Should idiots be allowed to vote?

[Taverner]

I'm not talking people we don't agree with, or think are crazy

But plain out, willfully ignorant, no intellectual curiosity, "god/allah/L Ron Hubbard/Ayn Rand said it, I believe it and that settles it" idiots.

Should there be an IQ test? Not a hard one, but one that asks something like "If I were to give you 1 pint of water, and I were to ask you what that would be in the metric system, what would you do?" Basically, what would you do to find out. If the answer is anything other than "Duh - we downt need no commieMETRIK systim" you get to vote. Otherwise, please sterilize your gonads on the way out, thank you very much.

[kentuck]

1. They always have.

We voted for some real winners in our long and storied history.

[Taverner]

3. Andrew Jackson comes to mind

Kind of a Proto-Teabagger

[tularetom]

14. Not really a teabagger

More of a just plain racist bigot with populist overtones.

[Taverner]

18. "...plain racist bigot with populist overtones" Um, dude, you just described teabaggers

[rucky]

2. They're allowed to hold office, so...

[Solly Mack]

6. +1

[chillspike]

8. +1

[awoke_in_2003]

24. best reply all week. nt

[demmiblue]

4. Duh... yes.

I worry about you.

[bigwillq]

5. Yes (nt)

[Lisa D]

7. Are you suggesting

a reinstatement of a poll test?

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PavePusher]

20. So much for "civility"..... n/t

[Taverner]

27. Fuck civility. Do you think the teabaggers are civl toward us?

Do you think that if they were in power, they would do anything civil?

It's time to stop being nice. You see where "nice" has gotten us?

[uppityperson]

37. And wishing someone would die painfully from throat cancer will get us so much further?

Good grief

[Taverner]

44. That's just my wish - doesn't have to be yours

[uppityperson]

47. I notice you didn't answer my question.

[Taverner]

49. Will it help us? I don't think it will matter what I think

[polmaven]

39. So we should sink to their level?

I have always thought we were far above that kind of thinking.

Nd no...there should be no poll test. All citizens of this country who are 18 years of age should be eligible to vote. And I would include prisoners in that statment. One does not lose citizenship because one has committed a crime, unless, of course, that crime is treason.

[PavePusher]

55. No, I don't see. 'Cause neither side has really tried it.

And since a lot ofthe calls for it back in January and February were from this very site, but never really put into effect, the hypocrisy is astonishing.

[cherokeeprogressive]

25. I'm glad as hell you don't mean what you say about her dying of painful cancer.

I'd lose respect for you if I thought you really meant that.

[Obamanaut]

34. The message block is over-the-top mean spirited. Beginning the

statement with "Honestly" leads one to believe you really mean it.

[Forkboy]

42. You're a sick fuck.

[Whiskeytide]

9. Not sure we want to go there...

... since that sword cuts both ways.

[The Big Vetolski]

10. I'll tell you plain. Sometimes, you worry me. nt

[Taverner]

12. I'm just kidding...jeez

It wouldn't work anyway. You know Bachmann thinks the metric system is satan's toolbox...

[The Big Vetolski]

35. Smilies are my friends. Sorry, I can't always tell in this medium

whether or not someone is kidding.

[Speck Tater]

13. Perhaps, for the sake of the survival of the human race,

a certain amount of elitism might actually be necessary.

It's a damn shame, but, in fact, half the population has an IQ under 100.

[Taverner]

16. I have no problem with "elitism"

Especially if it means we get the "elites" running things

Yes, I want the most elite scientists directing research. I want the most elite soldiers taking out our enemies. And I want the most elite legal scholars running the country.

It sure beats stupid fucks like Bachmann and her pet husband from having ANY say

Yes, I don't care what they think

I want them to go back to their rock, and preferably die

[FLPanhandle]

15. Of course not.

Except we all have our own definition of idiots. On some days I think everyone in the world is an idiot except me (and I'm not too sure about myself sometimes). :)

So, I guess we'll have to let the idiots vote.

[fascisthunter]

17. yes, idiots pay taxes too...

I know how ya feel though. Sometimes I say the same.

[pinto]

19. Yes, we all have the right to vote.

Professionally diagnosed citizens may have a barrier to participation in some states. But in general, RW extremists have every right to the ballot box as us all. Comes with the territory. I know you know that, just wanted to make the point. Our job is to out vote 'em.

