In a representative democracy, why will no "serious" politician agree to do what 70% of the country wants?

Question

And that means bringing the troops home from Iraq.

Not ONE Democrat said they would bring troops home from Iraq by 2013.

Yet they have no problem asking people to vote for them because of their position on the war.

The only answer is: just don't vote.

Bush will be out of the White House in 2009 whether anyone votes or not.

Brian, I knew there were no WMD in Iraq before the war. Maybe you shouldn't count so much on the intelligence of Congressional Democrats.

steddy, why would they "have" to go back?

Answer 1

There are consequences to every action. Most of us don't know the full situation in Iraq and can't make an informed decision. The decreased level of insistence by Congressional Democrats for a pull out indicates, to me, that they may have become aware of information the didn't have previously.......

Sorry I thought the question involved leaving not going in, too late for that.........

Answer 2

There was such a radical change in the democrats' position on this issue that I have to wonder if Bush shared some pertinent information with them that has changed their minds. Does that mean they won't be voting for a withdrawal plan as a condition for the funding appropriations?

No matter who wins the election, we will have some presence in Iraq and Afghanistan for many, many years. More U.S. troops are being sent to Afghanistan now. The base in use there is being enlarged to accommodate a third more troops. The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating.

Answer 3

No, because I don't think 70% of the nation can agree on anything. I think you made this number up based on some poll that probably hasn't even sampled 1% of all Americans. For instance, I wanted Democrats to win in the last election, not because I wanted the troops pulled out, but because I wanted Bush to stop being bull-headed about Iraq and sticking with a strategy that was obviously not working. If we pull out from Iraq now, we only make the mistake of invading it in the first place worse. What about the people of Iraq? Don't we owe it to them to re-stabilize their country after de-stabilizingit?

Answer 4

You don't understand the US government. It is a representative republic. That means we elect our leaders and rely on them to make the best possible decisions for our country. Relying on polls is foolhardy.
From Harry S. Truman, I learned the expression: "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics." The left wing liberal loonies in the main stream media make up and take polls then report on the results. They are creating news.
I think every American wants to bring the troops home, after the terrorists have been defeated and when the Iraq government is stable. Cut and run, defeat, quitting are not options. The elected officials understand this.

Answer 5

If we pulled all of our troops out of Iraq now, I can almost guarantee that within 10 years we'd have to go back.

If you want to see different politicians, then you do need to vote. There are always write-ins, and even if that person doesn't win, it still sends the message that people want to see something different.

Edit: The reason I say we would have to go back is very simple. If forces leave before there is stability, it will turn into an even bigger mess than it is now. If there is constant turmoil there, it will become a ripe area for terrorists and extremist groups to flourish. If that happens, then it will become a threat to the Iraq government, the U.S., as well as many other countries, and we will find ourselves having to get involved again in an effort to protect people.

Answer 6

If it was only so simple. Oddly, we don't live in a 'democracy'.....we live in a 'democracy within a republic'. That is, we get to elect representatives, but we don't get to vote on individual laws or regulations. In most states they have ballot measures where the public does get to vote on various things, but that kind of open-ended 'democracy' doesn't exist at the federal level. I suspect that the founders believed that such a system in an era where communication was slow and unreliable would be far too awkward to serve as a means of creating laws, and I doubt if they could conceive at that point in our history the internet or any communication system that could move faster than a horse at full gallop. So, we're stuck with representatives that must deal with other representatives that may be able to prevent or water down such bills as 'getting the hell out of Iraq'. In addition, the current GOP will turn the full fury of right wing radio against anyone, even their own, who dares to speak against the occupation of Iraq...they'll call you anti-american....a 'liberal'...a surrender monkey...a leftist, and fire up their fleet of 'swift-boats' to 'get 'ya'! It's complicated...maybe it was meant to be that way!

Answer 7

I think you bring up a good point. Even though I don't agree that the answer is to bring the troops home, I just assume that on some level, our politicians either agree with Bush OR they are not willing to take what I assume would be a huge political risk????

Answer 8

Because 70% is wrong and would put American troops in harms way if a set date and policy were in place for the terrorist to key in on. Passing such a legislative act and making it the rule of law emboldens the enemy and gives them strength. These are a people who have been at war between tribes for hundreds of years and even subsided that during Saddams reighn of terror but kept it burning. They would wait for America to leave and send us packing with caskets of Dead American Soldiers then suggest to their followers they won. Meanwhile that 70% of America that does not know all the facts would belive our leaders failed those soldiers. Give the politicians credit for not falling into the trap of wielding war by the whims of a mislead nation.

Answer 9

While it may be true that even more than 70% of America want our troops out of Iraq it is not true that 70% want us to do so without accomplishing the mission first.

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Answer 10

Because 70% do not agree with quitting like cowards.