Ok, need all you to give some input...

[beanie baby]

Beanie is not much of a political person. As I get older, things seem different and thought it should be something I think about.

What I would like you all to do, is for you all to sell me on one side or the other. Which one, and why. If you disagree with someone else's reasons, tell me why you do.

:D

[tommy]

This would be most Impossible as this entire country we all live in is so Damn divided, which is not good 1 bit. I may joke and kid around but one thing I really wish is that we the people could get along and do what is best for our welfare and the children of this countrys welfare..

I do not get into politics much . I am Rep. and when Rep. is in office I have had more money in my pocket than when Dems. were in office.. As of now , who can you really blame as neither side is winning, both are losing fighting with each other. I am really sad/disgusted how the grown people of this country that were put in charge are acting like little children.. They probably cannot agree on the toilet paper to use in the rest rooms..


A true SHAME!!

[Lars]

There are some changes coming to the two political parties. There is a powerful grassroots effort among the Democrats to take power away from the Washington based officals and consultants and you are seing the beginning of end for the current political leadership in the GOP.

Howard Dean has been very successful in rebuilding the party base and focusing on a 50 state strategy and he has managed to raise a lot of money from that base. The big money people have much less influence today than they have had in the past.

There is no accident that of the dozen or so Irak war veterans who are running for Congress this year, only two are Republicans.

The GOP is increasingly mired in corruption scandals and poor governing. At some point, it will be very hard for those who claim to support the party for moral reasons to do so, with more and more indictments and guilty pleas and soon, trials.

In general, there will be few reforms until alot of money is removed from the system and when gerrymandering is ended and redistricting is taken away from the politicians affected by changes. The current system rewards ideological extremism and that is one reason why governing has become very hard to do.

I suspect that there are a lot of rank and file GOP pols who are getting very nervous. The last time there were major Congressional scandals, 75 members lost their re-elections and we may head that way again. No matter what, most voters will not vote for obvious crooks.

Another problem is that so few voters will study the issues involved and familiarize themselves with the details and that makes them very susceptible to party propaganda. The Internet is now getting more important in disseminating information it is getting harder to spread BS around and that is a positive development.

[towstrap]

Beanie is not much of a political person. As I get older, things seem different and thought it should be something I think about.

What I would like you all to do, is for you all to sell me on one side or the other. Which one, and why. If you disagree with someone else's reasons, tell me why you do.

:D

:yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

[Foxfire]

I'm sitting in that same boat with you beanie. I never gave much thought to which one was leading the pack, Rep. or Dem. Maybe someone can help us both understand the difference.

[Mark-the-Spark]

Both parties have 'evolved' to the point that there is not much difference, and the system has evolved to the point that the differences do not matter.

The nation's capitol is completely choked in bureacracy, lobbyists, and pork. It is mostly beyond the control of mere politicians, who come and go without making much of an impact on how the country stumbles along the path paved with unelected bureacrats and mostly unregulated special interest money.

In theory, as it currently stands, Democrats favor the federal government controlling your life from cradle to grave (via public education, national health insurance, arresting you if you spank your kids, etc), while Republicans favor letting you sink or swim on your own (and tending to help large corporations hold your head under water).

Both parties strongly favor power (theirs) and money (yours). Neither is your friend, unless you are extremely rich or extremely poor.

[Admin]

ONE SNAKE -WITH TWO HEADS. THAT IS OUR PARTY SYSTEM :wtf:

[Flying Dutchman]

"We have a two-party system. When the Democrats screw up, the Republicans party. When the GOP makes a mistake, the Democrats party." -- P. J. O'Rourke



Don't look at it as being on a "side" or a left versus right question. Rather than a typical spectrum, the best way to measure one's political beliefs is on a graph that best resembles a diamond shape.

Freedom and your attitude towards it may differ greatly from economic issues to personal issues. For instance, most stereotypical 'conservative' Republicans might favor a lot of economic freedom, while not having much appreciation for personal or social freedom.

Conversely, typical 'liberal' Democrats might place a greater value on social or personal freedom, while looking at economic freedom with a jaundiced eye. Sure, it is not exactly that simple.......but that is the best way to explain it.

There are some liberals who actually appreciate economic freedom, just as there are a few conservatives who tolerate greater personal & social freedom. These folks who share some common ground are often referred to as libertarians (or Libertarians with a capital L if members of the Libertarian Party). Believe it or not, there is a section of overlap amongst the Greens and the Libertarians - albeit a small one.

Take the World's Smallest Political Quiz for yourself and see where you end up on the graph. Just click on the link below this illustration of where I ended up on the chart.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a194/FlyingDutchman112/e0ff1a31.png

http://www.self-gov.org


You'll find that being libertarian-minded is more than just being a Republican who smokes dope or a Democrat who owns guns!

[driverlady]

goodness! i took the quiz. 1 block just below and to the left of yours!

[beanie baby]

Here's where it put me.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/bean211/draw.png

[Lars]

The problem with that quiz is that it only records the responses to those particular questions that are not as generalized as they may appear. In most cases, you will have a range of positions depending on the issue, but you could have a general trend.

