>the USA has NEVER had a national referendum
>doesn't even exist as an option yet
what the fuck? THIS is the home of democracy?
>>78717830
>electoral college
>democracy
pick one
Yeah we do, they're called "ballot questions". Like when Commiefornia shocked us all and banned fag marriage back in 2008
>>78717830
Democracy is progressive speak. We're a republic.
>>78717946
>a statewide ballot is a national referendum
we said no gay marriage
they gave us gay marriage and gay holidays
>>78717900
Right. What makes people think we are a democracy?
>>78718240
>>78717900
>>78717977
>Democracy, or democratic government, is "a system of government in which all the people of a state or polity ... are involved in making decisions about its affairs, typically by voting to elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly"
I'm sorry, I don't follow. Which part doesn't apply to the US?
Yea we do. It's already happened once.
>>78718106
You don't understand our government very well. Aside from fag marriage (which was a huge overreach of power from SCOTUS), most social issues are decided at the state level. We are not set up anywhere near the way the UK is. A national referendum on most issues would be silly because the political climate and established laws are so different throughout the country.
>>78718490
the fact that there are many differing opinions is more reason to hold a referendum, not less
>>78718445
when?
>>78718445
>fourths
>not quarters
why? sounds childish
>>78718445
it was to repeal prohibition on alcohol, right?
>>78717830
Referendums are generally conducted on a state level in the US. There have been thousands of statewide referendums.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiatives_and_referendums_in_the_United_States
>>78717830
Daily reminder that 11 states held an independence referendum and the US ended up killing 600,000 people because of it.
>>78717830
We have them on the state level. In Washington State i we call it an Initiative.
There's no point in having them on a federal level since the states have the majority of power in terms of how they conduct themselves. If there was, say, a proposed amendment to the Constitution, then each state would vote on it and then based on that it would be decided at the federal level.
>>78718828
not relevant to the topic
>>78718773
not relevant to the topic
>>78718614
>>78718664
Yea it was to repeal the prohibition amendment
(((constitutional republic)))
>>78718928
that wasn't a referendum
>then each state would vote on it
why not each citizen?
>>78717900
What's wrong with electoral colleges?
National referendums go against state rights. States allow their citizens to vote for state laws. Like legalizing dude weed lmao
>>78717830
>It's another "Yuropoors don't know that the US is comprised of 50 individual states" thread
Since when are we a democracy?
We're a bunch of nation states that decided to form a union under the condition that each one is a republic, and then the union itself functions as a republic. u wot m8?
>>78718583
>the fact that there are many differing opinions is more reason to hold a referendum, not less
Why?
Why should Midwestern white people be subjugated to the will of hip faggots in Commiefornia?
We're too large and diverse to have a one-size-fits-all unitary government. One need only look at the EU to see how fucking stupid that would be, to shackle such different people to one rule.
>>78719162
>>78718973
I refer you to this >>78718401
>>78717830
We are a federal republic, democracy is a meme.
>>78717830
The US is a large country, ideally we want as few federal laws as possible. Each federal law creates an ideal situation a few states and a catastrophic situation in many others.
There are ballot initiatives and what not that show up on the state level, and this is who blanket laws should be enacted.. On the state level.
Then again, the US is a legislatively isolated country. We don't have some outside power (publicly) dictating our will.
>>78717830
But statewide referendums are commonplace. We're big on state right's here if you haven't noticed. Wars have been fought over this.
>>78719162
We're a democratic republic.
>>78719226
>>78719260
Makes me happy to see /pol/acks defending the constitution and state's rights.
>>78719311
So in other words we're a republic. Glad we could agree on that.
>>78719226
>Why should Midwestern white people be subjugated to the will of hip faggots in Commiefornia?
well they already are through presidential and Congressional elections. On the federal level Commiefornia definitely sets the pace, population- and voter-wise
>>78717830
America isn't a direct democracy like Athens for instance. It's a Representative Republic, like Rome.
