[hugh]

I mean, what have they done for you lately? Can you name a single good deed they've done in the past 30 years?

Luckily, the job of the government isn't to do good deeds -- it's to hold onto power in order to stop even worse people from getting it.

The purpose of democracy isn't to get the best people into power, it's to stop the worst people from getting into power.

[bokonist]

I would welcome a government that did absolutely nothing except stop bad guys from getting into power. Unfortunately, Congress thinks its job is to pass "legislation" and it does so in vast quantities. This has piled up over the decades covering the entire country in a gray legislative goo. If abolishing Congress is too big of step, how about changing the rules so that any new law requires a 70% majority? Or maybe even a 90% majority?

I'd also note that democracy is altogether a failure at preventing the worst people from getting into power. Some of histories worst tyrants from history have come to power through party politics.

[justindz]

Where could I find a list of terrible tyrants that came to power in a representative democratic system? That ought to be interesting.

Or are you saying that all systems with parties are abominable because of parties, regardless of the details of how the systems work?

[bokonist]

Off the top of my head: Sulla, Cromwell, Robespierre, Napolean, Hitler, Mugabe. There are many more, but I'd have to verify.

[hugh]

Where could I find a list of terrible tyrants that came to power in a representative democratic system? That ought to be interesting.

Well, that list mostly goes:

1. Hitler

2. A few others

But, y'know, Hitler counts for something.