The fact that Alvin Green won the Democrat nomination for senate candidate in SC, and actually got 27% of the vote, should tell you all you need to know on this subject.

"Rock the Vote" is the worst idea ever.

I love the libs who are smarter than everybody else on the planet!

This reminds me of Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" segment where he would go out to the streets of LA and ask simple questions ... most of which were answered incorrectly (e.g. is Mexico north of the United States.) Most people are either incapable of understanding or not interested in politics, history, geography or current events.

In fact, the Electoral College was created as a buffer between the population and the election of a president. Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers:

"It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations."

Examples could be found from both sides of the isle.
The effects of political ignorance are tragic!

As bits go, this one's getting pretty tired. It's just too easy to find uninformed people off the street. Far more interesting are when these questions are posed to our elected representatives.

Remember Congressman Westmoreland was adamantly fighting for the Ten Commandments to be posted at all public schools and courthouses, but when interviewed on 60 minutes couldn't even identify a single commandment??

Here he is later, after that national embarassment, and he still could only (kinda) name a few!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiWLCO_nMk0

PS- If you want to memorize the 10 Commandments quickly so you'll never forget them, just listen to George Carlin on them.

Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzEs2nj7iZM

It's well enough known, if you read the political thinkers of past centuries: democracy only works with an educated voting class. There is a reason that the franchise has often (historically) been restricted, and it is not elitism.

It really doesn't matter what filter you take, as long as it filters for people who have some idea about what they are voting for, rather than people who are just voting for more slops in the trough.

I was particularly struck by one Obama supporter who was interviewed during the presidential campaign. She supported Obama because of the social programs he promised. The reporter asked here where the government got the money to pay for the programs. She answered something along the lines that "the government makes its own money". She had no concept of what taxes were, and certainly did not understand that the government has to take someone other people's money to pay for her social programs,.

That's the kind of person who has no business voting, because they have no idea how government works.

Here's an idea: Whenever you vote, you are first shown three random questions out of a library of hundreds. Only if you answer at least two correctly, will your vote be counted. Sample question for the voter above: Where does the government get its money? (a) from individual people, in the form of taxes (b) it makes its own money by employing civil servants (c) it can print as much money as it wants.

What if this leads to a massive education campaign so that most people still get to vote? That's even better!

Bradley13, the correct answer is (c). ;-)

(I always used to think (a) but now I know better.)

I think most idiots are apolitical and are happy enough to not vote and leave it all up to the rest of us.

Sadly, there's always someone trying to make them feel guilty about it, and nowadays there are groups that go door to door helping them fill out absentee ballot requests, and stopping by to pick up the absentee ballot, and take it to the courthouse, etc.

The left is doing a great job of this locally, and yeah the right *should* do it but I have real qualms about encouraging every fool to vote.

Far more interesting are when these questions are posed to our elected representatives.

Remember when Spy went around asking various Congress-critters their opinions on ethnic cleansing in Freedonia? Several condemned it; Florida Rep. Corrine Brown even went ballistic on how it needed to be stopped immediately. None of them realized Freedonia is the fictional country in the Marx Brothers film, Duck Soup.

The current system does not provide some kind of check on the "mobs." There have been 22,000 electoral votes cast since presidential elections became competitive (in 1796), and only 10 have been cast for someone other than the candidate nominated by the elector's own political party. The electors are dedicated party activists of the winning party who meet briefly in mid-December to cast their totally predictable votes in accordance with their pre-announced pledges.

As if we wouldn't be able to pull the same trick on conservatives.

Unfortunately the FCC tries to control content as well as the channels (i.e. frequencies). Howard has a tendency to be profane (like Carlin) that isn't acceptable to the public airwaves. (Again by certain people -- the general public could care less.)

How much of Carlin would have been "censored" if it wasn't for his views?

I am now a subscriber to Sirius because of my car. I listen to the patriot channel a lot. Beck I can leave. Mark Levin has some valid points. Mike Church is talking the reality.

But I take it all with a grain of salt without doing research.

Howard Stern I can leave. I have listened to him a little -- his humor just doesn't do it for me. Like the Bob & Tom Show -- too much "stupid" humor.

On the serious subject of the Electoral College -- it is a good idea -- but I think it should be modified for modern times. Break the gerrymandering in the states and then change it to you win districts, not states, but you still have College between the people and the President. We should never have another Gore/Bush type situation. (Note that the fed and state districts don't have to overlap.)

And totally off-topic -- I think that not only on the ballot should show the party -- but whether which person is the incumbent.