Rasmussen: One In Five Americans Still Not In On Joke
A new Rasmussen Reports poll finds that a vast majority of Americans believe the U.S. government does not "derive its just powers from the consent of the governed," as mentioned in the Declaration of Independence:
[J]ust 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 61% disagree and say the government does not have the necessary consent. Eighteen percent (18%) of voters are not sure.
However, 63% of the Political Class think the government has the consent of the governed, but only six percent (6%) of those with Mainstream views agree.
Seventy-one percent (71%) of all voters now view the federal government as a special interest group, and 70% believe that the government and big business typically work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors.
Other notable stuff: The older a respondent is, the less likely he or she is to believe the government enjoys the consent of the people. And 60 percent agree that "neither Republican political leaders nor Democratic political leaders have a good understanding of what is needed today."
If past performance is any indication of future results, this belief will not translate into a 60-percent loss of major-party office holders in the midterm elections, and about 95 percent of voters will in fact pull the handle for either the pusher robots or the shover robots. But at least people seem to be wising up a little bit.
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[J]ust 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed.
The govt doesn't need your actual consent. All they need is the knowledge that you would consent if you were as smart and moral as they are. Until they enlighten you, they have no choice but to consent for you.
+1
Those of you who have decided to take the dive into this "+1" business: Did you feel a bit nervous the first time you tried it? You knew you'd seen it popping up around these threads, but it still kinda felt like someone else's "thing." At best, you had this vague sense that it was a routine from some other board, maybe that Slashdot place or one of those Chan things. So when you took the plunge, did it feel a bit strange and scary? Were you sort of relieved when you checked back later to find that no one had questioned your usage, or even drawn attention to it? Did this relief evolve into a kind of emboldened, liberating sensation, where you now felt the need to fucking post it next to every single fucking comment you happen to agree with?
We need thumbs up and thumbs down like You Tube has. But not with the automatic hiding feature that You Tube does if a comment gets 5 thumbs down in a row, cause that's a bit too DailyKos-ish.
What's most irritating about the YouTube thing is that not only does the -6 comment get hidden, it gets deactivated -- it can no longer be thumbed down OR up. Stupid.
If you click Reply, you can see the comment. And I think you can thumb it down, right?
No, not once it has hit the -6 mark. That essentially renders the comment dead and immune to any more rating.
+1
Sorry, you missed your chance to make the joke effective by letting Tulpa swoop in and claim that adjacent reply spot.
It might not be 100% effective, but those who take the time to think it out will get a little chuckle from it. I bet you were expecting it. I would have.
Oh, absolutely. It was practically custom-made for it.
Anyway, it's Suki who appears to be truly slow on the uptake...
+100
Tom is on the same wavelength as Epi. Who should be more frightened?
Episiarch|2.21.10 @ 11:51AM|#
The next person who posts a "+anything" is going on my shit list. And by "my shit list", I mean running gags have an expiry date and +1 has reached it.
Go over to http://reason.com/blog/2010/02.....ing-war-ov
to find your verbal doppelganger
+1
Hmm, that is a bit strange, the timing. I didn't see his earlier post, promise! I guess the whole +1 thing finally reached the sort of crescendo that would prompt backlash.
And the Tom who's +1'ing above me here really is a doppelganger. Ain't me.
You're a funny guy, Tom. I like you. That's why I'm going to kill you last.
Not a doppelganger but just having more fun. ?
Epi, calm down. Tom was very sweet about the little game I played. You on the other hand,...
Just thinking the repercussions if you are living parallel lives and Epi has jumped into this time. Does that mean Tom has gone to the other dimension? Why is Epi naughty on both sides of time?
And why does Spock have a beard?
Spock is gay?
+1
Apologies, I think I started it.
No, you didn't.
+1
where you now felt the need to fucking post it next to every single fucking comment you happen to agree with?
Speaking for myself, I only fucking post it next to those fucking comments I especially fucking agree with. Well...most of the fucking time anyway.
+1
...with thumbs, or any other protuberances, set a bad example.
See your +1 and raise you +1
This.
For those who may be interested, the Declaration of Independence has been updated to reflect the new reality of a noble but failed experiment.
http://www.nostate.com/1696/a-declaration-of-separation/
For those who may be interested, the Declaration of Independence has been updated to reflect the new reality of a noble but failed experiment.
http://www.voluntaryist.com/fo.....ration.php
I always found it hilarious that declaration used the collective "we" instead of "i"
"I always found it hilarious that declaration used the collective "we" instead of "i""
Still, you have to admit it is an improvement.
Control, control
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7LcxUiBAa0
"I say your three cent titanium tax goes too far."
"And I say your three cent titanium tax doesn't go too far enough."
Nixon's back!!!!
Given, Nixon is a constant in the hearts of millions, he never truly left, did he, conomical one?
AROOOOOOOO
PUSHING WILL SAVE YOU!
