Polygraphs for Politicians?

Hello ATS.

Admittedly, politics are not my strong suit. I created this thread to invite all members to discuss an idea. I did a search and couldn't find anything pertaining to this specifically. Also if I'm posting in the wrong forum, mods please correct it.

Police officers exist to protect and serve the public and are subjected to polygraph tests before they're hired. Before you post "yeah right, check out this video of a police beat down on a citizen," know that this thread isn't about that.

Politicians exist to serve the people, not themselves. Yet all I hear about are politicians involved in this scandal and that scandal. I think they're so far removed from the ideals they were sworn in to uphold. I also believe that they don't just all of a sudden become corrupt after they're elected.

Why do we require our police officers to take polygraphs and not our politicians? Do you believe politicians should be subjected to polygraphs, and what sort of questions do you think should be asked of someone seeking office?

Politicians lie so well that the machine will never pick it up... because they believe what they are shoveling...

OR the machine will simply burst into flames...

Polygraphs for Politicians?

I vote YES

a reply to: oldetimehockey4

A truth in government act sounds like the way to go. Make all of them wear corporate logos, proportional in size to campaign donations, on jumpsuits while participating in any official functions, just like NASCAR drivers.

Hey, at least you'd know where the message is comming from, and who has sold you out.

Oh, and yes. Polygraph all of them. When you volenteer for public service, an obligation to truth, is part of the job.

:-)

Psychopaths make the best of liars.....ergo politicians may be immune to the polygraphs naturally.....
Point 2 Who administers the polygraph?
they could be corrupted as well......
Perhaps the polygraphs could be administered PUBLICALLY?
Say on a special network?

Along with a stiff dose of truth serum of course....

The tests won't work on politicians, they mostly believe what they are doing is right. They have been conditioned to believe in the lies of politics. A lie detector does not get set off if you don't believe what you were doing is wrong or pertinent to the wrongdoing that is being asked.

As an example, a rapist can pass a lie detector test after raping a woman if he thinks what he did was concentual even though it wasn't. If asked if he raped her he would say no, and in his mind it would show it was true. The lie detector registers beliefs, not truths.

Theres a simple solution to the corruption in congress.

Pass a law that says the NSA Spying will be targeted for any crime committed by elected officials.

I mean, we spent all that money building the infrastructure, Why limit it to just the Citizens...


But, I somewhat suspect those in power are already under such black mail by the intelligence community anyway.

a reply to: oldetimehockey4

Why waste the time and money????

They openly lie now and nothing is ever done about it!

Imagine if your boss asks you a question at work and you outright lie to him/her???

Think you'll have that job very long?

a reply to: madmac5150

You are exactly right on 2 accounts...to beat the poly you have to just alter your thought of what you are believing...and...politicians find ways to make their arguments believable even to themselves..."it was for the greater good"..."the ends justify the means"....if they truly believe that then they would pass most questions unless you specifically asked about something you knew.

There is a reason polygraphs aren't used in courts because its bull#. Ive seen some people give a false positive just because the mere fact of being accused of something makes them nervous...its kind of like being pulled over for a minor traffic violation when you get nervous so bad that the cop now thinks you did something much worse.

I personally think polygraphs are bogus and complete crap.

Drug test them first.

Because, 17 trillion in debt suggests they are all high...

a reply to: madmac5150

Lol, yeah I can see that...

Polygraph guy: were you born on February 21st, 1972?

Potential congressman: ye-[explosion]

The others are correct. A polygraph will not work on the vast majority of politicians.

Why? because most are sociopaths and many psychopaths.

Sociopaths are by definition, people who are outwardly quite charming, frequently charismatic, they appear to genuinely care about others and their faces and body language are often those of deeply caring and selfless individuals. While.... really not caring at all about others, only themselves and what they want and what they think they need and deserve, and will do nearly anything to get what they want, if not anything to get what they want.

When they lie even the best body language/verbal tone/lie detector specialists are unable to detect it and they appear to be telling the truth and so others tend to believe the lies and fall for their charisma. When caught they appear remorseful with their body language, verbal tones etc, but really feel absolutely no remorse at all and will keep doing what they want only more carefully next time.

This description of what constitutes a sociopath/psychopath neatly fits the vast majority of elected federal officials - elite political overclass in the US today.

What might help is a deep background check followed by intense scrutiny by the IRS and NSA and DHS while in office; with an independent detective agency hired to recheck them annually, changing agencies annually because of the potential of abusing the government oversight agencies. They think it is ok to do this to the average joe, so they should be subject to it themselves.

Instead of polygraphs, what we need are mandatory prison sentences for broken campaign promises and any directly proven lie told by a person in office.

"I don't recall ..."

"Read my lips, no new taxes."

"I did not have sex with that woman."

"Iraq has weapons of mass destruction."

"If you like your insurance you can keep it."

We would have a new president every year.

Polygraphs are just stress detectors, not lie detectors. a person could be stressful about a question because they want to make sure it comes across as truthful without the polygraph tweaking out, which of course marks them...alternatively, if someone believes or is simply not bothered about a lie, it would register as calm (true).

So..pointless overall. Polys do a good job to ignorant people though by making them admit things, thinking the science is real...that's really the only use for em...an illusion

a reply to: rickymouse

Very true that it registers beliefs, not truths. I think it's easier said than done though, convincing yourself to believe something so you pass. Especially as the polygraph approached, I think most would be at least a little nervous about the lie, but you're right, if someone firmly believes something, true or not, it wouldn't pick it up.

I think politicians practice facial expressions to fool people. Speech, genuflection and body english are honed to a fine art. None of that practice belies whats underneath.

The powers that be would never allow something as revealing as a polygraph machine to be allowed anywhere near the Hill.

Good question by the way…. why not?

Have you ever heard of one being used as part of a televised senate investigation hearing? Could you imagine one on the table hooked up to whomever is giving "live" testimony?

All they ever are is "under oath" and all of us are mind melded into believing they will get to the bottom of the conspiracy.

Gotta be some kind of clue…

a reply to: intrptr

Good point, the powers that be would find a way to never allow it to happen. They can't have us common folk exposing their lies, there can't be any money in that.

A few of you talked about it not really being applicable because of the amount of sociopaths in politics. I hadn't thought about that, and doing a little research showed this:

"Research suggests there may be a biological component to the sociopath's fearlessness. Sociopaths are remarkably tolerant of electric shock (Hare & Schalling, 1978). Under tense conditions they show heart rate acceleration but few other signs of stress—no sweaty palms, for example. They typically pass a lie detector test even if they are lying. Ability to pass a lie detector test is part of the FBI's profile for murderers who mutilate their victims, because this type of person is usually an antisocial personality.

What is Lykken's theory about the sociopathic type?
Lykken (1982) offered an interesting theory that certain heroic types such as astronauts, mountain climbers, and world leaders might come from the same biological type as antisocial personalities. They are all characterized by fearlessness—a willingness to take on situations that would cause normal people excessive worry. This is not a bad thing; we need fearless people to explore new frontiers and take on risky challenges."

Source: www.psywww.com...

I'm going to do some more digging on that aspect.

I say waterboard the lot of sitting politicians in Washington to find out what they know and what their intentions are. There are much better ways to get the truth than a polygraph. Besides, most can probably beat one because of they're sociopaths.

i think the best thing would be to hook the poli graph up to consequences..like elect-roshock
and then just to be really nasty
set the electroshock switch to RANDOM