U.S. Politics

[AlioTheFool]

That is exactly why I despise her.

I fully realize that everything around me means nothing.  The difference is that I understand that it means something to someone else.  For whatever reason, I care about the someones.  My self interest is meaningless.

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This is probably the biggest gap in the political spectrum. Far to one side, you have people who believe every man is responsible only for and to himself, and on the far other side, the belief is that we are all responsible to our community (local, state, federal, and planetary) above selfish motives. For whatever reason, it's somehow politically abhorrent to take the view that there could be a middle ground where we serve our own self-interests yet still care for others.

The easiest example is welfare. On one side, the belief is that the collective "I" have no responsibility to help someone who is poor because they should help themselves. On the other side, the belief is that we should help anyone who has less than average.

It's just one more way we're divided politically and can't come to a middle ground. And it's not accidental. Both ends are charged via emotion and neither side is "wrong." It's just ridiculous that the collective "we" allow ourselves to be split when there could be reasonable answers somewhere in the middle.

[Fenwyr]

I get labeled as a far left liberal.  I am not.  On behalf of moderates everywhere, I thank you for this post.

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[Jumbo]

Funny and obviously not a real quote, but Ayn Rand's rotting corpse can DIAFF.  I have no idea why libertarians tie themselves to her.

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Libertarianism =/= objectivism, a lot of libertarians dont really like Ayn Rand

[dcm1602]

I get labeled as a far left liberal.  I am not.  On behalf of moderates everywhere, I thank you for this post.

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Lolok

In seriousness in the scope of the United States political spectrum you are absolutely quite a bit to the left.

I'm not gonna pretend to be an expert on your beliefs, but I don't see how anyone would consider you moderate.

I don't really know who on this board I'd truly consider the most moderate.

[Fenwyr]

Lolok

In seriousness in the scope of the United States political spectrum you are absolutely quite a bit to the left.

I'm not gonna pretend to be an expert on your beliefs, but I don't see how anyone would consider you moderate.

I don't really know who on this board I'd truly consider the most moderate.

I am fiscally conservative, socially liberal.  The very definition of a moderate.

We just happen to focus on the social side here, so of course I understand.

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[dcm1602]

I am fiscally conservative, socially liberal.  The very definition of a moderate.

We just happen to focus on the social side here, so of course I understand.

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So youre against expanding medicare/medicaid/social security, against universal healthcare, and think all Americans including the wealthy and corporations deserve low taxes ?

[Fenwyr]

So youre against expanding medicare/medicaid/social security, against universal healthcare, and think all Americans including the wealthy and corporations deserve low taxes ?

Young one, you got that all messed up.

Social security and medicare are paid for by the workers.  It comes out of every paycheck and should have nothing to do with the federal budget.  You can thank the Reagan republicans for borrowing from it and turning the payback into mandatory spending.

Everyone has the right to healthcare.  Hospitals are legally bound to treat everyone that comes through the door.  We spend the most on healthcare by far.  The only rational path is single payer.  That would be the cheapest option by far, but a public option or medicaid for all would be more expensive, but would still save us billions.

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[Jumbo]

Young one, you got that all messed up.

Social security and medicare are paid for by the workers.  It comes out of every paycheck and should have nothing to do with the federal budget.  You can thank the Reagan republicans for borrowing from it and turning the payback into mandatory spending.

Everyone has the right to healthcare.  Hospitals are legally bound to treat everyone that comes through the door.  We spend the most on healthcare by far.  The only rational path is single payer.  That would be the cheapest option by far, but a public option or medicaid for all would be more expensive, but would still save us billions.

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"fiscally conservative"

[Badger]

That is exactly why I despise her.

I fully realize that everything around me means nothing.  The difference is that I understand that it means something to someone else.  For whatever reason, I care about the someones.  My self interest is meaningless.

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Don't get me wrong, pretty much everything I do or want is in my or my family's self-interest. It's just that I realized where those interests lie, especially after starting a family and finding my career. I didn't just swing from Gary Johnson to Bernie Sanders in four years by accident.

[ons]

I'm not gonna pretend to be an expert on your beliefs, but I don't see how anyone would consider you moderate.

In my peer group, I'm pretty sure he'd absolutely be considered a moderate. Speaking as someone who ideologically occupies the left wing, most posters here seem to swing from relatively moderate to minarchist sympathizing libertarian types.

[Tommy]

Being a moderate implies that you agree with one side on some issues, and the other side on others. If you're consistently bashing one side and aligning yourself with the Left on virtually every issue, then you can't possibly call yourself a "moderate". Not saying that's a bad thing, it's just what you are.

