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Now, as you say, we ought to focus on areas of common agreement. In my opinion, the biggest sigle travesty in politics today is Obama's spurning of the Simpson Bowles report and the Gang of Six, particularly the bipartisan, centrist tax reform provisions.
Obama should have pushed the recommendations of his own committee against the opposition from his left and right. I consider myself a rare breed, a pragmatic libertarian, I would prefer spending cuts almost exclusively to get our financial house in order. I realize the deep cuts in programs this would require are not politically possible and at this point I am more a deficit hawk than a libertarian. Our two parties gotta agree on one thing; whatever programs we agree upon need to be paid for. Tax cuts do not pay for themselves. If spending is 20% of GDP then over the business cycle revenue needs to be 20% of GDP.
What is happening in Europe today should be a eye opener.
in every single thread in this section of city data eventually melts down to an argument of red vs blue.
Can you not see that neither party is going to make all of your dreams come true?
Can you not see that the party you hate isn't evil incarnate, and don't want to destroy the country (their power)?
Both parties have royally ****ed this country in consecutive administrations, with every legislative mix of red and blue in between.
How you people continue to restrict yourselves to a simplistic red=good and blue=bad, or vice versa, is quite honestly appalling.
Any thoughts on this phenomenon? We all want the best for America, and other than a few fundamental differences on certain issues, we can agree that major changes need to take place.
You're impeding that change by playing this game of status quo that the politicians want you to play. How long are you gonna let them make you dance, puppet?
it's probably your fault. if we had just one more voice on our side, than the din of our shrieks would finally drown out the other side and we could exert our will and be done with it.
I suspect part of the rancor also comes from our party in power gerrymandered districts. The incumbent knows he only need represent those who elected him. The rest of us can disappear. We don't even have to try to get along with or find common ground with folks in our own precincts, districts etc.
I think the other part is that when I was a kid we all got all news basically from the three major networks which were all center-left networks. Now those who lean to the left listen to Maddow, Olberman, Schulz, etc. while those on the right listen to Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck, etc. These viewers, a good portion who are economic illiterates to start with and easily brainwashed, who may have initially have only been slightly to the left or right become indoctrinated and polarized.
Insane Republican myth: Tax cuts pay for themselves.
Insane Democrat myth: The current level of entitlements can be maintained by simply taxing those who make over $250K a year.
interlude, this wasnt an invite to be a partisan hack.
It's like you people think "knowing about politics" means having a mental list of the other party's failures.
Both Democrats and Republicans have failed this country. Thanks to your gullibility.
I'm no Democrat. They are almost as bad, but not quite. I said "right" because that's what the Democrats are - a rightest party. The Republicans are even more rightest. It's right-wing policies that have brought us to the brink of ruin.
To address the OP: well, what do you expect? People have very different ideas for what direction they want things to go in. We can't have compromise and sit together and sign songs if we don't have any common ground left. The right wants to destroy government, the left thinks government is the solution. How far apart can you get? May as well ask cops and robbers to give up and be friends.
I'm no Democrat. They are almost as bad, but not quite. I said "right" because that's what the Democrats are - a rightest party. The Republicans are even more rightest. It's right-wing policies that have brought us to the brink of ruin.
What policies have brought Western Europe even closer to the brink?
It goes way beyond just disagreeing. It is blatant refusal to address and acknowledge what the GOP/Tea Pary/Neocons are doing to the middle class and poor while they enable corruption and cronyism by Corporate America and Wall Street. I could respect them a bit more if they finally came out and admitted that they support an Oligarchy and Corporate rule as oppossed to Democracy. The most obnoxious and infuriating thing is when they wrap themselves in the America Flag and sing the praises of the Founding Fathers as they attempt to rewrite history, amend the Constitution and argue that this nation was founded on religion.
Explain how you see democracy and maybe you can convince me that you left handed people are the real democratic thinkers. How about explaining what you think about when we talk about Founding Fathers since it sure isn't the same thing I think about. Do you not know that the rewriting of history is being done today by progressives and all the things they stand for? It is this garbage that I fail to understand but then my history studying was mostly done in the 1950s thru the 1980s and it was about that time that the real revisionists got wound out.
Who is it that wants to either amend the Constitution or just ignore the parts they don't like? I surely hope you can someday see that it is the left wing that wants to do it that way.
It is hard to talk to people who think the way you do since they have convinced themselves that the rest of us are nothing but religious nuts and you are the right ones
Let me close with a question that I always want to ask people like you. What will you do when you die? Will you still be denying Christian beliefs? If so how far down do you think "hell" might be?
If you had more than two parties (that matter), you would not have those dumb debates. I live in a country in which 5 parties are part of the parliament. Therefore, people can't blame the (only) other party.
