this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2023
744 points (98.4% liked)

politics

19148 readers
1856 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Sen. John Fetterman said Wednesday that America “is not sending their best and brightest” to represent them in Congress. “Sometimes you literally just can’t believe like, these people are mak…

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 157 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

  • Plato

I guess things haven't changed that much.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

Tbh, I've thought about it, who hasn't. But don't think I have the money to run a campaign. It should be illegal to use your own funds to campaign, let people just use an amount of public funds for the purpose and that's it, we all get the same "free speech" instead of some having more "free speech" than others depending on their wallet size. (Fuck Citizens United)

[–] [email protected] 104 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Fetterman is the Betterman.

[–] [email protected] 87 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not even sending the averages or the good enoughs.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

Just the most racist and homophobic. We are REALLY good at sending them to Congress.

[–] [email protected] 72 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck.

Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens.

This is the best we can do, folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders.

Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe... it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here... like... the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: 'The Public Sucks. Fuck Hope.'

-George Carlin

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He missed a nuance. A certain type of person wants power, is successful at getting it, and good at keeping it. It's the worst of the worst.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is the logic of plunder. Our businesses breed such individuals.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 55 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The Tea Party movement really started this. It was like uneducated voters got together and went "Here's a candy-date that doesn't know nothing! They're just like me! VOTED!"

[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 year ago

They didn't start it at all, they just modernized it. Reagan was clearly not bright and yet kept getting higher and higher into office.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I really hate to break it. But people have been fucking dumb in governments since before Chieftains were the common official. Source: four good roman emperors.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You mean Brett Kavanaugh isn’t one of our brightest legal minds! Say it aint so!

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Not saying you're wrong, but...Brett's not in Congress...

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

He was confirmed by the upper house of Congress though, in spite of the numerous credible allegations and the fact that he showed without a shadow of a doubt that he didn't have the calm and even-tempered psychology a fair judge is supposed to have.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I know, he’s just a great example.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago

No shit. Political success does not required being the best and brightest. It requires being the loudest with the deepest pockets

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago

Smart people don’t make good puppets for corporations and foreign governments.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago

They don’t want the best and brightest

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago

They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (3 children)

What a world we might live in if all the politicians even understood electricity and the electron.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What do you mean? It's a series of tubes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Please, no flash photography. You’ll harm the internet. https://youtu.be/Vywf48Dhyns?si=n9FQZnkw2Pr8XAyQ

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

fyi, the ?si= part of that link is a tracker. Google will know who you referred to that video

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

But instead we live in a world where the politicians know what plants crave.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Merkel was a scientist and it showed

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Well, he is not wrong. They send politicians there instead of people who actually had a job, who had to work for a living, who actually have experience of being a normal citizen.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I for one don't think there is a single thing wrong with the idea of a professional politician. The problem is the legalized bribery that comes in the form of campaign donations.

[–] leviathan3k 6 points 1 year ago

Agreed. If you have extremely inexperienced politicians, your end result is that they are easily manipulated by whatever or whoever gets to whisper in their ear, like said lobbyists.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago

Nothing will ever get done in this political climate.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you like stupid people in high places you’ll love the government

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

I would much prefer them to be high in stupid places. Seems much less harmful

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.

To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.

To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

That's the crux of the matter. If you want the job, you shouldn't be allowed to have it. It would be better to make qualified people be forced to do it on a frequently rotating basis. Kinda like a draft for educated, moral citizens.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago

I love this guy.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The scary thing is, they just might be.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (3 children)

As an american, I can confirm these are not our best and brightest. The best and brightest have either started leaving or they are seduced by big business and paid absurd (for working class) salaries to ignore the problems of the country.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago

Our political system is excellent in weeding out almost anyone who genuinely wants to make a difference and leaving you with the people who are simply the most personally ambitious.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Fetterman is right to think so.

load more comments
view more: next ›