# Robert Reich nails it: This is what this election is about **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 27, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399 "2016-01-27T19:09:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/261 "2016-02-08T18:17:45Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I’m not seeing how that’s germane to your claim that being heard is connected to free speech. It isn’t. There is no right to be heard, and what you’re describing is more of your wishlist than anything based in reality. > Those people that are voting…they’re doing it wrong! It’s amazing that Obama got elected twice. That mind controlling money must have been defective the past 8 years. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/262 "2016-02-08T22:15:54Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I’m not seeing how that’s germane to your claim that being heard is connected to free speech. It isn’t. What is germane to my claim are the questions I asked that you declined to answer. > [@Bone](#): > > Those people that are voting…they’re doing it wrong! If by “wrong” you mean “induced to vote against their own best interests, in a manner that they would not have done had they been aware of objective facts instead of political spin”, then, yep, exactly right. Do you think that people _ **want** _ to be screwed on health care? Do you think that states with a majority of blue-collar workers _ **want** _ their unions destroyed? Do you think that any average person in possession of at least half a brain and some basic economic facts _ **wants** _ billionaires to get bigger tax breaks while their town can’t afford basic public services? > [@octopus](#): > > It’s amazing that Obama got elected twice. That mind controlling money must have been defective the past 8 years. What’s amazing is that anyone could think that “influence of money in politics” means money is guaranteed to buy every election, for every candidate, on every issue, every time. Money in politics is the thumb on the scale of the crooked butcher that swings the odds heavily in favor of the crooks. No more, no less. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/263 "2016-02-08T22:55:45Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > What is germane to my claim are the questions I asked that you declined to answer. Were those questions not rhetorical? In any event, they weren’t germane so they were uninteresting. > [@](#): > > If by “wrong” you mean “induced to vote against their own best interests, in a manner that they would not have done had they been aware of objective facts instead of political spin”, then, yep, exactly right. Do you think that people _ **want** _ to be screwed on health care? Do you think that states with a majority of blue-collar workers _ **want** _ their unions destroyed? Do you think that any average person in possession of at least half a brain and some basic economic facts _ **wants** _ billionaires to get bigger tax breaks while their town can’t afford basic public services? Yes, if they get something they want more. Is that hard to imagine? Principles matter, and if the outcome is overall negative, then principles matter even more. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/264 "2016-02-08T23:21:24Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > What is germane to my claim are the questions I asked that you declined to answer. > If by “wrong” you mean “induced to vote against their own best interests, in a manner that they would not have done had they been aware of objective facts instead of political spin”, then, yep, exactly right. Do you think that people _ **want** _ to be screwed on health care? Do you think that states with a majority of blue-collar workers _ **want** _ their unions destroyed? Do you think that any average person in possession of at least half a brain and some basic economic facts _ **wants** _ billionaires to get bigger tax breaks while their town can’t afford basic public services? > > What’s amazing is that anyone could think that “influence of money in politics” means money is guaranteed to buy every election, for every candidate, on every issue, every time. Money in politics is the thumb on the scale of the crooked butcher that swings the odds heavily in favor of the crooks. No more, no less. I suspect that this stance of your’s has been shaped people who are utilizing their influence. This influence is not limited to money, but like money, it is never distributed equitably or completely fairly. Therefore, we should dismiss your viewpoint as tainted by the influence of the powerful, until the speech of all public figures, entertainers, academics, ect, is regulated to prune it down into an acceptable shape. It isn’t your fault. You are one of those poor misled souls, who has been convinced by Micheal Moore, Noam Chomsky, and Cornell West to vote against their own interests. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399.md?page=13)