As a party, I think the Dems have their shit together a bit more. But, that's not really saying much. I think the public is pretty fed up with both parties. The public feels like neither really serves their interests. But at least the Dems don't seem to be falling apart.
I don't say this lightly. But is the GOP getting to the point where they're not only incapable of governing the nation, but now they're unable to even govern themselves. John Boehner tried his damnedest, but even he had to call it quits. Nobody seemed willing to take the job, and Paul Ryan refused and said, I will only accept the position if the entire party gets on their hands and knees and give him a big wet BBBJ. So, getting desperate, even the hardliners fell in line, and now the hardliners are getting a bunch of shit over it.
When you look at the Presidential race, the GOP side is a fucking clown show. At this point, most of the candidates who run do so just so they can get rich off of book sales. Isn't this fucking sad?
I dunno, it just seems like the Republican Party is coming apart at the seams. The party has never recovered from the disaster left in the wake of Dubya, and I'm beginning to wonder if there may come a time when the Republican party is no more. That they will go the way of the Wigs, and simply cease to exist.
And on raising the debt limit to avoid default? Will the Tea Party gang insist on dis-embowling themselves? My guess is "yes."
but somehow they are still in control of Congress. What does that say about how the American people feel about the Dems
The Democrats got away with screwing around with the redistricting rules and controlled congress for several decades from the 70's and 80's until we had the Republican "change" wave in the late 80's. I suspect we are very close to the next "change" election AKA let's throw out all the bums which will then bring about Democrat majority control of the Congress.
Fareed Zakaria, on GPS remarked upon that occurring around every 10 years. He was commenting on the elections in Great Britain, and Canada, saying that many people are looking at their results as an indication of a move toward the left, in both countries, and may mean the same here. Would make some sense, since Berny is doing so well. However, Fareed, believed that it had more to do with 'throw the bums out!'
It's also an effect of the "swinging pendulum" of politics, which I why I write off as idiots people that claim one party or the other is "finished" because of the results of one or two elections.
The idiots (not everyone, just the idiots) from the left have been claiming the GOP is finished and will never win another election. People that dumb are simply not worth talking to. and yes I feel the same way about idiots on the right who have ever claimed the Democrats are finished.
I have noticed the political pendulum has been swinging a bit further to the far left and far right over the last several years, and that fact is a bit unsettling. I don't want the whackos from either far end of the political spectrum ever gaining control of this country. That kind of thing leads to people like Hitler or Chavez rising to power, and it's a bit scary to admit that it "could" happen in this country.
That still doesn't explain the GOP control of the Senate.
and brings me right back to my original point. If the GOP is really that fucked up, what does it say about the Dems to have lost control to such a dysfunctional party as the GOP. People must really hate the Democratic party to vote for a party as fucked up as the GOP.
On that note, I've been talking to my mother who was an enthusiastic Obama voter and she has all but assured me that she will be voting GOP this cycle, and unlike me she will be voting for any GOP candidate over any Dem candidate.
The party in the White House almost always loses seats in the mid-terms, especially when the President is in his second term.
The point was being made about just how feckless, fucked up, leaderless, etc the GOP is right now, yet they are still the party in charge of Congress, MY point is that if the GOP is truly that fucked up, the dems must be even more fucked up for the GOP to have ever wrested control from them.
Yes, the party in the White House usually does lose seats in the mid terms, but doesn't always lose control, especially when the other party is in "complete disarray" It's like a provider complaining about a 4-4 review, sometimes the answer is to be found by looking in the mirror.
Not to mention the GOP didn't win Congress by doing anything other than campaigning on the fact they were NOT Democrats. It sure sounds like the Dems have their own issues to deal with.
You're quite right that the Dems are pretty miserable when it comes to fighting the GOP, which should come easy, as the GOP is in chaos.
But let's not forget recent history. The Dems got a supermajority in 2008 and wasted it on health care reform, when they should have been addressing the economy. Had they done that, Occupy Wall Street never would have happened. Because the Dems didn't do this, and earn people's votes in 2010, you got the Tea Party in there. You can think of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party movement as two sides of the same coin. Each were just groups complaining about how Washington wasn't addressing the financial mess and the Great Recession.
