The 'Voice of the People' Fallacy

Townhall.com ^ | April 12, 2016 | Thomas Sowell

[Diogenesis]

The whining author hates Mr. Trump and admits it.

This is the Establishment pissing into the Peoples' faces
and deeming it rain and vitamins.

[PeteB570]

Never got a majority....

.............but got more than any other candidate in the running.

So that means none of the other candidates got a majority either and got less votes than Trump.

[VanDeKoik]

tl;dr

Who needs voters? I wanna win and whatever means are necessary is cool, and you should be impressed when crooked politicals use them.

We still totally expect you to show up in November because Hillary is corrupt.

[ObamahatesPACoal]

Trump’s going to win 32 states most of them Democrat or Swing states. Cruz won’t win 16 states.

Cruz has won a few safe GOP states and country club holy roller contests.

Sowell has written every other oped saying Trump has huge negatives and should be robbed.

[Stepan12]

The world’s greatest intellectual, Thomas Sowell, ph.D, is correct. In Donald Trump, people are electing Barack Hussein Obama again with less experience and knowledge then the current idiot/phony in office.

[ripnbang]

We can survive as a nation with a bad president as long as they put the country first, secures its borders and promote fair trade. We cannot survive as a nation when a President is an open borders, free trader globalist owned by the banks.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Ready for the Trumpanzees to spend the next several hours screeching and flinging poop?

[bert]

You have pointed out the fallacy in the good dr’s arithmetic. How would the votes stack up had there been only two to vote for?

[Diogenesis]

A Tail of Two Fingers

[major-pelham]

Sad to see the great Sowell slouch away from us this year. At this rate he’ll be Beckian by November.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

And no, I’m not a Cruzbot, or whatever the latest derisive term might be. I dislike fanaticism from either camp.

[Fai Mao]

My choices at this point in order:
Trump
An unidentified person
Ryan
Kasich
Stalin
Hitler
Satan
Bernie
Hillary
Cruz

I don’t think that I am alone

If Trump can’t win with 40% of the vote the Cruz can’t win without that 40%

[baltimorepoet]

Elections are not held to make us feel good at the time, but to select someone with the depth of knowledge and character to be entrusted with our lives and the future of the nation.

George Washington warned us about political parties in his farewell address. Our system has become too corrupt to "select someone with the depth of knowledge and character". The whole concept of "voting people out" when the system is corrupt is laughable, because of the devil in the details... the way the system is set up (primaries, delegates, Super-delegates, party influence, lobbyists, MSM) to ensure that the venal and corrupt are granted power.

There is a reason why only 11% of people approve of Congress, and there is a reason why the politicians constantly push to "get out the vote". And it boils down to a question of illegitimate vs legitimate government.

"Get out the vote" (to maintain the appearance of a legitimate government) vs "these are just the rules of the system" shows that the appearance of legitimacy is more important than the government actually being a legitimately ruling entity based on the consent of the governed.

[baltimorepoet]

Elections are not held to make us feel good at the time

Oh yes they are! That is the whole reason for "get out the vote". The person who votes and thinks they are influencing the system, is a person less likely to contemplate joining an insurrection to topple the system. Machiavelli said as much about Republics... the "stability".

The problem with too much stability, is that when corruption sets in, it becomes irreversible, until the system and the society collapse. We are the new Rome, and like Rome, we will fall.

[Jack Hammer]

The huge crowd of Washington insiders won’t rest until the Republican nominee is one of their own - a lukewarm vanilla republicrat who can be guaranteed to play the game by their rules.

Bet the farm on it.

They’re fat, rich, empowered and contented, and they don’t want anyone rocking their boat.

[VanDeKoik]

“The world’s greatest intellectual, Thomas Sowell, “

Is that your attempt at trying to blunt dissent?

Some people see Hillary as the smartest women in the world. Be sure to avoid being critical of her in the future, please.

[Axeslinger]

{Ignorance is dangerous enough in itself. But ignorance on the part of an egomaniac, who announces that he is his own best advisor, is incorrigible ignorance}

Pretty much sums up a substantial portion of FR these days

[Stepan12]

You are comparing apples with oranges or, in this case, comparing apples with poisonous mushrooms.

[gogeo]

The fallacy that seems to be most popular this year is that, if Donald Trump comes close to getting the 1,237 delegates required to become the Republican nominee, and that nomination goes instead to someone else, then the convention will have ignored "the voice of the people."

The people will decide that for themselves, Mr. Sowell...they're funny that way.

There's a dynamic at work here you seem oblivious to, Sir...many of the people are in a lather, and in no mood to be lectured by their 'betters.'