved and intelligent people who bring productive ideas to the table should be rewarded. But a nation has to be mindfull of its poor also because they far outnumber the rich. One of the richest and most powerfull nations in the world should be able to provide basic needs for all of its citizens........security.......education......basic healthcare. Those are the 3 basic needs someone must have in order to even have a chance to contribute to society. If you let someone be born in your country into a situation where they are deprived of any of those they will be a detriment to your country. And they will reproduce and start families with the same issues.......and they will spawn a whole new culture (rap/gang/thug culture) that encourages and rewards retarded, detrimental behavior.
Those cultures exist in our country and you dont help those people get back to contributing to society by cutting them off. You have to develop a plan that helps them back up and keeps them there. We have plans like that in place in the U.S. but they are flawed in the way they are carried out. People need to be weened off things like Medicaid or food stamps, or public housing for instance..........otherwise they become satisfied with the way of life it provides and dont strive to change.
wow. I just went way off track. I have no tv in the house cause me and whitney just moved. The only thing i can do at night to occupy myself is steal the neighbors wifi and peruse pornhub.com and go on government related rants. im going to bed and apologize if nothing i said made any sense.