So the voters that gave the Dems a supermajority in both houses of Congress, largely stayed home in 2010, which lead to the GOP winning not only Congress, but the majority of the state legislatures across the country. Because of this, the GOP got to control the next census, which lead to redistricting, which pretty much guarantees the GOP will keep control of the House until 2020, short of some massive demographic changes in the country.
On the Senate side, it's important to remember that only one third of the Senate is up for election every 2 years. In 2006 the Dems won quite a few Senate seats, but they won even more in 2008, riding on Obama's coat tails. It shouldn't be a surprise that 6 years later, many of those Dems would have trouble keeping their Senate seats, especially when so many Dems won big in red states in 2008.
In other words, in any election where there's a big change in the Senate, you can expect a shift in the other direction 6 years later. The Tea Party won big in 2010, so without even looking at the races, I'd expect that you'd have a disproportionately high number of blue state Republicans trying to keep their Senate seats.
Also, the further we get away from 2010, the harder it will be for the GOP to keep the House, due to demographic changes, but quite frankly, things are so gerrymandered, that it's hopeless for the Dems in the House until 2020.
We can expect the Dems to win big in 2016, so long as Clinton is the nominee, the Dems will probably win a few more seats in the House, the GOP will most likely remain in control, and the Dems will likely take back the Senate in 2016. So it'll be the Tea Party all over again, with government hopelessly dead locked.
I see the party being split with only a few having the loudest voice. Look who's ahead in the GOP poll, Ben Carson ( guy can put me to sleep when he speaks), Donald Trump!!!! But it's a good side show...for now.
They're not showing the lack of conformity, unity or control as the GOP; but they're veritable "black out", incessant impugning, and general refusal of acknowledgement/respect for Bernie Sanders bid shows an equal refusal to serve the "People" rather than themselves and their political machine.
As a party, I think the Dems have their shit together a bit more. But, that's not really saying much. I think the public is pretty fed up with both parties. The public feels like neither really serves their interests. But at least the Dems don't seem to be falling apart.
I will concede that gap is starting to narrow, as stupid and lazy people who never expect to rise above being "below average" by their own efforts start looking at socialism as a way to improve their lot in life on the backs of others, but they aren't the majority just yet.
Personally I think Bernie Sanders is getting a lot more respect than he deserves, and I find that fact rather disturbing.
....and the truth is that not very many Americans buy into the notion of the noble entrepreneur anymore. It's not that hard to peddle Ayn Rand platitudes post Reagan, but not too easy after Wall Street destroyed the country's economy, the tax payer had to bail them out, and Wall Street reaps all the rewards. It's just a hard sell. At this point, what should surprise you is that socialism isn't more popular than it already is.
The whole Atlas Shrugged concept, it seems to me, has things a little backwards. Forget class, the rich, the poor, the middle class, and think of who these people are as individuals. When you enact a socialist program, what you're really doing is taxing men and giving that money to women. The overwhelming majority of those who reap the rewards of gov't programs are women. So when you say that people support socialism because they're prefer not to improve their lot in life, that's more revealing then you might realize.
I am talking Main St not Wall St.
Bailing out Wall street is a far cry from taxing a small business into oblivion, just like it's a far cry to want to tax the super rich, but then make all the tax increases apply to anyone making even $250 K a year, which is hardly "super rich" unless of course you never learned any skills and blame "the man" for your inability to compete in the job market and want a "do over" because you made bad life decisions. That is the underlying principle of socialism, Reward mediocrity and even failure while discouraging ambition and success.
Your whole sexist argument about taxing men to give to women is simply too stupid to even address. Sorry, but you can have that discussion with somebody else
and Democratic Socialism.
It is no wonder why Kool-Aid Capitalist want to fear-monger and mis-inform. They innately fear change as does anyone. But fear not; GaG! You'll still have more than enough money for yours and your immediate heirs needs and desires. It simply won't cover those 10 or more generations after your death.
Personally I think Bernie Sanders is getting a lot more respect than he deserves, and I find that fact rather disturbing.
....I doubt it will ever happen but in the remote chance that it does, who do Democrats have left? Bernie Sander's!
When you look at the Presidential race, the GOP side is a fucking clown show. At this point, most of the candidates who run do so just so they can get rich off of book sales. Isn't this fucking sad?
I dunno, it just seems like the Republican Party is coming apart at the seams. The party has never recovered from the disaster left in the wake of Dubya, and I'm beginning to wonder if there may come a time when the Republican party is no more. That they will go the way of the Wigs, and simply cease to exist.
I can live with Hilary as POTUS, but the alternatives to her from the left side of the aisle are too scary for an unabashed capitalist like me to even consider.
Ok HONDA, I have a question for you, faced with a choice between Sanders and Trump, who do you vote for? and no fair saying that you would simply move to Canada.
Tough to chose between these two wacko birds. I probably would not even bother to vote.
Ok HONDA, I have a question for you, faced with a choice between Sanders and Trump, who do you vote for? and no fair saying that you would simply move to Canada.
Bernie Sanders goes against everything I believe has made this country great at such a level I honestly can't imagine him running against anyone bad enough to get me to vote for him. I would vote Obama for a third term before voting for Sanders, I could even vote for Carson against Sanders, but I think I would have to draw the line at Fiorina, even with a gun pointed at my head, I just don't think I could bring myself to vote for her.
As you mentioned in an earlier post, supporters of Sanders are totally clueless on what Socialism really is. They just hear the free stuff. And Sanders has been smart NOT to publicly comment on his definition of Socialism.
One thing so great about this country is its ability to disrupt the norm, at least in the context of business, culture, style, you name it. Sanders means you don't have a future Facebook, or a future Twitter, Uber, Airbnb, or any other market disrupters that fundamentally change the way we live.
Socialism guarantees mediocrity, that's why we keep hearing about all those new breakthroughs in modern living from the likes of the Danes or the Cubans.
Our country was founded on a risk reward mentality which continues to this day. People who take risks can look for almost unimaginable rewards in this country, take that away from us and we stop being the land of opportunity and in a generation or even less would become the land of mediocrity. I always thought of Obama as the most UnAmerican POTUS in our history, Sanders would make Obama look like George Washington in comparison.
At least to me it's relatively simple to explain socialism. Just do a contrast and compare versus capitalism. But you know he can't do that, or else he is toast.
The only difference between Socialism and Democratic Socialism is through the ballot box, and that change in government and society is done through elections.
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Capitalism_vs_Socialism
I'm sure you can find a Bible verse or two that will explain it.
You're Welcome
For God and country
So which party, or or even faction of a party has done more recently to advance the basic principles of democracy? Both parties for a long time now, long before the Tea Party began, have been dysfunctional, corrupt to a certain degree but for sure self serving. The Democrats have demanded and received for the most part lock step obedience. Even Bernie Sanders won't criticize Clinton by name on a national stage. He tries in a glancing way but only at local events.
I contend the infighting among Republicans indicates that a growing minority of them are willing to stand up for their own principles, or more precisely the principles of the electorate that sent them to D.C. You can and do disagree with most of their policies but they are adhering to a practice long forgotten in D.C. If it weren't for the upcoming SCOTUS retirements I'd say, let the GOP (or force it to) die. A little secret most here won't admit but even with the changing demographics, racial or otherwise, most of the country leads their daily life and self identify as conservatives. A new conservative party that actually answered to the electorate would be far stronger than the present GOP.
I heard Mark Stein recently say, (in the spirit of Reagan's famous quote that he didn't leave the Democrat party, the Democrat party left him). . . . Bernie Sanders never joined the present Democrat party but the Democrat party joined him.
I didn't even have to read his response, I could hear him screaming it at his computer monitor as he was pounding his response out on his keyboard.
I mean honestly, how do you have a conversation with someone who constantly runs around here like a man with his hair on fire?
I have to admit, I do like the fact that some members of Congress are willing to stand on principle and refuse to just "go along" this is the same anger that both Sander and Trump seem to be tapping into, and maybe, just maybe it's a sign of real change??? Yeah right, sure it is. lol My fear is that if we ever do get any "real change" it will be change for the worse, not the better.
I am quite sure things will get worse before they have a chance to get better. As far as this minority gaining strength, there are several factors prohibiting it or slowing it down. Many people would like to join in but believe either feel more comfortable staying with the perceived winners (sheep effect) or are afraid of what they perceive (or are told) the resulting pain will be. Indeed, change is usually painful, but I've learned the resistance to change is worse.