:hi:

[demmiblue]

21. Idiots should suck it up for the sake of their children. n/t

[FLPanhandle]

23. I'd prefer they vote instead of breed. nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

22. Anyone who is in control of their faculties should be allowed to vote unquestionably.

I don't call anyone an idiot just because I happen to think they're wrong. I'm wierd that way. My idea of Democratic Principles includes a HUGE amount of tolerance.

Harry Reid is a Mormon. Funny, when DU'ers are talking about Mitt Romney, they use terms like "magic underwear". You never see that with Reid.

The question remains though, inspired by your post... Is Harry Reid an idiot? He delivered a speech at Brigham Young University to about 20,000 students on October 9, 2007, in which he expressed his opinion that Democratic values mirror Mormon values.

Should Reid be allowed to vote, much less serve? Good question.

[Taverner]

28. You see, despite being an Atheist I would rather have Romney than Bachmann

Romney just wants to be president and pose for pictures. It would be a harsh 4 years, but it would be survivable.

Bachmann? She wants a theocracy. Her church at the top, everyone else at the bottom. If you had a chance to kill a WWI corporal named Adolf, would you?

[cherokeeprogressive]

29. Well now that's an odd question...

What if his name was Adolf Richardson and he was from Podunk, IA?

LOL

[badtoworse]

26. Until recently, NJ's constitution said that idiots and insane people could not vote.

Interestingly though, the constitution did not say they couldn't run for public office

[rbnyc]

30. Sadly, yes.

Idiots should be allowed to vote. Unfortunately, they vote for people who create policies that help to produce more idiots.

[Taverner]

31. Kind of like a virus, no?

[rbnyc]

32. We're on the same page today. (nt)

[hay rick]

33. The ignorant and indifferent will always be with us , but now...

we also have the deluded. It's enough to tip the scales. Our democracy is no longer working for our benefit.

[CreekDog]

36. been there, done that

didn't work out so well.

[Posteritatis]

38. Because poll tests worked out so well in the past. (nt)

[Rex]

40. Yes. It is what makes America a great place to live.

Not only should they be allowed to vote...but run for office too imo. And be on TVEE...ESPECALLY a political pundit that I can laugh at for about 30 minutes to an hour.

[madamesilverspurs]

41. Absolutely.

As soon as that changes, you'll have the wrong people deciding who is or is not an idiot. And they'll make damn sure it's written in stone.



-

[Stevenmarc]

43. Sure, just tell them to vote the next day, they're idiots they won't figure it out.

[Donnachaidh]

45. they shouldn't be allowed to run for office. n/t

[RegieRocker]

46. Guess I better put my dice away for this discussion.

[Balbus]

48. From your OP, I propose - should idiots be allowed to post?

[Forkboy]

51. +1

Dare him to talk about people getting cancer in my presence. He's too much of cowardly shit for that.

Hey OP, I live in Fitchburg, Mass, Wallace Towers, just off of Main Street...look me up sometime.

[pintobean]

50. Do you vote?

[Texasgal]

52. So should we all take an IQ

Test?

Should we all be tested on our political knowledge?

If we fail such test no vote?

[ChoppinBroccoli]

53. I Once Devised A Voting System That Made People Vote Their Beliefs

I came up with an idea for a voting system once that forces people to vote for the candidate that actually shares their beliefs and helps further their own self-interests. The main idea was that there would be no names and no parties listed on the ballots. Instead, when voters went into the voting booths, they would be asked a series of questions, and their answers to these questions would then be matched up with the answers given by the candidates (kinda like they do on dating compatibility websites). So, at the end of the questions, a screen would pop up and say, "Based on your answers, your most compatible candidate would be Candidate X, and you just voted for him/her."

I THOUGHT it would be a good way to remove the uninformed voter (i.e. the people who only vote for a candidate's Party, and the voters who willingly vote against their own interests, and the voters who vote for candidates based on really random reasons, like his/her looks, etc.) from the equation. But then I realized that even THAT wouldn't solve the problem. Wanna know why? Because the Republicans would simply mail out "cheat cards" to their voters telling them how to answer the questions. I came to that realization back in 2004 when, while I was standing in line to vote for over 4 hours, I noticed that many of the people in line were holding cards they got in the mail from the Republican Party telling them who to vote for AND taking those cards into the voting booths with them. Apparently Republican voters can't even be bothered to learn the names of the people they vote for, but they ARE willing to vote for those candidates simply because the Republican Party told them to. I lost a lot of respect for the American voter that day.

[lonestarnot]

54. I see a whole group of them running for the highest office in the land. Why not let them vote?