US Politics Mega-thread - Page 365

On August 02 2013 00:49 DoubleReed wrote:


Other than pointing out that republicans are crazy, how exactly are democrats using the "government shutdown scenario."

I'm sorry but I get annoyed at all the equivocation. Democrats may be corrupt and such, but the Republicans have gone off the deep end. They've given significant voice to extremists on their side including Neo-confederates and nativists (Rand and Ron Paul, Steve King, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, etc). Stop pretending that there is no difference here.

That kind of apathy is exactly what got George W Bush elected. Yet do you really think we would have gone into Iraq under Gore? Do you really think climate denialists would have as much influence under Gore? Stem cell research?

The two parties are different. It may sound centrist or wise or whatever to say that they're "basically the same" but this is simply not accurate.

On August 02 2013 00:56 Sermokala wrote:
I would call the democrats back in the day threatening to hold back military funding for the troops in the middle of a war much scarier then any ploy by the republicans to shut down the government.

You act like going into iraq was a bad thing when everyone can agree it was a good thing. It was horribly executed and had a massive civil war in the middle because we thought letting them govern themselves was a good idea but no one can disagree all the good its done for the people of iraq now that they don't have a dictator that won't gas the kurds to the north or invade random countries around it.

But I guess its true democrats would rather have people equal in slavery then unequal in freedom.

Edit: also check your facts Bush did more to fund stem cell research then anyone else in history and increased NASA's funding. He allowed funding on existing lines of stem cells and it worked for long enough for people to find a better way that wasn't so morally controversial.

On August 02 2013 00:58 Kiarip wrote:


Oh god. I give up, Ron Paul is an extremist now...

brb. just trying to follow the constitution you know? Oh wait, we don't do that anymore.

Yeah, there IS a difference. Democrats just appeal to semi-intellectuals like yourself who don't really understand anything about the economy but want their ignorance to pass as intelligence. Meanwhile mainstream republicans appeal not even to semi-intellectuals but just idiots who are repeatedly lied to, but don't even notice it.

On August 02 2013 00:49 DoubleReed wrote:


Other than pointing out that republicans are crazy, how exactly are democrats using the "government shutdown scenario."

I'm sorry but I get annoyed at all the equivocation. Democrats may be corrupt and such, but the Republicans have gone off the deep end. They've given significant voice to extremists on their side including Neo-confederates and nativists (Rand and Ron Paul, Steve King, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, etc). Stop pretending that there is no difference here.

That kind of apathy is exactly what got George W Bush elected. Yet do you really think we would have gone into Iraq under Gore? Do you really think climate denialists would have as much influence under Gore? Stem cell research?

The two parties are different. It may sound centrist or wise or nonpartisan or whatever to say that they're "basically the same" but this is simply not accurate.

On August 02 2013 01:02 DoubleReed wrote:
lol not only did you not address the extremism claim but you somehow didn't address the reason we went into Iraq in the first place.

What was it again? What was our reasoning?

Eh, who cares, amirite? "Dems want equality in slavery!" Bumper stickers for all (except those drug muling immigrants, of course).

On August 02 2013 01:04 jellyjello wrote:


You really have no clue what you are talking about, do you? Democrats use the Government shutdown card as much as the Republicans do to get that extra edge in the political battle. Both sides are blaming the other. So, what really is the difference here? My point still stands despite of all this, however, that two parties are so far apart in their ideological stance and standing up for the middle ground looks like a political suicide at the moment. Take a moment and think about how we got to where we are.

Now, if the subject is about the debt ceiling increase, then you might have a point. But you have absolutely zero case for the Government shutdown.

On August 02 2013 01:06 Kiarip wrote:


Is this aimed at me? Of course the reason we went into Iraq was a lie, they said there were WMDs and there weren't any, so it's hardly worth mentioning since the guy is arguing that even though there were no WMDs it was still worth it to invade, clearly WMDs are irrelevant to the discussion.

On August 02 2013 01:02 DoubleReed wrote:
Sermokala: lol not only did you not address the extremism claim but you somehow didn't address the reason we went into Iraq in the first place.

What was it again? What was our reasoning?

Eh, who cares, amirite? "Dems want equality in slavery!" Bumper stickers for all (except those drug muling immigrants, of course).

