US Voters: Weird as they wanna be

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In summary, Christopher Hayes at The New Republic argues that most undecided voters can't name an issue that is important to them and that the reason they are undecided is because they don't understand the concept of a political issue.
  • #36
Smurf said:
e? what the hell is the straw man tactic ... what are you on about?

http://www.datanation.com/fallacies/index.htm

Straw Man
Definition:

The author attacks an argument which is different from, and
usually weaker than, the opposition's best argument.

By suggesting that Bush rigged the election you are making a different argument in which no one can prove true or false.
 
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  • #37
loseyourname said:
You can vote with your intelligence. What you can't do is take away someone else's right to vote because they are less intelligent. Anyone being governed has a right to a say in who governs.
1.
by "voting with your money" I meant, the more money you have, the more say in Government you have... i think this is wrong.
by "Voting with your intelligence" I mean, the more intelligent you are, the more say you get in government... since this is descrimination of the same sort as "voting with your money" this is also wrong.
2.
I would never say that anyone below this IQ can't vote. Simply because it'd be too difficult to determine where the bar is... and because that is clearly racist, refer to point 1.

So what? You'd let them lobby and contribute campaign funds, but not allow them to vote? Come on. If you mean having a say in some form of government other than democracy, then maybe I can feel you if you exlain further, but you can't just selectively allow some groups to vote and disallow others. If you're going to do that, then just be more overt and don't allow certain groups to live in your country.
*whistles*
this is not my argument at all, it's understandable that you don't understand me because I was not responding to you, look at my previous few posts.. that's what I meant.
 
  • #38
Smurf said:
1.
by "voting with your money" I meant, the more money you have, the more say in Government you have... i think this is wrong.
by "Voting with your intelligence" I mean, the more intelligent you are, the more say you get in government... since this is descrimination of the same sort as "voting with your money" this is also wrong.
2.
I would never say that anyone below this IQ can't vote. Simply because it'd be too difficult to determine where the bar is... and because that is clearly racist, refer to point 1.

All right, clearly you weren't the person making that argument then. Never mind.


*whistles*
this is not my argument at all, it's understandable that you don't understand me because I was not responding to you, look at my previous few posts.. that's what I meant.

If you weren't responding to me, why the heck were you quoting my posts?
 
  • #39
“So, in a nutshell, direct action is any form of activity which people themselves decide upon and organize themselves which is based on their own collective strength and does not involve getting intermediates to act for them.”

Of course for any group to organize themselves they must have a leader who can speak for them all. Oh wait, that would not be a direct action….. Reductio ad absurdum.

This of course assumes that for a group of people to become organized they must need a leader. I do not want to drive down this slippery slope but I think it is clear to most people that no group of people can have one voice without a leader.
 
  • #40
loseyourname said:
If you weren't responding to me, why the heck were you quoting my posts?
We're both getting confused in this thread :smile:
 
  • #41
Townsend said:
“So, in a nutshell, direct action is any form of activity which people themselves decide upon and organize themselves which is based on their own collective strength and does not involve getting intermediates to act for them.”

Of course for any group to organize themselves they must have a leader who can speak for them all. Oh wait, that would not be a direct action….. Reductio ad absurdum.

This of course assumes that for a group of people to become organized they must need a leader. I do not want to drive down this slippery slope but I think it is clear to most people that no group of people can have one voice without a leader.
There's no reason why a leadership cannot exist.
 
  • #42
So, you're an "anarchist", Smurf?
 
  • #43
Townsend said:
“So, in a nutshell, direct action is any form of activity which people themselves decide upon and organize themselves which is based on their own collective strength and does not involve getting intermediates to act for them.”

Of course for any group to organize themselves they must have a leader who can speak for them all. Oh wait, that would not be a direct action….. Reductio ad absurdum.

This of course assumes that for a group of people to become organized they must need a leader. I do not want to drive down this slippery slope but I think it is clear to most people that no group of people can have one voice without a leader.

Consider Athens during its democratic phase. Every few months they would appoint a randomly chosen set of citizens to be the governing council. These people would have to leave their work, what ever it was and be public servants for a while. It was more like jury selection in modern US than an election as we know it; people tried to get out of it. Whether it worked well or not is another question, but it certainly showed you can run a small government without a political class.
 
  • #44
selfAdjoint said:
... Consider Athens during its democratic phase...

Athens would only have been a Democracy if all the females had left. Of course the gals were able to influence the guys as in Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata”.


...
 
  • #45
russ_watters said:
So, you're an "anarchist", Smurf?
The term 'Anarchist' is attached to too many pre-conceived notions which do not represent me what-so-ever. No, I'm not an anarchist, but I do support some forms of Anarchism.
 
  • #46
how about nihilistic form of government?
One thing is sure: it would be much better for our naturall world :approve:
That is my two cents to the discussion :blushing:
See you later.
 

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