But in your country you don't use a Constitution that calls for a Presidential system of governing. Yours is based on what we call Parliamentary and you can replace your executive when the compromises between or among parties break up. In out Presidential system more than 2 parties just won't work but then few people in countries who use systems like yours can understand that.
Maybe you can't understand our Presidential system because you think that democracy has to be done in the Parliamentary style. You are very wrong and to try that system here would be an immediate failure. Of course, we can always write a new Constitution that allows your system to exist.
Whose system has been in existence longer? When the left in this country manages to move us to your system then we can have that new Constitution written.
I am against all the suggestions that we have a Constitutional Convention to consider amendments. I know, from my study of the period, that our Constitution was written by a group of men who were called into service by the Congress to consider changes. The very first thing they agreed to was to write a new Constitution and they did just that. They had many almost fist fights at that convention but came up with a Constitution that has lasted very well through nearly 250 years. How many European countries tried for what we had but had to take the Parliamentary system because they had always had so many parties.
I fear a convention because I would expect at least half of the appointed people to be far left in thinking just as our Super Congress today is. They will settle nothing because of their makeup. The same thing would come out of the attempt at a convention.
We are going through a difficult time now, and the American people are furious at the ineptness and intransigence of both the President and Congress-----neither is immune as approval ratings for both are subterannean.
What all this shakes out in translation is that people are tired of postulating, flaming, and the extreme bickering by both parties-----they feel that the nation is floundering and drifting aimlessly.
I think the American are showing that they dont want a winner or loser declared in the ongoing idealogical battle-----they simply are fed up and want their legislators and President to act responsibly and actually attempt to put people back to work, tackle tax reform, and get to work on debt reduction.
The time has come to put a halt to estalishing endless commissions and get to work. Simpson-Bowles and the gang of six have provided a framework for moving forward-----all the new supercommittee is going to accomplish is ratchet up the rhetoric and slogans we have been getting.
Now lets get to work----the time has come for both parties and the President to end the puppet show and to heed the needs of the country before the need to further partisanship.
I believe both parties have seen the disdain the people have shown in the political process-----message sent.
We are going through a difficult time now, and the American people are furious at the ineptness and intransigence of both the President and Congress-----neither is immune as approval ratings for both are subterannean.
What all this shakes out in translation is that people are tired of postulating, flaming, and the extreme bickering by both parties-----they feel that the nation is floundering and drifting aimlessly.
I think the American are showing that they dont want a winner or loser declared in the ongoing idealogical battle-----they simply are fed up and want their legislators and President to act responsibly and actually attempt to put people back to work, tackle tax reform, and get to work on debt reduction.
The time has come to put a halt to estalishing endless commissions and get to work. Simpson-Bowles and the gang of six have provided a framework for moving forward-----all the new supercommittee is going to accomplish is ratchet up the rhetoric and slogans we have been getting.
Now lets get to work----the time has come for both parties and the President to end the puppet show and to heed the needs of the country before the need to further partisanship.
I believe both parties have seen the disdain the people have shown in the political process-----message sent.
One of the favorite arguments used by the Dems is that the Republicans have proposed nothing to settle many of our problems. Of course, they never look at all the bills the Republican controlled House has sent to the Senate and they are lying around with no consideration by committee or anything else because Leader Reid, as Dems call him, won't allow them to be considered in his house.
I keep hearing all that crap from the left leaners about compromise and yet Harry Reid won't allow any shot at compromise. I wonder how many people here really understand what compromise is and how it would work to settle many of our problems.
Explain how you see democracy and maybe you can convince me that you left handed people are the real democratic thinkers. How about explaining what you think about when we talk about Founding Fathers since it sure isn't the same thing I think about. Do you not know that the rewriting of history is being done today by progressives and all the things they stand for? It is this garbage that I fail to understand but then my history studying was mostly done in the 1950s thru the 1980s and it was about that time that the real revisionists got wound out.
Who is it that wants to either amend the Constitution or just ignore the parts they don't like? I surely hope you can someday see that it is the left wing that wants to do it that way.
It is hard to talk to people who think the way you do since they have convinced themselves that the rest of us are nothing but religious nuts and you are the right ones
Let me close with a question that I always want to ask people like you. What will you do when you die? Will you still be denying Christian beliefs? If so how far down do you think "hell" might be?
I am not a Christian, therefore I have never accepted Christan beliefs. I was born Hebrew/Jewish and as any intelligent person does, I observe what makes sense and filter out the fairy tales.
I've only addressed the relevant question as my stances on the other issues have been addressed and answered on many posts and threads. I dislike redundancy, but unfortunately, here on CD, one is pushed into rehashing the same issues over and over again due to the lack of comprehension and logic which afflicts many posters.
BTW...I might be mistaken, but did you just infer that if there actually is a hell, I'd be going there?
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