Elections have deteriorated to voting for the lesser evil!

“European political parties have an exceptional task now, with the European elections approaching. They must engage EU citizens, as many as possible, and bring them to pre-election debates and to ballot boxes,” says Gediminas Kirkilas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas and Chair of the Committee on European Affairs, in response to the 50th COSAC discussion on the European elections 2014 as a platform for debate on the future with its citizens.

Mr Kirkilas notes that the 2014 European elections will be a particular exercise because the European Parliament has already had time after the previous elections in June 2009 to strengthen its power enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty that came into force in December 2009. EU citizens should have already felt the impact, particularly in discussions on EU multiannual financial framework 2014–2020. He hopes this will encourage them to consider their suffrage right in a serious manner.

“At the same time cooperation and competition between national Parliaments and the European Parliament in considering EU affairs and in decision-making should be a factor for citizens to cast their votes in 2014. The political parties, however, should do their homework and make sure citizens comprehend that the people they elect to the European Parliament and their national Parliaments precondition decisions to be taken in the EU and their effect on their daily lives,” he says.

Obama is a failed president.  Bill Clinton used to refer to Barack Obama as a Chicago thug. Obama’s stupidity is enough to make you think that years of flying around on Air Force One, surrounded by an adoring staff of socialists telling you what a great job you are doing in spreading the cancer of socialism is enough to make you a lot out of touch.

Elections have deteriorated to voting for the lesser evil.  Democrats are not able to handle the truth that we’re going broke. There are myriad suckers in the electorate. Robin Hood Democrats, promising pseudofree goods provided by the rich, are betting that Americans are too stupid to see through their many scams. Their cynicism is as boundless as their politics of personal destruction. In June 2009, and often since, Obama assured us: “No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your healthcare plan, you will be able to keep your healthcare plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.”  Obama has already broken that promise.

The burden of federal spending in USA was down to 18.2 percent of gross domestic product when Bill Clinton left office. But this progress didn’t last long. Thanks to George Bush’s reckless spending policies, the federal budget grew about twice as fast as the economy, jumping by nearly 90 percent in just eight years This pushed federal spending up to about 25 percent of GDP.  Obama promised hope and change, but he has kept spending at this high level rather than undoing the mistakes of his predecessor.

European elections show a major anti-incumbency trend that is likely to have profound implications for all elections.  Voters across the board are unsatisfied with the current political system. Most voters think that no major party is effective at solving any problems, ratings are at an all-time low, and support for the two major parties is on the decline.

Two major parties in every Western country try to commoditize all voters, transforming them to vegetables in the center field!  Rabblerousers gravitate to two dominant parties running for the center, trying to offend as few people as possible. This produces a groupthink where everybody avoids the issues when they're running for office. Most Westerners are disappointed in both major parties. They're hungry for a new approach, a new party, truly committed to substantive ideas, and not just to getting elected and focusing on their particular election cycles. 

Lemmings are Arctic rodents of poor eyesight, which can drown en masse. American lemmings vote for Republicans or Decocrats.  Europeans behave like lemmings when they masochistically vote for kleptocrats. British lemmings vote for Whigs or Tories. Greek lemmings vote for Pasok or Nea Democratia. Eurolemmings rely on the spinmill of Brussels bromides. Are you a lemming? Are you a victim of taxation and kleptocracy? It's time for soulsearching and vision examination.

Citizens who want the government out of their wallets, their bedrooms, their businesses, and their lives must vote for libertarians. Only libertarians try to minimize government and maximize individual liberty. It's not a shame to lose an election, but it's a shame to compromise your values in order to win an election. Obsession with polls is a sign of weak soul. The two major parties are willing to say anything and promise everything in order to win an election. Of course, after the election most promises are conveniently forgotten. The two major parties need an awakening call.

Kleptocrats promote phobias and bogeys in order to take the attention of voters away from taxation and kleptocracy, and to have a fantastic opportunity to present themselves as Moses who leads the people to salvation! Rabblerousers make a living out of convincing people that the sky is falling. The essence of statesmanship in a free society is just the opposite, helping people understand the facts and proposing real solutions to real problems. You have to know when to stop doing something. Hitler did not know. Mousolini did not know. Kleptocrats do not know when to stop looting the producers and fooling all citizens. They do not understand that the parasites and the host die together.

Although the worldwide popularity of debates is particularly evident at this moment in time, it has taken many decades for the tradition to take root around the globe. Even in countries with established histories of campaign debates, the institution remains fragile, wholly dependent on the willingness of candidates to confront their opponents in a live, unscripted setting. As history has shown, this can be a dangerous game for its star players, because debates are more easily lost than won.  Reagan was a master at capturing a debate moment that everyone will remember.  His 'there you go again' line defused his opponent's attack.

America’s Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960 moved debates to the tiptop event on television. Political observers were surprised when Richard Nixon accepted John Kennedy’s challenge to a series of four joint TV appearances. Although Nixon considered himself the superior communicator, it was Kennedy who approached the debates more seriously, preparing for the events with long hours of study and intense practice sessions with aides. Kennedy even made sure he had a good tan before the first debate, so that he would not look pale on camera. In the end, John F. Kennedy prevailed as the clear winner, proving the power of live debates. So frightening was this lesson that another 16 years would pass before the American debate tradition resumed with Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

There can be no growth without abolishing huge regulation, huge taxation, and huge political corruption.  Basil Venitis, venitis@gmail.com, http://themostsearched.blogspot.com, @Venitis