Our so-called democracy is a farse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump did not win the majority of American voters so no - he did not win in a democracy. Happy?

+1. We are a republic. Trump won because we are NOT a democracy. God I wish you people took civics.

Took it in 7th grade. I don't remember all that stuff 30+ years later. Most people don't unless they have a strong interest in a particular subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump did not win the majority of American voters so no - he did not win in a democracy. Happy?

+1. We are a republic. Trump won because we are NOT a democracy. God I wish you people took civics.

Took it in 7th grade. I don't remember all that stuff 30+ years later. Most people don't unless they have a strong interest in a particular subject.

I remember it. Why don't you remember it? It is important. Do you forget the laws as well?

[Anonymous]

Everything that has happened is Trump's own doing.

He was elected by rule of our law (the electoral college system) and if he loses his office, it will be by public officials following our rule of law, as set out in the Constitution for removing a president from office.

Unless he decides he has lost the confidence of the people, and chooses to resign because he cannot govern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump did not win the majority of American voters so no - he did not win in a democracy. Happy?

+1. We are a republic. Trump won because we are NOT a democracy. God I wish you people took civics.

And if the system of checks and balances works properly, someone who is as incapable of being president as Trump will be removed from office. We have safeguards in place. The country might decide to implement these protections because we are not a monarchy and as you said, not a pure democracy. That's what's playing out now - so why the whining thread?

[Anonymous]

The EC in modern times does not operate as the Founding Fathers intended it

If you read the Federalist papers regarding the EC, you will see that we have actually screwed it up with modern politics.

Donald Trump was the candidate they warned us about.

True Constitutionalists would know this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason we have an electoral college is so California and New York don't decide the presidential election by themselves. The fact that Clinton won the popular vote is *meaningless*. You constantly harp on that as if it proves something, but it does not, all the more so since almost all of the 3 million votes Clinton won by came from California. California doesn't elect our president. We all do.

It's "we the people", not "we the states".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump did not win the majority of American voters so no - he did not win in a democracy. Happy?

+1. We are a republic. Trump won because we are NOT a democracy. God I wish you people took civics.

Took it in 7th grade. I don't remember all that stuff 30+ years later. Most people don't unless they have a strong interest in a particular subject.

I remember it. Why don't you remember it? It is important. Do you forget the laws as well?

Because I only paid enough attention in 7th grade to get a good grade and then much of the information went out the window. Same as every other kid. You hear about laws, though, on a regular basis, so those stay with you. But good for you for remembering it. Just don't be surprised that most Americans don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: “He’s new, not a politician, give him a chance.”

I can give it to him, but he doesn't need it from me. For some reason, he doesn't want to be President for all of the citizens. Only to his supporters counts, the rest can STFU. How cares what we think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Until we stop politicizing this and really work together and set politics aside, Putin wins.
This is for both sides. Right now, mainly GOP, but Dems have a role in this too.

+100!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump did not win the majority of American voters so no - he did not win in a democracy. Happy?

+1. We are a republic. Trump won because we are NOT a democracy. God I wish you people took civics.

Took it in 7th grade. I don't remember all that stuff 30+ years later. Most people don't unless they have a strong interest in a particular subject.

And this is how we end. Up with a third rate thin skinned reality TV star as president. Low information, and proud of ignorance voters.

If my 13 year old can grasp this stuff, you can too.

Bless your hearts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump did not win the majority of American voters so no - he did not win in a democracy. Happy?

+1. We are a republic. Trump won because we are NOT a democracy. God I wish you people took civics.

Took it in 7th grade. I don't remember all that stuff 30+ years later. Most people don't unless they have a strong interest in a particular subject.

I remember it. Why don't you remember it? It is important. Do you forget the laws as well?

Because I only paid enough attention in 7th grade to get a good grade and then much of the information went out the window. Same as every other kid. You hear about laws, though, on a regular basis, so those stay with you. But good for you for remembering it. Just don't be surprised that most Americans don't.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how we ended up here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump did not win the majority of American voters so no - he did not win in a democracy. Happy?

+1. We are a republic. Trump won because we are NOT a democracy. God I wish you people took civics.

Took it in 7th grade. I don't remember all that stuff 30+ years later. Most people don't unless they have a strong interest in a particular subject.

And this is how we end. Up with a third rate thin skinned reality TV star as president. Low information, and proud of ignorance voters.

