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Hearing Mitch McConnell groveling to the Koch brothers, (rhymes with crotch) promising killer austerity and no much needed minimum raise hike or student loan help shows how useless that party is. Doing the opposite of that would be a good place to start though.
very funny; just like Soros is close to Sorry; geeze; as for student loans, what are you suggesting free education for as long as a student wants to be in school? Yes, it is tough for these kids, but if they are willing to work while in school, choose universities that are public schools and know how to manage their money, even if it mean community college for the first couple of years they do not need to graduate with loans up to their neck. They may need student loans. of course, but they don't need $100,000 worth. I know a lot of kids in school now or recent grads, that were able to use ROTC to help, small scholarships, found jobs out of college when the new employee would pay back part of the dept if the grad would guarantee to stay with the company 2 years, or 5 or whatever. There are lots of ways to get an education without breaking the bank.
What do you think Republicans need to do to not alienate people? Can you answer this question without saying "change their policies?" In other words, do they just need to accept that being Republican is just out of date and that Democrats are the popular party?
My ideas are:
1. Say nothing about race and how people are different: Miranda rights sometimes need to be read to Republicans
2. Ditch the Good Ole Boy clubs: Stop using old White men that all are friends and are out of touch with the common people
3. Condemn the actions of racist people that support the Republican Party
4. Be consistent to less intrusive government: Don't pass legislation that is "for the common good" and "protects people from themselves" like forcing longer divorce proceedings or marijuana criminalization
5. Tell better stories: The Democrats love tugging at the heartstrings, whereas Republicans always try and use logic and the deficit to try and prove their point. Start demonizing the opposing party like they always do to you.
6. Be quick to point out Democrat hypocrisy when NOT telling stories: Logic has its place. Put Dems in theirs when they dig themselves into a hole. Also on this, make sure Democrats realize that many of their attacks (like calling you racist when you did nothing) are fallacious and distract from the main point.
7. Stop being intimidated: Democrats are known for yelling loudly and proclaiming how much they are right. Republicans these days tend to just shut up and hope for the best. Sometimes I feel like Republicans just want to keep their jobs rather than serve the people.
That's it for my ideas. What are yours? The challenge here is try not to make it so that the Republicans have to do a complete ideological 180 and just agree to do everything Democrats say. I will add one more: stop fighting gay marriage. It's just not worth the fight and hurts no one.
They need to muzzle their crazies -- avoid talking about 'women's issues' as if they weren't 'human issues' -- vote the same way they talk (see VA funding) -- stop acting quite so paternalistic. You may not like the 'nanny state' but the 'big daddy state' isn't any better.
They also should get rid of ideas that have been proven not to work like military intervention in the ME and 'trickle down'. It would also help them enormously if they could figure out that saying one thing to your donors in private meeting (usually taped) and saying something else to the public at large is not an effective strategy.
Oh, and get All-War-All-The-Time John McCain off the tv!
Face it, Conservative policies have never worked for the good of the whole. They are extraordinarily divisive, bigoted, and extremely detrimental to this nation. Their positions reek. Spinning them, incorporating expensive deceptive marketing, lying, pretending to change during election years, attacking the other side - none of these tactics make them smell any better.
Always best to take out the trash. They need to disappear.
I have to disagree with your assessment of conservatism and Limited government. Throwing insults and making hate claims like you have just doesn't fly even for most normal Democrats. Your divisive talk does nothing for the betterment of this country.
Conservative Ideas have pulled this country out of the deepest recessions. Remember President Carter?
America is not Europe. We are too independent to follow the leader.
Political tactics, like the DNC has pulled by using the power of Government to silence citizens. Like the IRS and the EPA goes far beyond Watergate and President Nixon. President Obama is the reason why we have checks and balances in this country.
Spending with the Democratic control Congress started the last 2 years of Bush, right up to the changing of the House. Republicans may not control the Senate, yet and certainly not the White House, but at least we do have checks in place now.
We are up to what 18 Trillion now? That's Un-American. Candidate Obama said those famous words!
Lets face Obama violated powers of the President 147 times. Obama has for beyond over reached executive orders.
There remains much work to be done to turn this country back on course of Prosperity and being a World Leader Again.
They need to muzzle their crazies -- avoid talking about 'women's issues' as if they weren't 'human issues' -- vote the same way they talk (see VA funding) -- stop acting quite so paternalistic. You may not like the 'nanny state' but the 'big daddy state' isn't any better.