What the two parties have evolved into are huge accounting and consulting businesses and the revenues come from people trying to influence legislation, which in itself is fine, but not when it is done in secret and the public does not know who is giving what to whom.

It would be nice to get all that money out of the political system, but that will never happen, so the best that can be hoped for it transparancy. At least that way, the voters can determine who is being bought, for what and by whom.

It is a matter of accounting for every penny going in and every penny going out and with modern data processing and the Internet, that information could be available in close to real time. It would be even better if all lobbying, which is a constitutional right, be conducted in the district or state represented by the Congressional member in an open forum. Then there would be no need for expensive restaurants, resorts and golf courses and secret meetings.

Of course, any violation would send the offender to a federal prison for equite a long spell and that would lessen the need for Gucci shoes and Armani suits for the transgressors. Meanwhile, the US will continue to have the best government that money can buy.

[Preacher]

I believe in the two party system.....one on Friday, and one on Saturday! :yikes:

[HSLD]

Well, here's what I think speaks of the problem of politics.

During the last governors race in Texas, an old man asked me why a millionaire, would spend millions of dollars (including money of his own), to run for a job that pays $100,000.00. And before I could come up with an answer, the old man told to me to just "think about it son," and walked away.

So why would a man, who's a millioaire already, run for a job that pays $100,000.00? Power, greed, ego or just a desire to serve his or her fellow citizens. Why? With the headlines today, I'm believing greed. And this problem isn't new. It's as old as politics itself.

v/r

HSLD

[Lars]

To have an outsized ego is a necessary requirement, if you are going to run for public office and it is very expensive, so it is not for everybody.

Again, we have arrived at somewhat of an constitutional crisis and as usual, it revolves around presidential powers. The framers of the constitution were adamant to avoid anything like a monarchy and vested most of the political power with Congress.

But again, we have a president who does not like the required checks and balances and like the last one to go down that road, Richard Nixon, it may prematurely end this presidency too.

I think most Americans are uncomfortable with a dictatorial president, even though there is an astonishing number of them who do support it. I suspect that Congress is reasserting itself and that is why Tom DeLay is now out of his leadership position and that is certainly good for democracy.

It may also have made it hard to get Sam Alito confirmed. He has proposed in the past that the president have more powers, but when that ends in unlawful actions, it is bound to have consequences. I am sure the hearings that start on Monday are going to be interesting.

I pretty much expect that the Democrats have to try to defeat him, or lose their base, but I am not so sure that all Republican senators will support Alito, if it becomes clear that he still hold the same views or it is suspected that he will vote to outlaw abortions.

If the so called "nuclear option" is deployed by the GOP, they will one day regret it, when the tables are turned and they will be one day. Maybe even this year. The conventional wisdom says that the GOP will lose some seats, but not enough to lose the majority, unless some serious shifts in public sentiment occurs.

With Iraq still a deadly mess and with more corruption revealed, that may still happen. It did in 1974 and in 1994 and if that constitutional crisis heats up, all bets are off for 2006 and even 2008.

[HSLD]

Again, we have arrived at somewhat of an constitutional crisis and as usual, it revolves around presidential powers. The framers of the constitution were adamant to avoid anything like a monarchy and vested most of the political power with Congress.

Of course they wanted most of the political power in the Congress; because a majority aspired for a seat in the political arena. A realist would come to realize that he would have a better chance percentage wise for a seat in Congress than that of the being elected President.

Interestingly enough, the Bill of rights was hotly debated amoungst the framers, and most; did not want it included in the Constitution.

The framers were not truly of the "people" and were land owners or could be considered the upper echelon of society at that time. They did have an interest in for a nation and a government, but they were not perfect by any means. The tom foolery of todays representatives is as old as our nation itself. There just wasn't the coverage of today on Fox News, CNN etc................

v/r

HSLD

[SpotsCat]

I'm sitting in that same boat with you beanie. I never gave much thought to which one was leading the pack, Rep. or Dem. Maybe someone can help us both understand the difference.It's simple to understand, my dear -

Republicans are the party of bad ideas.
Democrats are the party of no ideas.

Wasn't that simple? :)

[glennw56401]

Howard Dean... has managed to raise a lot of money from that base.

Try again.

Democrats Losing Race For Funds Under Dean (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/11/AR2005111101833.html)
And this is from the Washington Post. Not exactly a right wing rag.

Glenn

[Foxfire]

Thank you Spotscat. Hey Beanie!!! We got our answer. We can go play somewhere else now huh? :D

[beanie baby]

Thank you Spotscat. Hey Beanie!!! We got our answer. We can go play somewhere else now huh? :D

Well with Spots answer, yes we could go now! :rofl:

I'm still having trouble understanding this all though, so I think everyone needs to continue. ;)

[trashwagon]

I'm sitting in that same boat with you beanie. I never gave much thought to which one was leading the pack, Rep. or Dem. Maybe someone can help us both understand the difference.

Sadly Foxxy, there is no difference. Whom ever has the power is a horse of the same color!!! :yikes: :yikes: