Letter to the Editor / WHY DOESN’T THE MAJORITY RULE ? / Roger C. Kostmayer
Since President Lincoln, the first Republican president, one definition of American democracy is – government of, by and for the people. This implies that, in most cases, the greater number should have a greater say, and elected politicians should respect the will of the people.
Unfortunately, neither our political system nor our public servants have honored this principle in recent years. Two of our last three Presidents failed to win the popular vote and, according to polls and anecdotal evidence, many of the policies and legislative solutions preferred by a clear majority of citizens are blocked by the party in control of Congress.
Following, in no particular order, are a few mostly non-partisan and generally moderate solutions favored by a majority of Americans, yet are being deliberately ignored:
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Desperately needed, and economically beneficial, infrastructure throughout the US.
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Universal and affordable health care insurance, preferably single payer/ Medicare that includes coverage for preexisting conditions.
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Quality higher education opportunities for all – free or affordable. In the 21st century, public education shouldn’t stop at High School.
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A universal service commitment that includes military service and other service options.
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A livable wage – probably $15 an hour minimum, indexed for inflation.
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Cease “zero tolerance immigration policies that separate young children from their families and criminalize families legally seeking asylum from horrific dangers.
If national politicians, or a political party, committed to fighting for and implementing solutions desired by a majority of American voters, don’t you think they’d do well at the polls ?
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“and, according to polls and anecdotal evidence, many of the policies and legislative solutions preferred by a clear majority of citizens are blocked by the party in control of Congress.”
A lot of deep thought and contemplative time must have gone into the writing of this brilliant tome. As I am not the expert like you in these matters, I am a bit confused over several points. So I had to do some research. I wonder if you can clarify my confusion?
• I could not find a national Presidential poll that Trump will be President in 2016! If you know of one, I recommend that one should be used to show the preference of the majority. This is an example of 2016 Election Day polling:
NY Times “Today, it’s Election Day, what we’ve all been waiting for, and there will be no more updates.
Hillary Clinton has an 85% chance to win.
The Democrats have a 52% chance of winning the Senate.”
• Had to check on the definition of anecdotal:
“Anecdotal… (of an account) not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts or research. “while there was much anecdotal evidence there was little hard fact””
• Even after all the civics lessons about the form of government in the USA, the Washington Post (2015) answered my quest: ‘Is the United States of America a republic or a democracy?’
“The United States is not a direct democracy, in the sense of a country in which laws (and other government decisions) are made predominantly by majority vote. Some lawmaking is done this way, on the state and local levels, but it’s only a tiny fraction of all lawmaking. But we are a representative democracy, which is a form of democracy.”
Given the time and effort you put into this, can you direct me to some sources so I can learn from them.
We now know that Kostmayer is not very stable and possibly a Communist! He lives in a socialist dream world of useless eaters! One sick puppy!
This is enough for Charles Krauthammer to roll in his grave.
“This is enough for Charles Krauthammer to roll in his grave.”
I beg to differ as Krauthammer was an intellectual lightweight compared to the author’s brilliant thoughts and well thought out ideas.
The author’s scholarly thesis puts him a level above all others:
• His scope and breath of our domestic processes, specifically the US form of government and political system (USA is “a government of, by and for the people”), is mind blowing.
• His observation about the Electoral College method to select a President (“Two of our last three Presidents failed to win the popular vote “) is so over the top.
• His insight into the pulse of the people’s wants and needs (“according to polls and anecdotal evidence”) is so convincing.
The author is the epitome of the state of the education system in the USA. Who are we, the intellectually challenged, to argue with his conclusions and insights.
I look forward to the author’s pearls of wisdom in his next dissertation as his scholarly words and deep thoughts are often published. So much is derived from his wisdom. So much to ponder.
Thank you John Boggs for your open-mindedness and your search for information and facts. The most important element in any democracy is a well informed citizenry – and you are a good example for all of us.
I\’m not sure which were questions and which were opinions, but my reference to \”polls\” and \”anecdotal\” evidence was an attempt to explain what determined a majority opinion in our society. As you point out, polls are imperfect, but helpful in many cases. \”Anecdotal\” was my attempt to warn you that, though there was other supporting evidence of a majority, it was not scientific or provably accurate, like opinions of experts and conversations with ordinary folks.
I hope you and I can agree on some generally accepted facts:
1. Donald J. Trump is the POTUS
2. He won the electoral college vote (look up the E.C. sometime)
3. Mr. Trump\’s opponent won a majority of the popular vote, by roughly 3 million votes nationally
4. All 17 US intelligence agencies, and the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirm that Russia and Putin cyber attacked the US (and other countries), and employed propaganda and possible collusion during the 2016 Presidential campaign in an attempt to create chaos and help elect Trump. And, they are still attacking us today by targeting the 2018 campaign.
5. This serious national security matter is being investigated by a Republican Special Prosecutor (Robt. Mueller III ) appointed by a Republican Deputy US Attorney General. During his first year or so Mueller and his team of investigators and a grand jury have indicted a number of people (my recollection is about 20), US and Russian, and a number of these have pleaded guilty (4 or 5 as I recall), and Mueller hasn\’t finished yet. His investigation and final report haven\’t concluded nor have the results to date been submitted to the American people.
I hope this has been responsive, John, and that you and your family have a happy Independence Day, the 242nd.
Roger
Thank you for opening my eyes…”Putin cyber attacked the US (and other countries), and employed propaganda and possible collusion during the 2016 Presidential campaign in an attempt to create chaos and help elect Trump.”
Don’t the Russians prefer using the term “propaganda” while we in the enlightened US prefer the word “advertising”. Propaganda sounds so barbaric while advertising sounds so refined. Didn’t the Clinton campaign (and all others) “employed propaganda” aka media advertisements, print media and TV during the primaries and the election? I am so cofused about the purpose of advertising and her I thought it was meant to influence people to purchase an item or an idea…so confusing.
As you say given the Russians were so successful at influencing people, who were those Russians? How much did the Russians spend on the propaganda campaign? Maybe Ms. Clinton (and the other campaigns) ought to hire the Russians if they spent less than we did given their success. All that money wasted as Clinton spent a billion and Trump about 400 million (forgetting all the money spent during both primaries).
Thankfully the Russians overlooked our media. They couldn’t influence the Main Stream Media (MSM) as they seemed to favor Clinton, definitely not Trump, in the election.
Gratefully, the Russians didn’t influence the pollsters as the major polls indicated a sure Clinton win. Even on Election Day!
About cyber attacks, are you saying the Russians were able to change electronic votes in out voting machines? Further are you saying the Russians got into the US Postal Service and intercepted votes too? Imagine, “ NY Times Since 2000, Oregon has sent ballots to every registered voter about two weeks before Election Day. Only one county in Washington offered in-person voting in 2010 and the entire state will be mail-only in 2012. Colorado, Arizona, California, Montana and Hawaii allow permanent mail-in voting.Oct 6, 2012”
“Mr. Trump\’s opponent won a majority of the popular vote, by roughly 3 million votes nationally”
Trying to stay current with cultural attitudes. In today’s parlance, doesn’t Ms. Clinton get a “Participation Prize” in the election whose rules are governed by the Electoral College?
Well done, Ms. Clinton!
“During his first year or so Mueller and his team of investigators and a grand jury have indicted a number of people (my recollection is about 20), US and Russian, and a number of these have pleaded guilty (4 or 5 as I recall), and Mueller hasn\’t finished yet.”
You must make additions to Mueller’s success. During the same period, you overlooked the firing or resignations of stellar, high level, fair minded USDOJ and FBI dispassionate professionals who were part or had a role in this ‘matter’ (as investigation has negative connotations):
USDOJ Mr. Ohr was demoted,
FBI McCabe (#2) was fired,
Baker (Legal Counsel) resigned,
Page (Special Counsel to FBI Deputy Andrew McCabe) resigned,
Strzok (Chief of the Counterespionage Section) is on Admin Leave.
Ah, add Comey (#1) fired previously but had a role in the ‘matter’.
Roger, I hope you’re well and doing fine. . . Back around 1776 the Founding Fathers agreed that neither Congress or the vote of legal voters should decide who would be President. . . They also decided every State would have Two Senators and at least one Representative. . . and that’s the basis of how many electors exist to select a President. . . With a clear number of hiccups now and then this greatest country on earth has selected it’s Presidents. . . If the system isn’t broke let’s not fix it. . .