# You say you want a revoluuuution **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 7, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698 "2017-07-07T15:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/61 "2017-07-11T18:26:09Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Was Theresa May “elected” Prime Minister of the U.K.? > > [SPOILER]No, she was _appointed_ by the Head of State … because she was Leader of Parliament’s plurality party. > > Just like the Man with the Moustache.[/SPOILER] Not the same situation at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/62 "2017-07-11T19:22:27Z")
> [@](#): > > THE EARTH AND THE SPECIES WHO INHABIT IT – including humanity – should sustain life and not be despoiled by ignorance, greed, and the disregard of science. Uhm…WASPS can fuck right off and should be wiped out. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/63 "2017-07-11T21:14:58Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Uhm…WASPS can fuck right off and should be wiped out. The stinger kind or the Trixie and Chad kind?😃 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/64 "2017-07-11T21:38:08Z")
Why spoil a beautiful thing with specificity? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/65 "2017-07-12T07:01:41Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Only to the extent that based on experience and historical examples, the architects of the Federal Constitution thought it wise to avoid a mobocracy, Where “mob” is defined as “Anyone who isn’t in our gentlemen’s club”, yes, I know… > [@](#): > > and they presumed that democracy would flow from the states since that was the level at which popular elections took place… And they were so, so wrong. > [@](#): > > As for electoral votes and equal number of senators per state, these slave-owners from Virginia were willing to give a voice to tiny free states that could never have outvoted Virginia based solely on population. Sorry, [what](http://brilliantmaps.com/population-density-1775/)? Or are you including [the people who couldn’t vote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_rights_in_the_United_States#Poor_whites_and_free_African_Americans) in that “population”? > [@](#): > > Hatred of rich old white men doesn’t make your case. Strawmanning doesn’t make yours. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/66 "2017-07-12T09:04:14Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’m not “alarmed” by it–I’m pitting it. I’m pitting the idiots who think a legally and fairly elected president is “illegitimate”, and that a mass populist insurrection to overthrow that legally and fairly elected president would not be the death knell of American democracy. Probably not legally and certainly not fairly. And democracy in the US essentially died as soon as the Republicans took control; there’s no way they’ll permit themselves to be removed from office. That’s what\* happens \*when you put anti-democratic authoritarians into power; America isn’t some special snowflake. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/67 "2017-07-12T20:07:17Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I am particularly astounded that this place is called a “liberal” board. If by liberal you mean left, then you’re right, it’s not. If by liberal you mean technocratic neo-liberalism as practiced by the Dem party and corporate media , it’s pretty dang liberal. r/Enough\_Sanders\_Spam might be the most liberal board I’ve seen, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/68 "2017-07-12T21:02:16Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Probably not legally and certainly not fairly. > > And democracy in the US essentially died as soon as the Republicans took control; there’s no way they’ll permit themselves to be removed from office. That’s what\* happens \*when you put anti-democratic authoritarians into power; America isn’t some special snowflake. Will you agree to push a peanut down Broadway in New York City with your nose the next time a Democratic president is elected? All expenses paid. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/69 "2017-07-12T21:18:27Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Sorry, [what](http://brilliantmaps.com/population-density-1775/)? Or are you including [the people who couldn’t vote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_rights_in_the_United_States#Poor_whites_and_free_African_Americans) in that “population”? In 1790 the population of slave state Virginia exceeded that of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and (to be admitted in the following year) Vermont combined. And representation was based on total US Census population. So as far as I can see you shot yourself in the foot with your own argument. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/70 "2017-07-13T06:36:42Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > In 1790 the population of slave state Virginia exceeded that of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and (to be admitted in the following year) Vermont combined. But total slave voting population didn’t exceed total free voting population, which was the point of my cite. Yes, _some_ free states got over-represented. Others (the really populous ones) got woefully\* under\*represented, compared to Virginia. Couching that as Virginian magnanimity is, IMO, a self-serving reading. > [@](#): > > And representation was based on total US Census population. Well, [not _exactly_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Fifths_Compromise). But I thought this was about _voting_ population. > [@](#): > > So as far as I can see you shot yourself in the foot with your own argument. Gosh, a slight improvement over telling me how much I hate old white men, but hardly a convincing rebuttal, all the same… ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/71 "2017-07-19T14:27:52Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > The parallels between Hitler and Trump are really rather strong. Trump was elected in a democratic process, though he got a plurality (not a majority) of votes. And Hitler was selected according to his country’s democratic process, after his party received a large plurality (but not a clear majority). Hitler’s rise was eased by suppressing the Communist party of his opponent voters. And Trump’s rise (or the GOP’s rise more generally) derives much strength from the suppression of opponent voters. > > There are of course big differences between Hitler and Trump. Hitler had a strong political “vision,” while Trump is a business huckster whose publicity prank went too far. Another difference is that eliminating Hitler would probably have cut off the head of Naziism and let Germany resume a saner course. A Trump resignation will lead to a Pence-Ryan Administration which might be more damaging than Trump’s. This Salon [article](http://www.salon.com/2017/06/25/americas-last-king-the-unsettling-parallels-between-king-george-iii-and-donald-trump/) compares him not with Hitler, but George III. Just sayin’ ---
**Author:** ![Murph1111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Murph1111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murph1111)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698/72 "2017-07-20T23:22:31Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Or, you know, you could choose your president by popular vote like sane people… I believe you mean that California and New York, with possible help from Chicago, would choose our president by popular vote. Having lived in California for many years, I sometimes question the “sane” part. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-you-want-a-revoluuuution/790698.md?page=3)