Also, political positions aren't black and white. I'm Right-wing on many things, but Left-wing on others. I consider Healthcare a right, I'm pro-choice, I don't have an issue with gay marriage, but I draw the line at the transgender thing, and I do support states having a say when it comes to certain social issues. The fact that everyone needs to be labeled is the reason why this country is so fragmented today.

Also, as Badger has said, life events can and will change your political positions. I was vehemently against abortion until I got one of my first girlfriend pregnant when I was 18, then pulled a 180 on that issue. I was a borderline communist in High School until I learned how the real world works and doesn't work. I'm a strong believer in providing people with options, choices, and incentives to work hard rather than having the government provide everything. When my parents agreed to a Parents Plus Loan, I naturally picked a nice expensive school with all the bells and whistles. When they took that away, I made the smarter choice of working part time/and full time while enrolling in a much cheaper school. When the government provides for people there's very little incentive to go out and earn for yourself, as it's very easy to get comfortable in a particular income level. Safety nets are fine, but they should just be temporary.

[ons]

Being a moderate implies that you agree with one side on some issues, and the other side on others. If you're consistently bashing one side and aligning yourself with the Left on virtually every issue, then you can't possibly call yourself a "moderate". Not saying that's a bad thing, it's just what you are.

The issue with labeling any American politician as "the Left" is that it ignores a tremendous spectrum of political beliefs and practices.

While the classic 'political compass' test has its flaws, looking at public policy positions, I generally agree with their depiction of the 2016 presidential race:



Idealistically, I will always fall at the very bottom left corner of that spectrum - in American politics, in lieu of me having a single party or politician I have ever supported the policies of, I tend to support those I believe will simply do the least harm to the most people around the world.

The fact that everyone needs to be labeled is the reason why this country is so fragmented today.

Source? It's these types of unsubstantiated generalizations that I find baffling about political discourse.

[steves850]

Didn't think this deserved it's own thread but:

Comey admits under oath that he hates the Patriots.

“I hate the New England Patriots,” Comey said. “No matter who they play, I’d like them to lose. And I’m at the same time rooting against the Patriots and hoping their opponent beat them because there’s only two teams on the field.”
“By the way if I’m honest with myself the reason I don’t like the Patriots is they represent sustained excellence, and as a Giants fan that drives me crazy,” said Comey, whose comment was greeted by chuckles from the committee.

[Fenwyr]

Being a moderate implies that you agree with one side on some issues, and the other side on others. If you're consistently bashing one side and aligning yourself with the Left on virtually every issue, then you can't possibly call yourself a "moderate". Not saying that's a bad thing, it's just what you are.

Also, political positions aren't black and white. I'm Right-wing on many things, but Left-wing on others. I consider Healthcare a right, I'm pro-choice, I don't have an issue with gay marriage, but I draw the line at the transgender thing, and I do support states having a say when it comes to certain social issues. The fact that everyone needs to be labeled is the reason why this country is so fragmented today.

Also, as Badger has said, life events can and will change your political positions. I was vehemently against abortion until I got one of my first girlfriend pregnant when I was 18, then pulled a 180 on that issue. I was a borderline communist in High School until I learned how the real world works and doesn't work. I'm a strong believer in providing people with options, choices, and incentives to work hard rather than having the government provide everything. When my parents agreed to a Parents Plus Loan, I naturally picked a nice expensive school with all the bells and whistles. When they took that away, I made the smarter choice of working part time/and full time while enrolling in a much cheaper school. When the government provides for people there's very little incentive to go out and earn for yourself, as it's very easy to get comfortable in a particular income level. Safety nets are fine, but they should just be temporary.

I agree with smaller government, just not randomly smaller just for the sake of it.  There is certainly an efficiency problem in DC.

I believe in some semblance of a flat tax, would rather close tax loopholes than do the progressive tax/deductions song and dance, and would shut down the IRS for good.

I would cut military spending in half.

I would make medicaid a right for every person.  If insurance companies want to compete for customers after that, have at it.

A free community college option should be available.

2 years of public service, be it military or something else, gets you a free university ride.

K-12, or maybe even 14, should be handled at the state level.  Running education from DC just isn't working.

No state should get more money back from DC than it contributes in federal taxes.

The federal budget should be balanced every year.

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[bojanglesman]

Didn't think this deserved it's own thread but:

Comey admits under oath that he hates the Patriots.

Can we get him at the tailgate?