For starters I would point to the relative need of federal assistance of red and blue states. Iirc red States need hand over fist more assistance.
I mean I’m sure it’s really the sneaky Dem minority in those states, but still.
Edit: from a quick google
I’m neither a DEM nor GOP apologist and/or spokesman.
I blame the primary system for this. The candidates that move forward are the ones who win the primary (duh), but the people who vote in the primary are usually more left or right than the general public (the people who have strong opinions).
I don’t think this is true. Current Republicans don’t even pretend to be fiscally conservative. Their leader has openly said they can default on the debt and that it’s no big deal because we print our own money.
I don’t think 20 years ago market interference at the level was popular at all among Republicans. They used to be great champions of the free market. Not so much now.
Socially they have no leg to stand on to paint themselves as socially conservative. They own a guy who has been divorced multiple times, cheated multiple times, admitted to sexually assaulting women, paid hush money to porn stars, etc.
I also think his general dickhead behavior is something that wouldn’t play well 20 years ago in the GOP.
His socialism in the form of 30 billion dollars to farmers wouldn’t either. Just look at his talk on former “enemies” like Russia and North Korea. 20 years ago it was be tough on those who oppose your ideals. Now it’s love dictators.
The GOP has done a 180 from Regan
One thing that I find extremely impressive is that the current POTUS, who’s the textbook definition of creepy (bragging about barging into Miss Universe contestants’ changing rooms to catch them naked, not to mention other more known incidents discussed ad nauseam), effortlessly managed to slap the label “creepy” onto his political opponent and that it stuck.
Quite amazing when you think of it.
Trump is a New York City bullshitter. That’s what he does. I hated living in the NYC metro area in no small part because people acted in similar ways on the reg. Overflowing with bullshit and ego.
I’d at least feel okay leaving Trump in a room with my pets or my nieces. Maybe not once they hit high school, but that’s a ways away.
Biden, not so much. Creeping on children is a whole other level of creep factor compared to a billionaire philanderer who is used to easy sex being thrown at him.
I’ll be honest I don’t understand the rationale for a second. I attribute it to having 2 daughters.
Not that I believe Biden is a pedo or some shit, but in what world would I rank a guy who is creepy with kids below a guy who is creepy WITH HIS OWN DAUGHTER.
Like fuckin wot?
Sanders did indeed have jobs before he was a politician.
Except they don’t see Russia as a threat.
Trump’s comments on Mexicans are not divisive at all, of course. Then you can go back to Willie Horton and Bush.
Honestly it’s a weird conversation to have anyways. Which guy is most creepy? I just think it’s weird that Trump supporters can ignore his weird shit (dude basically has said he wants to fuck his own daughter) and call Biden out on his. The inverse is true as well.
I’m not leaving my daughter with either of them most likely. I’m going to leave her with someone who has admitted to sexual assault? Or someone who can’t keep his hands off them?
FWIW I don’t think either of them are real pedos or anything. Just creepy old dudes. And because we’re fucking morons one of them will probably win in 2020.
Now, now, @H_factor…
You know you are only a moron if you vote for Biden or any other DEM.
As am I. I don’t like defamatory bullshit, even when leveled at folks I disagree with.
Huh? Republicans don’t even look like they did four years ago.
In the Obama years, it was: constitutional conservatism, balanced budgets, family values, opposition to the imperial executive, no man is above the rule of law, and free trade.
Tell me, which of these hold true for Republicans in the age of Trump?
Of course, specific details of policies and rhetoric has changed, but it is still recognizable as a Republican platform. The basic principles behind the policies haven’t changed much. If a piece of legislation seeks lower taxes, less regulation, more freedom or stronger defense it’s probably backed by some republicans. The ideas and policies freshman Dan Crenshaw is advocating for would not be looked at as radical or out-of-place in virtually any era of conservatism of the last 50 years.
The left continues it’s leftward march, which makes sense because new battles for progress and equality must always exist, lest people decide we’ve progressed enough and should maybe look at cutting taxes or something. The states and cities where progressives hold unchecked power continue to decline and produce even greater inequality. Democratic politicians seem to be in a competition now for who can out-woke the next without coming across as a complete lunatic.
Exceptions exist, of course. I listened to Tulsi Gabbard on Joe Rogan and she came across as someone I’d consider voting for. The problem was she didn’t get into many specifics about how she intends to accomplish her lofty goals via policy, but she was at least recognizable as a patriot, a public servant with integrity and someone who believes in a Constitutional Republic.
Meanwhile, actual policy is what concerns me the most. In my state our blue wave government is well along the path to literally giving our electoral votes away, stripping Maine voters from their say in the Presidential election. For all the howling you hear about nameless hordes of people that surely exist somewhere getting disenfranchised if you need to show ID to vote, here are 1.2 million people getting directly and unambiguously disenfranchised.
https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_129th/billtexts/SP025201.asp
My sister in-law campaigned vigorously for her new D.A., who ran and won on the platform of decriminalizing actual crimes and hindering other law enforcement agencies. I’m sure her bail reforms and race-based decision-making will produce great outcomes for the people who get to live next door to people who should be in jail. It’s been working great in Chicago, where woke policies like this have had tragic results for the city. Every week people, often children, are getting shot and/or killed by people who could have easily, easily been locked up.
https://rollins4da.com/policy/
https://rollins4da.com/policy/charges-to-be-declined/
We’re even fortunate enough to have a crystal ball of wokeness, where we can see what happens when you get even MORE woke. The City of London is rife with crime, seeing dramatic increases in violence and mayhem that the police can’t seem to solve. Post something mean on social media or flip off a traffic cam, however, and you can probably expect a visit from whatever sad busybodies are tasked with monitoring the CCTV footage and social media. They are very busy watching you and you had better speak and act correctly. Of course, that’s not a problem as long as you stay woke and have the right ideas.
