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Ted Cruz

7 (6.5%)

Rick Santorum

16 (14.8%)

Michelle Bachmann

13 (12%)

Chris Christie

23 (21.3%)

Rand Paul

49 (45.4%)

Total Members Voted: 107

[FearfulJesuit]

I'm liking the way the poll options are showing a prime number sequence.

Carry on.

[Steeled]

if you say it works best, find me an example of a contemporary enlightened despot

I seem to recall a certain African dude who changed the name of his country and did a pretty good job at despoting. Not sure what country it was but it went to shit when he died.

Rhodesia was doing pretty good until the commies got them

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Who loves shortshorts? Rhodies love shortshorts

Yep, nothing says national prosperity like a decade-long civil war systematically eroding the government's ability to assert authority, institutionalized apartheid, and an economy that, in spite of an early boom, gradually began to fall apart under continuing pressure from sanctions, the independence of Mozambique under a hostile government, and a startling 40% of the total GDP being devoted to defense.  There's a reason the "commies got them," after all.

But short shorts, you know?  ^_^

You sound like a communist and a hater of short-shorts. I'm sure the the people are much happier under hyperinflation, communism and a lack of short-shorts.

[kaijyuu]

I'm only here to emphasize that short shorts are indeed, awesome.

[scriver]

if you say it works best, find me an example of a contemporary enlightened despot

Rwanda is sometimes said to be ruled in the spirit of such, but technically it's a parlamentary republic, I think, but it's been headed by the same president since the early 00's and isn't exactly warm in it's treatment of opposition parties. Now Rwanda of course was in a pretty shitty place to begin with and hasn't magically turned into any kind if wonderland under his guidance, but it has been getting steadily better (but then again, so is the whole world). One noteable thing is that despite being a one-party state in practice, it apparently has one of the lowest amounts of corruption among African countries, or so Wikipedia tells me. I've never made any deeper research about how it really is beyond Ye Olde Wiki, though.

I'm also not a proponent of Enlightened Despotism either, for the record. Except as an impossible ideal (because it requires a continual flow of impossibly ideal people, and likely impossibly ideal circumstances). And for fun. We can't argue with Voltaire, though. He's too cool for us.

[Helgoland]

You know what's scary?
Zimbabwe has been failing with re-Africanization politics for a while now. Failing hard. And now there's some dudes in the South African ruling party that want to implement the same politics in the only prospering African democracy...

[Culise]

Yep, nothing says national prosperity like a decade-long civil war systematically eroding the government's ability to assert authority, institutionalized apartheid, and an economy that, in spite of an early boom, gradually began to fall apart under continuing pressure from sanctions, the independence of Mozambique under a hostile government, and a startling 40% of the total GDP being devoted to defense.  There's a reason the "commies got them," after all.

But short shorts, you know?  ^_^

You sound like a communist and a hater of short-shorts. I'm sure the the people are much happier under hyperinflation, communism and a lack of short-shorts.

Just because getting shot in the leg is better than getting shot in the head, doesn't mean getting shot in the leg is actually good. 

You know what's scary?
Zimbabwe has been failing with re-Africanization politics for a while now. Failing hard. And now there's some dudes in the South African ruling party tha want to implement the same politics in the only prospering African democracy...

Botswana?

Ah, but seriously, that is a little worrying.  You'd think the ongoing meltdown that is the Zimbabwe economy would be enough to suggest that following their economic policies might be contraindicated. 

[Dutchling]

You know what's scary?
Zimbabwe has been failing with re-Africanization politics for a while now. Failing hard. And now there's some dudes in the South African ruling party tha want to implement the same politics in the only prospering African democracy...

Since when is South Africa prospering? I was under the impression it consisted mostly of people trying to rob and kill you.
Kinda like Venezuala, but with Nelson Mandela instead of oil.

[LordSlowpoke]

also rape

south africa has serious fucking problems with law enforcement and the concept of basic decency

[Descan]

I guess the best way to tell at a glance if an African nation is doing okay is to ask yourself, "Have I heard anything about this country in the past ten years? "

If no, then nothing newsworthy bad has fucked with it.

Note: "at a glance"

[Darvi]

That would be everything but Egypt, Lybia, Ethiopia and Kenya in my case. :V

[Descan]

One assumes the person using this had been paying attention to the news of Africa, if only nominally

[mainiac]

That might not be the best system.

[Descan]

I reiterate: "at a glance"

[mainiac]

I was trying to use ironic understatement.

[Helgoland]

You know what's scary?
Zimbabwe has been failing with re-Africanization politics for a while now. Failing hard. And now there's some dudes in the South African ruling party tha want to implement the same politics in the only prospering African democracy...

Since when is South Africa prospering? I was under the impression it consisted mostly of people trying to rob and kill you.

Relatively prospering. South Africa and Botswana are pretty much the only African countries I'd even consider moving to.