It can easily be argued that Bill Clinton was elected in part due to his opposition to NAFTA - a bill that, upon his election, he signed at the obvious behest of his voters.
President Barack Obama has provided numerous examples of backing down from his campaign promises.
And in Ireland, the Fianna Fail party was recently thrown out of power. This is clearly due to the citizens’ anger over the harsh austerity measures they’ve been subjected to in order to save the banks. In short order, the ascendant Fine Gael party has started to do an about-face on its (at least implied) opposition to austerity measures, deciding instead to accept even harsher measures despite the fact that the public opposes it.
These are but a few examples of politicians riding a wave of anger to power and then turning against the clearly-spoken and unambiguous wishes of their constituents.
What is the point of a democracy, or even a representative democracy, when you vote someone into office to do something and they do the opposite?
There’s always a next election.
The reality of politics is also that a President can’t do everything he wants to do or promised to do. No President ever has or ever will. The US a Republic, not a democracy. You’re voting for the person to make decisions on your behalf, not to implement your will. There’s no such thing as a mandate.
While that part is obvious part of the problem is the expectations of the voters themselves.
In general voters want government spending, even when they say they don’t, even when it is impossible.
So how does one reconcile the demands of the electorate with the realities of the world? A politico has to find some space between the two to get elected and then function in office.
Part of this is the basic political concept that ‘it is easier to run or oppose than to be in charge’. As is seen so often being a gadfly or heckler is much easier than performing the office. This is one of the most common political events there is. From our current Tea Party congressmen to Hamas many people have found out that making demands and suggestions from a position of no responsibility is easier than having the responsibility and trying to make your suggestions a reality.
Well, the first thing you can do is recognize that politicians who run for president in the US always promise to do things that only Congress can do. Most of the “promise broken” items in you first link are in that category.
And of course Obama faced a strange situation where the main reason he was elected was his opposition to the Iraq war, but by the time he was elected, the pathway out of Iraq had already been set and we were plunged into the Great Recession. I remember early in his tenure he joked about how no one would have expected, during the campaign, that once he got in office the Iraq War would be far down the list of priorities of the American people.
Other than that, do what has already been suggested. Vote for someone else next time. If if most people don’t, then we must conclude most people either don’t care or are OK with the “promise broken” situation.
Maybe you missed the point. The Tea Party isn’t in charge of anything. Again: it’s easier to oppose than to be in charge. Put a Tea Party President in office and he’ll bend to reality within twelve hours of taking the Oath.
Then vote them out. I’ll add that Dio’s point that our elected officials are representatives, not proxies, is a good one. I’ll also add that in most cases whatever it is that that elected official does is probably supported by half the population.
I’m interested: what’s your solution to the question posed in your thread title?
Personally, I don’t vote with an expectation that a politician will do everything I want, or even have the ability to keep every promise. I am voting for tendencies, for incremental changes (or at least shifts in momentum), and to hopefully prevent the exercise of the worst tendencies and implementations of power by the other side.
For instance, when I vote for President, I pretty much ignore campaign promises, I’m just voting for the one who will, in a general sense, be more left than right, appoint the Supreme Court Justices that I like, and hold the line on at least a few hardcore, ideological principles.
American politics is a tug of war between two more or less equal sides. it pulls an inch to one side, then two inches to the other, then another inch back. It’s always incremental. Anyone who expects someone to be able to come along and yank the other side all the way across the line (no matter what they say) is being naive.
IMO, the issue has long been that the American public has long neglected our responsibilities as citizens, to stay informed and involved.
When we talk about the public’s demands we have to realize that they are not consistent from group to group. I think what we need to attempt to weed out the corruption and value honesty and integrity. I actually appreciate the Tea Party’s attitude of politicians on probation. But that only works when we’re actually paying attention to what they are doing rather than what they pay superficial lip service to.
IMO, it would help if there were citizen groups , not just local party officials, that met together and discussed the issues and made an effort to bring facts to the table and seek to truly understand the issues beyond superficial spin. Give up a little entertainment time and get involved.
America isn’t much more than a democracy in name only at this point. The politicians do what they are paid to do, not what they promise and not what the people who voted for them want.
Doesn’t matter. The people with real power, the wealthy will still be there no matter who you vote for. The politicians will sacrifice their elected positions before they defy the wealthy.
My answer would be “nothing”. The political system is too badly corrupted. There’s nothing to be done at this point but watch as the country becomes ever more corrupt and plutocratic.
Ah, so that’s why we just got the biggest budget cut in US history, why labor unions are under unprecedented attack all over the country, and why we’re looking at bigger tax cuts for the 2/3 of American corporations who already pay no taxes. :rolleyes:
News flash: none of that would be happening now if it weren’t for the Tea Party steamrolling the GOP and the rest of America.
Wait a second, sounds like politicians did exactly what voters asked for. It’s just not what you asked for because you represent a small and ill-informed minority.
Change your system to one with more direct democracy. Representative Democracy is just a faint shadow of a real democracy anyway. It hardly merits the name “democracy”. The US and Mexican population should have been asked directly on the issue of NAFTA and there should have been a referendum on the issue of what to do with the Irish banks.