They also should get rid of ideas that have been proven not to work like military intervention in the ME and 'trickle down'. It would also help them enormously if they could figure out that saying one thing to your donors in private meeting (usually taped) and saying something else to the public at large is not an effective strategy.
Oh, and get All-War-All-The-Time John McCain off the tv!
This post is so ridiculous, so reeking of MSNBC-style blather/talking points, but it needs to be addressed. It is blatantly false on so many levels.
Paternalism is in the DNA of the Democrat Party (I refuse to call them democratic b/c they are anything but). Keeping blacks, single moms, Hispanics, and virtually any other minority on the government plantation, promising them welfare checks/amnesty/food stamps/gov't. assistance in exchange for their Dem vote. The DP actively encourages dependence on the government, not the other way around. The Dems have this attitude they they know what is best for us, and if we don't like it, tough. School lunches, calorie counts, gay marriage, abortion, Obamacare, environmental regulations, and so many other nanny-state tactics that treat us like children.
We are grown adults that are more than capable of making our own decisions, and we will live with the consequences if we have to. The Dems throw all that out the window and employ fascist-style tactics (demeaning the opposition, enacting quick, simple laws/policies with virtually zero debate) to advance their paternalistic policies. The Democrat Party has always been the party of paternalism and racism since slavery right up to the present day.
Why do they fear freedom so much, except when it comes to sex, marriage and abortion?
Another problem with GOP/Dem policies is that so-called "liberals," "progressives," etc. pull on the heartstrings and use emotion to advance their agenda. In a day and age where the attention span is so short, people really don't have time to completely break down and analyze something. The student loan debate is a classic example.
- Dems will trot out a 28-year old person with $80,000 in student loan debt. Can't get a job, lives with his parents, etc. and then commits suicide. "OMG we need student loan reform now, this isn't fair $!@#%%!!!" Boom. People's emotions are pricked, the case builds for the government eliminating student loan debt for people. But if we were to really analyze this issue, we'd see that:
1) Sending more students to higher education devalues the worth of a college degree, increases the cost, and lowers the quality of education
2) Automatically forgiving student loans encourages recklessness and rewards irresponsibility. I am living proof...I worked all through school, didn't party it up, made smart choices on classes, and graduated with ZERO debt.
I have said it before on this board, and I'll say it again: Dems do not think; they emote. And this is precisely the problem. When you make these kinds of decisions in real-life, you often have unforeseen consequences. And when you base legislation and public policy off of emotion, you wind up with a slew of unforeseen consequences that mess up the whole country.
Oh, please, that's utter nonsense about how liberals only offer 'emotion'. What, pray tell, is the GOP's constant drumbeat about how the 'big bad gov't is going to take over your life, take away your bibles, your guns, your precious bodily fluids' except an appeal to the lowest emotional triggers of fear and panic? Every time one of your candidates starts in on 'aliens bringing disease across the border' or 'we have to put restrictions on abortion' they bring nothing but emotion because two minutes of research would show just how absurd their point of view is.
The Rightwing has not brought substance to their policy arguments in years. They are so wrapped up in their own views of how America is that the reality has no chance of catapulting over the walls of denial they have built. It's how they can say with a straight face that 'America is center-right' or 'America is a Christian nation' even though all the evidence is the other way.
Oh, please, that's utter nonsense about how liberals only offer 'emotion'. What, pray tell, is the GOP's constant drumbeat about how the 'big bad gov't is going to take over your life, take away your bibles, your guns, your precious bodily fluids' except an appeal to the lowest emotional triggers of fear and panic? Every time one of your candidates starts in on 'aliens bringing disease across the border' or 'we have to put restrictions on abortion' they bring nothing but emotion because two minutes of research would show just how absurd their point of view is.
The Rightwing has not brought substance to their policy arguments in years. They are so wrapped up in their own views of how America is that the reality has no chance of catapulting over the walls of denial they have built. It's how they can say with a straight face that 'America is center-right' or 'America is a Christian nation' even though all the evidence is the other way.
Our country is or was based on Christian principals, this is different from being a Christian nation. I think most of us realize. Many use the term "Christian Nation" as meaning built on Christian beliefs, not solely Christian.
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Wow What a smoke screen!
