Do Voters Share the Blame for Trump?

[Cooky]

Bribing voters is against the law, and a president can't just give mass people 500 bucks. Congress controls the budget, not the President. Furthermore the Electoral College gives no such deterrent, and if anything it makes manipulating voters easier, as you only have to focus on key locations.

Well president Bush gave out stimulus checks in 2008. Another candidate could make campaign promises to do the same. No..?

 

[youknowme]

Sure you have... So many in fact that your thoroughly exhausted from it all.

[...] forces himself on women, rips off charity, evades taxes, betrays his country, obstructs justice, [...], etc. . . and God knows what else. [...]

 

[Cooky]

Thank you @youknowme.

 

[youknowme]

Well president Bush gave out stimulus checks. Another candidate could make campaign promises to do the same. No..?

Congress approved stimulus checks. No wonder you support Trump, you don't even know how your own government works.

 

[Revoltingest]

Bribing voters is against the law, and a president can't just give mass people 500 bucks. Congress controls the budget, not the President. Furthermore the Electoral College gives no such deterrent, and if anything it makes manipulating voters easier, as you only have to focus on key locations.

When offered publicly to enuf people, such inducements
lose the legal distinction of being a bribe.

 

[Cooky]

Congress approved stimulus checks. No wonder you support Trump, you don't even know how your own government works.

It's not impossible that it could happen, regardless if it's Congress who signs off on it or not. The campaign promises attract voters. That's why electoral colleges exist.

 

[Revoltingest]

Well president Bush gave out stimulus checks in 2008. Another candidate could make campaign promises to do the same. No..?

He gave them out to some people.
But I earned too much to qualify.

 

[youknowme]

It's not impossible that it could happen, regardless if it's Congress who signs off on it or not. The campaign promises attract voters. That's why electoral colleges exist.

That is not why it exist.

It was a compromise between election by vote in Congress or election by popular vote. The fact is some of the Founding Fathers were still a bit scared of the new democracy, some wanted Congress to select a president, while others wanted the people to do it and the Electoral College was their middle ground. However, we have a bit more information about how things turned out then they did. Furthermore it clearly does not do anything to mitigate such influences, instead it seems to inflame them.

Why is that Americans know so little about their own history?

 

[tytlyf]

No, Republicans don't want to make unions illegal. They don't want to ban all regulations or end worker rights.

Sure they do, they despise unions because of corporate policy.

The raising of the minimum wage..? That's just automatic inflation across the board and the left is also against lowering taxes for the middle class.

Nope. Raising the minimum wage is a middle class policy, something the republican party despises.
Raising the minimum wage has the following benefits.

-Lower crime
-Lower poverty
-Economic boost
-Happier communities
-Lower drug use

Democrats are not against lowering taxes for the middle class, the democratic platform is all about the middle and lower classes. Think of democrats as the party of jesus.
Republicans are for lowering taxes on the very wealthy and free handouts for corrupt corporations. If you're not wealthy, you have no business voting republican.
There is zero benefit, just look at the economic policies of red states and blue states. Clearly blue states have better economic policies.

 

[Cooky]

That is not why it exist.

It was a compromise between election by vote in Congress or election by popular vote. The fact is some of the Founding Fathers were still a bit scared of the new democracy, some wanted Congress to select a president, while others wanted the people to do it and the Electoral College was their middle ground. However, we have a bit more information about how things turned out then they did. Furthermore it clearly does not do anything to mitigate such influences, instead it seems to inflame them.

Why is that Americans know so little about their own history?

You should learn what Alexander Hamilton had to say about it before patting yourself on the back.

Hamilton ~ "the Constitution is designed to ensure “that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” The point of the Electoral College is to preserve “the sense of the people,” while at the same time ensuring that a president is chosen “by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.”

Federalist #68
The Federalist Papers - Congress.gov Resources - Congress.gov Resources

...Seems like Hamilton was smart to understand that many within the population lack the ability to comprehend what is beneficial for the country. Which is TOP priority... Doesn't seem like he was "scared" of democracy.

 

[Sunstone]

Trump is clearly way below par for what we should want out of a US President. Someone like him should never be put into the office of the President, but yet it happened. So did the system fail us? Did the voters fail? What do you think and why? And how do we prevent something like this from happening again?

One solution would be a Constitutional Amendment abolishing the electoral college and replacing it with direct elections.

Failing that, I think states should pass laws apportioning the electors according to the popular vote, rather than winner takes all -- as is the current system in most states.

 

[tytlyf]

...Seems like Hamilton was smart to understand that many within the population lack the ability to comprehend what is beneficial for the country. Which is TOP priority... Doesn't seem like he was "scared" of democracy.

He's not referring to voters, he's referring to the electoral college of delegates. Such a system can easily become corrupt. I prefer 1 vote = 1 vote.
The founding fathers were secularists and crafted a secular constitution. I'd like to see these TOP Electors, there aren't any requirements to become an Elector as set forth in the constitution.

The U.S. Constitution contains very few provisions relating to the qualifications of Electors
U. S. Electoral College: Who Are the Electors? How Do They Vote?

I'm not interested in having TOP 'advisors' decide the fate of the country.

 

[youknowme]

You should learn what Alexander Hamilton had to say about it before patting yourself on the back.

Hamilton ~ "the Constitution is designed to ensure “that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” The point of the Electoral College is to preserve “the sense of the people,” while at the same time ensuring that a president is chosen “by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.”

Federalist #68
The Federalist Papers - Congress.gov Resources - Congress.gov Resources

...Seems like Hamilton was smart to understand that many within the population lack the ability to comprehend what is beneficial for the country. Which is TOP priority... Doesn't seem like he was "scared" of democracy.

Ya, I have read that before more than once. At any rate, it certainly does not work like that, now does it? As the Electoral College just votes along with the popular vote of the state. It was a giant flop, it does not work. All it does is give some voters more voting power based on what state they live in.

 

[Nous]

The vast majority of Americans support election of the candidate who wins the national popular vote:.
Polls Show more than 70% Support for a Nationwide Vote for President

So why do you oppose democratic election?

Because bribery.

Say a rogue candidate claims to be Democrat, and offers up a campaign promise that all lower income people making less than $50,000 a year will automatically receive a $500.00 check in the mail.

...Guess whose going to win that election but not based on policy. This is how shallow some voters really are.

Obviously you don't know what bribery is. Every political candidate has campaigned on the basis of promises of greater prosperity, lower taxes, lower crime rates, no more war, etc. Such promises are not examples of quid pro quo.

Obviously you cannot identify a single advantage that has ever resulted from electing the President by the electoral system. So, again, I ask: why do you oppose electing the president by national popular vote?

 

[Cooky]

Obviously you don't know what bribery is. Every political candidate has campaigned on the basis of promises of greater prosperity, lower taxes, lower crime rates, no more war, etc. Such promises are not examples of quid pro quo.

Obviously you cannot identify a single advantage that has ever resulted from electing the President by the electoral system. So, again, I ask: why do you oppose electing the president by national popular vote?

Do you really want to know why..? Because once too many immigrants from the Southern border enter, they will gain full control of the country.

Am I a bad person for fearing this?

 

[Nous]

Do you really want to know why..? Because once too many immigrants from the Southern border enter, they will gain full control of the country.

Am I a bad person for fearing this?

If by "bad" you mean irrational, then, yes.

Why didn't you just state your irrational fears to begin with?

 

[Cooky]

If by "bad" you mean irrational, then, yes.

Why didn't you just state your irrational fears to begin with?

Because it's actually a combination of the two. You see, with popular voting, and a very large influx of Southern border immigrants, all a candidate will need to do is pander to those immigrants, and eventually, it's their country.

...But my grandparents have faught every war this country has ever faced. I feel like I have a duty to partake in the direction of it's future.

 

[Cooky]

 

[Nous]

Because it's actually a combination of the two. You see, with popular voting, and a very large influx of Southern border immigrants, all a candidate will need to do is pander to those immigrants, and eventually, it's their country.

...But my grandparents have faught every war this country has ever faced. I feel like I have a duty to partake in the direction of it's future.

No, your fear is not a combination of bad and irrational. It's just irrational. There is no rational reason to believe that electing the president by the electoral system has ever had an effect on the number of "immigrant voters".

...But my grandparents have faught every war this country has ever faced.

So all your grandparents are Native Americans who didn't migrate to North America?

 

[Cooky]

So all your grandparents are Native Americans who didn't migrate to North America?

No, my great grandfather Jaques Cortelyou arrived in New Amsterdam (now NY) in 1650. For over 350 years, my family have not been immigrants.