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Are politicians stupid and/or incompetent?

Are politicians stupid and/or incompetent?

  • Yes, they are incompetent and/or stupid.

    Votes: 4 16.7%

  • No, they are not incompetent and/or stupid.

    Votes: 8 33.3%

  • In some ways yes, in some ways no.

    Votes: 8 33.3%

  • Other. (Please elaborate)

    Votes: 4 16.7%
  • Total voters
    24
Grand Mal said:
I'm too lazy to look it up but I think that intrigue and manipulation are part of what 'politics' is.
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Within reason, yes.

Hmmm. Funny you should say that. If they don't want to control us, explain the tax on Big Gulps then . . . among other ridiculous taxes to try to "control" our behavior.
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All, also to a matter of degree. Radcen attaches quite a bit more to it than such simple measures.
 
Perotista said:
I agree whole heartily. Only a bunch of stupid and incompetent voters would keep sending the very same people back to Washington who have gotten this nation into the serious problems it faces today. You are correct, politicians, the political parties know exactly how to play us like a fiddle.

The political parties have us voters right where they wants us and we do not realize it. The politicians pull the strings, we as puppets dance.
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Good evening, Pero. :2wave:

May the best PR smear outfit win! Why is this? Are people too uninvolved in politics today to care, as long as the person they choose has the "D" or "R" identifying which party they are? You're right, Pero. The party has become more important that the Country...at all levels of government! And judging by what it costs to run for an office today, whoever is elected owes lots of favors to his backers, too...also at all levels of government! Voters only legitimize the election process, or we wouldn't be needed at all! :thumbdown:
 
Fiddytree said:
All, also to a matter of degree. Radcen attaches quite a bit more to it than such simple measures.
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I might be reading more into it than is there. Then again, I think you're rationalizing and apologizing (for lack of a better word) for their actions and intent than is actually happening. Maybe reality is somewhere in the middle.
 
Regardless, you voted for them, so live with it. They can't please everyone. The whining goes on.
 
RDS said:
Regardless, you voted for them, so live with it. They can't please everyone. The whining goes on.
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I hate when people say this. We didn't all vote for all of them. I have no control over how people in California vote.
 
ChrisL said:
I hate when people say this. We didn't all vote for all of them. I have no control over how people in California vote.
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On the other hand people know the meaning of democracy pretty well.
 
RDS said:
On the other hand people know the meaning of democracy pretty well.
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Yes, but I still don't control the politicians who are members of Congress. Only my own representatives from my own state.
 
polgara said:
Good evening, Pero. :2wave:

May the best PR smear outfit win! Why is this? Are people too uninvolved in politics today to care, as long as the person they choose has the "D" or "R" identifying which party they are? You're right, Pero. The party has become more important that the Country...at all levels of government! And judging by what it costs to run for an office today, whoever is elected owes lots of favors to his backers, too...also at all levels of government! Voters only legitimize the election process, or we wouldn't be needed at all! :thumbdown:
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Exactly, the voters are a necessary evil when it come to politicians and political parties. Very few of those who identify or associate themselves with the D or the R actually vote the candidate, they vote the party. But over time, actually those who associate with the two major parties have dwindled. From Perot's time 70% identified with them, today that number is down to 60%. What this has done is to leave the parties more ideological, left them with more of a fever to win at any cost. Compromise and give and take with the other party has become four letter words and viewed as unpatriotic to the party. These folks have deserted America and left America to fend for herself while they only fend for their political party.
 
ChrisL said:
Yes, but I still don't control the politicians who are members of Congress. Only my own representatives from my own state.
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They could try the path towards dictatorship.
 
I'd say with confidence that the average elected official is brighter and more informed than the average citizen. It's often frustrating to laymen dumb down complex issues (comparing the economy to a household budget or balancing a checkbook) and insist that the general public would prove to be more competent in any given situation.
 
RDS said:
Those who claim they don't control politicians in congress.
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You're not making much sense. Those who claim they don't control politicians in congress should start a dictatorship? Where is this coming from? :lol: It's just silly.
 
Politicians, especially all career politicians, are hucksters, greedy, power mad and for the most part treasonous liars. More than a few are loquacious speakers who are otherwise dumber than a lard bucket

Only the people who vote for incumbents are stupid and incompetent.
 
ChrisL said:
You're not making much sense. Those who claim they don't control politicians in congress should start a dictatorship? Where is this coming from? :lol: It's just silly.
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Never mind, you missed it.
 
RDS said:
Never mind, you missed it.
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I must have. I don't get it. Is it my understanding or your delivery though? :mrgreen:
 
Politicians are ambitious. Their goals and morals may change over time, but their level of ambition I think remains high.
 
JC Callender said:
Politicians are ambitious. Their goals and morals may change over time, but their level of ambition I think remains high.
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Ever seen this guy? :rofl

rangel--300x300.jpg
 
my sense of things is, they believe becuase they are elected, this somehow gives them a mandate to enact things of their personal interest, and dont care if its constitutional at all.

as noted by Howard dean, who once was told making a certain law would be unconstitutional......he stated" i dont care, we will let the court sort it out!
 
radcen said:
I wouldn't equate incompetence and corruptness. In fact, to be successfully corrupt, one has to be competent... just with illicit intent.
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I am not saying they are the same thing or equating on with the other.

That is why I typed 'and/or'.
 
ernst barkmann said:
my sense of things is, they believe becuase they are elected, this somehow gives them a mandate to enact things of their personal interest, and dont care if its constitutional at all.

as noted by Howard dean, who once was told making a certain law would be unconstitutional......he stated" i dont care, we will let the court sort it out!
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That could be a thread all by itself, but I believe that many politicians advocate laws that they know damn well are unconstitutional, and also know that challenging it in court will be prohibitively expensive... too expensive for most people to challenge... so the chances of it standing as unchallenged are pretty good.

Even organizations who do this for a living have to carefully pick and choose which ones to fight precisely because of the high monetary cost.
 
JC Callender said:
Politicians are ambitious. Their goals and morals may change over time, but their level of ambition I think remains high.
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Good evening, JC. :2wave:

I believe that most of the politicians in DC today were attorneys or worked in the legal field. Some of them might be termed "ambitious," I guess, but a better term might be self importance to the point of almost arrogance! I can honestly say that I have never met a timid attorney, and I have worked with a lot of them, and I can't think of any in DC, either, male or female! :shock:
 
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