Mother Coke and Father Pepsi
It looks like someone at the LA Weekly has been reading Russel’s Mother Coke and Father Pepsi speech about the National and Labour Parties.
So here’s a discussion point the cartoon raises: which set has more in common - the Labour and National parties, or Barack Obama and John McCain? I reckon MMP has an influence allowing the centre parties to gravitate closer together without facing such strong pressures from external parties that would otherwise be internal factions. (Although it seems clear that National and especially Labour politicians are uncomfortable with many of the centrist positions they end up taking for expediency reasons.) However, the US does appear from the outside to have a very redoubtable and inflexible political landscape at the federal level.
Hat tip: Kakariki
July 8th, 2008 at 8:54 am
The democratic party taxes us here in the states and gives the money to defense contractors. The republican party taxes us and gives the money to defense contractors.
Sounds like the same policy from both parties. The only difference between the 2 is that they differ on silly social policy like abortion etc.
These issues like abortion cloud every election while the fact both parties are shafting the average americans by wasting their tax dollars. If you buy into Obama or McCain then you are retarded. I did take some hope from Ron Paul who actually spoke some sense however he was laughed away. I suppose people will be telling me how great Clinton was as a president.
The smartest thing a US citizen can do on election day is go to the poll and write mickey mouse on the ballot. To all the rest of the world looking at the american people going why don’t you do something i’d love for you to tell us here in the states about how we can do something. I will admit Ron Paul has stirred a bit of good old founding father idealism amoung the youth so who knows.
I just wish i could meet Americans here who have read the constitution and understand it. The problem with the states is Burr should of shot Hamilton a lot sooner before he created his vision of the american empire.
The only good thing about this is that if you attach a turbine to all the founding fathers turning in their graves we could probably have a great source of renewable energy.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
yeah you guys need electoral reform. badly.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
vote national, because labour are authoritarian and national are…
E) not labour,
B) vague on policy,
C) rich
D) supportive of the war in iraq
E) they support equality (they have blond woman and a fat man in their candidates and John Key visited South Auckland (he is from a state home dont you know)
F) Crosby Textor are on to something (how to manipulate voters and win elections, and get paid well for it..?)
July 8th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
“supportive of the war in iraq”
Which party sent Army Engineers to Iraq? I seem to recall that it was the Labour Party - forgot that, didn’t you?
July 8th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Understanding how FPP as practiced in the US elections facilitates what is essentially the leasing of politicians by big business, is one of the clearer reasons I am here instead of still being there. The USA will not get election reform before it gets revolutionary reform and it will not get that until the average person gets hammered hard enough to relinquish his glass teat (per Harlan Ellison) and start thinking hard about just why he/she is in the mess that will be covering everyone.
At that point either a revolutionary will be elected or a revolution will happen.
I don’t see it happening all THAT soon… people are still immune to reason for the most part, but the trends are unmistakable and eventually it will get bad enough for them to get up off the La-Z-boy. My guess is it will be another 25-35 years. China will be running a lot more of the world by then anyhow. Suggesting that we all should learn Mandarin in addition to Maori.
respectfully
BJ
[duck and cover!]