Rob Schwarzwalder “What we heard is the noise of democracy,” declared Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, praising those who tried to break up Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing. “This is what happens in a free country when people can stand up and speak and not be jailed, imprisoned, tortured or killed because of it.” No, senator, the protesters did not scream with the voice of democracy. They reject the 2016 election. That was the voice of democracy. They howled with the voice of bullies who want to subvert democracy. Not American Democracy But is America a democracy? No, not in the way Durbin thinks. America is not and never has been a democracy in the sense that the people vote directly for what they want. We’re a republic. People hold political power but delegate the exercise of that power to people they elect to represent them in government. This is true not just on the national level. It’s true from the smallest town council to the governorships of the 50 states. The Founders of our country wisely recognized that letting people govern directly would result in chaos and collapse. Why? We’re very sinful and very fallible sons and daughters of Adam. We’re prone to leap before we look. We get caught up in the moment. We’re too easily manipulated. The appeal of a Bernie Sanders to so many people is the appeal of a demagogue (even a sincere one) to people who are frightened and alienated. And that’s a good number of Americans these days. Good judgment would be trampled as unchecked and easily influence feeling rushed over it. Emotional highs and lows, not virtue and caution, would shred the public good. Chaos is the danger of direct democracy. You can’t take a step back and think when the majority gets taken with a bad idea. When strong feelings and weak thinking give honor the boot, dictators can be seen in the shadows. Waiting. https://stream.org/no-dick-durbin-not-democracy/ This is a great article that makes many more good points than seen above. A must read. It goes into the founders reasoning as to why they created a constitutional republic instead of a direct democracy. It goes on to show why what Durbin suggests as democracy speaking is mob rule instead. That it is the voice of a mob trying to overturn an election.
What happened with all the disruptions and theatrics at the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing of the US Senate was anything but rule of law on the part of the minority. They were encouraging and supporting mob behavior
There is a time and place to yell and scream and protest. The public galleries of the House and senate or their committee meeting rooms is not the time of the place.
One wonders why Dick is so motivated then the stifle the voices that disagree with him..... I mean, given it's the noise of democracy and all... what a turd...
I found this to be one of the most intelligent and ineffective attempts at protest by the deranged lefties. The cute hats added soooo much. Always an enjoyable two minutes.
Dick Turbin is the same jackass that had trouble telling the difference in American military servicemen and Nazi deathcamp workers a few years ago.
No he saw a similarity between what concentration camp workers were asked to do and what American soldiers were asked to do to prisoners...waterboarding/torture
Then you can appreciate just how ironic it was when the Turd was wrong, right? Of course Dick would point out his own transference. We get it. He's quite the turd you know...
This is going to be a somewhat long and controversial post: I both agree with the author of the title, and yet at the same time I have to sadly disagree. Let's start with where we unanimously agree: That was not democracy, it was a mob but it was also a pathetic sight of the most childish behavior from adults, ever. Yes, childish behavior. Let's not pull back punches, let's call it for what it is. Infantile behavior from people who often called Trump an infant. To many, the behavior demonstrated on the congressional floors would have been 'common' for him and yet we haven't seen that since Trump's become president. No, it's come from them. I also stated for the record, that if I thought the Constitutional Republic, as the framers intended could be revived I would support it. Largely because said Republic would be devoid of the chaos of our modern era and the stability provided would allow for growth and prosperity(as it did even through the early ups and downs of the Republic.) But alas, I do not think this is possible anymore. We can scream to the hills about our Constitutional Republic, about our supposed limited form of government but we are a country of 327 million souls. We can no longer be a small government(we can certainly no longer afford to be a fractured one.). The people's needs aren't served that way, and it's when their needs aren't served that they turn to violence. Let's repeat that, so it bares understanding: Political violence often stems from people or a group of people who do not perceive that their needs are served by the government. Now, it may be there are some groups with views so extreme that it would not be fair, logical or lawful to support their views(IE: Racialism/Separatism) but if these groups are indeed swelling in numbers, the BLM, AntiFA, etc then it increasingly means that more and more people do not view the government as serving them. And this is where the benefits of the Centralized State come in. Too much focus is put on the "Oh NO, one man controls all the power" idea, but isn't that preferable to many men controlling the power? For as long as many men can compete for power, the focus on serving the constituency takes a second or perhaps even a third seat