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Personally, I find both the Democrats and Republicans loathsome. However, I never cease to be amazed at the Democratic Party's knack for total self-deception.
If you actually think that one party is more anything than the other, then you are not as centrist as you say you are.
Talking about self-deception. Only ignorant people worry about the mid-term elections.
Btw, the Democrats in my state essentially destroyed the Republicans. Swept all the top offices, approved all the rational (ie non-conservative) measures, and basically guaranteed at least another half decade of Democratic dominance. I'll start sweating when the my home state actually vote for the crazies, which from the look of it, is never.
Until you stop to consider why the people who normally vote democrat stayed home rather than go to the polls feeling obligated to vote against their party.
A good example is Maryland. The three jurisdictions that are staunch Democrats had the lowest turnout in the state. These three jurisdictions in the past have always dictated statewide elections over the rest of the state. In the last twenty years, whenever the Dems nominated a woman or a Black for governor they lost. I guess racism and misogyny is alive and well in the Democrat party, at least here in Maryland. It was after all, the democrats who nominated them to run. It's their own fault.
Not to mention the fact that the ONLY black elected to the senate from the south in 150 years was elected by the GOP.
Elizabeth Warren would make a bad president and an even worse candidate. She barely beat Scott Brown in a very blue state. She talks down to people, which Baystaters seem to accept but it would go over very poorly with most Americans. She also has a fair amount of baggage along with privilege that have to be checked. Democrats can and will do better than her if only because it's hard to do worse.
Even us bay staters don't really like her that much. She just seems like such a typical liberal politician, obviously in it for the power. Too focused on national matters, ignoring mass in favor of her ambitions. No thanks. But then again, I have similar views on most politicians, so on the other hand, why not?
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
8,297 posts, read 14,161,028 times
Reputation: 8105
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shirina
Yeah right. Now that the GOP has control of both houses, NOW they'll suddenly be concerned with "fixing" things. Never mind the number of GOP candidates who ran in 2012 on the platform of "getting rid of Obama" and nothing more. Yeah, they sure did a lot of "fixing" when their attitude revolved around "I'd rather see the country fail utterly than to see Obama succeed." The GOP was more than willing to throw America and everyone in it under the bus just to stroke their own irrational hatred of this president.
Since the GOP did nothing but try and obstruct just about every piece of legislation introduced by a Democrat since 2008 - and since the GOP constantly shut down the government, or threatened to, whenever they didn't get what they wanted, "fixing" things now is a dollar short and a day late.
The ONLY reason why the GOP managed to take control of both houses is because far too many Americans have woefully short memories. Only the very politically astute will remember a lot of the farcical nonsense that has gone on since 2008 including, but not limited to:
No less than 13 Republican investigations into Benghazi (9/11 only had ONE) because the GOP refused to give up until they could pin something on Obama; even the Pentagon was getting irritated at the repetitive requests for documents. Thousands of man-hours and $54 million of tax payer dollars were wasted in this stupid witch hunt.
The unconstitutional racial gerrymandering in Alabama designed to limit black voting power - which it did since Democrats lost 4 seats thanks to these cheap and underhanded un-American tactics.
When Republicans tried to redefine rape so that violence was necessary for non-consensual sex to be considered rape. This was attempted purely to make it harder for rape victims to get an abortion. This bill was so repulsive that it never went to a vote, thankfully, but for crying out loud, it shows the depths they are willing to sink to get their own way.
Boehner refusing Obama's request to address a joint session of congress - the first time in US history a president was refused. Instead, the GOP moved Obama's jobs speech to the same night as the opening of the NFL season - deliberately sabotaging the size of Obama's audience (Obama might have a good idea or two, so best to limit the number of people who actually hears them)
The various voting shenanigans that preceeded the 2012 elections. GOP politicans tried relentlessly to limit or discontinue voting services heavily used by Democrats such as same-day registration, early voting, and polling stations on college campuses. In Ohio, that all-important state, Republicans tried to rig the election so that polling stations in Republican districts would have polling stations open late into the evening and on weekends while Democratic districts would only be allowed to open their polls Monday through Friday during business hours. Democratic voters in North Carolina were all but openly refused the right to vote with all of the nonsense the GOP majority there tried putting into place.
The Republican's bigoted stance against gays and same-sex marriage (which Americans overwhelmingly support now) - and how every single GOP presidential candidate in 2012 supported a US constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman (whatever happened to letting the states decide?!?)
The fact that a transportation bill that has passed every year since the Eisenhower administration was rejected for no apparent reason (but we know it was to merely tweak Obama). The refusal to pass this bill nearly cost America one million jobs.
Or that time when the GOP wanted to spruce up spending at the Pentagon - and this cash infusion to the military would be paid for by taking money away from social programs, mostly for the elderly (Meals On Wheels was a big target). Most people were unaware that excessive spending on the military even when social issues are dire is one of the 14 points of fascism). Fortunately, that bill was defeated.
Or ... the numerous times the House held the American people hostage by shutting down the government (or threatening such) whenever the GOP didn't get it's way. A majority of Americans blamed the GOP for this BS as well they should have (but everyone has forgotten about that)
The fact that internet memes and general internet stupidity actually began appearing in mainstream GOP politicians' and candidates' speeches. Everything from Obama's birth certificate, his religious beliefs (Gingrich called him an atheist Muslim LOL!), not wearing an American flag pin on his lapel, Obama bowing to the Japanese prime minister, childish teleprompter jokes, harping on his golfing (even though Bush Jr. has taken the most vacation days of any president - with Reagan coming in second), the completely bogus "$200 million per day" trip to India, and dozens upon dozens of other, similar examples of GOP immaturity and sophomoric behavior.
Oh yeah, I just couldn't leave out the ruckus the GOP made about the government helping to fund NPR (mainly because of the firing of Juan Williams, one of NPR's more conservative figures). Yeah, firing Mr. Williams proved that NPR was too liberal for the government to fund. Of course, the party line was that it was too much money - though when it came to the $10 billion in government subsidies the oil companies received every year - in addition to their record profits - well, that's different! There's always plenty of money for corporate welfare!
The Muppets are a bunch of liberal communists and haters of America because a business tycoon was the villain in their newest movie. Yeah ... that was dumb.
Sure, NOW the Republicans will sit up straight and actually play the game the right way - but only because they want to turn the next 2 years into a big public relations stunt. They want to strut around like peacocks saying, "See? See? Look what we can do if we have ALL the power." Never mind the Democrats could be just as effective if Obama hadn't needed to fight tooth and nail against non-stop obstructionism.
But they better do something pretty damn impressive. If all they do is cater to the GOP base by ripping apart Obamacare, eroding the separation of church and state, giving the rich hefty tax breaks while the working and middle classes are still struggling with stagnant wages, deregulating Wall Street so they'll be permitted to rake in billions of personal dollars by causing a second recession, and going full bore against abortion and contraception - or even reversing the gay rights victories - yeah, we'll see just how far across the aisle the Republicans are willing to reach.
If Americans remembered even 1/10th of the idiotic GOP hijinks that ground the government to a screeching, painful halt (since they were all willing to see every American fall into abject poverty than to see Obama succeed), they would NOT have taken control of the Senate. Hell, they may have even lost the House.
But no ... the 20 minute American attention span won the day for the GOP.
This Republican is going to fix spelling. It's "bait".
All of these things you listed represent growing government and increasing government intrusion into people's lives.
All of the people who have commented on this thread thus far have missed out on the real reason why the Republicans gained so much power in this election. It's ALL ABOUT FREEDOM.
I'm a professional musician and singer, and with it having been Veteran's Day yesterday, most of my shows in the last few days have contained some patriotic songs, including one of the most requested - "God Bless The USA". There's a line in that song which goes "'cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can't take that away". Everybody loves that line. Why? Because we all want freedom. All of this big-government crap has represented a loss of our freedom. Most people's biggest problem with Obamacare is that it is on more thing that has been foisted upon us - one more thing we are forced to do. Buy this product, which is sold by the companies that are in our pockets and on our speed-dialers, or else you will be punished by having to pay an extra tax. Anytime one is forced to do anything, that represents a loss of freedom. Anytime one is restricted from doing something he wants to do (such as forego health insurance if he is healthy enough not to see any chance of needing it, like ME), that is a loss of freedom.
