A new poll reveals a clear leader in the Republican presidential race: nobody.
The AP-Ipsos survey shows nearly a quarter of Republicans are unwilling to back any of the top candidates — Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain or Mitt Romney. And no one has emerged as the front-runner among evangelicals.
On the other hand, the Democratic race remains static. Hillary Rodham Clinton still holds a sizable lead over Barack Obama, even among black and Hispanic voters.
If only “None of the Above” was allowed in federal elections?
What #32 said!!!
More loonbats, Full Constitutional Protection for Some, but No Privacy for the Poor. 4th Amendment down the tubes. This is what accepting government assistance does for “citizens”.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071607I.shtml
#22 – iGlobalWarmer –
You are an excellent example of the whole problem. Since you have not read the book by Obama, you can not form your own opinion on what it says, instead relying on third party reviews to tell you what to think. It’s even worse when you rely on a website that is clearly biased in order to base your perspective.
You are told what to think and you think that way… so much for being an independent thinking libertarian.
#36 Awake
They’re officially known as Gorebots.
A lot of people confuse “equal rights” / “equal opportunity” with “equal outcome”.
(OFTLO I ‘m sure is smarter than that but many aren’t).
#31 – Those of us who work for a living don’t see much to be excited about in the Democratic herd – and do see much to fear.
And please don’t confuse me with the straw man Evil Billionaire. I am not wealthy, but I worked hard for what little I do have and want to keep it.
http://tinyurl.com/23yrpx
#37 – Every site is biased one way or a another. Why do you assume I based my perspective on that site or review? In fact I never saw either until just before I posted the link after reading the review.
As I stated, I thought it was a well reasoned, non-emotional review of Obama’s own written word.
Until this country is willing to Count ALL votes on a ballot, Including the BLANK ones as “NONE OF THE ABOVE”, there really isnt a choice.
#39 – A lot of people confuse “equal rights” / “equal opportunity” with “equal outcome”.
(OFTLO I ‘m sure is smarter than that but many aren’t).
Right you are, iGlobe… If I might go way off topic… What I believe we must leverage our government for is not a state of uniform equality across the board.
I do not even think we should have a level playing field, only because the pragmatist in me says that it is unreasonable to assume we could succeed in so lofty and noble a goal.
I think we should leverage the power of our government to STRIVE for a country with an equal starting line for all… We can’t reasonable create such a line, make it perfect, and maintain it… but we can target it as a goal and create a permanent revolution dedicated to achieving it.
The United States today is, in some ways, a caste system that pretends to be a free society.
#34 – Wow… Did you totally miss the point of that clip, or what?
#17: “The US is not a democracy – it’s a federal republic just like Germany.”
I love how people so readily flaunt their lack of knowledge 😀
For your education, I give you the OED definition of a republic:
“A state in which the supreme power rests in the people and their elected representatives or officers, as opposed to one governed by a king or similar ruler; a commonwealth. Now also applied loosely to any state which claims this designation.”
…now let’s compare this to the definition of a democracy:
“Government by the people; that form of government in which the sovereign power resides in the people as a whole, and is exercised either directly by them (as in the small republics of antiquity) or by officers elected by them. In mod. use often more vaguely denoting a social state in which all have equal rights, without hereditary or arbitrary differences of rank or privilege.”
Oops… sounds very much the same, doesn’t it? It should come as no surprise that it does since the two terms are in no way in opposition to each other. “Republic” simply denotes how the state is represented (by an elected leader) — it’s opposite is a monarchy. “Democracy,” otoh, sits on a completely different axis and describes how the leaders are selected (by popular vote) — it’s opposite is a dictatorship.
So no, you’re quite wrong: the US is a republic and a democracy (although some would argue both points these days).
Down with the UN, down with the WTO! Ron Paul is our man! The US should further focus on itself and ignore the rest of the world! I am sure Ron Paul’s strategies would really help bring more peace and stability in the world.
We should ditch the representative government and enact a strict democracy. Technology should be sufficient to enable this.
#48, Thomas,
The US is republic not a democracy! You are using the layman’s meaning of democracy …
Hey, works for us normal people. It’s only the radical Libertarians that have a hard time with this.
A Democracy is when the citizens of a country choose their representatives and the government is responsible to its citizens. Often called “Representational Democracy”, colloquially this is known as “Democracy”.
A Republic is a form of government, the same as parliamentary, monarchy, or dictatorship. A Republic may have varying degrees of democratic participation or even none at all. Iraq under Saddam Hussain is one example.
When the government loses its responsibility to its citizens then it becomes less of a Democracy. Something akin to what President Cheney and the White House is doing now with his idea that the law doesn’t apply to him.
There has never been anything like a “true democracy” that has had more than a few people nor has such a thing existed for more then a short time. They always fall apart because of a lack of leadership and stability. Greek “democracies” were exclusive to the rich and privileged, not the ordinary people. The same with Roman and Icelandic “democracies”. Children and slaves have never been allowed to participate. Nor were women until recently.
#49 – Naw, we should just put me in charge of everything. 🙂
#50
>> The US is republic not a democracy! You are using the
>> layman’s meaning of democracy …
>
> Hey, works for us normal people. It’s only the radical
> Libertarians that have a hard time with this.
No, it is a sign of ignorance and laziness. Just because some people are unable to understand the difference between a democracy and a republic does not mean we should use the terms interchangably.
> A Democracy is when the citizens of a country choose their
> representatives and the government is responsible to its
> citizens.
You still don’t get it. In a democracy, the constitents vote for laws and policy directly. In a republic, the representatives vote for laws. That is the fundamental difference.
There have been MANY democracies of varying forms throughout history. California’s referendum is a modern example even though California is mostly a republic in other aspects. In other words, their government is a combination of forms. It does not have to be all or nothing.
In the US at the Federal level, individuals are in no way able to affect policy unless they are elected. That makes it a republic NOT a democracy.
> Often called “Representational Democracy”,
> colloquially this is known as “Democracy”.
Colloquially, they are still not the same form of government as a republic. The US uses representational democracy as a mechanism but the form of government is still a republic.