Could you ever make it as a politician or a statesman?

Eh, I'd probably get really bored if I became a mayor... mayors can only really have an effect on their own city. Still, it'd be good to have something to do, even if it was somewhat mundane. Important, but mundane.

edited 23rd Sep '11 9:14:21 PM by tropetown

@Aceofspades: I wasn't talking about politicians, I was talking about community leaders and all that: Promise (and mean it) to do something that will greatly strengthen their community in the long-term. Essentially, pick a few voter blocks and actually try to give them everything they want.

A basic sample platform might be:

• For unionization rights, for union shops. For the right to freely elect one's own union bosses. Literally support anything the unions require. (There you go, the union vote)
• Tax credits for working-class people who go freelance/start a co-op, striving toward full employment and an employee's market. (working class folks should love it)
• Oppose the War on Drugs through any means available. (Here comes the youth vote)
• Defend near-absolute free speech, and push for strong privacy rights on and offline. (There comes the cultural Left)
• Compel universities to overcharge higher-income students to subsidize lower-income ones. (Working class families, here they come)
• Tax cuts to the working class, to be financed with tax hikes to the rich (now that's the way to sell a tax hike)
• A shrinking of surveillance and a drastic reduction of police powers. (Countercultural folks will love that one)
• Liberalize gun control laws, enabling people to effectively defend themselves. (single-issue or non-fundie gun nuts are a nice demographic to grab, and all the liberals are going to vote for you anyway)

You're free to add demographics of your liking until you reach the desired majority. Just give'em everything, they're your ticket to office.

edited 23rd Sep '11 9:22:26 PM by SavageHeathen

The mayor of Toronto has a lot to do. After the mega city merger the city-metroplotian-center-thingy has almsot 2 million people.

If you lived here and paid attention to the news you'd see the current Mayor has a hell of a job on his hands. Nothing mundane about his job right now.

edited 23rd Sep '11 9:16:28 PM by Erock

I would probably campaign on restructuring unions, but not on cutting their power or influence. Do what I can to prevent them from being all about seniority and allow for accountability, while protecting the middle class.

But that's complicated, and no one likes complicated platforms.

Oh, no doubt about that. I don't live in Toronto, but I'd imagine running any major city would be enormously stressful. But hey, if that's your cup of tea, I say go for it.

edited 23rd Sep '11 9:17:37 PM by tropetown

Tomu@The question is will you become corrupt with power as time goes on because I think being in poltics can do that to you and then you become like Anakin Sywalker from Star Wars.Good person who later became crazed because of his hatred and sells his soul to the Dark Side to save everything he loves.

If you are a skilled politican, you're already corrupt. Wide Eyed Idealists don't tend to last long in politics; it's entirely the realm of Magnificent Bastards.

edited 23rd Sep '11 9:21:42 PM by tropetown

Damnit Joy, have you been reading Darths And Droids again? :P

In all seriousness, I'd never get a position of power, so the question is quite moot. I'm really more of a Paul Krugman esque Cassandra Complex type of guy.

Tomu@I would easily have many Break the Cutie moments if I did ever become a poltician and then become the thing I hate.

@trope: Not really. Idealist and honest politicians get elected all the time over here.

Erock@I think I still would have loyalty to my country even though its crazy in its politics.I always find it funny the largest amount of crim happens in Washington DC and at the same time I am not surprised.

edited 23rd Sep '11 9:30:47 PM by joyflower

You can be an idealist and a Magnificent Bastard. Honest politicians might get elected, but they don't last too long, I'm afraid; politics is a dirty game, even in Canada. I'd actually rather have it that way; they might be bastards, but at least they're our bastards. And who would do a better job of defending our country's interests from foreign bastards than one of our own?

Nitpick: The heroic version of the Magnificent Bastard is the Guile Hero

According to this thread, it's not.

@trope: I'm still going to disagree with you.

Agree to disagree?

Sure. You can make history as the first honest Prime Minister, then.

There have been many.

Chretien for one.

At one meeting, a lady from Medicien Hat or somewhere asked what he would do to create a job for her.

He said she should move or get new training.

Hope I don't sound rude here, but I literally loled. Chretien was a nice guy, but he was a clever, manipulative chessmaster all the same. Like I said, it'd be hard to survive in politics as long as he did without being one.

EDIT: Actually, I think there was one; Alexander Mackenzie. Needless to say, it ended up biting him in the rear.

edited 23rd Sep '11 9:43:14 PM by tropetown

I consider myself mostly liberal and would not reduce police powers. There's just no good reason to take away our safety. Force them to tighten up accountability? Hell yes. Take away the ability to actually protect the public? Fuck no.

Also, fuck over charging the richer students for education. That's just getting petty. Even up the playing field by getting rid of the student loans system that put students in debt for years. Don't overcharge someone just because of the tax bracket they come from. Increase financial aid and the like. (Oh wait, you're against taxes, so you can't do the that. Financial aid for the poor and working class is one of the things taxes go to.) Also, I fail to see how you could get universities to do that. I don't think politicians actually have the power to compel universities to charge that way. (A better thing to do would be to encourage the building of community colleges. Texas has a fairly extensive system. It's cheaper and the education is just as good. I'm currently in it and have found it to be a positive experience.)

edited 23rd Sep '11 11:17:13 PM by AceofSpades

Honest doesn't mean not being sceretive.

No, but if he were a little more dishonest, he might have lasted a little longer as PM. Like I said, I don't think dishonesty is a bad thing for a politician to have; nobody would do a better job of running things than a Magnificent Bastard, after all.

edited 23rd Sep '11 10:24:24 PM by tropetown

Maybe. Set up by an appropriate career, I can see myself getting a local seat if I ran in the right place, maybe some small influence in one of the major parties, but anything really serious would require either a huge change in public opinion on a few issues, or an equally huge compromise on my part with regards to those same issues. That's something that might be possible (I couldn't say the same for the former condition), but then, there are other things I'd much rather be doing. I've always thought of politics as something that I might give a shot when I am old and cranky. I still do think that I could do a much better job of running my country than any of the current parties want to do, but it's just something that I'm not that passionate about, and frankly barely interested in beyond the philosophy.

edited 23rd Sep '11 11:15:49 PM by ekuseruekuseru

Hell no.

I'm so lefty, I make the Labour Party look like they support Mussolini.

Also, I don't think I'd be able to cope even being an MP for Birmingham Ladywood, let alone Prime Minister.

No. I'm uncomfortable enough as it is with the level of insincerity required in an ordinary job interview. I couldn't stomach an entire campaign of pretending to be much more enthusiastic, decisive, principled, compassionate, confident, friendly, etc. than I actually am. And someone as apathetic as me has no business in a position requiring leadership or decisions that impact so many people's lives. I may be able to do the job provided it doesn't require much in the way of any initiative, genuine vision of the big picture, or commitment to any particular set of ideals or interests, but I doubt I'd do it well. Seeing as how I lack both personal ambition and concern for the greater good, I'd probably end up doing as little as I can get away with.

Thread Hop

No, because no matter how much the public agrees with my policies are or how moral and honest I am as a politician, the fact I don't believe in God means I'm entirely unelectable to any position where I could make a difference. Sad, really.

edited 24th Sep '11 5:42:26 AM by cadeonehalf