Let's elect an independent president

[Rob Oplawar]

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-november-17-2009/exclusive---lou-dobbs-extended-interview-pt--1
fake e: 404, weird... try the homepage for now:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
the Lou Dobbs interview should show on that page...


I've been sayin' it. I've been sayin' it for ten damn years. Ain't I been sayin' it?

Seriously though, as much as I enjoy the Daily Show and as much as I support Obama, I have to take Dobbs' side here except when it comes to the fragility of the nation, on which point I completely agree with Stewart. A hard left swing is an improvement over the Bush administration, but it's not what we should be doing. I support healthcare reform and energy policy and regulation, but we can't just force it down the nation's throat, especially at a time like this. I've always been an advocate of moderation- extremes are almost universally bad. Not that I think the Obama administration is being extremist here, but, well,
I would love to see some actual bipartisan politics someday. This fucking system just doesn't seem to want to let it happen. Screw Republican ideals of small government and low taxes, and screw Democratic ideals of, dare I say it, redistribution of wealth and bloated government. Give me a fucking compromise; give me a moderate government with moderate taxes and moderate welfare.

Discuss.

[Cojafoji]

Oh you utopian you. So would the rest of us. But it probably won't happen.

[jcap]

Political parties just need to disappear. People should be elected based on what they believe, not what party they belong to. Thanks to the current system, you're choosing between black and white (no pun/racist joke intended).

[CrAsHOvErRide]

^

Well in order to do that you also have to make sure that all people have at least the possibility to become president without having a multi-million dollar background.

Here in Germany almost everyone can make a political party...that's why we have over 20 parties to elect xD We have the Pirate Party (http://www.piratenpartei.de/), Spiritual party (http://die-violetten.de/)...

[annihilation]

E: God damnit, I just lost all the shit I wrote.

[Good_Apollo]

Political parties just need to disappear. People should be elected based on what they believe, not what party they belong to. Thanks to the current system, you're choosing between black and white (no pun/racist joke intended).Except you're really just choosing between two shades of grey... :realsmug:

[LlamaMaster]

Never going to happen.

[Ganon]

Isreali political party supremacy

[Warsaw]

Independent parties might eventually win if they had broad platforms like the primary parties instead of being issue-centric.

Just my two cents.

[Bodzilla]

I saw somewhere that in australia the vast major of the intellectual elite (doctor's professors, scientists) never vote for the main partys.
ever.

Look rob Politicians have been around since the age of the dinosaur and they've never solved anything yet.

[CN3089]

lol, good luck with that (it will never happen)


e: also if you are against the redistribution of wealth in america kill yourself irl

[Cojafoji]

lol, good luck with that (it will never happen)


e: also if you are against the redistribution of wealth in america kill yourself irl
devil's advocate go: so if you make 1 million dollars in a year, you're cool with someone just nailing 350,000 of that?

[Dwood]

devil's advocate go: so if you make 1 million dollars in a year, you're cool with someone just nailing 350,000 of that?

tbqh I'm fine with people taxing up to 200,000 of 1 million. More than that and I question your ethics.

[CN3089]

devil's advocate go: so if you make 1 million dollars in a year, you're cool with someone just nailing 350,000 of that?

yes, as long as it's the government!

[Cojafoji]

tbqh I'm fine with people taxing up to 200,000 of 1 million. More than that and I'm beginning to question your ethics.
that's just counting federal tax. For anyone that makes over 375,000 a year. So let me throw this out there, to earn $1,000,000 where I live, you'd have about $600,000, and then if you'd want to buy a $600,000 dollar car, it'd cost you another $50,000. So, to make 1,000,000, and then buy a $600,000 car, you'd have to pay $50,000 out of pocket (8% sales tax).

[Corndogman]

You know, if we at least switched the Electoral College to a system of Proportional Representation, independent parties might actually get some votes in the Electoral College instead of those popular votes meaning nothing and only the two major parties getting electoral votes. i.e. how Bush was elected in 2000. Not that it would make a difference really, the two parties would still get all the electoral votes, but it would open up the doorway for people to be inclined to vote for other parties, thus giving those candidates some Electoral votes.

[Warsaw]

There's already an inclination for voting independent: to take votes away from the other two parties. With the Electoral College system or a proportional system, you lose anyways if you don't vote for one of the top two, so this allows you to make those top two fight for the votes that are left (which is most of them, but still).

[Bodzilla]

yes, as long as it's the government!

all the money they make in tax's of the fat cats at the top should be invested back into social programs and educational facilities.

give something back to the guys that get bled for them to make such ridiculous amounts of money.

[paladin]

You know, if we at least switched the Electoral College to a system of Proportional Representation, independent parties might actually get some votes in the Electoral College instead of those popular votes meaning nothing and only the two major parties getting electoral votes. i.e. how Bush was elected in 2000. Not that it would make a difference really, the two parties would still get all the electoral votes, but it would open up the doorway for people to be inclined to vote for other parties, thus giving those candidates some Electoral votes.


Theres no need for an electoral college now. Elections should be by popular vote only.

[LlamaMaster]

Theres no need for an electoral college now. Elections should be by popular vote only.
The entire purpose of the electoral college is to keep the ignorant masses from electing a bad candidate (that's the theory anyway). Pure democracy is almost always a bad idea unless the majority of the population is well informed, which we all know they aren't. I'd be more in favor of a voters test to weed out the stupid/biased people from voting rights. It may be discriminatory towards the uninformed, but who really cares?

[Dwood]

It may be discriminatory towards the uninformed, but who really cares?

The people who get kicked out? (which would be half the nation)

[LlamaMaster]

"It may be discriminatory towards the uninformed, but who really cares that matters?"

There, fifm.

[paladin]

Lou Dobbs '12