Most of y'all probably don't live with your parents. Why did you move out? Chances are, it's because living with them would not provide you with the freedom you desired in your lives. Deep down, we all want freedom. We're sick of watching the government dictate what we can and can't do. The general consensus of opinion is that Democrats stand for big government and Republicans stand for big business. I'm not a fan of either, but I will take big business over big government any day of the week because I have a choice of whether or not to patronize a particular business. If I hate Wal-Mart, I can buy groceries and clothes elsewhere. If I hate ExxonMobil, I can buy gasoline elsewhere. If I hate Monsanto, I can buy organic / non-GMO food from local farmers and markets. I have a CHOICE. Choice equals increased freedom. With big government, there's no escaping it. There's no choice. When we got Obamacare, like it or not, we were all subjected to it. If the election was a referendum on Obamacare, it's not because people didn't think that health care needed to be reformed. We all know that health care needed to be reformed. But the way to do it was to GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF IT, not to put the government into it even more. Let the American people handle this one. Stories abound about doctors who have tried to make health care more affordable and accessible - often it's the government that stops them from doing what they're doing even though it's not harmful to the people nor unscrupulous in any way.
Do you know WHY they did that? It's not because Obama is half black. Most of us are beyond that garbage. It's because we knew from before the election of 2008 that Obama was an inexperienced neo-Marxist who was going to give us all kinds of big-government policies if he was elected.
Ask any GOPer why he dislikes Obama and I guarantee you that it will come down to freedom.
When freedom is on the line, why would they give in?
It's because Americans are sick of the Democrats' policies. Plain and simple. Nothing more, nothing less.
You sound like a Democrat. If the situation were reversed, with a conservative Republican president like Reagan or either of the Bushes in office, and one of the two houses of Congress under Republican control, wouldn't you be rooting for any Democrats who tried to stop this conservative agenda by standing up for what they believe in, even if it meant a temporary "government shutdown"? Wouldn't you want your team to flex its muscles so that they might actually get some concessions on what they want, rather than just waving white flags and giving in to the entirety of the other team's agenda?
I'll agree with this one. Americans crave freedom. All they remember is "Obamacare and Obama = less freedom". If the Democrats would go back to their old ways of being small-government, freedom-minded politicians, and away from their current incarnation as big-government nanny state supporters, they would find themselves in much higher favor universally.
Of course not, because most (if not all) social programs are unfair and idiotic. Though I agree, for example, that our elderly must be cared for even though they become unable to provide for themselves, I don't agree that the government should force the American taxpayers to pay for the elderly. Let their families take care of them. Let private charitable organizations take care of them. Elderly people were taken care of long before social welfare programs - I see the evidence of that whenever I look at really old gravestones. I guarantee that Prudence Hancock, who lived to be 95 and died in 1898, wasn't working and earning her own keep that whole way. At some point, her family, her church, her friends, et al. took care of her. And don't underestimate American generosity - in the late 1800's, a devastating drought wiped out a lot of Texas crops and the farmers appealed to the government for a financial bailout. President Grover Cleveland (a DEMOCRAT!!!) wrote back and said that it was not the responsibility of what was then called the "General Government" to do such things. So the farmers looked to the American public... and proceeded to raise SIX TIMES the amount of money they requested from the government! If our taxes were lower because we weren't being forced to pay for social welfare programs, we'd have more income to give away to charity... and then, what is now being done by government welfare programs would be done (better) by private charity programs.
This is exactly why Republicans were elected en masse. The people didn't know the freedom they had, until it was gone. Many a person did I speak to in 2013, who told me "I voted for Obama last year and now I wish I hadn't".
I don't see how it's possible to fix Obamacare without turning it into something that bears zero resemblance to its currently widely despised form.