Yes, Ron Paul is a Neo confederate. Or maybe he just hangs out with Neo Confederates. He believes in the Constitution except for that pesky 14th Amendment.

On August 02 2013 01:04 aksfjh wrote:

Where are the YouTube videos and demands that I "educate" myself? You Ron Paul nuts are getting lazy.

If a Congressman is frequently breaking unanimity with his vote (maybe with a dozen others), chances are he's an extremist. If he's cited in White Power publications and has some pretty strong ties with some of their leadership, chances are he's an extremist. If he constantly talks about abolishing the Fed and returning to the "Gold Standard," chances are he's an extremist.

On August 02 2013 01:11 DoubleReed wrote:


Edited to make more clear who I'm talking to.
Ron Paul is very friendly with Neo-Confederates.
So is Rand Paul.

On August 02 2013 01:19 DoubleReed wrote:
Are you kidding? This has been in the news significantly. Just google Rand Paul Neo Confederate Aide. This ain't just the SPLC.

You say yourself you haven't heard much of Ron and Rand Paul. Yes, he says lots of good things, especially about privacy issues. But you may actually want to consider that you don't have complete information on him. They are actually quite extreme.

On August 02 2013 01:04 jellyjello wrote:


You really have no clue what you are talking about, do you? Democrats use the Government shutdown card as much as the Republicans do to get that extra edge in the political battle. Both sides are blaming the other. So, what really is the difference here? My point still stands despite of all this, however, that two parties are so far apart in their ideological stance and standing up for the middle ground looks like a political suicide at the moment. Take a moment and think about how we got to where we are.

Now, if the subject is about the debt ceiling increase, then you might have a point. But you have absolutely zero case for the Government shutdown.

On August 02 2013 01:21 Kiarip wrote:


That's like me saying, look Obama is a rapist (gay rapist at that, although that's not relevant.)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2805071/posts



I don't care what dumb minority supports him. That's like saying, look the dumb ignorant people in the ghetto voted for Obama, that clearly discredits Obama's platform.

No, it doesn't.

On August 02 2013 01:19 DoubleReed wrote:
Are you kidding? This has been in the news significantly. Just google Rand Paul Neo Confederate Aide. This ain't just the SPLC. And I don't know why you don't consider them credible. They're a great resource for learning about extremism.

You say yourself you haven't heard much of Ron and Rand Paul. Yes, he says lots of good things, especially about privacy issues. But you may actually want to consider that you don't have complete information on him. They are actually quite extreme.

On August 02 2013 01:32 Sermokala wrote:

If you read my post you would have seen that it clearly says that its about "hate watch. keeping an eye on the radical right". They're clearly just a group of partisan hacks trying to create shit to make republicans raciest to win elections.

You should see some of the shit that the right side push's out about the left.

On August 02 2013 01:34 DoubleReed wrote:


Maybe you should look up who the Southern Poverty Law Center is.

On August 02 2013 01:37 Sermokala wrote:

I know what the SPLC is maybe you should look up who "hate watch" is.

On August 02 2013 01:23 aksfjh wrote:

Government was shutdown twice in recent history, both times by Republican Congress. And yes, standing for the "middle ground" looks like political suicide because the middle ground is awful. There are arguments to be made to strip government of it's power and authority, "drastically shrink the size of government" as it's stated vehemently. It's a pretty long-shot argument, based almost entirely on very ideological thinking. There's also the far-left, with some rather radical thinking as well (but not so much "drastically expand the size of government"), which also has ideological ties to it. Then there's the actual middle between the two, where most of the Democrats are today (and very, very few Republicans). They aren't looking to abolish the private sector or turn the US "socialist," but rather see government as a tool that can be used to improve society. Hardly a radical position.

The new "middle," though isn't where these moderates are. The new "middle" is between the demands of this radical sect of the GOP and the moderates. In there, you get cuts that are done with the side of a knife instead of the edge, lotteries for care and assistance, and laws/regulations that are enforced on a whim. Nobody wins with these "policies" in the "middle." Instead, you get morons advocating them from the outside trying to sound smart and wise, with little to no knowledge on the things they are backing. That is why the "middle is suicide."

I don't care what dumb minority supports him. That's like saying, look the dumb ignorant people in the ghetto voted for Obama, that clearly discredits Obama's platform.