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I say we just eliminate every political party. Sure we'll end up with all sorts of candidates who fall all over the spectrum of ideals, but only the ones who represent the true majority of American ideals would get elected. No more electoral college and a true popular vote......
In all seriousness I think most Dems and Pubs get along just fine. It's really only the extreme far to the left and the extreme far right folks who can't seem to find any common ground.
I agree. Any politician elegible for office and elected should be a Libertarian.
Mention of Dirksen does, however, suggest a pertinent point...namely that all the respectable Republicans (sometimes called paleo's these days) were driven out of any position of influence within the GOP and replaced by uncompromising, unthinking militants and ideologues. One possible explanation for the lack of dialogue between latter-day Dems and Reps is that it's simply impossible to HAVE a meaningful dialogue with the type of people that the Reps have allowed to be put in power.
Very astute observation. I'm neither dem nor repub as you know, however, as impartial witness of both I interpret this new breed of republican as terrorist. There's no incentive for anyone to dialogue with them as they are now. Conduct morally repugnant, blatant contempt for fellow americans, their very assaults to the constitution bore witness right along with me.
It's been my experience that the louder someone yells the less valid they are and the more the message is tied to preservation of denial. Note the increased trend in messages voided by null or outright contradiction. Natures law applied republicans will either return to their foundation to redefine their party in earnest or die. There are fates worse than death. There was Bush with rebranded voodoo economics, for example. I'd have more respect if RNC opted for hara-kiri than the political nuisance they've made of themselves trash talking. Leaders do not divide america. Gross malfeasance and villainous behavior does.
Being a staunch dem/liberal, I'm glad you recognize there are respectable republicans out there. Hopefully they'll get center stage vs whatever you would characterize has usurped their party. Personally, I'll leave the honor to paleo conservatives to name the beast.
Very astute observation. I'm neither dem nor repub as you know, however, as impartial witness of both I interpret this new breed of republican as terrorist. There's no incentive for anyone to dialogue with them as they are now. Conduct morally repugnant, blatant contempt for fellow americans, their very assaults to the constitution bore witness right along with me.
It's been my experience that the louder someone yells the less valid they are and the more the message is tied to preservation of denial. Note the increased trend in messages voided by null or outright contradiction. Natures law applied republicans will either return to their foundation to redefine their party in earnest or die. There are fates worse than death. There was Bush with rebranded voodoo economics, for example. I'd have more respect if RNC opted for hara-kiri than the political nuisance they've made of themselves trash talking. Leaders do not divide america. Gross malfeasance and villainous behavior does.
Being a staunch dem/liberal, I'm glad you recognize there are respectable republicans out there. Hopefully they'll get center stage vs whatever you would characterize has usurped their party. Personally, I'll leave the honor to paleo conservatives to name the beast.
I say we just eliminate every political party. Sure we'll end up with all sorts of candidates who fall all over the spectrum of ideals, but only the ones who represent the true majority of American ideals would get elected. No more electoral college and a true popular vote
I agree. Both parties are a disgrace to each other and to Americans.
Populist, libertarian, progressive viewpoints that most Americans agree with:
1. Raise the minimum wage to $12/hour
2. Cancel NAFTA and all other free trade agreements.
3. Reduce the payroll tax (talk host Bob Brinker's idea).
4. Cut global climate change spending.
5. "Medicare For All" (talk host Jay Diamond's idea)
6. Eliminate all taxes for new small businesses.
7. Eliminate all taxes on purchasing foreclosed homes (talk host Bill Wattenburg's idea)
9. Provide tax incentives for Wind power, electric cars, solar power.
10. Auction federal lands that can be used for domestic timber, mining, agriculture, solar panel farms, and wind farms.
11. Socially: abortion and gay marriage issues left up to the states, although heterosexual andhomosexual unmarried partner benefits recognized nationwide.
You are talking about 40 years ago! The Republican Party back then is not the same as today. Back then the Republican Party was largely corporate whores that was tolerable and sometimes even did the right thing. It is not that anymore. It is now a party of racist, religious nutcases, war mongers and homophobes (as well as closet gays). It is not the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower or even Ford. It is the party of Pat Robertson, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,766,887 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoarfrost
Not ideology, pragmatism and realism. For anyone who's observed the past 8 years or past 30 years for that matter, it's clear that a small but significant group of people has become so instrumental to the party's survival that they're an untapped boon in a good season and an Achille's Heel in a bad one. Thus they've been allowed to run amok because the party can't shed them and can't win without them.
I agree with that. Much of what is the party today reflects what is going on in the country and neither party wants to offend their "base" although the Democrats are better at offending theirs than the Republicans are because the second the Republicans step out of line Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity quickly see to it that they hear from the base. The problem is that the Republicans have offended so many people aside form the base that they are going to have a more difficult time of winning anything outside the south in the future.
They have offended many groups of people that might even be closer to the Republicans on economics. Take the gays for example. They are a natural Republican constituency. Most of them are highly paid professionals without kids and with dual incomes. Normally such people would tend to flock to the Republican Party. But the Republicans have made the gays permanent Democrats just as they have the blacks with their "southern strategy", women with their constant opposition to women's rights, equal pay and the Mexicans with their constant immigrant bashing.
The Democrats on the other hand can get away with offending the left extreme of the party more often. We do not have a "Rush Limbaugh" sitting out there on 500 radio stations waiting to pounce the second Obama steps out of line. But even the Democrats have to be careful because, as Al Gore found out, if you offend the base too much Ralph Nader is waiting.
You are talking about 40 years ago! The Republican Party back then is not the same as today. Back then the Republican Party was largely corporate whores that was tolerable and sometimes even did the right thing. It is not that anymore. It is now a party of racist, religious nutcases, war mongers and homophobes (as well as closet gays). It is not the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower or even Ford. It is the party of Pat Robertson, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
As opposed to the Democratic party being the party of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and aaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy y.
Would we be happy with TWO car companies? Do you think they'd have the best product to offer or would we be able to find cars better suited to our tastes among half a dozen or more car companies? LOL, it may soon come to pass that we have only a few merged car companies, but you get my point. How about if we had two fast food chains? Would they serve everybody equally and failrly? Two retail chains?
No. But we are satisfied with two political parties having a monopoly on power serving nobody well and have corruption and favortism running rampant in both. And then we argue that its the others guys fault the country is such a mess and if it wasn't for them our own party wouldn't be such a disaster too. 50% of the voters are somewhere in the middle and would follow a party that stayed there and ignored the extremists that have hijacked both parties.
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Populist, libertarian, progressive viewpoints:
