Romania said no to the Kremlin-aligned Trumpist and yes to the centrist

who is also a math genius

I hate what Trump is doing to this country but it seems like he is catalyzing some good in the rest of the world - as everywhere else sees how bad things can be and decides they want better for themselves

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

Every election we have had for a while has been influenced by nefarious foreign elements. You are extremely naive if you think foreign governments started meddling in elections starting in 2016. It is no reason to shut down democracy and turn to authoritarianism.

Placing limits on what nefarious foreign actors can do - like RUN THEIR OWN CANDIDATE - is hardly turning to authoritarianism.

Meanwhile foreign Western European actors are influencing the election in Romania, pushing pro-European candidates. You find it ok. Pure hypocrisy at its best.

Sweetie, it's because good countries are allowed to do that. It's why AIPAC is allowed and random Russians posting on Facebook is a threat to Our Democracy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

Every election we have had for a while has been influenced by nefarious foreign elements. You are extremely naive if you think foreign governments started meddling in elections starting in 2016. It is no reason to shut down democracy and turn to authoritarianism.

Placing limits on what nefarious foreign actors can do - like RUN THEIR OWN CANDIDATE - is hardly turning to authoritarianism.

Meanwhile foreign Western European actors are influencing the election in Romania, pushing pro-European candidates. You find it ok. Pure hypocrisy at its best.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

When I was a kid, I was almost mystified that so many communist countries had "democratic Republic" and stuff like that in the name. I figured it was just trolling or something. But now id have to imagine that, if you interviewed mao or someone, he'd say something like "well, this is true democracy because it's the real people and not the bourgeoisie picking their leaders." If that's right, this feels eerily similar to me.

^^This. And don't kid yourself that this viewpoint exists only abroad. Most upper middle class Democrats would love to disenfranchise lower classes and call all the shots in the name of democracy.

You guys have zero clue what you are talking about. Live in a dictatorship first then get back to us. Your navel gazing is getting old.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

What didn’t you cancel the recent elections in Germany. Didn’t Elon Musk influence that election by using his platform to support the right wing parties?

What’s going on in Romania is far more blatant. Elmer’s involvement in German elections was relatively minor, and he’s not an existential threat. Banning a candidate is an extreme action, but it’s in response to an extreme threat. You can compare this to being at war; some rules have to go out the window.

That’s the playbook of dictators.
Label anything as dangerous to declare a state of emergency. Enact martial law. Throw political opponents in jail. Cancel elections. These types of things never happen in true democracies.

It’s a dicey game for sure. At some point someone has to make a judgement call though. Banning this guy was not one person’s decision, so it’s not a dictator thing. I do think Romania might be looking at the US and thinking they can’t allow the same to happen there, which is understandable.

Exactly, they could be looking at the US and say hey, the population is dumb and can't be relies upon to elect someone who is actually good for the country.

Frankly, if only the college educated could vote, we would not have the Trump problem we have now. Too many uninformed voters who either have no idea of who they are voting for, too dumb to understand who they are voting for, and/or easily susceptible to propaganda.

Like Liberty University graduates, or would we pick and choose the colleges that turn out acceptable voters?

Would still have better election outcomes (even if you have people from the questionable Liberty University voting) than letting everyone vote.

If it were up to me I would limit it to only people that attended a college/university that was ranked top 100 (or even top 50) at the time they attended it (as per a reputable source, ie US News Ranking)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

Every election we have had for a while has been influenced by nefarious foreign elements. You are extremely naive if you think foreign governments started meddling in elections starting in 2016. It is no reason to shut down democracy and turn to authoritarianism.

Placing limits on what nefarious foreign actors can do - like RUN THEIR OWN CANDIDATE - is hardly turning to authoritarianism.

Would you agree with disqualifying candidates for being American assets?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

When I was a kid, I was almost mystified that so many communist countries had "democratic Republic" and stuff like that in the name. I figured it was just trolling or something. But now id have to imagine that, if you interviewed mao or someone, he'd say something like "well, this is true democracy because it's the real people and not the bourgeoisie picking their leaders." If that's right, this feels eerily similar to me.

^^This. And don't kid yourself that this viewpoint exists only abroad. Most upper middle class Democrats would love to disenfranchise lower classes and call all the shots in the name of democracy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

What didn’t you cancel the recent elections in Germany. Didn’t Elon Musk influence that election by using his platform to support the right wing parties?

What’s going on in Romania is far more blatant. Elmer’s involvement in German elections was relatively minor, and he’s not an existential threat. Banning a candidate is an extreme action, but it’s in response to an extreme threat. You can compare this to being at war; some rules have to go out the window.

That’s the playbook of dictators.
Label anything as dangerous to declare a state of emergency. Enact martial law. Throw political opponents in jail. Cancel elections. These types of things never happen in true democracies.

It’s a dicey game for sure. At some point someone has to make a judgement call though. Banning this guy was not one person’s decision, so it’s not a dictator thing. I do think Romania might be looking at the US and thinking they can’t allow the same to happen there, which is understandable.

Exactly, they could be looking at the US and say hey, the population is dumb and can't be relies upon to elect someone who is actually good for the country.

