If Congress can't pass health care, Obama should simply call for a General Election!

[DaveinJapan]

Sweep the bums out en masse and start over!

Thus spake an absolutely *Adorable* new Japanese friend of mine when I explained to him what was going on in the health care debate these days. :rofl:

He was incredulous when I explained to him that wasn't the way it works in America. He also wondered why we don't do anything about election reform. :blush:

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. Tell your Japanese friend not to worry...

...posters here have ordered Obama to throw open Medicare to all by executive order, and pay for the increased expenditure by attaching signing statements to an appropriation bill.

He at least had an excuse.

[DaveinJapan]

2. If only. nt

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. I see Japanese literacy about other countries has not improved since I lived there

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. How many Americans understand how their governmrnt works?

:shrug:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. Most have the basics down and understand there are differences between

what we have an a parliamentary system

[Davis_X_Machina]

8. The others post here. n/t

[DaveinJapan]

11. I think most Japanese have the basics down too, as far as their system being different

from America. They just don't know the details of the differences all too well.

But how much does your average American know about the parliamentary system. If you asked someone on the street what "calling a General Election" meant, would you get the right answer?

[yawnmaster]

13. I think "most" might be a bit optimistic.

they might know that its a parliamentary system, but doubt that most know what it means or how it works.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

5. I don't think a general election would work.

Something like 37M citizens don't have health insurance. Something like 270M citizens DO have insurance of some kind. Believing that health-care reform will likely make their premiums more expensive, how do you think a public vote would go among the already insured? It's nearly 8-9 to 1 of people with insurance versus people without. You would have to assume a good 35%+ of the insured are unhappy with a product they're already willingly paying. And that's before politics comes into play.

[alfredo]

7. The only thing that will help is public financing of elections. Take the money

out of the system.

[malletgirl02]

9. There Only One Problem

It is completely unconstitutional.

[Odin2005]

10. This is why "Americans are ignorant" statements tick me off.

People from other countries are just as fucking stupid.

[yawnmaster]

14. All are ignorant to some extent...

The probability of ignorance increases as one moves further from the center of the overlap of one's experience, education, and interest.

[provis99]

15. well, no, thats wrong, actually.

Americans are in fact more ignorant about other countries and their own country than foreigners are, for example. One example is that Canadians are routinely able to name the Vice-President more easily than Americans are.

[ddeclue]

12. Umm Constitution anyone?

:shrug: