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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

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#51976: Mar 28th 2013 at 8:20:00 AM

A mod says to incorporate this here instead of as a new topic, so:

The original article I'm making this point from is about a new censorship law, proposed in the EU Parliament. The point I want to raise is not about censorship (of porn or anything else), but rather the behavior of various politicians during the debate. To wit:

Around lunchtime on March 7, the email messages stopped coming into parliament, despite still being sent by individual activists — hand-typed, individual messages of concern. It turned out that some Members of European Parliament (ME Ps) — to this day, it remains unclear just who — had complained to technical staff about the amount of constituents seeking contact with their representative on a current issue, and succeeded in having technical staff classify the messages as spam, so they never got through.

It is also impossible for people to hold their politicians accountable on this issue, as the European Parliament did not use a "roll call vote," meaning there is no record of how individuals voted. The idea that a vote can be deliberately constructed in a way that prevents office-holder accountability is astounding.

So, I realize that this is Europe, which has quite different standards for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, when compared to the US. However, is there not still a requirement, whether in writing or merely unspoken expectation, that a political member has the duty to accept (reasonable, serious, non-spam) correspondance from their constituents when it comes to important legal measures like this? What penalties (if any) should be levied at the Parliament over this issue? What is the likely outcome of this on future hot-button political issues?

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#51977: Mar 28th 2013 at 8:23:09 AM

I meant that you should put it in one of the European politics threads, not this one. Silly. tongue

edited 28th Mar '13 8:31:30 AM by Fighteer

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In honor of my 50lb pup
#51978: Mar 28th 2013 at 8:26:41 AM

[up]should have known...

Here is the problem: Any penalties would have to be voted on by the people they would effect.

There IS a popular/public vote option in the USA, but it has only been used once in history and can be effectively ignored. Am I safe in assuming that there is a simular situation arround the EU Parliament?

edited 28th Mar '13 8:27:24 AM by Belian

Yu hav nat sein bod speeling unntil know. (cacke four undersandig tis)the cake is a lie!
Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#51979: Mar 28th 2013 at 10:58:28 AM

...thumping bibles...

The first couple times I read that, I Read That As "thumping babies".

edited 28th Mar '13 10:58:37 AM by Balmung

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#51980: Mar 28th 2013 at 11:01:03 AM

[up] In some circles, they are kinda one and the same. Fortunately, the lunatics are few and far between.

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FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC!
#51982: Mar 28th 2013 at 12:44:57 PM

If the retiring incumbent endorses the candidate of their party in the next election, won't that count for something?

Also, can the incumbent have a strong candidate as an understudy in some position that will give them experience and help associate that future candidate with the incumbent?

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#51983: Mar 28th 2013 at 12:49:04 PM

Depends on the incumbent's in-state approval rating, I would imagine.

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HGW XX/7
#51984: Mar 28th 2013 at 12:49:39 PM

[up][up]

If the retiring incumbent endorses the candidate of their party in the next election, won't that count for something?

Depends on how the incumbent is viewed at the time of their retirement. George W Bush's endorsement would probably have been the deathknell for any Republican's Presidential ambitions in 2008, for instance, because he was loathed on the left and increasingly viewed as a RINO on the right.

Also, can the incumbent have a strong candidate as an understudy in some position that will give them experience and help associate that future candidate with the incumbent?

Nothing to stop them, no. But it is usually better to keep favored candidates in the Senate, the House, or a Governorship, as then you can point to a record of action, but, crucially, be seen to be different from a potentially unpopular retiring administration.

EDIT: Oh, you mean in state politics. Same answers, but obviously different terminology.

edited 28th Mar '13 12:50:34 PM by Achaemenid

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Wandering Jew
#51985: Mar 28th 2013 at 12:55:10 PM

If the retiring incumbent endorses the candidate of their party in the,next election, won't that count for something?

To some degree, but there is a certain advantage that only elected incumbents have.

edited 29th Mar '13 5:56:43 PM by DeviantBraeburn

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#51988: Mar 28th 2013 at 6:13:54 PM

Governor Rick Scott ‘welcomes’ Obama to Miami by blasting feds for skipping out on ports funding
This is the same Rick Scott who refused to accept federal funding for a high-speed rail project in central Florida because of his principals regarding federal deficit spending.

I really hate Rick Scott.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Enkufka Wandering Student ಠ_ಠ from Bay of White fish Since: Dec, 2009
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#51989: Mar 28th 2013 at 6:31:03 PM

I really hate most republican governors. Hypocritical and illustrative of why the conservative policy is not at all grounded in reality.

Same with Scott Walker. He came in promising a quarter million jobs, and then when Wisconsin became one of the biggest places that people were fleeing, removed that promise from his campaign site. He claimed that he was busting public unions in order to balance the budget but at the same time gave millions in tax breaks for corporations.

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#51990: Mar 28th 2013 at 8:23:33 PM

My friend says that voting commission isn't going to do anything other than give off the appearance of something being done. But I don't think that article gives us enough information on what this voting commission is supposed to do. Are they reviewing all the state ID laws that Republicans have tried to pass? Are they going to investigate places where the voting lines were ridiculously long? Research methods to make voting take less time? What?

Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#51992: Mar 29th 2013 at 4:17:40 AM

[up]

Well, with a great and intelligent candidate picker like Sarah Palin with such a long string of election successes how will we ever -pahahahahahah

edited 29th Mar '13 4:17:49 AM by Midgetsnowman

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#51994: Mar 29th 2013 at 10:17:32 AM

Palin/Bachman, 2016, anyone?

...

...

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

edited 29th Mar '13 10:17:55 AM by deathpigeon

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Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#51995: Mar 29th 2013 at 10:23:40 AM

[up] It'd be entertaining...as long as you watch it from a WW3-proofed bunker.

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#51997: Mar 29th 2013 at 10:51:51 AM

[up] Well.

That's something.

It's nice to be reminded that we have crazies on our side as well.

Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#51998: Mar 29th 2013 at 10:53:46 AM

It's hardly a surprise that the Democrats have idiotic members too. What a tool. If the constituent's claims are true (and I have seen nothing as yet to debunk them), then he really is unfit to hold office.

Schild und Schwert der Partei
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#51999: Mar 29th 2013 at 11:07:42 AM

That was a rant.

Re the Oklahoma person: Not liking that at all <Witholds rant>

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

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