More than anything, what I find most alarming about many of the positions the left is marching towards is that there’s no going back. If you lower taxes and it doesn’t work out so well, you can always raise them again. If you cut back or eliminate a useless part of the bureaucracy, you can always vote it back into existence. If you put a dumb tariff in place, you can always lift it later. If you exclude trans women from title IX protections, you can always include them later.
If you extend government benefits to millions of people, there’s no going back without violence. You’re stuck with it, and the government will find a way to fuck it up massively, whatever those benefits may be.
If you bring thousands or millions of people in, legally or otherwise, there’s no going back without violence. You’re stuck with them. Better hope they are good neighbors.
If you give up your right to self-defense, there’s no going back without violence, and your ability to deal with violence is now severely diminished.
If you start policing speech, whether it’s social media companies deciding what’s okay or legislative bodies, you won’t get that power back very easily at all. Imagine if AT&T listened in on all of your telephone conversations and removed people from their “platform” if they said something they didn’t agree with. That’s where we are at right now with social media.
So to me, a regular guy not seeped in up-to-the-minute political information, there’s really only one party that has me concerned for our future right now.
But again, I’m all ears if someone wants to make the case for the efficacy of modern Democrat policies. Let’s hear those success stories!
In discussion of these success stories, would you be willing to entertain the metric of which states are doing the best and their respective left/right control?
Has this happened before in America?
Edit: obviously referring to the modern age, ala your questions/comments
Well you could start by looking at the differences between blue and red states in terms of poverty, education, health care, etc. If you look at that it’s obvious they are more successful than red states by a significant amount. I realize a ton more goes into it though I’m just using a general statement.
I’m from Kansas and we went and right as we can with Sam Brownback and the results were abysmal. Most of the states that have governed far right have had similar issues
I’m well aware that you can find disaster stories anywhere with any party though.
Sure, but an explanation of how Democratic policies are responsible for the success we see is what I’m interested in. Take California, for example. It’s a resource-rich paradise with favorable geography. Of course it will draw people looking for success. And it did for a long time. Still does, to a degree. The same is true for places like Chicago. Or Detroit. Some businesses still thrive in these places, but on the whole, the productive people are leaving and have been for a while.
Of course, they’re probably all racists, too stupid to understand why all of these great policies are actually in their interest. I’m sure Illinois was thrilled to see my uncle recently pack up his MAGA hat and his business to move 40 miles east to Indiana, saving tens of thousands per year in taxes and buying a reasonably-priced home. Good riddance to bad rubbish, and one less conservative to get in the way of progress.
I think you can make a fairly clear connection between actual policies implemented and the gears of prosperity slowing down, and I have in the past. You need to go out of your way to run the middle class jewel of the west coast into the ground, but California and San Francisco have teamed up to make it one of the most visually and measurably unequal places in the country.
Can anyone make the case for how the policies of the democratic party actually improve outcomes? I realize that good outcomes happen in places where democratic policies are in place, but can you make the case that those good outcomes are because of the policies, and not in spite of them?
See above.
I would imagine it happens quite routinely at many levels of government. I don’t have the exact statistics. Regardless of how much it has or hasn’t happened, a tax decrease is a much easier policy to walk back compared to, say, a universal nationwide health care system. Of course, we’d only want to walk it back on the nearly-inconceivable chance that it doesn’t work like they said it would or had bad long-term consequences for overall quality and availability of care, which would never happen with our government in charge of things.
If the public becomes aware of Biden’s record, he is toast. The more he speaks the further down in the polls he goes. Which is why his staff has recommended a limited exposure campaign.
You need to explain this to the 70% of Americans who approve of this form of a medical system vs. what we currently have. Even a slim majority of Republicans support this.
It also provides a social and political climate that obviously attracts the some of the most talented among us.
On top of the various other factors that caused it to be the most populated and highest producing (while arguably the most left leaning) state in the country.
Chicago and Detroit, by and large are failing all over. California, otoh, is thriving and has been (and is expected to). Not really a better apples to oranges example I can think of.
Not successfully ofc, the GOP controls the vast majority of state legislatures, and even more at the local level. Hence, the vast majority of all state and local policies are GOP flavored, not Dem.
You do? I was under the impression the middle class is dying faster in red States than blue states.
Mostly because red States have worse education, healthcare, crime, etc.
Oh absolutely. Dem policies produce smarter, higher earning people (through education). They produce less STDs and less unplanned pregnancies (through social services and education) (even if you count abortions). They produce stronger economies, lower unemployment, etc (by way of safety nets, education, business friendly environments - typically through higher quality individuals).
As to whether or not they’re directly tied, I think we have a couple options. Option 1, Dem leaning policies are producing these better outcomes, thus giving Dem states the edge. Option 2, GOP leaning policies are producing worse outcomes, thus giving Dem states the edge.
I’m happy with either line of thinking, fwiw, but I would obviously laugh hysterically at the thought that Dem policies are accidentally providing better outcomes than the GOP, while the GOP is accidentally providing worse outcomes.
Why is it easier to walk back taxes? Walking back a system that financially incentivizes every working America, vs walking back a system that only financially incentivizes the poor?
As an aside, I’m happy to let the country burn with private healthcare, but make no mistake private healthcare is burning down. I work for a corporate monster and I have great healthcare coverage as a young healthy family.
There’s a reason the GOP can’t do anything constructive about healthcare. It’s because they put themselves in a corner. The billions upon billions of net profit every year put on full display the reason healthcare costs continue to outpace inflation is because of capitalism. Good ole fashion abuse of leverages.
Imo very similar to what utilities would cost, sans heavy socialism.
