How Can Americans take back their democracy?

If at all.

It is clear that American democracy is a fiction.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/25

Few here actually seem to believe that America is in the hands of its people. Most know they are merely pawns in corporate games.

Does it matter? To Americans? To the rest of the world?

If it matters to Americans what, if anything, can they do about it? They have a political landscape dominated by a system that disenfranchises voters and a political culture that works, often corruptly, to ensure Americans remain disenfranchised.

A solution is not hard to find. But, practically, it is almost impossible to apply.

Is there a tipping point when voters say "Enough!".

 

Last time I checked corporations aren't allowed to vote. The owners of corporations can use their resources to convince voters that a certain proposal is in the voters best interest but at the end of the day if the voters don't agree then the corporation has no way to legally do anything. Now of course you could be refering to bribes but those are illegal and that is purely an issue of enforcing the law.

The problem you have with addressing the influance of corporations is establishing a difference between citizens who have a right to use their resources and talents to influance the political process from citizens who have a right to use their resources and talents to influance the political process and happen to own or have controlling interest in a corporation. In the eyes of the people both of those individuals are simply citizens.

 

I see you believe that your politicians are not in the pockets of your corporates and do not subvert the will of the electorate.

I prescribe a reality check.

 

"How Can Americans take back their democracy?"

By endlessly citing their constitution (and its various amendments), and wielding a gun?

You know, the way they do everything else.

 

no, you can never have "enough" handouts and easy fixes.

 

what do you believe of yours ?

 

We have a political system designed to reflect the opinion and, not infrequently, the will of our people.

Corporates (and other vested interests - eg loony religious sects bent on .. yup .. making money) of course have some influence in policy setting. But it is severely constrained. If that influence tries to become over-weening we just change the government. Simple really.

 

This bit I found interesting. Liberals bleat endlessly about the system but do nothing about it.

There is, for example, no liberal Tea Party. It appears that American liberals are content to be effete and ineffectual.

 

I simply don't see how a corporation is any different than any other special interest group like unions, NRA, or the NAACP. Now do I think that there are politicans on the take, absolutely and they and those paying them need to be behind bars. With that said, being on the take is not the same thing as recieving public financing because the individuals whom are represented by the organization in question, be it unions, NRA, or corporations feel that politican's priorities are what is best for the organization. At the end of the day, it is still an individual voter going into a booth and making a choice.

 

You realize we are a Republic right?

 

Half your luck!

 

It is not just about being "on the take" - though your system is riddled with that. It is about corporates (and, yes, unions though in much less degree) buying access to policy initiatives that serve them against the interests of the "individual voter".

Voting is just a procedural exercise that has to happen by law every so often. It means almost nothing.

 

It is up to the voters to approve or disapprove that practice. In so far as these things happen behind closed doors then that is a problem. But votes are a matter of public record. The problem here from your perspective isn't that the corporation is doing it, the problem is that the voters don't mind. To address that issue you have to ask the question why don't the voters mind. The end result is that often the voters agree with whatever special interest group had the ear of the politican, and that is the voter's right to do so.

Do what?

 

Sure. How do the voters "approve or disapprove" of this?

 

Yep. Run by corporates.

No-one is pretending you are a democracy.

 

the best way would be to keep voting the bums out of office regardless of which party they belong to. If you keep getting new blood at least there is a chance of getting things done!

 

That's your problem. It doesn't matter which party is in power. Big Money infests both of them.

 

Why is it only corporations catching hell? Why are the corporations evil but the unions are great and holy and good and should be allowed to spend as much as they want, but the bosses whos interests are directly effected by this exercise of free speech by the workers have no voice to counter the outrageous demands of the spoiled American worker?

The only logical conclusion I can come up with is that society is coming around to this general opinion that work is for losers and if you decide to drop out of the rat race of life and not work.. you should be able to live as decent and whole a life as someone who does work. That somehow your value to society isn't measured by your productivity but just for the fact that you are a member of society period.

This thinking is so wrong I don't even know where to begin, but I was told that a persons duty is to be a PRODUCTIVE member of society.. not just a member of society.. Without some kind of production, a working age human being is worthless IMO.

 

As any fool knows, unions are simply a counter-balance to corporations.

Since the political process is governed largely by rapacious corporates, it creates the need for unions to preserve some semblance of order and balance.

But neither corporates or unions should subvert the democratic process.

In the US, they no longer need to. There is no democratic process.

 

I don't feel sorry for Americans. Well, maybe a bit.

They bring their misfortunes on themselves. And they seem to have no idea how to correct them.

They just muddle along hoping for a new innovation that will deliver them more prosperity and added amnesia.

 

I thought this was extremely funny:

Another right-wing lobby group that pretended (using the 1st Amendment successfuly in a conservative Supreme Court) that Americans "participate in the political process". Using guns of course.

Does no American realise how ridiculous their political system is?

 

Wow. Have you even once traveled here? You have a lot of false ideas about even the most fundamental aspects of American culture, economy, outlook on life etc..

6 months of living here and you'd never want to go back to your socialist (*)(*)(*)(*) hole I guarantee it.

 

How would experiencing your idiocy firsthand help me to recognise it was not idiocy?

 

The USA is a great example of an old, cliched, saying: "Great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."

Yep, I've been there a few times: loved it!
Certainly wouldn't want to live there though.

Maybe the opposite could be said about Australia: it's a great place to live, but really hasn't got all that much for tourists (well, not as much as the US anyway).

 

The first problem is your assumption that America is a "democracy".

We aren't now, nor were we ever a "democracy", we are a Constitutional representative Republic, and in fact all of the FF's recognized the fact that "democracy" is the worst possible form of government for any but the smallest society.