This comes from across the pond. But what a lovely example it is.
Hugo Dixon is a big mover behind the effort to keep Britain in the European Union.
He devotes this entire Guardian column to that wish. (The Guardian, leftist, pro-big-government rag that it is, in no doubt only too happy to host those thoughts.)
But wait, you swiftly point out. Didn’t Brits already v*te to leave the EU? And haven’t we been hearing for lo these many decades that “democracy” is sacred above all other forums of government? And on top of that, aren’t things in the UK going far better than all the EU-loving doomsayers predicted? But mostly … didn’t the people just … v*te???
Yes, the people just v*ted. All hail democracy! So why should anyone consider the the people’s v*te to be invalid? I quote:
But what if a significant number of leave voters change their minds? This is not pie in the sky. After all, we were all lied to during the campaign.
Yes, folks. You read it right. That is the sole reason Mr. Dixon gives for considering the Brexit vote non-binding. He gives plenty of reasons why he wants to remain in the EU by hook or by crook. But that’s the only reason he offers for considering the entire v*te to have been bogus.
Any v*te in which anyone on either side lies (and he does quietly admit both sides told whoppers) is invalid. And the only responsible thing to do is re-educate the dumbasses who v*ted wrong and hold another election to give them the chance to v*te right the next time.
In which new election … are you kidding, Mr. Dixon??? … neither side will lie.
Really. ‘Cause if anybody told a single fib, by Dixon’s standards you’d have to start up a whole new election. Again and again and again. Until all politicians, all media, and all grassroots advocates for any cause quit lying
Wow.
I can’t go with Dixon’s belief that you should just keep holding elections or referenda or whatever until you get the result the elite classes want. On the other hand, invalidating any election in which any politician told a lie … that could be a great idea.
Man, we’d be rid of the whole bunch of them, just like that!
I was once involved in a campaign (Initiative) in a state where there is a law whereas if you are running for office and win you can be removed if it is proven you lied while running (don’t know if that state still has that law).
Turns out a candidate for office told a lie on the radio about our campaign, he won his re-election, we lost out Initiative campaign election, I had a friend at the radio station who gave me a copy of his tape where he lied, and I negotiated a settlement with him where we didn’t go after him for lying (he would have won a re-election campaign anyway) and he paid our campaign debt, we were laughing all the way to the bank!
Of course, educating them against their will, at gun point, for their own good, in some cases using camps might work.
https://youtu.be/m3_I2rfApYk
A very interesting and short 7 min video on brexit
While I understand your desire to see small (yet statist) Britain triumph over the larger (and slightly more statist) EU, the answer to your question “And on top of that, aren’t things in the UK going far better than all the EU-loving doomsayers predicted?” is not what your rhetoric turn implies: We actually don’t know. They have not left yet. There will be no steps taken to invoke article 50 in 2016 at all.
I’m asked frequently how I’m going to “vote.” The looks of shock on their faces when I say “nobody” is entertaining. …but, but, but… you have to vote for SOMEONE!!! Very few mention the fact that their favorite candidate lies and makes totalitarian pronouncements every bit as much as any other.
One friend has it narrowed down to which “presidential candidate” is closest to his ideal of NOT starting a nuclear war. He isn’t much interested in any other criteria. And I’m not kidding, he’s deadly serious.
Then sometimes I ask them how I can “vote” to be left alone, or arrange not to be forced to comply with anything the “voters” approve. I ask them how I can opt OUT of the whole process, and pay my way voluntarily for things I really want and need.
Unfortunately, instead of shock or understanding, I usually get the dull look of confusion. They don’t see that as even a remote option and stress my “duty” to society and all that. Makes me tired, so I don’t ask that much anymore.
I’m aware that the Brexit hasn’t actually happened yet and that it’s a complicated procedure that can be slowed or sabotaged in many ways.
And of course you’re right that nobody yet knows what will happen after a Brexit. But the doomsayers predicted that chaos, unemployment, desertion of London as a financial center, etc. would commence right after the referendum, and except for the immediate few days of panic, that hasn’t happened.
Yes, Brexit hasn’t yet happened and yes no one knows what the eventual exit terms will be. But the sky has not fallen, unemployment in Britain hasn’t skyrocketed, the FTSE is doing just fine, and by and large things there are going just swimmingly. So it’s perfectly accurate to say that “things in the UK going far better than all the EU-loving doomsayers predicted.”
As to your main point, that the Powers the Be will simply hold election after election until they get the result they want, that is precisely what happened in Ireland a few years ago. They held a referendum on ratifying the Lisbon Treaty (the latest changes to the EU treaty) which was defeated. So within a year they held a re-vote which won. There’s a lot of noise about doing that about Brexit, but frankly I don’t think it will happen. Too many people support it, and the longer it continues that Britain’s overall economy is doing better than the rest of Europe’s the less pressure there will be to reconsider.
Well, count me in as one whose primary concern in this election is the possibility/probability of war. (Sure, I have many other concerns, but my priority this time around is war.)
I never saw combat, but I’ve seen the aftermath up close and personal–not just from photographs.
Bombs and heavy artillery are not appropriate tools for urban renewal or landscaping.
Cyber war against electrical systems and other infrastructure make phone calls and surfing the Net somewhat difficult. Delivery of desired items becomes “iffy”.
Place your bets, folks, the roulette wheel of life is spinning.
I hear you ML.
I find it’s easier to respond, “I’m voting the same way you are; by secret ballot.”
Of course around here most everyone’s a Republican, and the few Democrats just assume anyone who teaches people to shoot will v*te for Trump, so I don’t get asked much.
Plus, compared to former presidential elections where by this time most people sported bumper-stickers, buttons and yard signs, this time there seems to be little active campaigning outside the actual party organizations.
The Hillary campaign and media are ramping up the possibility of a nuclear war with Russia (and necessarily China)…..http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2016-nuclear-weapon-launch/
And peoples must choose whether they want to live with 3d world savagery.https://straightlinelogic.com/2016/09/06/the-jungle-is-a-choice-by-porter/
The upper classes living in heavily guarded gated communities not worried so far….
Choose carefully, because not voting doesn’t protect you from the consequences….
To pyrrhus-
“Choose carefully, because not voting doesn’t protect you from the consequences…”
Neither does voting. Think about it.
This happens with the school levies all the time. If one fails, they keep putting it on the ballot again and again until it passes.
If they really believed in democracy (that they teach is sacred in the gov schools), why don’t they say, after a levy fails, “The people have spoken. We will have to tighten our belts.”
But nooooo . . . .
I’ve seen it with v*tes for sports stadiums, convention centers, and other projects beloved of the we-know-whats-good-for-you class, too. It never ceases to be an outrage. But somehow I expect local politics to be that corrupt and crony-serving. Seems somehow too small-town sleazy to play that game on a global scale.