Jimmy Carter: Citizens Can Still Be Powerful In Elections

[Purveyor]

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA (AP) -- Jimmy Carter bemoans the influence of big donors in elections and "polarized" political parties. But the former president says he remains hopeful and especially encouraged college-age people will stay engaged by voting, protesting and otherwise speaking out.

A wide-ranging interview with Carter on Friday opened a new National Archives event series highlighting immigration, civil and women's rights and educational access.

Carter announced in August that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer but in March announced he had stopped receiving regular drug treatments after several scans found no cancer in his body.

The 91-year-old didn't address his health before an audience of about 130 people at his presidential library Friday in Atlanta.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_JIMMY_CARTER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-05-20-17-53-24

[w4rma]

11. Sounds like President Carter is feeling some Bern, here. He's telling Sanders's biggest demographic

to protest and speak out. Exactly what Hillary is telling them not to do.

[ciking724]

15. News Flash

Our next President will be either Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. Hillary supporters should start adjusting to this fact.

[silvershadow]

2. This election is so important! More wise words from President Carter:

[Equinox Moon]

9. Isn't that just the saddest statement

"America has no functioning democracy at this moment."

And yet, we are so self-righteous to insist the rest of world be a "Democracy", just like us.
So very sad.

[Lodestar]

3. And it's EXTREMELY important that movements for change operate

independently of presidential elections that only happen every four years.
Movements need to stand on values and principles that have an
autonomous and enduring life of their own.

[Purveyor]

4. I hoping we can have that after this election cycle. The pump has

been primed...

[Jitter65]

13. I agree 100% It keeps us from having to trash and smear natural allies who may not hold

all of the movement's ideas and ideals but who will not thwart them in reaching mutually acceptable changes.

[forest444]

6. That alone says it all doesn't it.

We've gone from democracy being, by definition, in the power of the citizenry, to a hijacked democracy in which voters little more than an inconvenience to be managed.

[trudyco]

7. So he still thinks our votes count? /nt

[zalinda]

8. He has always been an optimist. eom

[L. Coyote]

16. Our votes do count is what he is saying.

Of course your vote counts. What does not count is not voting.

There sure are a lot of new voices with the same voter suppression narrative, that your vote doesn't count (if you are a liberal, but by all means vote if you are not).
You'd think Republicans are into suppression of liberal voters.

[NotHardly]

10. Does anyone else here feel a chill down their necks ...

to read that a former president of the United States has to declare that citizens ... the voting public, can be powerful in elections?

Ironic, is it not, that the one person one vote, the corner stone of democracy has to be couched in such timid terms as "still" powerful, when in truth, it was to have been and intended to be the only thing.

Just goes to show how far we have fallen for the $billionboys club

[andym]

14. Well he was nominated in a brief period when there were no superdelegates

No superdelegates in 1972: McGovern (who earlier helped implement the democratic reforms that made the primaries "primary&quot
No superdelegates in 1976: Carter
No superdelegates in 1980: Carter after a nasty primary with Kennedy, which damaged Carter quite a bit.
The results in 1972 and 1980, which were historic landslides for Nixon and Reagan, were perceived as lessons for the Democratic Party not to completely trust their electorate, thus the birth of superdelegates.

more trivia: McGovern in particular lost badly -- Nixon got 60.7% of the popular vote. McGovern got 37.5%. McGovern did win DC and Massachusetts. McGovern was the most liberal/progressive nominee ever and ironically the Clintons worked on his campaign.