The General American Politics Thread

[Tornado]

Romney, sometimes it is nice to shut the fuck up.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Tornado

[turbojet]

It is not like I am against Romney other than the fact that he is on the other team. Honestly, he just seems too desperate to be against Obama and tries to Turian Councillor him at every event.

I don't know the NRA is against Obama. Obama has done nothing against gun control contrary to what his election stance was in 2008. Romney actually did shit to stop assault weapons in Massachusetts. Hell, I could make an argument that Romney is more liberal than Obama if it weren't for his tax cut plan.

[Mono]

I love the NRA situation. Romney is the liberal, Obama never did, or proposed anything about guns. And Obamacare? Based on Romneycare.

The far-right has elected a RINO. He has no clear stance on anything

[SenEDDtor Missile]

Do you ever get the feeling that the reason so many cuts are made on education is because of some ridiculous corporate plan to make the American public so incredibly ignorant and stupid that the rich corporate elite can then institute a totalitarian regime behind our backs because we became too ignorant to know what is going on?

I mean less money to education = less stuff is taught= dumber people=gullible= $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for corporations and their political lackies (pretty much every politician nowadays )

...I like thinking up weird conspiracy theories, don't judge me. *Hides under rock*

Edited April 17, 2012 by Enigma the Milkman

[Nepenthe]

Nah. An uninformed population is easier to control and wrangle the money from, but that being the reason for cuts to education is probably not rooted that far in reality if at all. Besides, even educated people are prone to preconceived notions, group think, tribalism, false associations and all of the other nasty flaws of human thinking that cause us to vote directly against our own interests.

[-Robin-]

Mitt Romney has picked Robert Bork to be his judicial adviser, to assist him in picking Supreme Court Justices should he become president.

Robert Bork's own nomination into the Supreme Court was rejected by a bipartisan Senate 30 years prior, on the grounds that his right-wing policies were too extreme. Such policies include:

-Defending Poll taxes and literacy tests at the polling booth

-Describing the Civil Rights Act as "unsurpassed ugliness"

-Believing politicians should be allowed to outlaw birth control in all instances

-Believing science, literature, and art are not protected by the first amendment of the Constitution

-Believing the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment does not apply to women

-Thinking that a corporation is free to tell female employees to either be sterilized or get fired.

So to have Mitt Romney put him in an important spot on his campaign trail....not too smart.

[turbojet]

Mitt Romney has picked Robert Bork to be his judicial adviser, to assist him in picking Supreme Court Justices should he become president.

Robert Bork's own nomination into the Supreme Court was rejected by a bipartisan Senate 30 years prior, on the grounds that his right-wing policies were too extreme. Such policies include:

-Defending Poll taxes and literacy tests at the polling booth

-Describing the Civil Rights Act as "unsurpassed ugliness"

-Believing politicians should be allowed to outlaw birth control in all instances

-Believing science, literature, and art are not protected by the first amendment of the Constitution

-Believing the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment does not apply to women

-Thinking that a corporation is free to tell female employees to either be sterilized or get fired.

So to have Mitt Romney put him in an important spot on his campaign trail....not too smart.

Is he trying to appear racist and sexist?

Here is a better question: Is Mitt Romney earnestly trying to lose this election?

Edit again: Should I turn this topic to the Official 2012 U.S Presidential election topic?

Edited April 24, 2012 by turbojet

[-Robin-]

Here is a better question: Is Mitt Romney earnestly trying to lose this election?

He's trying to pander to the mega-conservative base that has mixed feelings towards him, now that he's basically the GOP nominee, since Ron Paul becomes more irrelevant by the day, and since Gingrich's own campaign is millions of dollars in debt, which kinda sorta contradicts the whole "revive the economy" platform the nominees have been trying to demonstrate.

Romney's going about this the wrong way, but still, he's trying.

Edit again: Should I turn this topic to the Official 2012 U.S Presidential election topic?

Probably a nice idea. Beats having a new topic that discusses the same stuff as here.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Modern Tom

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

So, from my very distant vantage point: Obama's a shoe-in for the election because the alternatives are truly terrible this time?

[Old dead account]

why is the GOP still relevant in this day and age? Reading Bork's policies can make me sick to my stomach. Are there really that many right wing extremists still out there that make GOP as strong a party as it is?

[Ekaje]

Well, judging by websites like TheFreeRepublic (don't go there unless you want to be depressed), they do exist. Though they're so crazy they hate Romney.

EDIT: Though thankfully these sorts of people are mostly old and crazy.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Ekaje

[Nepenthe]

There are some long-standing conservative ideals, like constitutional literalism and small government, that do appeal to the masses today- including younger generations- and allow the GOP to still be a relevant driving force even with all of the batshit insane social policies they enact; kind of the same reason why liberals vote Democratic despite both parties equally catering to corporations, for example. Some people may not just vote on social issues but economic ones, or a mix of issues which makes the Republican their ideal candidate. And finally, some usually racist people just really hate the fuck out of Obama, e.g. our Marxist/Socialist/Nazi/Kenyan-born/Muslim leader.

[Ekaje]

. And finally, some usually racist people just really hate the fuck out of Obama, e.g. our Marxist/Socialist/Nazi/Kenyan-born/Muslim leader.

This isn't directly related to what we're talking about right now, but I want an excuse to post this joke birth certificate that's been floating around for a bit.

