Sneaky Politics

[Kingscrab]

This is the kind of thing that just pisses me off to no end. The Republicans can't get an Alaska oil drilling bill passed so they stick it into another bill that MUST get passed. Then, if anyone votes against it they look like assholes for not voting for a vital defense bill. I realize this concept is nothing new to American politics, but that doesn't mean i have to like it.

Anyway, my question to you, is: Do you feel that this provision was a legitimate addition to a national defense bill or is it just another example sneaky politics?

Personally, i think this tactic is a load of crap. A defense bill is way too important to be playing games with. Try to pass a different bill specific to Alaskan drilling, but leave it out of this one. Props to the Senate for blocking it.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,179378,00.html

[GenocideAlive]

This reminds me of the crap the Republicans pulled in the Texas re-districting fiasco. Depending on how you draw each of the lines, you can get more or less constitutency of either party. It's legal, but give me a fucking break. You've got a massive majority, and this is the best you can do for progressive politics? They would have to redraw the lines every 20 years just to maintain that ploy. And then, just to show that Democrats aren't above the same dumb shit, what do they do? Fucking fly out of state to circumvent the warrants for their arrest that would force them to vote on the measure. No Democrats for quorum FTW. I wish I could fly out of state at MY job when I had some shit I didn't want to deal with and just hang out there.

I wish this stuff was rare or unusual.

[GenocideAlive]

Anyway, as figured, the Senate passed the bill but without the clause. Just as the Republicans / Bush can include it, the Senate can disclude it. And apparently they cared enough to do just so:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051222/ap_on_go_co/arctic_drilling;_ylt=AldmjXq8Ve8XvJ6.O06XmgAPLBIF; _ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

Our political system, at least slightly vindicated.

[Modred]

I don't quite see what you mean by "sneaky politics." There really is no sneaking involved. It's quite in the open.

[Ender]

It is called a "Rider," and they've been using them since, oh, democracy was created. The Democrats do it too.

And yes, as above mentioned, the Senate and House can rewrite the bill and remove Riders, like they just did.

[singo]

The fact remains its still a damn cheap way to do things.

[Pisces]

Another hole in the american politicial system, it slows down the entire process and it is actaully a tactic used by most governments in the world, out bored the opposition; in most governments when a bill has strong supporters but more people opposing it but not very strongly, most of the time it is by delaying debate untill the people who don't really care go home and it can then be voted on. This is a slightly different way of doing it, this requires those opposed to it to put extra effort in opposing it over and over again untill some of them just can't be fucked anymore and lets it slide. Good to see that for once the american government hasn't scumbbed to it yet.

[Kingscrab]

I don't quite see what you mean by "sneaky politics." There really is no sneaking involved. It's quite in the open. Just because someone spots you being sneaky doesn't mean you're not trying to be sneaky.

Fine, i will rename the title to "Weasley Politics." :smirk:

[Ender]

And sometimes riders come in handy.

[Kingscrab]

And sometimes riders come in handy. Only if you're trying to weasel in a provision that you can't pass through normal means. Weak.

[GenocideAlive]

Yeah, I'm not really sure when riders are actually a good thing. Other then when you're trying to stuff them through the legal system as fast as possible, which immediately begs the question why we don't create an express process especially for such instances.

[frazz]

I don't quite see what you mean by "sneaky politics." There really is no sneaking involved. It's quite in the open.

The problem is that a great majority of Americans don't realize this(or atleast they didn't use to), and if the senate dissaproves the thing, it get's used as ammo every time they try to run for something. So the publicity is bad for the senate members. Whoever sticks in these lame additions usually wins either way.

[GenocideAlive]

The problem is that a great majority of Americans don't realize this(or atleast they didn't use to), and if the senate dissaproves the thing, it get's used as ammo every time they try to run for something. So the publicity is bad for the senate members. Whoever sticks in these lame additions usually wins either way.
Politics generally works like this:

The average American voter is only interested in politics inasmuch as their party.

Each party continually produces propaganda.

The partisan voter immediately eats up the propaganda, and uses it anecdotally in banal political bickering.

So if you know your ass from a hole in the ground, dumb shit like "SO AND SO VOTED AGAINST X BILL!" doesn't faze you because you're informed in regard to politics. Additionally, you know better than to believe anything coming out of D or R political machines. Then you get depressed and go get hooked on prescription meds because that bullshit it so deeply ingrained in the American political system that it'd take a cataclysmic event to change it and the change could be bad as well as good.

I need morphine.

[frazz]

The people who really decide the vote are the ones who don't always vote for the same party. They're the ones who check this sort of stuff out, and realize what a load of garbage all the politics are.

[GenocideAlive]

The people who really decide the vote are the ones who don't always vote for the same party. They're the ones who check this sort of stuff out, and realize what a load of garbage all the politics are.
You poor deluded dumbshit.

Not only is this a completely baseless statement, but it reeks of a complete misunderstanding of the political system and its participants.

I lol'd.

Allah. Ha.