tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787283052819380346.post464561452803991904..comments2009-08-19T01:52:37.411+01:00Harry Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05099597763862011749noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787283052819380346.post-63294867561647297232009-08-18T23:50:50.045+01:002009-08-18T23:50:50.045+01:00The unctious little half wit also remarkably like Rodney from only fools and horses...ToryTittleTattlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05229397965475358402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787283052819380346.post-6129250891061686442009-08-18T07:05:08.219+01:002009-08-18T07:05:08.219+01:00He looks like a girl. Is that typical for Grauniad writers?Hurf Durfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787283052819380346.post-80829950842699636082009-08-18T05:23:17.197+01:002009-08-18T05:23:17.197+01:00TB, I hate to agree with anyone on the left but he does somewhat have a point as it pertains to popular elections. Latest example, healthcare in the US. Agree or not, these are not &#39;plants&#39; by insurance companies, or the Republican national party. We have been sold the idea that popular election of national officials gives us a &#39;real voice&#39; in Washington. The last time any citizen of one of the respective states had a &#39;real voice&#39; in Washington was probably before the Great War. They pander now only to lobbyists. <br /><br />Granted in theory the idea is sound. But if one thing has been learned these past 100 years in the US is that the 17th Amendment was a mistake and the President&#39;s election by the electoral college should not be influenced in any fashion by popular vote within a state (all states now vote in the Electoral College generally by how the state went by popular vote which wasn&#39;t always the case, see South Carolina before 1868 IIRC). The politicians in Washington DC have turned elections and general running of the government into nothing much more than a team sport. The people are rarely, if ever, heard. You have a few Representatives and Senators that still attempt to follow the old ways but for the most part our representation is bought and sold before they even attend their constituencies.<br /><br /> Popular elections should &#39;fix&#39; the insulation politicians feel against the public but in fact it eventually increases the insulation between politicians and the public. This has happened in the US over 100 year span. The general voter is even less informed and now votes based more on the personality of the politician than what they stand for. To get elected in the US you only need the right soundbite and little else<br /><br />Case in point, a candidate from either side of the aisle from our most recent elections. Sarah Palin and Barack Obama. Neither qualified to be in the position they were much less standing to be in the Executive Branch in one fashion or the other. Their supporters were the most ardent, vocal, bands of yahoos I have seen in any US election. But press them as to their chosen candidate&#39;s stance on any important issue not covered by a 24/7 news network and they became quiet.Baron Collingwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00233219575277088363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2787283052819380346.post-53817210167259889022009-08-18T00:05:53.949+01:002009-08-18T00:05:53.949+01:00Lol. &quot;Labels: RAGE&quot;C Lesliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00122058441772010903noreply@blogger.com