It's intentionally set up that way to avoid the tyranny of the majority. Theoretically it works as long as the Constitution is respected.
>>78719226
you still have the federal government and pay taxes, not to mention the military
what makes america better than europe is national unity, which the democrats are trying to destroy
>>78718997
Because each citizen does, in their own state. If the total amount of people for it out numbers those against, then the state will vote for it and vise-versa.
It's a pretty simple concept once you get your head around the idea that each State in the United States is technically its own sovereign nation.
>>78719439
We so need a new amendment to have the states appoint the senators again.
>>78718401
one person. one vote. under the electoral college, your vote only matters if your party wins a particular state
>>78719413
>well they already are through presidential and Congressional elections
You can't compare representative elections to national referendums which set the policy for a whole country. With the former you're merely electing representatives to debate and enforce law, while with the latter one side is literally enforcing their views over another. It's subjugation by the numbers.
>>78717830
Uh.. we are a democracy. Why do you think people chant, "THIS IS WHAT A DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!"?
>>78718106
referendums are made at the state level. thats the way our government is intended to function. the point is decentralization. the fed have been overreaching for decades, even a century... really ever since the war between the states.
>>78719629
Because they got told to chimp out by communist agitators.
>>78717830
>home of democracy
Not a jackass-leftist, but that line only makes sense when compared to totalitarian dictatorships. Not necessarily for worse, there are far more more democratic countries than the US, especially considering the structure of the US government.
>>78719629
>Uh.. we are a democracy.
well make up your mind because everyone here says you're not
>>78719260
>The US is a large country, ideally we want as few federal laws as possible. Each federal law creates an ideal situation a few states and a catastrophic situation in many others.
This prevents states with larger voting bases from bullying smaller ones.
God forbid we have something like a gun ban referendum and having Mexifornians and Jew Yorkers bullying the rest of America into giving them up.
Our states have a lot more power than other countries' provinces.
sup
>>78719629
We're a democratic-republic. Close, but not quite a full blown democracy.
>>78717830
my advice to europoors is think of US states as european countries and the EU as the US govt
the only time the US should act as one entity is in relations with foreign countries
>>78719877
you're opposed to any federal legislation at all?
>>78719877
This. Thanks for pointing that out.
>>78719228
The difference is our constitution doesn't guarantee democracy. We democratically vote our reps, but if we really wanted to we could amend our constitution to completely remove democracy from america, and we'd still be a constitutional republic.
>>78719877
europoors really don't seem to understand the scale of our country. there is a reason we are the world superpower. USA is on the tier of EU and USSR, just much more successful
>>78719936
the constitution tells the feds what they can and cannot legislate. sometimes they overreach, which caused the civil war. since then they've gained power to legislate over more areas. FDR did a great deal to add to fed power as well.
>>78719936
One of the main reasons we have our current federal government and constitution is that the previous looser arrangement among the colonies was insufficient to tell the Brits where they could shove it.
And we only agreed to a stronger federal government after adding the first 10 amendments to the constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, to try to make sure it wouldn't get out of control as an unfortunate necessity.
>>78719936
Why are you going to the extremely absurd in your arguments? We have federal oversight and there are things which are decided and mandated at a federal level but for the most part each state conducts its business in the way it wants to.
Unless you're just being intentionally argumentative.
>>78718401
We are a Representative Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy.
>>78719409
We're a republic with democratically elected representatives.
We do ballot initiatives at the state level, you tard. That's the beauty of our system.
>>78717830
>US
>democracy
heh
>>78719936
The federal government is intended to act as a representative in foreign affairs and as a mediator between the states. federal legislation should be as sparse as is reasonable. read our constitution. any power not explicitly given to the fed is left up to the states
>>78720387
except for the currently bastardized interpretation of the commerce clause
>>78720168
>civil war.
imagine if other european states decide to secede from the EU following the Brexit, and the EU government declared this a rebellion which sparks off a war between unionists and secessionists. its a war between states, not a civil war.
britain could very well be the EU's south carolina
>>78718914
>relevant to the topic
>but not relevant because it doesn't fit my narrative
Ask me how I know you're Liberal.
