Comments by "Tony Wilson" (@tonywilson4713) on "Trump Retweets Comically Humiliating Videos" video.

Exactly - The Presidential pardon power he has does NOT include impeachment.
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@smcdonald9991 As an Australian you are partly right. On point 1 the unusual thing is that for federal elections each state decides what it will do and that really comes from how America was founded. In Australia all elections are run by the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) they are independent, they control the voting rolls, they print the ballots, they count the votes, they handle any discrepancies and recounts and finally they certify the results. We don't have a President, like Canada we have a Governor General who has very limited executive power, absolutely zero policy power, The GG's main job is ceremonial. They pin medals on people, they visit hospitals, open new schools and do a couple of functions government functions but they are procedural. We don't have this insane lengthy lame duck period. I actually went to college in America (U. Illinois) and I think the real problem in America is that too many people have learned how to "game" the system and cheat. I personally think the Founding Fathers constructed one of the great achievements of human history with writing the Constitution. What they never counted on were people like Mitch McConnell, and organizations like the Federalist Society and the NRA.
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@smcdonald9991 On the Westminster. First I'm an aerospace engineer and was trained in complex systems. Its one reason why I like Mark Blyth as uses similar techniques to explain economics. So don't ask for any political theory or I might drown you in complex system theory. You're partly right about our system the elected officials of our lower house are very tightly bound to the party, but that can opt out of any vote and even cross the floor, but it usually comes at a cost. There are also times when members put forward a "private members bill" which is allows freedom from party politics. There are also conscience votes where somebody will abstain or cross the floor. Our Senate is picked based on the percentages that parties get on the senate ticket. So its a place where minor parties and independents get in often. Most of the time they have no power beyond calling out party hacks when to they do the wrong thing. But every so often a group of them get what's called the balance of power. Where neither party has absolute control of the Senate. They then get immense power and the smarter ones have done well by us with that. So yes most of our politics is dominated by party politics at both state and federal level. Yes it has issues, but whose system doesn't. As to being unfair your wrong because most Australians vote for the party not the local candidate of that party. Trust me at least half our politicians would not ever get elected if they had to stand up and speak for themselves. Our politicians campaign as parties not individuals. If there is a huge downside to that its a lack of independent voices. BUT that's changing - at our last election the main independents did co-fund commercials and those were basically run as "If you don't like the main parties vote for one of us" and it was successful. Its been proven repeatedly that if you are an independent and you can build a public profile with some air time and simply put 1 or 2 good points up you can beat even the most entrenched party hack. Australian's fundamentally don't like our parties and we do like sending them messages to behave and do some stuff that helps us or we will kick you into the gutter. In fact a good way for a party to get rid of someone is NOT run a candidate in their electorate particularly if there is a good independent running. When Australians want to send a message we don't like switching from one party hack to another party hack. We do like voting for the true underdog as way to kick a poly in the teeth and independents fit that nicely. So in some ways our system is as f--ked as any other and in other ways we do get a far better chance of kicking ratbags out.
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@smcdonald9991 On the possibility of a party getting power with less of the popular vote it is possible in Australia and we have had cases of that in the past with Gerrymandering. Not so much at the Federal but the state of Queensland used to do it and the National Party controlled the place for a long time with only about 33% of the popular vote. The Joke used to be that "In Queensland sheep vote." Since that time most boundaries are controlled by the electoral commission who have the mandate "keep it fair" and it mostly works.
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@smcdonald9991 On Australia becoming a republic there's a real issue with the pro-Republicans as there are 2 factions who hate each other. So they will never combine and get the job done and then let the Australian people decide what style of POA (president of Australia) we want. The first group are basically minimalists who want nothing to change except the Governor General becomes "Australia's Representative" instead of the "Queens Representative." Its a name change and that's all. All current functions and executive powers stay as is and that is the most popular option. The other side want an elected politician and the bulk of the Australian DON'T want that at all because we see what its done to America. If it was put forward as an Irish style President it might get through. But basically that camp want a US Style POA and it simply wont happen and is even less likely after Trump. The Royals knowing that division only stifle debate screaming we'll be like America and it kills the discussion every time. The biggest thing is one group of republicans want a US style very politically active POA and the bulk of the population just doesn't. Its a case of loud minorities getting in their own way. Most likely we will become a republic when the Queen dies or abdicates. Charles himself has said himself that (other than the protectorates) the nations of the Commonwealth should become independent republics. At some point we have to grow up. That wont end the Common Wealth as there are already members who are Republics like South Africa.
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Which one? The Fox clown at the start or the OAN clown afterwards. Joan Rivers once claimed Bo Derek was so dumb she would have to study for a Pap Test. What do you think she'd say about those 2? As for Pearson SHARP - Foghorn Leghorn said it best. "That boy's about as sharp as a bowling ball."
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