Thread: The Vent and Rant Thread
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Old 09-08-2016, 02:09 PM   #28619
DMcCunney
New York Editor
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamlet53 View Post
First a couple of quotes from long time California politician Jesse Unruh:
Yep. Saw that before. The job of the lobbyist is to make the views of those he represents known to elected officials. The job of the elected officials is to represent their constituents. If what the elected official thinks the constituents want is at odds with what the lobbyist wants, the constituents win.

The primary goal of an elected official is to get reelected.

When an issue his an elected official's desk, there will be one of three responses:

My constituents will like it. It will get me votes! I'm in favor!

My constituents won't like it. It will cost me votes! I'm opposed!

My constituents won't care one way of the other, so I'll do a deal. My support on this thing you want, in exchange for your support on this thing my constituents do care about.

The last is where the real work gets done.

Complaints about lobbyists miss the point. Politicians need votes. The need money to campaign to get votes, but money doesn't win elections, votes do. (Lack of money can lose elections.)

Quote:
Political machines are not necessarily a bad thing for the people in their area.
If they were, they wouldn't exist in the area.

An old friend talked about Mexico back when the RPC was in undisputed power, and described it as "fascism that worked". The goal of an aspiring politician was to build a power base and then sell out to the ruling PRC party. The size and nature of the power base of the aspiring pol determined what the politician got in exchange from the PRC, and the politician's position and clout within the PRC when the dust settled.

Things are a bit more complicated now.

Quote:
Machines only stay in power because people keep voting for them. I am of the opinion that people do vote in what they perceive to be their best interest relative to their Umwelt. (My favorite expand my vocabulary word for the week).
Exactly.

Whether what voters perceive as being in their best interest actually is is a different matter.
______
Dennis
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