Thread: UK out of EU

Originally Posted by BobH

I think I would rather shoot myself than listen to non stop political campaigning between elections. Drop the writ for an election, campaign for 30 days, vote and then just get on with the grunt with what you have.

Bob

It's because the US has SO many elected officials. Every 4 years there's the Presidential elections. There are 100 seats on the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives, every few years a handful of each house of Congress need elections. Each state has a governor - think miniature President, and it's own form of mini-congress these positions are also up for grabs every few years. So at any given time there's an important seat somewhere needs an elected official, thus what seems to be round the clock campaigning.

The problem is that the underlying problems are too complex to be understood by someone only casually interested in politics.

The US are a slightly more interesting example for this than the UK in my opinion.

Democrats have thoroughly analysed, and assessed, the situation, then made detailed policy proposals.

Republicans? I fail to see anything even remotely resembling a coherent policy proposal. The wall, the Muslim ban, bombing the shit out of ISIL, introducing war crimes as an enhancement of the so called war against terrorism, rabid anti-Semitism and racism... Those are highly emotive topics that will appeal to the base instincts of a small, tightly packed group of people who have become losers in globalisation.

So you have facts on the one hand, and appeals to primitive emotions on the other. You can argue facts, but you cannot argue emotions. Which has made both the Leave.EU campaign, and the Republican platform, hard and disgusting to fight. I expect this to get dirtier, and more divisive, once voters realise they have been taken for a ride. Watch the current events in the UK, and I hope voters in the US will learn from this. Fast.

Originally Posted by RobinK

The problem is that the underlying problems are too complex to be understood by someone only casually interested in politics.

Most voters are only casually interested in politics and just want to be left alone and get on with their lives. They do, however, get resentful and restless when people who are elected and should understand the complex problems make a hash of solving them. After all, it is exactly these experts in complex problems who have created the situation. Nobody likes a financial advisor who looses their pension funds as an example. Most people recognize they have limitations in managing certain things and have to trust the so called experts to do the managing. Is it too much to ask that the experts/politicians get it right?

Bob