The American Politics thread

[silentstriker]

Haha Gingrich in the lead now. This is the guy who said he cheated on his wife because he loved America so much.

 

[Flem274*]

Even if Obama was a terrible president, I would still vote Democrat because the current Republican Party is a massive obstacle to progressive goals and is insane. Those ****s are sponsored by people who would love nothing more than a return to puritanical theocratic values.

 

[smalishah84]

Those ****s are sponsored by people who would love nothing more than a return to puritanical theocratic values.

What's wrong with this?

 

[silentstriker]

 

[smalishah84]

lol.....It is a serious question. What is wrong with it?

 

[silentstriker]

Because a lot of us don't want our actions judged to be legal or illegal based on someone else's personal puritanical values?

 

[Fusion]

Because that goes against the concept and values of what the United States stands for. What the Republicans promote is revisionist history of a state deeply rooted in religious values and intolerant of dissenting voices. What they desire is a puritan society which is frankly at conflict with the Constitution. I strongly believe that the greatness of this country derives from two of the most brilliantly written documents in human history - The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Those words were not just written for effect, they meant something and established the foundation of this country.

Of course, the implementation of that concept has never been fully accomplished. From slavery to discrimination against gender and sexual orientation, the United States has gone through extreme dark periods. But the country never claimed to be perfect - it just wanted to pursue a "more perfect Union". That's why the Bill of Rights were included in the US Constitution. Whether the Republicans like it or not, human ideas and our sense of right and wrong evolves. The Constitution is brilliant because it grants general human rights, and that has allowed the people of this country to painstakingly over time acknowledge the rights of the minorities and the oppressed. It has been a long and hard battle for a more perfect (and to me a more progressive) union. If it were up to the Republicans, all of that struggle would be for naught and the ideals of the Constitution would be discarded. This is why it's important for Barack Obama, as flawed as he might be, to win the next election. You can accuse me of dramatics, but it is a fight for the very soul of this country.

 

[Cevno]

Don't think imposing those kind of values is actually possible to the extreme as is often suggested in a country like USA, especially in this day and age. The right doesn't have to be extreme right always, tbf and though the left by invoking the fear of the extreme right, stands to gain but has to be also careful about How left of the center they want to be.

Also is harsh to paint all the politicians of a party with the same brush in a kind of 2 party system USA has.

 

[Sanz]

Another Buffoon that we are supposed to take seriously ?

Herman Cain Stumbles On Libya Questions (VIDEO) [UPDATED]

 

[Sanz]

Also is harsh to paint all the politicians of a party with the same brush in a kind of 2 party system USA has.

Majority is what counts. And I do not have a problem with Huntsman and Romney and for that matter even Huckabee but I don't think they will be able to win the Republican Nomination.

 

[Fusion]

Majority is what counts. And I do not have a problem with Huntsman and Romney and for that matter even Huckabee but I don't think they will be able to win the Republican Nomination.

Woa Huckabee? He's as extreme right wing as they come Sanz.

 

[Sanz]

Woa Huckabee? He's as extreme right wing as they come Sanz.

He is a conservative, has his own beliefs that are way different from my beliefs, watched him a lot during last presidential campaign and he was my favorite Republican candidate.

I will not vote for him but IMO He is not a tool like Palin, Cain, Perry or Bachman.

 

[_Ed_]

Respect Huckabee for fronting on The Daily Show a couple of times. Don't agree with his views, but he's at least able to hold a mature conversation and respect others' opinions.

 

[Cevno]

Majority is what counts. And I do not have a problem with Huntsman and Romney and for that matter even Huckabee but I don't think they will be able to win the Republican Nomination.

Romney ought to be the favorite?

Also the majority of the politicians are close to the center on many issues, i would have thought on both sides in USA right now?

 

[silentstriker]

Don't think imposing those kind of values is actually possible to the extreme as is often suggested in a country like USA, especially in this day and age. The right doesn't have to be extreme right always, tbf and though the left by invoking the fear of the extreme right, stands to gain but has to be also careful about How left of the center they want to be.

Also is harsh to paint all the politicians of a party with the same brush in a kind of 2 party system USA has.

Actually every candidate bar Huntsman, and to a lesser degree Romney, is actually 'extreme right'. This current congress is actually the most right wing in history. You can read analysis of their political positions if you don't believe me. Bush, in 2000, and 2004, was to the left of Romney (remember compassionate conservatism, the massive medicare D expansion, etc, etc). McCain, when he ran, was even more to the left of Romney (he has since become much more right wing since he was challenged in the primaries in 2010).

Also Romney is going to win the Republican nomination. Regardless of who the current flavor of the month is. It's pretty sad though that the guy who is clearly to the right of Bush is being seen as the "mainstream" face of the republican party.

First Trump led the polls, then it was Bachmann, then it was Perry, then it was Cain, now Gingrich....but Romney has always been consistent (in the polls, not in positions ) and he has the establishment plus the donors behind him (especially as they start abandoning Perry).

