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

To: tejek who wrote (142710)	2/17/2002 3:46:16 PM
From: i-node	Respond to of 1575832

Now Mr. Ray believes firmly that an elected representative knows best presumably because he/she is more educated, informed etc and should vote how he/she pleases even if it is contrary to what his/her constituency wants. I've never said "an elected representative knows best". In fact, half the representatives in DC are idiots (you figure out which half). But it is clear that the Founding Fathers fully comprehended the need to buffer the emotions of the public, and did the right things to insulate our government from a lynch-mob mentality. There will never be a better example of the Founding Fathers' work than the last presidential election. Had they not had the forsight to create an Electoral College, we would have been stuck with Gore, a total incompetent, running the government today, instead of one of the best presidents of modern times. The Electoral College performed precisely as it should in 2000, effectively diversifying the liberal powerhouses in NY, Boston, California, and other places. Perhaps you'll want to review the reasons for the establishment of the Electoral College. You may learn something.

To: tejek who wrote (142710)	2/17/2002 10:47:38 PM
From: brian1501	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575832

...The concept of democracy was borne from the Greek city-states where all those who were citizens participated and voted on issues that effected that state... That was a nice history lesson, but the fact that our representative republic has roots in a democracy does nothing to refute the fact that it IS a representative republic. This is a fact. To be a democracy, everyone would get a vote on everything which is obviously not the case. Now later in your post, you mention joe six pack......if joe six pack is who represents the majority view of a district than the elected representative has the responsibility to represent that view. BS. The elected representative has a responsibility to CONSIDER that view, then do what they think is best. That is their job. I don't care if it's Joe six-pack or Bill Gates that disagrees with him...it's still the representative's vote. I'll agree with you that they certainly need to keep abreast of public opinion and try and accommodate that view, but when it comes down to it, they have to do what's right in their opinion. If it was the responsibility of the representative to always vote with public opinion, why even have him? And since we have him, why have any issues in the election? After all, it's their responsibility to vote with the latest opinion poll, who cares what (if anything) he/she stands for. It is too easy for us to demean joe six pack and his views and to ignore them but that's not what democracy is......in a democracy, everyone has a right to his/her view and only an elitist would assume that joe six pack's view does not have value. I never said that Joe 6P's view does not have any value. It has no more or less value than my own view. Joe was able to exercise his views the same as everyone else on election day. Joe does not have the privilege of voting on every issue before Congress. There is nothing elitist about that. You just snatched up an opportunity to insert a bunch of class warfare and cloud the argument. If Joe six-pack wants to run for office, more power to him. If he wins, then HE has the vote. I for one would hope that he would hold true to whatever principals got him elected and he would vote on those principals...not go running to a poll so he can feel all warm an fuzzy that people like him. Unfortunately, serving in the government has become a career more than a duty. This has given rise to a bunch of people who try and mold themselves into whatever they think will get them elected. Reps and Dems alike, though Dems have an easier time molding themselves since right and wrong is usually relative with them. This campaign finance bill is a good example of this. It's obviously a violation of the first amendment and is destined to be struck down by the Supreme Court. Passing it makes them LOOK like they are trying to fix the problem, and it gives them a better chance to remain in office to boot (how nice for them). Brian

To: tejek who wrote (142710)	2/17/2002 11:07:58 PM
From: brian1501	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1575832

who represents the majority view of a district than the elected representative has the responsibility to represent that view. With this in mind, I wonder what you think of Senator Jim Jeffords. You know, the guy that single handedly gave the majority in the Senate to the Dems. Did he carry out his responsibility (in your view) to his district? Brian

To: tejek who wrote (142710)	2/18/2002 5:58:59 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575832

I think that a representative should consider the view of his constituents but he should not just vote with the polls. They voted him in not just because of his or her stated political views on specific issues, but because of overall ideology, character, personality and perceived effectiveness. If a representative and his constituents disagree enough about important issues then they should vote him out next election. That way the opinion of the people eventually directs the course of the country without having politicians required to be a slave to the polls. Tim