Political discussion thread

Gamemako wrote: *yawn* Barack is no socialist. Deliberate mischaracterization benefits no-one. What we really need to say is this: Barack Obama is your average liberal. He represents run-of-the-mill American Liberal views. He's far from the extreme, but he's also not a centrist. As a president, he spends a lot of time trying to build bridges with the Right, who have rolled right off the deep end and want nothing to do with him. The Right is, quite simply, a problem. There's no way around it. They've gone to such extremes that they've already begun eating their own. That is not a sustainable course. The Right cannot afford to fragment while the Left is still a unified coalition. If the Democrats were having a huge identity crisis as well, we'd already be talking about the formation of new parties, but that isn't happening. The next four years in the Republican party are going to be about working out their issues with themselves.

You know what else isn't sustainable?  Our borrowing.

In 2016, we will be $22.6 Trillion in debt.

dtguitarfan wrote: Gamemako wrote: *yawn*Barack is no socialist. Deliberate mischaracterization benefits no-one. What we really need to say is this: Barack Obama is your average liberal. He represents run-of-the-mill American Liberal views. He's far from the extreme, but he's also not a centrist. As a president, he spends a lot of time trying to build bridges with the Right, who have rolled right off the deep end and want nothing to do with him. The Right is, quite simply, a problem. There's no way around it. They've gone to such extremes that they've already begun eating their own. That is not a sustainable course. The Right cannot afford to fragment while the Left is still a unified coalition. If the Democrats were having a huge identity crisis as well, we'd already be talking about the formation of new parties, but that isn't happening. The next four years in the Republican party are going to be about working out their issues with themselves. Yup, that about sums it up.

I agree with that for the most part, but while slightly to the left, I would say that Obama is mainly a centrist.  At the very best he is in the center-left.  But he is not very far to the left of center.  I still maintain he would have been a Republican 40 years ago and would be a conservative candidate in Europe.  Now, the way the US defines the left, center and right wing today, with the huge shift to the right we've suffered in the past 30 years, he probably does seem more of a leftist than a centrist.  But, traditionally and world-wide, he would be seen as primarily a centrist, not a leftist. 

dtguitarfan wrote: I've gotta say - I've seen and heard so much whining today. So much apocalyptic cynicism. I just have to laugh. So many Republicans say they're Christian but don't have any trust in God and definitely no love for their fellow man...at least not if he's a dirty Democrat! But you know what? Hate and fear lost and nothing anyone says can get me down over that! WOOOO!!!

I'm not a Christian so I'll be pessimistic if I like!

Oh anyway how funny is to see master pollster Dick Morris trying to justify his "Romney landslide" prediction . Even in my most optimistic moments I never though Obama would lose, far less in a LANDSLIDE

The T wrote: So many democrats claim to be the apostles of open-mindedness and it is true, only when the other person's mind happens to be exactly the same of course.

I, personally, have never claimed to be open-minded about everything.  We are open-minded about letting other people live their personal lives (sex, marriage, children, religion, etc.) the way they see fit, this last one so long as they don't try shoving it down our collective throats.  We are not generally open-minded about ideas that will take us back to the 1850s.  As an aside, and not a statement on you Teo, I got into an argument once with someone who was clearly racist and he accused me of not being tolerant to his views, when liberals are supposed to be such tolerant people.  Everyone has things they will not tolerate and things they will close their minds to.  The question is to what are you intolerant and to what do you close your mind. 

You are intolerant to government.  I am intolerant to greed.  Etc, etc, etc.

^I never accused you of that Doc .

Hey, has anyone seen Equality, by the way?  Seems like he should be in on the post election discussion.

^I think he has given up on politics. Quantum mechanics probably seem a much better humanity-serving activity.

And that would be true.