The Inconvenient Truth About the Republican Party

originally posted by: Salander
a reply to: face23785

FYI there already is a Libertarian Party. It's been around since about 1972

www.lp.org...

I'm aware of that. I mentioned it in a post last week. Unfortunately it's treading water right now.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Blue Shift

I wish there was a Five Guys of politics.

Man I used to love Five Guys. Last time I went to one though, it was terrible. Maybe just a bad location.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Blue Shift

I wish there was a Five Guys of politics.

Most people want freedom from choice, not freedom of choice. So they don't have to do the work to make sure they're choosing correctly, and if things go bad they don't have to share the blame.

originally posted by: face23785
I mentioned it in a post last week. Unfortunately it's treading water right now.

Getting Libertarians organized is like trying to boost membership in the First Church of Atheists.

originally posted by: face23785

originally posted by: okrian

originally posted by: face23785

There's degrees here, and pretending you don't see that is just silly. You're making a fool of yourself pretending that Republicans are trying to strip freedoms at the same rate as Democrats. That's clearly and obviously false.

Is it though? There has been more gun regulation under Trump than under Obama. More prosecutions for gun owner violations under Trump than Obama. And dude, Patriot Act. Nothing has stripped more rights away from American citizens in recent history. Except perhaps Corporate Personhood, which has been highly pushed by the Republican party.

Do they talk about freedom? Yes. It's a great catch phrase to garner votes. Yours included. Do they deliver on it? A resounding no.

And, once again, I never claimed the Republicans were pure, that they don't do shady #, that they don't sell out.

There's also been a bill sitting in the House since January that would put a 30% tax on all gun sales and a 50% tax on all ammo sales.

It has zero chance of passing because of Republicans. There are benefits to voting Republican, few as they may be. Whatever slight benefit I can get, if I can get it by taking a 5 minute trip to my polling place once every 2 years, seems like a decent tradeoff to me.

I'd love to see the two-party monopoly broken up. Until that happens, I work with what I've got. Sitting here kicking and screaming "WAaaaaaaaaaaa! It shouldn't be like this!!!!" isn't for me. Sorry.

I understand, to a degree. And also agree on the failures of the two-party system. I'm going to guess that a good bunch of us here, no matter what side we are on, think that should come to a close. But also think that the bulk of us are also going to go with the lesser of two evils and as you stated, make a pragmatic decision (thus rendering the thread of why anyone would vote for Biden as a non-issue). I do think that both sides get caught up in the rhetoric of what the parties espouse as opposed to what they actually deliver on (even if they are the exact opposite). I also have a hard time seeing the demise of the two party system. There's a lot invested, both by the parties, by the corporatocracy, and by legacy. Sadly, in this day and age, if it ever changes, I do think it will be due to the charisma of a person leading the charge and not actually the heart of the politics. But that's just my thought on what is driving the reality-TV based culture these days. And perhaps that's ok if that is what it takes.

Also agree that the bill mentioned would likely pass if there were a Democrat supermajority. And in this instance the checks and balances are probably working. Even if I agree to the bill, what I think doesn't matter if the will of the population sees otherwise or the law is argued in a way that is indisputable.

Still tough when the stated reasons for voting Republican don't have the backing of actions by the party itself.

Trump adminstration:

More unmasking requests each year than the Obama Administration's last year.
Fox News

Similar number of FISA warrants in 2017 by Trump as the Obama Administration in 2016.
Source

More EOs in the first term (162 Trump so far against 147 for Obama)
Executive Orders

Trump has added $4.484 Trillion to the debt in his first four years, Obama added $6,042 with the economy in freefall which included Bush bailouts.

US Deficit by Year

Tell us again how the Republican party under Trump is for less government interference and smaller government.

originally posted by: Blue Shift
Most people want freedom from choice, not freedom of choice. So they don't have to do the work to make sure they're choosing correctly, and if things go bad they don't have to share the blame.

Which is why so many numpties vote for either party.

a reply to: okrian

I appreciate the actual, thoughtful reply.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Bluntone22

Let me help you. Forget parties and answer these questions.

Which demographic mostly supported the Republican Party in the past, Progressive Northerners or Conservative Southerners?

Which group mostly supports them now?

Which party was staunchly opposed to the Equal Rights ?
Which party supported Equal Rights ?

originally posted by: Gothmog
Which party was staunchly opposed to the Equal Rights ?
Which party supported Equal Rights ?

Wrong question.

Which demographic did, Southern Conservatives or Progressive Northerners?

The republican party today is what matters not 30, 40, 50 or 60 or 200 years ago.

Today their a reactionary party and the last two presidents that were republicans have presided over national disasters that are close to destroying the country!

Bush and now Trump.

The republican senate ONLY does anything when they cut taxes for the rich and vote in conservative reactionary judges, and hardly anything else.

Tries to cut all lower and middle-class programs.

Cares not for the environment, economic growth for the poor, and generally a neocon foreign policy.

They are a party for the rich and powerful ONLY.

Is perhaps one of the most backward and negative forces on the planet.

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Just making it clear to all and sundry that most modern universities have no claim to anything relevant to education.
That PragerU May indeed be a shopfront to nothing more than a propaganda factory but as I see it, as are most other universities

From that I guess, I would have to ask you just what you consider to be things that ARE relevant to education. That and when do you think that this university system became irrelevant.

