American Democracy At Its Worst

INTIFADA

Every four years the American people go through what I would call a charade event called presidential election. This election is supposed to reflect the alleged democratic spirit of the American system, where people elect “a government from the people for the people”. Sadly it is only few people, who understand that this American election is just an auction, where nominees vie to sell their hopeful future political policies for the support of the higher bidder of corporations, military industrial complex, bankers and special interest powerful political organizations.

American election is actually a quasi-democratic process established by the so-called founders of the country. Those founders; an elite on the top of the power pyramid, were colonial racist figures, who established this quasi-democratic process as a peaceful power competition among themselves. They were slave owners and feudal land lords who initially restricted voting to land owners only. Later, when they established and controlled two major political parties; Republican and Democratic parties, they allowed the tax payers to vote to appease their anger and demands for reform (no taxation without representation).

[They] were not allowed to vote until after the abolishment of slavery and the signing of the 15^th Amendment in 1869. Yet they were faced with many “legal” obstacles such as paying poll taxes and literacy tests that were not mandated on white voters. Women, including African American women, did not have the right to vote until 1920 with the signing of the 19^th Amendment. In 1964 poll taxation was outlawed, and in 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act allowing every American citizen to vote regardless of race or ethnicity.

Still this is not a real democratic system; one person one vote. Many are not cognizant that the outcome of the primary election is based on the delegate system. Delegates are people from each state, who attend the conventions to select the presidential nominees for their respective parties. They are the most important figure for determining which candidate wins the primary election. The number of delegates from each state varies depending on the size of each state’s population. Electing a nominee depends also on whether the state gives delegates proportionally to a nominee or implements a winner-take-all system. In such case a nominee “A” may get elected even though he gets less votes than nominee “B”. This depends on the percentage of the vote (not necessarily 50%).   CONTINUE READING