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Is Democracy at Stake?

WhyNotWhyNot

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Last week President Obama repeated one of his favorite drama themes for whipping up enthusiasm in the Democratic Party: Democracy Is At Stake in the 2016 Election. The mess going on in the Republican Party is actually republican (not the party) democracy at its best. A free-for-all election to become the Presidential Candidate is playing out where all points of view are aired and competed – no one is suppressed (no matter how crazy or ugly they may be) and the only way to win is to amass the votes of a majority of delegates that are 100% selected by the populace. The President’s party, on the other hand, has subverted democracy by reserving a large number of delegates who are not democratically selected and who have a predilection to vote as a block, thus suppressing the dissenting candidates. Is the “pot calling the kettle black”?
 
Last week President Obama repeated one of his favorite drama themes for whipping up enthusiasm in the Democratic Party: Democracy Is At Stake in the 2016 Election. The mess going on in the Republican Party is actually republican (not the party) democracy at its best. A free-for-all election to become the Presidential Candidate is playing out where all points of view are aired and competed – no one is suppressed (no matter how crazy or ugly they may be) and the only way to win is to amass the votes of a majority of delegates that are 100% selected by the populace. The President’s party, on the other hand, has subverted democracy by reserving a large number of delegates who are not democratically selected and who have a predilection to vote as a block, thus suppressing the dissenting candidates. Is the “pot calling the kettle black”?


Citation please?

Sorry, I don't really follow everything every public figure says. I need content and context to form an opinion.

Taking your statement at face value I'd agree that it is rather farcical to call what's happening in the RNC as non-democratic when compared to the super-delegate system used by the Democratic Party.

However, looking at the RNC on it's own? I'd say the games played were less than reflective of democracy in action.

Then again, political parties are subject to their own rules and the membership should either work to change them internally or move on and form a new one if they can't.
 
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Agreed, I would like to see the context of the quote.

But... I would also say that by default, the primary process has little to do with the process of democracy.
 
It is if Hillary Clinton becomes President.
If she does, expect an all-out assault on the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the Constitution - the latter by way of brute government force, the former by way of accusations of 'sexism' befalling any form of open critique of the President. She will be remembered as a modern-day American Autocrat in years to come.
 
It is if Hillary Clinton becomes President.
If she does, expect an all-out assault on the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the Constitution - the latter by way of brute government force, the former by way of accusations of 'sexism' befalling any form of open critique of the President. She will be remembered as a modern-day American Autocrat in years to come.

Mrs Clinton won't do like this, not till June of 2023 anyway.
 
I wonder what his thoughts are regarding the super delegates?

Hopefully he's a sane and reasonable guy (I believe he is) and - at least off the record - disapproves to a degree.

Something tells me his loyalty to the Clintons is waning as well.
 
It is if Hillary Clinton becomes President.
If she does, expect an all-out assault on the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the Constitution - the latter by way of brute government force, the former by way of accusations of 'sexism' befalling any form of open critique of the President. She will be remembered as a modern-day American Autocrat in years to come.

Funny thing. Like Hillary, I am old enough to have been an idealist of the late 1960's. But she twisted that idealism of the 1968 Democratic Party (that the unadulterated American Dream was the Holy Grail for the world) into a tool for personal power. I may not have agreed with the Chicago 7 but I admired their guts and commitment. The debate was good for the nation. The same can be said for Trump, Cruz, Kasich, and Sanders.
 
Last week President Obama repeated one of his favorite drama themes for whipping up enthusiasm in the Democratic Party: Democracy Is At Stake in the 2016 Election. The mess going on in the Republican Party is actually republican (not the party) democracy at its best. A free-for-all election to become the Presidential Candidate is playing out where all points of view are aired and competed – no one is suppressed (no matter how crazy or ugly they may be) and the only way to win is to amass the votes of a majority of delegates that are 100% selected by the populace. The President’s party, on the other hand, has subverted democracy by reserving a large number of delegates who are not democratically selected and who have a predilection to vote as a block, thus suppressing the dissenting candidates. Is the “pot calling the kettle black”?

I doubt Trump would destroy Democracy forever, but he's a wild-card with a contempt for rules, etc.

But this is a tad overblown. The real threat to Democracy already happened: congress is in reality run by lobbyists and their backers, who effectively (and more directly than one might think) control the elected officials.


(There's also the "administrative branch" if you will, which seems necessary to me for a country this big to function as one nation, but also dangerously unaccountable)
 
I doubt Trump would destroy Democracy forever, but he's a wild-card with a contempt for rules, etc.

I would never vote for Trump but his candidacy has actually stimulated real democracy - which has been stifled by "political correctness" and political strategies that isolate demographic and stereotype segments of our populace. He and Sanders have shown how widespread our feeling of frustration over the loss of open democratic debate and competition of ideas is. A few weeks ago I toured the Hall of Presidents at Disney World. I was struck by how many mediocre four year Presidents we have had. Our nation did just fine with them because ultimately our national spirit has trumped all. Trump probably wouldn't be much different. The real concern should be "Do we still have that enduring national spirit?" For a very long time a tyranical American noble class (in both parties) has dampened that spirit. Consider that election of Hillary would mean that we will have had a Harvard / Yale president for 32 consecutive years at the end of her term.
 
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