I could try to answer that myself. ''When the liberals took over the educational system.''
Is that your premise?

a reply to: Willtell

i cannot argue with your points too much.

Can you tell me if there is a party that has cared about economic growth for the poor? One party tries to gut social programs, the other party seems to think the only way to help is to give stuff away.

I get it...folks who follow the DNC like to think themselves a kind force. The reality is different. no one gets to claim the high ground.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

when universities allowed degree programs they KNEW weren't going to be monetized. How can a university look students int he eyes and allow them to enroll in Journalism or humanities majors?

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: TerryMcGuire

when universities allowed degree programs they KNEW weren't going to be monetized. How can a university look students int he eyes and allow them to enroll in Journalism or humanities majors?

Going to the university is just an excuse to party while trying to figure out what you really want to do with your life.

Nothing meaningful happens until you are in graduate school, and even then it's a gamble.

a reply to: Arnie123

Sounds like a personal issue, if you had a problem with the clip, just say it, don't beat around the bush and dismiss it as half truths because of how you personally view things.

Surely you must have noticed I did ''just say it''. Because you either do not like what I said or do not understand what I said does not mean I was ''beating around the bush''.

So when your issue stems from something deeper, express it, don't dismiss it, if you say half truths, it's on the ONUS to explain why and what.

Remember? I did.

''There was no in depth recitation of the fluctuating majorities in either party over the last hundred and fifty years. No recitation on the general state of racism across the board, ''

If you would like to talk about this then I can. We could talk about the multi-positional mixtures that have always been the make up of both parties, how segregationists and integrationists have mixed within both parties and when one side or the other comes to dominate the narrative of that party, many of the other side leave and either go to the other party or start their own which eventually mixes the parties again where new alliances are formed and new colorizations of the parties take form.

Did that woman mention any of that? Nope, hence, half truth, or better put, not the whole truth.

originally posted by: UpIsNowDown
Which party has the most diverse set of people?

I know in the UK both parties have representation from both sexes and minority groups, is that the same for the Republican party and Democrat party?

More diversity of Skin Color and Ethnicity: Democrats

More Diversity of Thought and Policy: Libertarians, then Republicans

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

That is a good mile marker on the state of the university system Tex. Too many degrees in fields that will not procure for the student an education that will further their economic outlook upon graduation.
I guess there are still those who go off to college for the pure desire for knowledge though not so many I assume. That too may be a marking point for a definition of ''modern university''. That of being merely a factory for churning out product to be scooped up as grist in the mill of corporate society while all the rest just fall away as lost by product.

originally posted by: Willtell
The republican party today is what matters not 30, 40, 50 or 60 or 200 years ago.

Today their a reactionary party and the last two presidents that were republicans have presided over national disasters that are close to destroying the country!

1) When those reactions are in response to terrible ideas from the opposition party, yeah
2) When those national disasters are because of terrible choices from the previous administraiton, yeah

Might be easier to call the GOP the 'clean up' party.

Bush and now Trump.

The republican senate ONLY does anything when they cut taxes for the rich and vote in conservative reactionary judges, and hardly anything else.

Tries to cut all lower and middle-class programs.

Cares not for the environment, economic growth for the poor, and generally a neocon foreign policy.

They are a party for the rich and powerful ONLY.

Is perhaps one of the most backward and negative forces on the planet.

The only 'Negative Force' coming from DC is an ever-increasing government encroaching on the rights of citizens. Both parties are guilty of it, but the Democrats seem to revel in it while the GOP at least has some elected representatives who speak out against it.

I can't describe to you how elated I am to hear that this site is closing down.

Been a member/lurker for 10+ years and I used to absolutely love this site. So many interesting people, with weird and varied viewpoints, debating the veracity of different conspiracy theories. Those of you who joined more recently, have no idea what you missed out on. Some people would provide scholar-level research into topics complete with a bibliography and works-cited. There were some really top-quality people here.

And then something happened. A slow decline in the quality of posts that eventually lead to a precipitous dropoff. For years now the mod team has allowed a core group of 5 -10 members to ruin this website. They posted whatever nonsense popped into their geriatric sub-80 IQ brains, and then all up-voted each other. Posts calling out this behavior were subsequently removed by mods. And the owners just didn't care anymore. Their inability to face criticism for even the most mundane beliefs eventually drove off all the smart, interesting people who just got tired of talking to these bot-like drones. Their intellectual debates fell to the wayside in favor of sh*t stirring. New, interesting and smart people would show up and make a post, only to see the kind of low-quality replies it got, and then left, which only served to increase the density of the moron population.

The decline of this site can be attributed to a number of factors. Owners who don't care, mods who are very biased, and a core membership of 5 -10 people who spend all day circle jerking while they source echo-chamber websites to support their ridiculous belief-systems. This site is unprofitable because of poor leadership and the inability to deal with 10 people who now create 80% of the content on this website.

And now, the circle jerk is coming to a rapid, and unsatisfactory climax. The precious stars you've all spent your retirements earning will evaporate into the stratosphere of the internet.

The only advice I have going forward is this: if you're looking for a place to go, head over to r/conspiracy so I can watch you guys destroy that place, too.

This post was removed due to hurting feewings, so now you're reading it here. Too late. The power trip is coming to an end soon.