I mean look at the usa, they have elected George bush twice ( as if his first term didnt warn people not to vote for him) ,It doesnt seem to be working in Zimbabwe, where the zimbabwane goverment used scare tatics to force the voters to vote for Mugabe, (same happend in South Africa) . I just get this feeling that democracy isnt enough anymore and that we need something more .
I mean it just seem like sometimes you could be the worlds best door to doors salesman and you would get plenty of votes cause ppl would believe what you are selling.
1. The United States is a federal republic with democratic elements. The United States meets the requirements of being a democracy:
a. A demos - a group which makes political decisions by some form of collective procedure must exist. Non-members of the demos do not participate. In the United States, the demos consists of all American citizens ages 18 and up.
b. A territory must be present, where decisions apply, and where the demos is resident. The United States consists of 9,160,454 km
2, plus colonies throughout the world.
c. A decision making procedure exists directly through procedures such as referendums and indirectly through legislatures. The states of the United States hold numerous referendums and the federal government has held referendums to pass the Consitution and the 26 amendments. The United States also posesses a legislature known as Congress.
d. The procedure is regarded as legitmate by the demos, implying it's outcome is accepted. Everytime the United States has held an election, the majority of the populace has considered it legitimate. Despite what you may think, the election of George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004 are considered legitmate and those that complain are mostly sore losers who refuse to move on.
e. The procedure is effective in the minimal sense that it can be used to change the government. Showcase elections, pre-arranged to re-elect the existing regime, are not democratic. The most recent proof that this ideal works in the United States was the election of Democratic majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate in Congress and the Democrats holding most of the governorships in the states due to people's discontent with the Republican Party. If this were not the case, the Republicans would still have the majorities in Congress and the governorships.
f. In the case of nation-states, the state must be soverign. No outside force can overrule the result. The United States has been in control of its government since 1776 when it declared independence, and has a soverign nation since 1783 when Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States. Most nations recognized the United States during and shortly after the American Revolution. No outside power has overruled the results of an election in the United States since independence.
2. Study the Constitution before you say that our system has failed us in electing George W. Bush, twice. It's not the popular vote that elects the President of the United States. It is the electoral vote that decides the President. The popular vote simply decides which states electoral votes will go to a particular candidate. And before you go off and say that President Bush stole the 2000 election, stop watching ****ing Farenheit 9/11. Here's some reading for you regarding the results of the 2000 election:
http://www.davekopel.com/Terror/Fiftysix-Deceits-in-Fahrenheit-911.htm
In 2004, George W. Bush won the election by both popular and electoral vote.
Stop being a little sore loser, move on and accept the fact that he won and look foward to January 20, 2009 when his successor takes over and rejoice in the fact that he cannot run again.
