Reply #91: You, sir, apparently have no idea what "authoritarian" means. [View All]

[LooseWilly]

Or, are you saying that the US political system is "authoritarian"?

I am talking about a cacophony of voices within the party pressuring the president to then turn and use the power vested in him by the political party system of our two-party representative pseudo-democracy.

In an "authoritarian" system voices within the party would not be a significant pressure.
Authoritarianism:

Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is opposed to individualism and democracy. In politics, an authoritarian government is one in which political power is concentrated in a leader or leaders, typically unelected, who possess exclusive, unaccountable, and arbitrary power.

Thus, the presumption that a cacophony of voices could be relevant, and the potential for a loss of votes come the next election being an issue if enough voices then no-show at the polls... pre-supposes a non-authoritarian system in the mindset of anyone who would think such an approach were rational. Hence, not only is my suggestion not "authoritarian", but your assertion that you believe it is indicative of an "authoritarian mindset" simply demonstrates that you don't know what the word "authoritarian" means.

I'm not claiming to be on any crosses (nice strawman though... particularly effective with X-tians, I would imagine)... I am simply using yet another venue to try to get word out to all those who are confused by the double-talking spinners of party-obedience that they aren't really crazy... that the party isn't living up to the pledges of the primary, and no one who suspects that such is the case is crazy to think so.

Judging by the policies the administration fights most for (actions, not words)... it seems pretty obvious that the Obama administration has returned to the Dick Morris school of political triangulation:

A longtime friend and advisor to Bill Clinton during his time as Governor of Arkansas, Morris became a political adviser to the White House after Clinton was elected president in 1992. Morris encouraged Clinton to pursue third way policies of triangulation that combined traditional Republican and Democratic proposals, rhetoric, and issues to achieve maximum political gain and popularity. He worked as a Republican strategist before joining the Clinton administration, where he helped Clinton recover from the 1994 midterm elections by convincing the President to adopt Republican policies.<1>

The president consulted Morris in secret beginning in 1994.<2> Clinton's communications director George Stephanopoulos has said that "Over the course of the first nine months of 1995, no single person had more power over the president".<3> Morris went on to become campaign manager of Bill Clinton's successful 1996 bid for re-election to the office of President. His tenure on that campaign was cut short two months before the election, when it was revealed that he had allowed a prostitute to listen in on conversations with the President. ...

I just want to take advantage of this venue to re-assure others who might think they're losing their minds that there is indeed a precedent for Democratic White Houses pushing for "Republican" policies, and I want people to not think they must be crazy when they see this administration behaving according to precedent... and I want to encourage others to take whatever actions they can to pressure their local representatives, just as I have done with my local representative, to resist the administration when they decide that it is politically expedient to push "Republican" policy.

I do so hope that that satisfies your call for "productivity"... ohh, wait, no... your dismissive, self-righteous tone actually makes me not much give a shit what you think...