The only reason I fall in the 79% who think the federal government doesn't have my consent is because they (so far) have forgotten to send me the form asking for my consent, and giving me the option to decline to pay for or participate in programs I think are overpriced, ineffective, or downright counterproductive.
I'm sure that consent form will arrive shortly, though.
Social contract, man! Where's Dan T. to explain this to you?
Wasn't MNG saying something stupid about that yesterday?
Something stupid from that one comes every day.
MNG was featured in a short story by Ray Bradbury, "Something Stupid This Way Comes"
+1
And I didn't consent to Windows popping up notification balloons commenting on the tidiness of my desktop every 5 minutes either. That doesn't mean my operating system purchase was involuntary; I was faced with choosing between three unpleasant options: Linux, OS X, or Windows, and chose the one that was relatively cheap and didn't require spending half my waking life managing packages and trying to figure out why my PDFs all print out in landscape when I select portrait.
You can turn those off, dude.
Yes, but the point is I have to do something to ameliorate the situation. Just like the American people do if they don't like the notification balloons of Congress.
Your computer is a small enough system that you can do something to improve it. The U.S. government is not.
When was the last time you tried linux? It's really not that unpleasant. You also forgot BSD, and BeOS, although nobody's used BeOS in ages.
Dude, BeOS is so the Worker's Party.
He forgot Solaris too.
Yeah, and I forgot A/UX, the Amiga OS, and OS/2 Warp.
Warp, I knew you were one of those Star Trek freaks.
In other words, the "governed" always have the option of putting together competition for the Dems and Repubs, but are too lazy and complacent to do so. That doesn't give them the right to complain that the government is operating without consent; their silence and inaction gives consent. Which is why all the proud non-voters here are just as culpable, if not more, for the actions of the government they refused to influence with their votes.
Beginning with an election to be held next Tuesday, either I, or my friend, will be assuming authority over the region in which you were born and/or live. Luckily for you, you are not completely without power in this decision: you will be allowed to vote for which of us will be exercising this authority, though the loser will retain a right to be included in the decision-making process. Because we are reasonable, we're open to letting you vote for a third (or even fourth) party, of your own choosing, who will be allowed to share in the authority we are establishing. Please be aware that failing to exercise your hereby given franchise will in no way exempt you from the absolute requirement to abide by the rules which will be set forth.
We thank you in advance for your consent in this matter, be it explicit or implied, as it helps us with our consciences, which, while being psychologically vestigial in our species, still provide us a benefit when conspicuously displayed in the public sphere.
I'm totally open to any realistic alternative you have in mind. ie, not some anarcho-capitalist fantasy about how once we remove the govt, no one will want to exert exclusive coercive control over territory anymore.
May I take that as a retraction of your assertion that I am currently being ruled by my own consent?
Pragmatically speaking: make all taxes explicitly voluntary. The legislature may find it in their best interest to present requests in the form of a clearly itemized invoice.
No other changes are required; nature will take care of the remaining problems.
The only fundamental problem with government, as currently imlemented, is that it lacks any meaningful feedback mechanism. As I attempted to demonstrate above, the vote provides no such thing; at best it produces some level of gridlock, whereby our predators fight amongst themselves for a time before they eventually agree on how best to devour the fruits of our labor.
So that is my compromise; I am willing to endure corrupt government so long as it is able to exist on its own merit.
Tulpa|2.21.10 @ 6:27PM|#
"In other words, the "governed" always have the option of putting together competition for the Dems and Repubs, but are too lazy and complacent to do so. That doesn't give them the right to complain that the government is operating without consent; their silence and inaction gives consent. Which is why all the proud non-voters here are just as culpable, if not more, for the actions of the government they refused to influence with their votes."
Nope. Why should the government take more of my attention than to tell it to go away? I do have unalienable rights.
It's not my job to run the miserable lot; it's *their* job not to pester me.
I'm supposed to be making a living and enjoying myself; "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness", you know....
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, against threats to our liberty both foreign and domestic. Sorry if that gets in the way of enjoying yourself, but that's our lot in life.
fuck, the headline made me lose the game.
And 98% of the political class agree; the civilians were not unresponsive.
+1
+2 rofl and Polanski got another director award recently.
63% of the Political Class think the government has the consent of the governed
That is utterly fucking hilarious.
uh, end itals ... end itals, fucker! end 'em!
I have invested a lot of time and spiritual energy defending The Everyman, Joe Sixpack and Josephine Averagebitch, but I'm starting to think they really are, as my mortal liberal enemies have said all along, stupid as a fucking pyramid of mice shit.
Gives a whole new meaning to "Age of Consent".
With age comes wisdom. Or in my case extreme cynicism.
You say that like the two are not identical in many cases.
Political power comes from the barrel of a gun.
True or false?
Um, ... False?
Yeah. It comes from some moistened bint lobbing scimitars around.
Not just political power, power in general. Though nunchucks are sometimes involved as well.
My two guns don't have barrels. But they can put the beat down on someone.
The only real currency is violence.
Forget the gold standard, we need a violence standard! 35 dollars per broken bone, dude.