 

[Quaggas]

Majority is what counts. And I do not have a problem with Huntsman and Romney and for that matter even Huckabee but I don't think they will be able to win the Republican Nomination.

Romney will win, imo, but I doubt he'll be able to defeat Obama, despite the economic situation (which gets blamed on the incumbent, fairly or not).

 

[smalishah84]

Don't think imposing those kind of values is actually possible to the extreme as is often suggested in a country like USA, especially in this day and age. The right doesn't have to be extreme right always, tbf and though the left by invoking the fear of the extreme right, stands to gain but has to be also careful about How left of the center they want to be.

Also is harsh to paint all the politicians of a party with the same brush in a kind of 2 party system USA has.

This

 

[silentstriker]

Don't think imposing those kind of values is actually possible to the extreme as is often suggested in a country like USA, especially in this day and age. The right doesn't have to be extreme right always, tbf and though the left by invoking the fear of the extreme right, stands to gain but has to be also careful about How left of the center they want to be.

Also is harsh to paint all the politicians of a party with the same brush in a kind of 2 party system USA has.

There is no 'left wing' party in the US. There is an extreme right wing party and there is a centrist party. The current policies of the democrats were the policies that the Republicans took in the 1990s. For example: individual mandate for private insurance...Newt Gingrich and Heritage Foundation came up with that. Cap & Trade: Cornerstone of early republican response to democrats wanting tougher regulations. Both of those things are now mainstream democratic proposals and are roundly opposed as Republicans! They call that as government going too far and way too liberal - even though they proposed them not too long ago! The Republican party has moved massively to the right, and the Democrats have moved to the right of center. The current healthcare law was rejected by the Clinton administration in the 1990s as being way too conservative - they thought the individual mandate was stupid because it gave the insurance companies money instead of having a government run program. Now Democrats are pushing for a mandate to buy private insurance and the Republcans start clapping when Ron Paul talks about letting people die instead and starts booing a soldier serving in Iraq because he is gay. You have a presidential candidate talking about how HPV vaccine caused mental retardation, and the birther movement and global warming crazies coming up with one ridiculous theory after another. The one guy who is actually pro-science, believes in global warming and doesn't buy the birther crap is polling in at 2%.

It has been an astonishing shift to radical right wing positions in a very short amount of time, and the characterization of 'extreme' is quite accurate.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Because that goes against the concept and values of what the United States stands for. What the Republicans promote is revisionist history of a state deeply rooted in religious values and intolerant of dissenting voices. What they desire is a puritan society which is frankly at conflict with the Constitution. I strongly believe that the greatness of this country derives from two of the most brilliantly written documents in human history - The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Those words were not just written for effect, they meant something and established the foundation of this country.

Of course, the implementation of that concept has never been fully accomplished. From slavery to discrimination against gender and sexual orientation, the United States has gone through extreme dark periods. But the country never claimed to be perfect - it just wanted to pursue a "more perfect Union". That's why the Bill of Rights were included in the US Constitution. Whether the Republicans like it or not, human ideas and our sense of right and wrong evolves. The Constitution is brilliant because it grants general human rights, and that has allowed the people of this country to painstakingly over time acknowledge the rights of the minorities and the oppressed. It has been a long and hard battle for a more perfect (and to me a more progressive) union. If it were up to the Republicans, all of that struggle would be for naught and the ideals of the Constitution would be discarded. This is why it's important for Barack Obama, as flawed as he might be, to win the next election. You can accuse me of dramatics, but it is a fight for the very soul of this country.

Top post Fusion, and very nicely put. Even though I am not an American, I have always believed that the Constitution of the United States and especially the Bill of rights is one of the greatest documents to have ever been written in recent history and is an example for the world to follow.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

There is no 'left wing' party in the US. There is an extreme right wing party and there is a centrist party. The current policies of the democrats were the policies that the Republicans took in the 1990s. For example: individual mandate for private insurance...Newt Gingrich and Heritage Foundation came up with that. Cap & Trade: Cornerstone of early republican response to democrats wanting tougher regulations. Both of those things are now mainstream democratic proposals and are roundly opposed as Republicans! They call that as government going too far and way too liberal - even though they proposed them not too long ago! The Republican party has moved massively to the right, and the Democrats have moved to the right of center. The current healthcare law was rejected by the Clinton administration in the 1990s as being way too conservative - they thought the individual mandate was stupid because it gave the insurance companies money instead of having a government run program. Now Democrats are pushing for a mandate to buy private insurance and the Republcans start clapping when Ron Paul talks about letting people die instead and starts booing a soldier serving in Iraq because he is gay. You have a presidential candidate talking about how HPV vaccine caused mental retardation, and the birther movement and global warming crazies coming up with one ridiculous theory after another. The one guy who is actually pro-science, believes in global warming and doesn't buy the birther crap is polling in at 2%.

It has been an astonishing shift to radical right wing positions in a very short amount of time, and the characterization of 'extreme' is quite accurate.

Lol, didn't know things were that crazy in the US.