Keith Houchen Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 But then you wouldnât have looked silly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fog Dude Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, Carbomb said: I was going to say that surely by voting for Biden, you're making also a choice that says you understand how the US system works, and therefore accept that Harris becoming president is a reasonable possibility. Having thought about it some more, and the nature of "package deal" politics in general, something struck me (and perhaps someone can immediately explain to me why it wouldn't work): wouldn't it be better if the system were overhauled so that a presidential candidate would have to nominate, say, three potential VPs that the electorate could then vote for (or even vote for a VP from the opposite party if they so choose)? Then if, say, the Democratic presidential candidate won, the Democratic VP candidate with the most votes would get in. @Fog Dude, @JNLister, @Uncle Zeb, any thoughts? I hadn't really given too much thought to the joint ticket nature of US presidential elections, to be honest. It only becomes relevant if nobody gets 270 electoral college votes, or else if the sitting President dies as has been discussed. I know there are some states where the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor are elected on separate ballots, and in the Philippines (whose system was based on the American one) there is often a President and VP from different parties, but the end result of that can be even more paralysis rather than grown-up conciliatory government, as in the cohabitation system in pre-2002 France. If you're redesigning the system from the ground up, I think you'd do a lot more than tinker with the number of VP choices presented to voters. If we're just throwing unrealistic ideas out there, then I put forward that the US should be annexed by Canada. That way, it'd instantly gain a second official language, an end to capital punishment, (marginally) better treatment of indigenous peoples, the metric system, banknotes of different colours and sizes, parliamentary democracy and most of all, a relatively higher level of civility in public discourse. Edited October 28, 2020 by Fog Dude Forgot to add bit about no death penalty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 On the other hand, we'd lose more medals in the Commonwealth Games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsfromlee Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted October 29, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 29, 2020 Upset about Biden's plans to raise his taxes I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanky316 Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 I'm shocked the man who was paid to design golf courses for Trump has decided to support him. After all Mr Nicklaus did say that Trump "loves the game of golf more than he loves money". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 (edited) Ignore - I can't read good. Edited October 29, 2020 by Gay as FOOK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewdogg Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 3 hours ago, wordsfromlee said: Â I note the comment at the bottom 'not evolve into a socialist America'. Why are people so scared of socialism? Do they consider it communism? Are they one and the same? @JNLister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted October 29, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 29, 2020 14 minutes ago, stewdogg said: I note the comment at the bottom 'not evolve into a socialist America'. Why are people so scared of socialism? Do they consider it communism? Are they one and the same? @JNLister Americans are scared of socialism because they don't actually know what it is. It's simply a word their establishment use to alarm their population, simply saying "It's everything our society isn't, and that's bad". The ones who claim to have something of a clue don't even have it right anyway, claiming it's "the government controlling everything", which isn't even the central principle of socialism in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factotum Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 The fact Obama was branded a Socialist pretty much sums up the failure of Americans to really grasp what socialism is. Most conflate it with communism. FDR would be labelled a leftish socialist nutjob today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted October 29, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 29, 2020 Basically anything the Democrats suggest that can improve society in any manner whatsoever gets branded as "socialist". Whether it's socialism or not (it almost always isn't). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators neil Posted October 29, 2020 Moderators Share Posted October 29, 2020 I made a post a few pages back about the whole socialism thing. Its absurd, but unfortunately still works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted October 29, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 29, 2020 23 minutes ago, Factotum said: FDR would be labelled a leftish socialist nutjob today. A historian friend of mine argues that, whilst the New Deal was pretty socialist for the US, and was essential in recovering America's economy from the Depression (something no Republican would ever admit to), it only came about because FDR was approached by delegations of politicians, civic leaders, union leaders, and various other luminaries who basically told him that the country was on the verge of revolution, and that, if he didn't do something drastic, the US would probably go the way of the USSR. He apparently didn't intend to do anything like the New Deal initially (at least, that's what my friend claims - I've no reason to doubt him in this, he's fairly thorough in his reading). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted October 29, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 29, 2020 Saw this online once and felt it summed up the ridiculousness of American views on socialism and freedom very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted October 29, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 29, 2020 Yep. In all the talk of "freedom", there's very little discussion of whether that includes freedom from destitution, lack of health, lack of peace of mind, lack of security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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