Still makes me laugh a bit when I look at it.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Ekaje

[-Robin-]

As far as fiscal policies go, everyone in the GOP who is not named Paul Ryan and Scott Walker are......ok, I suppose. They want to improve the economy, and believe that Obama is doing it all wrong, and if you're trying to run against the incumbent for the presidency or running for seats in Congress, you need to call the opposition out on stuff such as that. The GOP believes the trickle-down policy - where tax breaks for the upper class allows them the opportunity to create more jobs for the middle and lower classes to take - is the way to go, but it's a long-terms strategy that needs to be supervised to make sure it works. Still, nothing inherently wrong with that policy, from what I see (and that's assuming I even defined that right, lol)

Nonetheless, that Norquist Pledge? That's just inviting disaster.

It's the GOP's social policies that are pissing everyone right the hell off, and understandably so. The anti-same-sex marriage crusade, 900+ abortion-related bills within the past year, the pledge to terminate Medicare and Medicaid, the GOP's staunch refusal to uphold the Violence Against Women Act (the first time this has happened since its inception), and the anti-anti-bullying position concerning the LGBT youth are getting the independents in a fervor and forming a collective antipathy for the GOP. They're seeing a party that just might have the right idea towards fixing the economy, but would be perfectly willing to treat a majority of the nation like scum along the way. With how connected the American people are with the rest of the world today, and with how everyone in the newer generations seems much more tolerant of others as a result, people are just disgusted.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Modern Tom

[goodone121]

I voted for Mitt.

Slightly O/T, but I also voted FOR the NC Marriage Amendment, and the Pros_won_!

[Mono]

I voted for Mitt.

Slightly O/T, but I also voted FOR the NC Marriage Amendment, and the Pros_won_!

Wow, I hope you feel good taking away the rights of millions of people! Do gay people make you feel icky?

[Patticus]

So, goodone121, you were comfortable voting for a man who made his millions (even though he was probably loaded before then) through the purposeful destruction of companies, rendering people unemployed and outsourcing jobs overseas?

According to Christian extremists (as they are the only ones holding these views nowadays), the only people who deserve marriage rights are 'straight' people. Despite the overwhelming evidence that homosexuality is widespread in nature, and thus a wholly natural phenomenon, they would rather take their opinions from a 3,000 year old holiness code (Leviticus) in a 2,000 year old book (the Bible), revised and edited over the centuries by a religious establishment with an agenda and a very particular world view, condemning entire groups of people to Second or Third Class status in the so-called "Land of the Free" and rolling back a century of social advancement.

Here's what else Leviticus rails against, which should go hand-in-hand with any prohibitions on homosexuality: round haircuts, tattoos, working on the Sabbath, wearing garments of mixed fabrics, eating pork or shellfish, getting your fortune told, and playing with the skin of a pig.

[Your Vest Friend]

playing with the skin of a pig.

So Rugby wasn't invented in Rugby, but the ancient Middle East. Huh, okay.

[Patticus]

So Rugby wasn't invented in Rugby, but the ancient Middle East. Huh, okay.

I'm not sure Rugby or American Football are the only sports which feature(d) pig skins.

[Indigo Rush]

And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. - Leviticus 11:7-8

It's more of a cleanliness issue than anything, but yeah, touching real pig carcass (and eating said pig) isn't kosher for Hebrews. I don't think a synthetic football is an issue.

Though we are so hideously off topic it hurts... about Amendment One.

I came across this article in regards to Gay Marriage.

Personal feelings aside, I am amazed that this problem hasn’t already worked itself out in a way that seems both logical and obvious: have the State stop approving marriages — for hetero and homosexuals alike.

#The State should issue civil unions, contracts between two people, regardless of sexual orientation. That way they could get the medical, family, and tax benefits that should be available to any two human beings who love each other enough to want to spend their rest of their life together. It would allow them to file joint tax returns, collect their spouse’s disability benefits, and make decisions regarding their spouse’s health if they should become incapable of doing so themselves.

#Marriage began as a religious institution, so let’s keep it that way. If a church, mosque, or synagogue wants to perform a religious ceremony to honor the partnership of two people, fine. If they don’t want to, that’s their right as well, as stated under the freedom of religion clause in the First Amendment. But not being able to marry shouldn’t limit LGBT members in terms of their civil rights. It’s that incredibly important concept we all know as “the separation of Church and State.” The State shouldn’t be able to deny a person the right to visit the person they’ve been in love with for the past 20 years in the hospital just because they couldn’t get a marriage contract from the government — that’s cruel.

...

Take the religious institution out of the state, it doesn’t belong there anyway.

This seems like a pretty smart compromise. I don't see right-wing conservatives jumping to the idea any time soon, though.

[Your Vest Friend]

...I was joking about the Rugby thing. I know leather and other animal-derived materials have been in use for millenia.

Why one would play with a carcass, I dunno.

[blackherox]

According to Christian extremists (as they are the only ones holding these views nowadays),

The only ones who are vocal about it and/or get media attention sure.

Edited May 9, 2012 by blackherox

[Neon]

I voted for Mitt.

Slightly O/T, but I also voted FOR the NC Marriage Amendment, and the Pros_won_!

Future generations will look upon you and people like you with the contempt that we look upon the racists of the 20th century. How does it feel to know that the only way in which you will ever contribute to social progress is that you will eventually die, and leave behind people who are better than you?

[blackherox]

Future generations will look upon you and people like you with the contempt that we look upon the racists of the 20th century. How does it feel to know that the only way in which you will ever contribute to social progress is that you will eventually die, and leave behind people who are better than you?

Or we'll all die via a nuclear holocaust.

Srz, the dude allowed to vote for whoever he wants too, you may not like his reasons, but better a free vote then a a forced one.

[Nepenthe]

Srz, the dude allowed to vote for whoever he wants too, you may not like his reasons, but better a free vote then a a forced one.

You think it's fine to put the rights of a maligned group of people up for popular vote in the first place just because voting is a right in the country? I wonder how he would feel if the state he lived in decided by popular vote that all males should be forcefully castrated.