to the consolidation of power. But in an Authoritarian government, the singular person in power does not have to compete for power. He doesn't have to bandy around the vote. Nor does he need to listen to lobbyists or special interests. Our huge problem when it comes to Authoritarianism, is we judge based off of the world wars and other such incidents. So we're like "NAH, no thank you." But did anyone ever said that Authoritarianism, had to necessarily lead to military conflict? I think symbolism is also a powerful tool that can be used to motivate the people. I mean, there are more and more Americans interested in the British Crown. Why? Its symbolism of strength and power is awe-inspiring. The Statue of Liberty can no longer give 'hope', because 'freedom' has been attained. It's the same reason the Star-Spangled banner is a powerless song. It's a song about a losing battle. No one dies for heroism for a losing cause. But hey, our flag's still there so it's all good right? I've listened to a few alternatives: America the Beautiful is awe-inspiring, but the religious overtones a bit could turn off the atheist/agnostic(and even Catholics, who are rather religiously moderate). Your Land is my Land fits and would be a good alternative but no, I found the perfect anthem, that should have stayed the US Anthem from the start: All I have to do is strip that last line from it. No offense to those who are religious. I don't intend to ever take away your religious views. But I find religion to be incompatible with political organizations and political movements. God is not a 'king', he is an idea. He is a concept. He is something for you to believe in, but he's not real. I don't deny your power of prayer, and I don't deny your connection. I simply attest that God is not a part of this mortal plane, and whenever he's invoked as such, that's when the wars have happened. Religion caused more death than Authoritarianism. As the so-called morale bane of human society.(But see the Catholic Church's corruption for how that noble idea turned out.) If we could have religion as between 'God' and those who worship their God, and not a part of the State then that's ideal. Getting rid of the God-State connection is more impervious than getting rid of dictators in the world.
No he did not. There is no similarly. Here's a bet I wish I could take... I'd bet the mortgage that if you ordered criminals 6 months off their sentence for a single 45 minute waterboarding session the line would go around the compound. Would you take that bet? Not of you're smart. The point is that waterboarding isn't any fun. But its is no more tourture than jail time is. Did you know we used to routinely waterboard many of our own troops in training? If you're against waterboarding, were you also against Obama's drone strikes that he knew would kill innocent children? We're you against Obama assassinating an American citizen without for process? Jusr wondering.
When you are not able to debate in an intelligent manner, you scream, shout and attempt to stifle your opponent by refusing him the opportunity to have his say. This is simply what leftist do when they are being defeated on the debate floor. They do it here and elsewhere in an attempt to salvage whatever dignity they might have. This is why simple, mindless chants and slogans have such appeal for the liberal/progressive/socialist; next time you hear them chanting a slogan while marching, pay attention to the actual words. It's what a child might do when faced with consequences for their actions. The good people at Slate.com documented the nonsensical chants the protestors were bellowing at a recent anti-Trump march: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_facto...urday_s_anti_trump_protest_in_nyc_ranked.html The right doesn't get off easy here; think of some of the childish, mindless chants Trump leads his rally crowds with. But many of us on the right recognize that these buffoons are amongst the worst we have to offer, they are our bottom feeders who we are embarrassed about, the idiots who turn a spirited debate into a shouting match between knuckleheads who tend to drool when they yell. But the left considers those on their side as among their leaders. You see it here, when a liberal/progressive/socialist blows by your post without addressing any points you've made, repeats – yet again – what they've already said and then proceeds to tell you that they, indeed, did kick your ass with what they consider their wit and wisdom. Which, in fact, was their written version of a droll, sad attempt at debate. It's the equivalent of a liberal/progressive/socialist shouting, “No Trump! No KKK! No fascist USA!” over and over again while they are sticking their fingers in their ears...
Members of an oligarchy fast learn that if the few ban together they all win at the expense of the people. The effective difference between autocracy and oligarchy is minuscule.
People who protest are voices of democracy. Rosa Parks was one, MLK Jr was one, basically anyone and everyone you can think of who had a protest and was successful at it has made our country greater,
Surely you don't really equate Parks and King with the mobsters paid to disrupt the hearings. Protest and disruption are not the same thing.
Oh my, oh my. A half dozen people stand up in the 'sacred' halls of Washington and yell at senators = a mob scene. You should have been around in 1968. Now that was a mob scene! Only the very young would believe this "mob scene" baloney. Good for them having the stones to protest. They are among the few.
If anything, they've been over "served" . They are behaving exactly like the spoiled, catered to, coddled, protected class of people they have become.