Those Evil Memes

[fredtoast]

(02-16-2016, 02:23 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: Marriage overall is the government taking away the freedom to marry who we choose without arbitrary hurdles set by The gov.

The most freedom position would be to take away all gov regulations on marriage and leave it to consenting adults.

But wasn't there a HUGE difference between the positions of the two parties?

That was my point.  It is ridiculous to claim there is not difference between the parties.

[StLucieBengal]

(02-16-2016, 02:27 PM)fredtoast Wrote: But wasn't there a HUGE difference between the positions of the two parties?

That was my point.  It is ridiculous to claim there is not difference between the parties.

Well I did say spending and civil liberties and you can make the case that marriage with government regulations is an attack on our liberties.   Just because you or I are not affected by the regulation doesn't mean that someone is not....

On the difference. I have long made a case that the "moderates" aren't really that different in either party. The difference is that now we have the conservative movement in the GOP and the socialist movement inside the Democrats So it's easier to see who sticks out and the moderates are sticking out now as the socialist/conservative movements grow. And that is a good thing. We need to focus on what we can agree on and debate fiercely what we do not. Instead of this mushy mish mash of out of control spending to get relected

[Benton]

(02-16-2016, 02:27 PM)fredtoast Wrote: But wasn't there a HUGE difference between the positions of the two parties?

That was my point.  It is ridiculous to claim there is not difference between the parties.

There is, but then again, there isn't .

The parties have 4-5 big issues. Arguably, right now, it's tax reform, abortion, healthcare, immigration. And, arguably, they aren't going to do anything about them. Talking about how broken the tax system is or how you feel about abortion gets you reelected. Honestly, I was stunned when HCR went forward. For most of the other issues (taxes and immigration), it's easy fixes but nobody wants to do them because it's too hard to get re-elected on the platform of "everything's fine, send me back for another four years!"

We've got an aging infrastructure in this country. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate who has even mentioned that. We're still upside down in our trade deficit, getting every closer to $1 trillion; even when you factor in services and skills we export it's half a billion upside down. Nobody is putting forth a realistic plan to resolve that. Wage disparity is growing, neither side is touching it outside of saying they'll magically create jobs and somehow those will all be middle class. Criminal recidivism and violent crime are huge problems here, no candidates for high offices are dealing with that, outside of Rand Paul who is already gone. Pension reform, natural resources. It goes on. There's a long list of problems facing the country, but if you talk to any federal lawmaker, it's only the big four or five. Because when the rest of these come up, they don't have any answers.

[StLucieBengal]

(02-16-2016, 03:27 PM)Benton Wrote: There is, but then again, there isn't .

The parties have 4-5 big issues. Arguably, right now, it's tax reform, abortion, healthcare, immigration. And, arguably, they aren't going to do anything about them. Talking about how broken the tax system is or how you feel about abortion gets you reelected. Honestly, I was stunned when HCR went forward. For most of the other issues (taxes and immigration), it's easy fixes but nobody wants to do them because it's too hard to get re-elected on the platform of "everything's fine, send me back for another four years!"

We've got an aging infrastructure in this country. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate who has even mentioned that. We're still upside down in our trade deficit, getting every closer to $1 trillion; even when you factor in services and skills we export it's half a billion upside down. Nobody is putting forth a realistic plan to resolve that. Wage disparity is growing, neither side is touching it outside of saying they'll magically create jobs and somehow those will all be middle class. Criminal recidivism and violent crime are huge problems here, no candidates for high offices are dealing with that, outside of Rand Paul who is already gone. Pension reform, natural resources. It goes on. There's a long list of problems facing the country, but if you talk to any federal lawmaker, it's only the big four or five. Because when the rest of these come up, they don't have any answers.

I wish we would just focus on the stuff we do agree and get that running like a streamline butterfly. That would at least create some civility and a process to grind out the hard ones.

[Benton]

(02-16-2016, 10:44 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: I wish we would just focus on the stuff we do agree and get that running like a streamline butterfly.    That would at least create some civility and a process to grind out the hard ones.

it pays to ignore those issues, on a personal level. Until there's term limits or some tie in for lawmaker salary to economic prosperity, nothing is going to get fixed.

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(02-16-2016, 12:02 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Ha!  As long as the study if being performed at IU, the libs are screwed!  

Is that a meme as your avatar?

[fredtoast]

(02-16-2016, 10:44 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: I wish we would just focus on the stuff we do agree and get that running like a streamline butterfly.  

What do we all agree on?