If my 13 year old can grasp this stuff, you can too.

Bless your hearts.

My 13 year old is grasping it just fine. I grasped it just fine at 13 years old, too. I just didn't remember the difference between a democracy and a republic 35 years ago. But I voted for Hillary anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.wsj.com/articles/democracy-is-not-your-plaything-1495149082

Mr. Trump’s longtime foes, especially Democrats and progressives, are in the throes of a kind of obsessive delight. Every new blunder, every suggestion of an illegality, gives them pleasure. “He’ll be gone by autumn.”

But he was duly and legally elected by tens of millions of Americans who had legitimate reasons to support him, who knew they were throwing the long ball, and who, polls suggest, continue to support him. They believe the press is trying to kill him. “He’s new, not a politician, give him a chance.” What would it do to them, what would it say to them, to have him brusquely removed by his enemies after so little time? Would it tell them democracy is a con, the swamp always wins, you nobodies can make your little choices but we’re in control? What will that do to their faith in our institutions, in democracy itself?"

But there’s an emerging sense of tragedy, isn’t there? Crucially needed reforms in taxing, regulation and infrastructure—changes the country needs!—are thwarted, all momentum killed. Markets are nervous.

The world sees the U.S. political system once again as a circus. Once the circus comes to town, it consumes everything, absorbs all energy.

I asked the ambassador to the U.S. from one of our greatest allies: “What does Europe say now when America leaves the room?” You’re still great, he said, but “we think you’re having a nervous breakdown.”

Well, for the 3 million more of us who voted for the other candidate, having him removed so quickly would be an indication that our checks and balances work and that our constitution is strong and that this country will not stand by and watch grift and corruption destroy it.

Trump, by the way, was not elected by a democracy. He was elected by the electoral system. The majority of voters voted for someone else.

As for giving him "a chance" - he had it and he blew it starting from day one.

He won 84% of the counties.

If you don't like him, vote him out in 4 years. You had your chance on November 8, you lost. Get over it.

I am over it. And now I'm enjoying watching his presidency implode.

By the way, the percentage of counties voting for a candidate doesn't have anything to do with the definition of democracy. Look it up.

Neither does the meaningless 3 million more votes in California.

If this country were a pure democracy, those 3 million more votes would have meant HRC was president. But we're not a democracy in that way, so Peggy Noonan should stop whining.

We are a constitutional democracy. Arguing about popular votes is meaningless in our form of democracy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The EC in modern times does not operate as the Founding Fathers intended it

If you read the Federalist papers regarding the EC, you will see that we have actually screwed it up with modern politics.

Donald Trump was the candidate they warned us about.

True Constitutionalists would know this.

True Constitutionalists also know that only the wealthy "liberal elites" (white landowning men) are supposed to vote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump did not win the majority of American voters so no - he did not win in a democracy. Happy?

+1. We are a republic. Trump won because we are NOT a democracy. God I wish you people took civics.

Took it in 7th grade. I don't remember all that stuff 30+ years later. Most people don't unless they have a strong interest in a particular subject.

And this is how we end. Up with a third rate thin skinned reality TV star as president. Low information, and proud of ignorance voters.

If my 13 year old can grasp this stuff, you can too.

Bless your hearts.

My 13 year old is grasping it just fine. I grasped it just fine at 13 years old, too. I just didn't remember the difference between a democracy and a republic 35 years ago. But I voted for Hillary anyway.

But you're wrong anyway. Or at least you're not entirely right and I'm not entirely wrong. The language is open to interpretation. I'm glad I could teach you something today that you thought you already knew! Here's just one link.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/13/is-the-united-states-of-america-a-republic-or-a-democracy/?utm_term=.91ee84f5d021

"The United States is not a direct democracy, in the sense of a country in which laws (and other government decisions) are made predominantly by majority vote. Some lawmaking is done this way, on the state and local levels, but it’s only a tiny fraction of all lawmaking. But we are a representative democracy, which is a form of democracy."

"But there is no basis for saying that the United States is somehow “not a democracy, but a republic.” “Democracy” and “republic” aren’t just words that a speaker can arbitrarily define to mean something (e.g., defining democracy as “a form of government in which all laws are made directly by the people”). They are terms that have been given meaning by English speakers more broadly. And both today and in the Framing era, “democracy” has been generally understood to include representative democracy as well as direct democracy."