8 October 2013
8 Election Myths You Probably Believe
canada goose store Right now is the stage in every American election season when most of us are pretty sure that this whole democracy thing was a mistake. So many terrible ads, so many lies, so many news stories focusing only on the stupidest elements of the process. Why do we even canada goose store bother? canada goose store
Well, damn it, we’re here to tell you that it’s not as bad as you think. In fact, some of what we hate most about the American uk canada goose outlet democratic process aren’t flaws at all they’re actually what make the whole thing tick.
Nothing unifies voters more than the cynicism they share after a politician lies to them. Those who vote do so because they’re optimistic, but at the end of the day, we’re always ready for politicians to fail to deliver on any of their campaign promises once we put them in cheap Canada Goose office. canada goose uk outlet We believe that hopeful future presidents, like all job buy canada goose jacket candidates, will say anything their prospective employers want to hear in hopes of securing the gig. Bush going back on his no tax Canada Goose Outlet hike promise, Barack Obama’s failure to close Gitmo, William Howard Taft’s promise to lose 30 pounds these people speak only in lies.
Canada Goose Jackets MPI / Stringer via Canada Goose Jackets
buy canada goose jacket cheap “My efforts were doomed from the start, really.” buy canada goose jacket cheap
Statistically, those failures were actually the exception, not the rule. Political scientists in the 1980s set out to evaluate the promise keeping history of American presidents and found that 75 percent of pre election pledges made by presidents Wilson through Carter were met. Most people are lucky to keep that kind of ratio going in a marriage, let alone while running a country. And yes, this trend still holds true with Canada Goose Jackets our modern leaders.
Canada Goose online Nicholas Kamm / Canada Goose online
canada goose deals “And that NDAA is totes under cheap canada goose uk control.” canada goose deals
Canada Goose Parka For instance, during the 2008 campaign, Obama made 508 distinct promises for his term in office. As of right now, he’s successfully followed through on 193 of those promises. That sounds a little low, but you have to take into account the fact that “president” doesn’t mean “dictator.” A president can’t just do anything he wants he has to work with Congress, and because Congress isn’t exclusively populated by Obama’s friends, it means that he needs canada goose outlet to compromise. Which he did, on another 79 of those promises. Another 44 have stalled, while 102 are still “in the works.” Add all that up, Canada Goose Parka and you’ll see that Obama at least made the effort to fulfill some 418 of his 508 campaign promises. Nearly half of those efforts have, so far, been successful. Canada Goose Parka
When exposed to a barrage of negativity, we may feign disgust, but are actually more likely to show up at the polls. Oh, and we’re better informed, too in one study, people who watched attack ads knew more about the issues of the election than others. After all, negative commercials prompt fact checking and force opponents to issue a response to clear their names. So what some would call deplorable smear campaigns that belong in the gutter, others would call a dialogue. canada goose And it’s the voters who benefit.
For example, during the 2008 presidential campaign, John McCain claimed that Barack Obama’s economic plan would raise taxes for small business owners. Obama hit back with an ad that better explained his platform, then one upped McCain by asserting that McCain’s tax plan canada goose coats on sale had a health credit that was also coming from increased taxes. So both candidates Canada Goose online forced the Canada Goose Coats On Sale other guy to explain himself, bringing more information to the voters. But maybe more importantly, negative messages force us to listen.
canada goose coats Obama for America canada goose coats
canada goose black friday sale “The Chinese military? That’s the least American military in the world.” canada goose black friday sale
It’s just the way your brain works. It’s easy to ignore video of a candidate standing in a wheat field with inspirational music playing while he talks about his small town American values. But negative language sticks with us. It’s evolution, as well as common sense your brain is tuned to look for problems so they can be solved. A positive and negative ad can each contain an equal amount of good information, but your brain perks up at the one that’s also saying, “If you elect this other guy, that’s going to create a big problem in your canada goose coats life.” It’s the same reason you have one reaction to seeing a bunny rabbit and another to seeing a tiger.
canada goose coats on sale Americans are as frustrated with our lack of political choices as we are with our lack of genitalia choices. It’s ridiculous how can https://www.winterdownparkas.com the same country that offers 500 varieties of dog toothpaste only offer up two viable options for the most important job in the country? Look at your Facebook feed everyone that you haven’t already blocked for their political rants uk canada goose is bemoaning the fact that both Mitt Romney and Obama suck. Which explains why 57 percent canadian goose jacket of Americans wish that they had at least one more option at the poll. Surely there has to be a better way. canada goose coats on sale
John Kobal Foundation / Paul J. Richards / Chip Somodeville
canada goose Ron Perot 2012. canada goose
canada goose clearance sale Choices are nice, but there’s one underrated advantage of the two party system: It makes everyone more moderate. Multiparty systems, as attractive as they may sound, also lead buy canada goose jacket cheap to more fanaticism. canada goose clearance sale
canada goose clearance Robyn Beck / canada goose clearance
buy canada goose jacket Yes, it could be worse than this. buy canada goose jacket
Think of it this way: Say you have a group of 10 dudes who are Canada Goose sale trying to figure out where to go out to eat. If the town only has two restaurants (a Hooters and a low rent Hooters knockoff called TitWings), it’s easier to get everybody to all agree on Hooters you only need canada goose black friday sale six guys to come canada goose clearance sale around. But if there are dozens of restaurants and each guy wants to go to a different one, they’re all going to argue at the bar until they starve to death a month later. It’s simply easier to bring Canada Goose Online people together when they don’t have that many places to go. So despite how extreme Democrats and Republicans each claim the other party is, ideological polarization is less likely with only two parties.
cheap Canada Goose For proof, look at the Galactic Senate. Or India. Let’s just go with India. Multiparty systems foster excessive regionalism, with elected leaders focusing on trivial local concerns rather than larger national ones, the equivalent of that one lone guy who is zealous about eating at Buffalo Boobs despite the fact that it’s not even a restaurant. This is the problem in India, which has so many political parties that we can’t count them, making the country so difficult to manage that it’s often called a “functioning anarchy.” cheap Canada Goose
canadian goose jacket Sam Panthaky / canadian goose jacket
Canada Goose sale Here are some actual jibes that were exchanged in the debates leading up to the election: Canada Goose sale
“I can tell you that if you were to elect President canada goose uk shop Obama, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get a repeat of the last canada goose factory sale four years. We just can’t afford four more years like the last four years.”.