> Every faction in Africa calls themselves by these noble names - Liberation this, Patriotic that, Democratic Republic of something-or-other... I guess they can't own up to what they usually are: the Federation of Worse Oppressors Than the Last Bunch of Oppressors. Often, the most barbaric atrocities occur when both combatants proclaim themselves Freedom Fighters.
The "Defense of Marriage Act" comes to mind. There was one so bad that a judge ordered the authors to change it, but I can't find it at the moment.
Suppose there was a country where collectivism was prioritized. Harmony, conformity and agreeing with others is a point of pride.
Suppose both countries have similar government structures that allow ~everyone to vote. Would it really be surprising that the first country regularly has 50-50 splits, and the second country has virtually unanimous 100-0 voting outcomes? Is that outcome enough basis to judge whether one is "democratic" or not?
Defense of Marriage Act is actually an exception. The people supporting it honestly thought it was defending marriage, and the supportive public knew exactly what it did.
It passed with a veto proof majority a few weeks before a presidential election, received tons of press, and nobody was confused about what it did.
Whereas the Inflation Reduction Act had absolutely nothing to do with reducing inflation.
It only takes 51% of the vote to outlaw opposition.
Just recently, the US democratic convention stripped all the voters in New Hampshire from their votes the presidential candidates.
Liberal means less intervention from the state, it has literally changed its meaning to soft-socialism.
Democratic is not when you’re elected as part of Boris Johnson on a program to leave the EU, and 16% of elected MPs left his party after the vote and rejoined the Libdems (withouth giving a choice to electors, nor resigning as MP) to fight to stay in EU, coining the phrase “What voters really meant was stay in the EU with conditions.”
I focussed on England, but lib’dems in every EU country have the same betrayal.
This didn’t happen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elected_British_politi...
I think what you are referring to is the tory MPs who defied the government and voted with the opposition on a single vote.
At that time literally one of them permanently defected, very visibly crossing the floor. Many of the rest were booted out of the parliamentary party by Boris, only to be readmitted later (including my MP, who I do not vote for).
There were two or three who joined minor parties, and a handful ended up in the Lib Dems afterwards, but there was never a mass defection to the lib dems, who only have 15 MPs now; 15% of the 2019 Tories would be over 50.
Either way I think your summary misunderstands the reasons all of that happened, and the principles behind it.
Seems arbitrary. There is nothing about that act that even borders on defending marriage, and people supporting it know that. It's a comic misnomer.
If it had been called the “Support Healthcare for Veterans Act” or even “Interstate Marriage Consistency Act” it would have been dubious.
But the 70% of Americans who opposed gay marriage correctly understood its meaning, as did the gay rights activists who saw gay marriage as unobtainable.
This wasn’t a confusing or misleading title, as is evidenced by the fact that nobody was confused or misled.