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Advice for Democrats from an unlikely place
Posted on March 28, 2008 by Douglas Bell
In case you’re ever in doubt as to how much more extreme, fevered and just plain nuts the American political discourse is than our own (Flaherty versus McGuinty notwithstanding), I offer the following: This past Monday, a certain John Yoo wrote an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal, complaining about the democratic party’s undemocratic practice of appointing superdelegates to their upcoming nominating convention:
“The Democrats have created an electoral system that echoes failed models from the American past, and threatens to sap the presidency of its independence and authority by turning it into the handmaiden of Congress instead of the choice of the American people.”
Fair enough. But consider the source: John Yoo is described at the end of the piece as “a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He was an official in the Justice Department from 2001–03.”
What The Wall Street Journal fails to mention is that this is the same John Yoo who, during his tenure at the DOJ, wrote memo after memo justifying the administration’s use of torture, and encouraging the so-called signing statements that have allowed George Bush to conduct the war on terror by fiat. Soliciting lessons on democracy from John Yoo is rather like soliciting lessons on the evils of torture from Torquemada (or George W. Bush).
• The Democrats’ Super Disaster [The Wall Street Journal]
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PCLG March 28, 2008 at 1:39 p.m.
"Soliciting lessons on democracy from John Yoo is rather like soliciting lessons on the evils of torture from Torquemada (or George W. Bush)."
How apposite!
Another metaphor might be a New York newspaper paying a convicted fraudster and probable penitentiary bitch to comment on the suitability of candidates for the presidency of a country of which he is not a citizen and which will wisely deport him as an undesirable alien as soon as he has completed his sentence.
Lit_200 March 28, 2008 at 2:22 p.m.
Another case of "don't like the guy so I won't listen to what he has to say. In fact, You brings to light some interesting aspects of the way democracy works in the Democratic Party and the USA. Once you start vesting this or that individual with more rights, or greater voting power, than the average guy, you open the door to cronyism and other evils. Behind the "superdelegate" setup is the idea that some people know more, or have attained more, or have more money than, or are better able to pick a good leader, than joe lunch-box. And it ain't necessarily so, bud.
What You says is a comment on the continual tug-of-war between the "aristocrats" who fear mob rule, and the "democrats" (small d) who fear rule by a so-called and self-appointed elites. That's what the whole complicated system of checks and balances is all about in the US Constitution, isn't it?
You may offend us for other reasons, but there is nothing wrong with the quality of his thought in this piece.
Barbara_in_BC March 28, 2008 at 7:51 p.m.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/c...
All I know about John Yoo is that he's the lawyer who thought up a reason why Americans are allowed to torture people. At the link are some great comments about Yoo. I like this one especially:
“Why in the world is the WSJ even reporting what Yoo thinks about how the other side lives (or votes)? He's a Bush toadie. A stoolie. A pigeon with a bludgeon.
How is this news? It's like asking a Red Sox fan to comment on salaries for the Yankees.” sheila
Barbara_in_BC March 28, 2008 at 8:03 p.m.
Another good comment, this time from the Washington Post forum:
“Mr. Yoo makes a fundamental mistake in his critique of the Democratic Party's nomination process. The Democrats are selecting a candidate for President, not the President. A quick perusal of the Constitution shows no reference to the nominating process or political parties. How a party chooses its candidate is not regulated by the Constitution or act of Congress. If the Democrats want to pull their candidates name out of a hat they can. I happen to like the Superdelgate concept because it allows the party to select the candidate that they believe is most electable in a dead heat primary race. There is nothing sacrosanct about the voice of the voters in a primary election particularly when Independents and non-party member can and do intrude on a political party’s selection process. The root of the Democrats dilemma is found in the proportional allocation of delegates and not the 20% delegate set aside for elected officials.” Posted by Jerry.
http://forums.wsj.com/viewtopic.php?t=18...
leaf March 28, 2008 at 10:50 p.m.
blondie.... are you now the official re-reposter of other people's comments from other blogs?
you prefer other people's opinion than your own? can't say i blame you.
leaf March 28, 2008 at 11:04 p.m.
guess who is PCLG?
hehe fickton, CB is getting paid to write whatever he wants in a NY paper, and you're NOT!
yeah yeah, i know where he is for a few more years. you repeat it in every single one of your nauseating posts.
you are in a jail of your own making for the rest of your miserable life.
karma has been eyeing you for a long time.
Barbara_in_BC March 28, 2008 at 11:11 p.m.
leaf: I post other's opinions on this subject because I know very little about America's Constitution and electoral system. Looks like John Yoo is in the same boat...
leaf March 28, 2008 at 11:51 p.m.
so how do you go about picking anyone's opinion if you know very little on the subject?
Barbara_in_BC March 29, 2008 at 1:08 a.m.
Leaf, I read what the majority say who post on the subject. That seems to be the most democratic way. This is called "learning".
Lit_200 March 29, 2008 at 9:49 a.m.
I maintain that the Dems have chosen a way to elect their leader that smells of the Ivy League - based on the idea that some people are, by whatever yardstick, better able to choose a leader than the rank and file.
It smacks of elitism. The system betrays an undemocratic predisposition at the heart of the party because I could not stomach voting for someone who can contemplate 100 years of war.
Neverthless, were I an American I would have to vote the Democratic Party ticket, whoever it turns out to be.
Lit_200 March 29, 2008 at 9:51 a.m.
wow, what a mis-transposition! "because I could not stomach voting for someone who can contemplate 100 years of war." should follow the last sentence in my sad post!
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