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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (142694)	2/16/2002 6:32:59 PM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1576012

That's what you are not smart enough nor aware enough to understand...what the people want is the most important aspect of democracy. I'm bright enough to get by; I'm certain I can keep pace with YOU. It is YOU who does not understand that the Founding Fathers recognized that pure democracy can be subject to the emotional whims of the masses. As a result, we have the Senate and the Electoral College. The Founding Fathers had the good sense to buffer the running of the government from the current passions of the people. This is precisely the reason Clinton's presidency was such a failure; he didn't understand that you can't make good decisions when you're driven solely by the opinions of the masses. Look at the Don't Ask-Don't Tell fiasco as a great example of this. Apparently, you don't understand much about our government. You think Bush is a good leader cause he bombed Afghanistan to hell. This is, of course, a lie. A review of my posts prior to 9/11/2001 will confirm the clarity of my perspective on Bush's leadership. I am still waiting to hear your explanation for the list Frankly, I thought you put that link up as a joke. It certainly isn't worthy of serious consideration. Of course, if you're a liberal and have no ammo against the conservatives, you might see that list as substantive (when all you've got is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail). Seriously, addressing the issues in your "list" would be giving credence to the notion that I think we ought to be involved in people's personal lives, which I don't. While I don't approve of adultery, I do believe people have the right to do as they please in their personal lives. For example, you've never heard me complain about Clinton's private sexual behavior. Only when he has abused his power, lied under oath, sexually assaulted or harrassed women, or committed rape have I spoken out against him -- these are basically violent crimes which should have resulted in his incarceration (sexual harrassment being the exception, which is a civil wrong). If you want to think of something laughable, how about Dick Morris sucking toes. That's laughable, too. He learned it from his client, Clinton.

To: tejek who wrote (142694)	2/16/2002 11:16:17 PM
From: brian1501	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1576012

That's what you are not smart enough nor aware enough to understand...what the people want is the most important aspect of democracy. The fact that you don't see that makes you an elitist like most conservatives, and that's why most dictators come from a conservative bent... I'm afraid it is you who doesn't get it. We live in a Representative Republic, not a Democracy. We are supposed to elect leaders that agree with our views and will try and do what is right and best for the country. Once they are elected, it is up to them to decide what is right. The wheels fall off if those who are elected don't have the balls to stand up for their beliefs (if they have any in the first place) or to take a whizz without checking a poll. It sounds like you would be in heaven if every government decision was made by electronic poll of every registered voter (true Democracy). I think this would be hell. I expect House members and Senators who work in the government full time to know the in's and outs of a treaty or the pros/cons of any proposed legislation. I trust them to make an informed decision. I don't want them to be overly swayed by the opinion of Joe six-pack who only knows what the 30 second spot on TV told him. Keeping abreast of public opinion is one thing. Basing YOUR opinion on public opinion is another thing entirely. After all, serving in public office was supposed to be 'government service'. You put in your time, then you went home. Now it's a career. The constant need to check polls stems from the constant need to get re-elected. We'd be a lot better off if everyone in public office did what they thought was the right thing to do and the hell with getting re-elected. Brian