We're going to peg the dollar at the Steven Seagal in Out for Justice level.
"Anybody know who killed Bobby Lupo?"
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi thought the people adored his enlightened rule.
[J]ust 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed.
The federal government has our consent by virtue of the fact that it still exists. Whether they "enjoy" our consent is another story. Clearly "the people" are discontented. And that's a very good thing.
Yes.
No.
"No" spelled Y-E-S?
Just one in five? I think thats a LOW number!
Jess
http://www.anonymous-tools.se.tc
The anonymity robot had to show up out of envy of the pusher robots and the shover robots.
That's so funny it made me laugh out loud! I mean wow, right? LOL!
The announcement of new steps to prevent home foreclosures was aimed especially at Nevada, which has ranked first in foreclosures for 37 consecutive months. Although the administration has already put forward programs to reduce monthly mortgage payments, officials acknowledged that more relief is needed.
Under the new policy, $1.5 billion that had been reserved for the bank bailout will be rerouted to five states that have seen housing prices drop more than 20% since 2006: Nevada, California, Michigan, Florida and Arizona.
The money will go toward homeowners who have lost their jobs, owe more than their houses are worth or cannot afford to make monthly payments
L A Times
Will they just drop the money from helicopters?
Propping up inflated home markets with borrowed money is one of the limited powers granted the government in the Constitution, no?
By now you should know the true magnificent power of Article I, Section 8, Clause 3.
Only when the market happens to be in the state of a Senate Majority Leader up for reelection this year.
STEVE SMITH NOT ENJOY CONSENT OF GOVERNED. MAKES RAPE DIFFICULT.
Get back to me when the robots promise to learn to water ski.
Ha ha, James Baker was just on CNN today (Fareed Zakaria's show) talking about the amazing power of the 'consent of the governed'. Something about body bags coming back to home districts.
I'd say that when you voted for the lip-moving asshat promising you free ponies that he/she/it got your consent to basically do whatever the fuck they want to do. Congessvermin may be corrupt and without any redeeming qualities whatsoever, but they aren't THAT stupid.
They know a blank check when they see it.
Which is why I don't vote.
Not voting is the ULTIMATE blank check.
O Rly? There's a lot of voting going on and there still seems to be a blank check mentality. So you keep voting and let me know how that works out for you.
Like Limbaugh's band once said, choosing not to decide is still making a choice.
Damn. This would be depressing if I weren't already completely jaded and cynical.
+1
Where is the Olympic Hockey thread? GO USA!
Because the goverment is and they are. Governments nationwide are now run like corporatons that seek profits and "revenue" at any cost-- and exist for the purpose of their own shareholders: public sector unions. This is fine in the private sector where a company must appeal to the self-interest of its customers to continue to make a profit. But when a government can merely use the regulatory or legislative pen (increasingly the regulatory one) to increase its revenue, power or both, we are-- in a word-- fucked.
Excellent point, Paul. The government has become so big that it can't even conceive of cutting itself back; anyone you try and cut will make a huge outcry, and there's just so damned many of them at this point that it becomes essentially impossible (politically, that is).
If you think of the government as a beast and politicians as its handler, they let it get so big that it can no longer be controlled.
Fancy the Beast as something you can hunt and kill!
The first thing I thought of was hunting Uwe Boll (he's a fighter, he'd be a pretty good challenge), and then I realized that I really like that idea. Maybe I can make a terrible horror movie about it--The Most Untalented Game--and have Uwe direct.
As the idea of the beast increasingly fills the boys with dread, Jack and the hunters manipulate the boys' fear of the beast to their own advantage. Jack continues to hint that the beast exists when he knows that it probably does not?a manipulation that leaves the rest of the group fearful and more willing to cede power to Jack and his hunters, more willing to overlook barbarism on Jack's part for the sake of maintaining the "safety" of the group. In this way, the beast indirectly becomes one of Jack's primary sources of power. At the same time, Jack effectively enables the boys themselves to act as the beast?to express the instinct for savagery that civilization has previously held in check. Because that instinct is natural and present within each human being, Golding asserts that we are all capable of becoming the beast.
Please go stand by the stairs.
One in five? It must be a joking.
USA 4
Kunukistan 2
FINAL
USA USA USA 5
canada 3
They beat us 9-2 in Women's Curling, so it evens out.
Stop switching genre.
Korea needs a women's hockey team. They would kill the Chinese team better than the American team killed them (12-1).
That would be the best match ever!
Even if every person in this country abstained from voting, the ruling class would still be of the opinion that it enjoyed the consent of the people. The underlying logic has always been: if the governed didn't consent, we would already have been removed from power; we still remain, ergo, we are justified in exercising whatever level of authority does not result in our consequent removal.
Even in Obama's 'landslide', how many yes votes did he get? 22% of the population? What number would it have to be to be interpreted as a vote of no confidence? Is there really any such number? Say it was 5%, then what -- I suppose that the government would just disband? Right.