It aint necessarily so - that big-government is bad

[Lafayette]

POLITICAL INCOMPETENCE

Unfortunately, too many Americans believe the two parties are pretty much the same.

The average voting attendance in the US is a big shame - especially for a country that purports to be the Greatest Democracy on Earth. Consider this infographic:

People get onto a blog to share their misery with the world, when they are largely responsible for it in the first-place because they refuse to execute their voting responsibilities. They become politically incompetent.

They don't take time to understand the fundamental positions of each and the way Americans are affected by them. They pay attention to campaign advertising but not policy analyses.

Agreed. Nobody can help them but themselves

It is perfectly useless to bitch-in-a-blog if we ourselves, by our lack of voting attendance, are the principle causes of the present malaise afflicting the country.

For instance, the manner by which political candidates can be marketed like soap-powder on TV. They all "wash whiter than white". Which reduces political debate to moronic TV commercials upon which millions and millions of dollars are spent.

And studies show the consequences as regards corruption in politics. This one, for instance: Measuring Illegal and Legal Corruption in American States: Some Results from the Corruption in America Survey

Corruption in elected office in the US is a recognized and acute problem in far too many states.

THE BOTTOM LINE?

Yet another quote, from here:

If you follow politics, you know that Bernie Sanders is not a fan of the fundraising aspect of campaigning. But the fact remains that those who spend more have more advertisements, and that means they get their name and face in front of more people. In the end, the one that people see the most of is the one that they vote for. And the biggest spender typically ends up winning.

MY POINT?

It is amazing to see how a country - that has sent through postsecondary education such a high percentage* of its population - can be so clearly dysfunctional as regards its manner of electing Political Leadership ...

*41% of 55/64 year olds and 45.7% of 25/34 year-olds
_______________________________________________

 

[Joe Steel]

How anyone can consider the two parties as now constituted to be "the same" is beyond reason.

Fact is, the vast majority of "they are the same" comes from liberals of the far left bemoaning the fact that the Democratic Party is not willing to commit suicide by extremism the way the Republican Party is doing.

They are as nuts as the crazies on the far right.

I've never seen any evidence of the far left believing the parties are the same. Leftists may believe the Democrats have failed to serve the People but the certainly don't believe their as bad as the Republicans.

 

[Lafayette]

Leftists may believe the Democrats have failed to serve the People but the certainly don't believe their as bad as the Republicans.

Let's not amalgamate all the Left and all the Right. There is whole spectrum of politics in America, or any country for that matter.

Some are Centrists who move Left or Right with amazing ease, because they are young. The older people tend to remain with their first love in politics.

For the moment, there is insufficient knowledge of the "belief" in the principles of Social Democracy. (The American Democrat Party is to the right of Social Democrats in Europe.) That belief translates into chiefly two major social-programs, one being a National HealthCare System the other Free Tertiary Education.

They happen to be the key political deliverables that most affect our lives, as they relate to health and jobs. America has privatized both to a great degree, which is why they are so very expensive.

Take those two programs away from Europeans, and there would be riots immediately. The elderly to get back the NHS and the young for (nearly) free postsecondary schooling ...

 

[James972]

America has privatized both to a great degree, which is why they are so very expensive.

so when Cuba USSR Red China East Germany and 132 others made everything publicly owned things got inexpensive and people got rich?????????
Got things backwards yet again?????