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Originally Posted by Skybird
Prime example is the hate-filled emotional trench warfare in the US, but in principle it is present everywhere.
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And somebody mentioned how filibusters precent congress and senate from deciding. What puts the US aside from the West is that there a minority can delay and even prevent a basic democratic principle: that is that the decision gets formed my majority vote. That is what democracy is about: majority votes. Filibustering is the way to bypass this unwelcomed little detail.
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No Sky, you misunderstand our government. We are - as was discussed - a representative republic - where the representatives are elected by a democratic process. The House operates more as a "democracy" while the Senate has rules in place that prevent a pure "majority rule". This is - much to the chagrin of some - on both sides depending on who has a majority - by design. It protects the people and make it harder for the government to rule by 51% telling the other 49% how to live.
The design helps insure that one party must have a strong mandate from the people - as demonstrated by the # of elected representatives in congress - to enact legislation. The difference between "majority rule" and a filibuster proof majority is a mere 10% - if a party cannot meet that threshold, then it has no strong mandate.