Just one thing I would like to see accomplished soon.
Place on the tax form, a simple little check box asking if you personally wish to pay your share of this or that government plan or handout? With your true share listed.
Not a single government handout would succeed. Liberal Democrats are great at doing wonderful things with other peoples money.
Of all those great achievements listed within this post, none of them are paid for? So who will pay for all of this? Look down at your children and start planning how you are going to explain the $16 trillion dollar debt you left them. That is if you haven't already aborted them. Life is so much easier that way. Do the math folks. Divide that $16 trillion into the 100 million or so potential tax payers and that's your current share without interest. And, You haven't even started paying the current bill. Yes, I meant 100 million or so as all the rest are on handouts, too young to pay, don't earn enough or whatever.
Think the answer is taxing the rich? Well they don't have enough combined wealth to pay the interest if you taxed them 100%. Corporations? They don't pay taxes, they collect them and pass them on to the buyer. The evil insurance companies? Well guess what? That ends up in your premiums. But what do they care, the law now states that you have to buy their product.
Truth is, what we don't pay, the next generation will. If they are lucky enough to even have a country left. We inherited a great life at the expense of others and shamefully in this case at the expense of future generations.
My God! (Or Gawd using the new politically correct spelling) it's time to be responsible adults. If you can't afford it, don't buy it! This is what conservatives are trying to say.
Meanwhile you couldn't come up with even one thing the Republicans have ever fixed. Republicans are the most epic political failures in the history of the world.
They fixed the Soviet Union and ended the Cold War, making the entire planet a much safer place with most of the threat of nuclear war eliminated. All of those Socialist perks and bennies mentioned in the first part of your post would be meaningless if most of the world was a charred cinder. But then again, there have been times when it seems as if the Democratic Party is still mourning the collapse of the USSR, since many of them act like Neo-Communists.
They fixed the Soviet Union and ended the Cold War, making the entire planet a much safer place with most of the threat of nuclear war eliminated. All of those Socialist perks and bennies mentioned in the first part of your post would be meaningless if most of the world was a charred cinder. But then again, there have been times when it seems as if the Democratic Party is still mourning the collapse of the USSR, since many of them act like Neo-Communists.
Emancipation Proclamation.
The deciding vote to allow Black people to vote was made by a Republican
Women's right to vote
First woman elected to the House of Representatives
Panama Canal, Interstate Highway System, Hoover Dam
Desegregation of schools began under Eisenhower
First Asian-American in the Senate
1960 Civil Rights act signed by Eisenhower
Reagan tax cuts
Balanced the budget in 1998
Condi Rice appointed Secretary of State
There's a lot more. But the kids get a Progressive version of history in school these days.
Just one thing I would like to see accomplished soon.
Place on the tax form, a simple little check box asking if you personally wish to pay your share of this or that government plan or handout? With your true share listed.
Not a single government handout would succeed. Liberal Democrats are great at doing wonderful things with other peoples money.
Of all those great achievements listed within this post, none of them are paid for? So who will pay for all of this? Look down at your children and start planning how you are going to explain the $16 trillion dollar debt you left them. That is if you haven't already aborted them. Life is so much easier that way. Do the math folks. Divide that $16 trillion into the 100 million or so potential tax payers and that's your current share without interest. And, You haven't even started paying the current bill. Yes, I meant 100 million or so as all the rest are on handouts, too young to pay, don't earn enough or whatever.
Think the answer is taxing the rich? Well they don't have enough combined wealth to pay the interest if you taxed them 100%. Corporations? They don't pay taxes, they collect them and pass them on to the buyer. The evil insurance companies? Well guess what? That ends up in your premiums. But what do they care, the law now states that you have to buy their product.
Truth is, what we don't pay, the next generation will. If they are lucky enough to even have a country left. We inherited a great life at the expense of others and shamefully in this case at the expense of future generations.
My God! (Or Gawd using the new politically correct spelling) it's time to be responsible adults. If you can't afford it, don't buy it! This is what conservatives are trying to say.
Seriously? Jeez.
(That's Jesus, to you).
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Well Done!