>>78720636
hopefully the right side wins this time
>>78719311
Actually, we're a Constitutional Republic.
Pretty much all of these we're based on times which much simpler Governmental structures, so rather outdated for today.
>>78720576
>commerce clause
fuck that pisses me off. thats been misconstrued such that the feds put their dirty hands all over everything in the name of interstate commerce.
>dont want trannies in your public restrooms, NC? well, a couple interstate corporations have decided not to do business in your state, therefore this affects interstate commerce, therefore we're going to repeal your law for you. because trannies in bathrooms = interstate commerce. youre welcome.
>>78720387
This is why we'll always be better than the EU.
>>78719150
This.
It's by design OP. The founders intended sovereignty to rest with the individual states, not the federal government.
>>78720825
probably our fault for not shootin the bastards a long time ago
>>78720749
instead of slavery, the EU may well attack Britain in the name of "refugees."
>dont want refugees? that violates their human rights. nevermind the multitude of other reasons youre leaving, you racist bigots. surrender or die
in b4 Brussels burns london to the ground
>>78717900
>whining about the electoral college meme
Under 18s go to >>>/r/eddit
>>78718631
>bong from land of knickers, loos, and tallywhackers calling American vocabulary childish.
I'd be chuffed if I weren't proud of you lot right now.
>>78717830
USA is not a democracy. It's a constitutional, representative REPUBLIC.
>>78717830
isn't greece the home of democracy?
that dead dude So-Crates?
democracy is dildos anyways, as we can all see it is easily subverted by a minority.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaCHBmGWcBc
pic related to video
>>78717830
>vote for trump
>doesn't matter because the state voted for hillary
its forcing everyone to move to a swing state or a state of their party choice
britain = CSA
EU = USA
refugees = slaves
scotland = west virginia
junker = lincoln
farrage = jefferson davis
english cross = confederate battle flag
>>78717830
If we had national referendums, stupid knee-jerk faggots would have voted away all our freedoms a hundred years ago.
>>78719032
Elections are decided by about 5/50 states
>>78718401
Ignore these people saying America is not a democracy. It's very clearly a representative democracy, and the existence of the electoral college does not negate that, nor does calling it a republic.
Every aspect of our government can be traced back to a vote, even the constitutional backbone.
That said, it's clearly not a direct democracy and there are checks built into our government intended to temper some of the negative aspects of democracy.
>>78717830
>Want to work in a certain field
>This field generally requires academic qualification
>Get qualification at university while ignoring progressive brainwashing
>Get job in field that provides an increase in income that offsets student loan financing
What's the problem?
>>78722308
That's more a problem with first past the post than electoral colleges. And the 5 only decide because the 45 have already decided or are insignificantly small.
>>78722308
And the battle between an army of 10,000 and 10,020 is decided by 20 men. What's your point?
>>78717830
USA is a prison and an exploitation plant, nothing else, I don't even understand what elections exist for.
>>78724037
Soon the USA will be dropping bombs everywhere and sticking their filthy Jews in every part of the world, leaving no other option except this cancer.
>>78723495
No it isn't.
>>78724203
That's the point. Just because 20 (or 5 states) are the deciding factor doesn't make the rest of the participants irrelevant. People who think that only battleground states decide elections are forgetting that all the other states cast votes too.
>>78717830
You obviously know nothing of American government. The people here have no voice whatsoever. All elections are rigged, just like they were in the Soviet Union. The idea of a government of by and for the people is just idiotic propaganda we brainwash people of low intelligence with.
>>78717830
Because referendums create divides in a common people and should only be used in the most important of issues
