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2011-05-01 Home Front: Politix

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Posted by Bobby 2011-05-01 13:59|| || Front Page|| [11127 views ] Top

#1 Seems some of here figured that out already.

AuH2O knew it was a ponzi scheme. And we're coming up on the 50th anniversary of one of the biggest mistakes in American history.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2011-05-01 16:15|| 2011-05-01 16:15|| Front Page Top

#2 We went off the gold standard in 1971, 40 years ago. What other biggest mistake do you mean?

Posted by RandomJD 2011-05-01 16:31|| 2011-05-01 16:31|| Front Page Top

#3 I wonder if he is referring to "The Great Society*"?

That's what I'd call it - greatest mistake of ... quite a while.

*The Great Society was a set of domestic programs enacted in the United States on the initiative of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. New major spending programs that addressed education, medical care, urban problems, and transportation were launched during this period. The Great Society in scope and sweep resembled the New Deal domestic agenda of Franklin D. Roosevelt, but differed sharply in types of programs enacted.

Some Great Society proposals were stalled initiatives from John F. Kennedy's New Frontier. Johnson's success depended on his skills of persuasion, coupled with the Democratic landslide in the 1964 election that brought in many new liberals to Congress.

Posted by Bobby 2011-05-01 16:54|| 2011-05-01 16:54|| Front Page Top

#4 The inauguration of JFK I think.

Posted by Aussie Mike 2011-05-01 17:24|| 2011-05-01 17:24|| Front Page Top

#5 Oh sure, the Great Society programs of the 1960s were a huge mistake. But FDR's New Deal in the 1930s laid the foundations for that. And those were made possible by, among other things, the 16th and 17th amendments (income tax and direct election of senators) in 1913, and 20th century progressivism in general. And so on, all the way back to 1803 (Marbury v. Madison), or even 1789, when the Articles of Confederation were replaced by the Constitution, arguably the grand-daddy of all subsequent big mistakes.

Just want to establish how big we're talking when we refer to "biggest mistakes in American history"!

Posted by RandomJD 2011-05-01 17:49|| 2011-05-01 17:49|| Front Page Top

#6 The seminal great mistake was perhaps letting tricksy, bottom feeding lawyers be elected to public office.

Posted by NoMoreBS 2011-05-01 18:41|| 2011-05-01 18:41|| Front Page Top

#7 ...direct election of senators

Yep, that pesky amendment. Had that been in place both Senators from MA would be 'D'. Look at the quality replacement for the One out of IL which was an appointment [not to mention the Roman circus of soliciting bids for the job]. And the recent one in Alaska wouldn't have had to bother to find a judge to reinterpret the law to maintain her reign. Terrible that the people should ever be trusted with a choice. /sarc off

Go back and read why that was put in place and discover the corrupt practices that gave birth to it.

Posted by Procopius2k 2011-05-01 19:11|| 2011-05-01 19:11|| Front Page Top

#8 The Constitution originally provided for Senators to be appointed by state legislatures, to represent states' interests at the national level. The concern was protecting states' rights form federal encroachment.

This was the New Jersey plan, proposed in opposition to the Virginia plan, which sought direct election of both Senators and Representatives because this would favor more populous states, giving them disproportionately more power at the national level.

The 17th amendment repealed the New Jersey plan and adopted the Virginia plan, after the big-state vs. small-state issue had already been settled over a century earlier, and is just as relevant today.

Currently, 26 state legislatures are controlled by Republicans; 16 by Dems; and 8 are split. Hence, absent the 17th amendment, Republicans would now control the Senate too, and states' interests would be more accurately represented.

Posted by RandomJD 2011-05-01 20:38|| 2011-05-01 20:38|| Front Page Top

#9 No matter how rich you are, it is still possible to spend it all.

Posted by Iblis 2011-05-01 21:39|| 2011-05-01 21:39|| Front Page Top

#10 Hence, absent the 17th amendment, Republicans would now control the Senate too, and states' interests would be more accurately represented.

That's the Donk line of thinking. The assumption that 'We' will always be in power. What happens when it isn't so? That the problem. The object is never create a situation where someone you prefer not to have such power can get it even if it means you don't get it either.

Posted by Procopius2k 2011-05-01 22:19|| 2011-05-01 22:19|| Front Page Top

#11 P2k, of course it wouldn't always work out in favor of the party one prefers. But an appointed Senate would more reliably reflect the national mood, including rural and remote areas; a directly elected one has a built-in slant toward states with large urban concentrations (as well as dead and undocumented voters). Corruption may be a risk with the first, but fraud is a risk with the second. Take your pick.

The Framers accepted that the human condition is flawed, so the goal was just to limit the damage. They also sought to create a republic, not a democracy. The New Jersey-Virginia debate is covered in the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers, which sounds boring until you realize the Framers debated exactly this point just as furiously, and much more eloquently.

Posted by RandomJD 2011-05-01 22:53|| 2011-05-01 22:53|| Front Page Top

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