Frankly, if only the college educated could vote, we would not have the Trump problem we have now. Too many uninformed voters who either have no idea of who they are voting for, too dumb to understand who they are voting for, and/or easily susceptible to propaganda.

Like Liberty University graduates, or would we pick and choose the colleges that turn out acceptable voters?

How about a simple literacy test?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

What didn’t you cancel the recent elections in Germany. Didn’t Elon Musk influence that election by using his platform to support the right wing parties?

What’s going on in Romania is far more blatant. Elmer’s involvement in German elections was relatively minor, and he’s not an existential threat. Banning a candidate is an extreme action, but it’s in response to an extreme threat. You can compare this to being at war; some rules have to go out the window.

That’s the playbook of dictators.
Label anything as dangerous to declare a state of emergency. Enact martial law. Throw political opponents in jail. Cancel elections. These types of things never happen in true democracies.

It’s a dicey game for sure. At some point someone has to make a judgement call though. Banning this guy was not one person’s decision, so it’s not a dictator thing. I do think Romania might be looking at the US and thinking they can’t allow the same to happen there, which is understandable.

Exactly, they could be looking at the US and say hey, the population is dumb and can't be relies upon to elect someone who is actually good for the country.

Frankly, if only the college educated could vote, we would not have the Trump problem we have now. Too many uninformed voters who either have no idea of who they are voting for, too dumb to understand who they are voting for, and/or easily susceptible to propaganda.

Like Liberty University graduates, or would we pick and choose the colleges that turn out acceptable voters?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

Every election we have had for a while has been influenced by nefarious foreign elements. You are extremely naive if you think foreign governments started meddling in elections starting in 2016. It is no reason to shut down democracy and turn to authoritarianism.

Placing limits on what nefarious foreign actors can do - like RUN THEIR OWN CANDIDATE - is hardly turning to authoritarianism.

My favorite part of your argument is that it's basically the same one Putin could use against Navalny. So could quite a few other leaders who we've protested in the past.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

What didn’t you cancel the recent elections in Germany. Didn’t Elon Musk influence that election by using his platform to support the right wing parties?

What’s going on in Romania is far more blatant. Elmer’s involvement in German elections was relatively minor, and he’s not an existential threat. Banning a candidate is an extreme action, but it’s in response to an extreme threat. You can compare this to being at war; some rules have to go out the window.

The threat in this case being the Romanian people's desire to live peacefully with Russia instead of being the next proxy.

The only way they become anyone's proxy is if Russia starts meddling with their politics, and if this guy gets elected, Romania becomes a Russian proxy, just like how Ukraine was on its way to becoming a Russian proxy, but Putin's guy Yanukovich was thrown out.

If Russia minds their own business and stays out of Romania there will be no problem. No problem for Romania, no problem for Russia. End of story. Russia should have done the same with Ukraine. Stay the hell out.

Anonymous wrote:The guy is highly compromised and a Russian asset, so I get it. That’s what should have been done here if anyone had any balls. But we’ve been neutered and now the country is crumbling, everyone lost. Romania probably learned what to from watching us.

The supreme court sold out and spared Trump.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

Every election we have had for a while has been influenced by nefarious foreign elements. You are extremely naive if you think foreign governments started meddling in elections starting in 2016. It is no reason to shut down democracy and turn to authoritarianism.

Placing limits on what nefarious foreign actors can do - like RUN THEIR OWN CANDIDATE - is hardly turning to authoritarianism.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

When I was a kid, I was almost mystified that so many communist countries had "democratic Republic" and stuff like that in the name. I figured it was just trolling or something. But now id have to imagine that, if you interviewed mao or someone, he'd say something like "well, this is true democracy because it's the real people and not the bourgeoisie picking their leaders." If that's right, this feels eerily similar to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi. Romanian here. We lived under a dictatorship and Russian influence before. We won't let it happen again.

So you want to not have democracy to not have a dictatorship? Please make it make sense.

They want a democracy with elections that are not heavily influenced by nefarious foreign elements, something we failed to achieve here. They want elections that reflect the will of the people, not Putin.

I would think the US is a wake up call for many democracies on how not to run an electoral process, and what happens when you don’t get it right. People are still in awe at how far the country has fallen in such a short time and don’t want to suffer the same fate.

What didn’t you cancel the recent elections in Germany. Didn’t Elon Musk influence that election by using his platform to support the right wing parties?

What’s going on in Romania is far more blatant. Elmer’s involvement in German elections was relatively minor, and he’s not an existential threat. Banning a candidate is an extreme action, but it’s in response to an extreme threat. You can compare this to being at war; some rules have to go out the window.

That’s the playbook of dictators.
Label anything as dangerous to declare a state of emergency. Enact martial law. Throw political opponents in jail. Cancel elections. These types of things never happen in true democracies.

It’s a dicey game for sure. At some point someone has to make a judgement call though. Banning this guy was not one person’s decision, so it’s not a dictator thing. I do think Romania might be looking at the US and thinking they can’t allow the same to happen there, which is understandable.

Exactly, they could be looking at the US and say hey, the population is dumb and can't be relies upon to elect someone who is actually good for the country.

Frankly, if only the college educated could vote, we would not have the Trump problem we have now. Too many uninformed voters who either have no idea of who they are voting for, too dumb to understand who they are voting for, and/or easily susceptible to propaganda.