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Saturday, March 13, 2010
Lessons in Democracy
The Morning Post today highlights America's criticism of the lack of democracy in Hong Kong, saying "The US government has criticised the Hong Kong government for limiting the ability of its people to change their government". While agreeing with the criticism, I wonder if they should first turn their attention to their own system. The US is, after all, the country where a clear majority of electors voted for Al Gore in 2000 and got ... George W. Bush. What was that saying about pots and kettles?
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3 comments:
I think nobody voted for Gore or any President. :-)
In the US the states express a preference for a member of the electorial college who may then go on to vote for who ever they like.
But yes most democracys are a complete mess.
You are correct in theory, but in practice voters select an electoral college member who shares their preference for a particular presidential candidate. If the electoral college member then voted for a different candidate instead, they would feel cheated.
I'm sure it did happen. In one of the smaller populated states the college member refused to vote. Gore lost some votes alas something bigger was happening and it became small news that day.
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