Political So now what

Do any of you guys really think you’re gonna change each others minds with the way you present your arguments?

Pike2350 said:

I fins this hilarious. The Republicans haven't been "for small government" for over 30 years. They want to expand the government just as much as the Democrats. They are just expanding it in different areas.

I hear all the rallying calls to eliminate this or that agency, yet when they have the power in all 3 major governing bodies NOTHING gets done.

I always find this funny from modern conservatives. If Trump cam out to eliminate SS and Medicaid the 2 biggest money drains outside of defense, pretty much every old conservative would have a fit and pitch about how "I put into the system...blah, blah, blah" it's comical really.

Cut entitlements, defense spending (3 biggest portions of the over sized government) and then I will believe someone say they are ACTUALLY for smaller government.

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You liked your post so much you posted it twice?

The clue is in my comment you quoted...

"most closely aligns with my small Government beliefs."

The Republicans are nearly as bad as the Democrats.

As I've already stated, I'd vote Libertarian if they had a chance. Since they don't, I vote for (stop me if you've heard this before) the lesser of two evils...

I'd love to have all the money back that I've involuntarily contributed to SS over the years. With Interest. Or the money I paid towards Unemployment Insurance for past employees. Hell, my Taxes went up to help pay for the China Virus relief, but I certainly didn't get any money from Trump or Biden for it.

Hickey said:

Do any of you guys really think you’re gonna change each others minds with the way you present your arguments?

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My opinions actually do get informed by some of what I read here. Of course, by that I mean it makes me realize that all political wheezings and mental strainings are pointless, government sucks and we don’t have a virtuous enough electorate to make a change from the bottom so might as well look after me and mine and treat politics like the mindless entertainment that it is.

But yeah, I find value in that.

Hickey said:

Do any of you guys really think you’re gonna change each others minds with the way you present your arguments?

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It’s what “they” want to happen. It always us fighting each other vs us fighting “them”.

02SE said:

Now the question of whether I'm Gay? No. I'm not sure why you posited that, as I've never had an issue with anyone being gay.

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I wasn't accusing you of being gay, more just curious why this specific subject is such a hot point for you when there are likely many other issues that directly impact or restrict your rights substantially more than gender pronouns.

02SE said:

As I told you when we were talking at Bewilder, I have a nephew who is gay. His being gay changes nothing. I love my nephew. I know he struggled for years with the idea that he is gay, since the LDS church he was raised in, is not the most welcoming to gay people. His husband seems like a good guy to me, and I'm happy for them. We're not supposed to have favorites in families, but he is my favorite family member.

I didn't know what "Grinder" meant. I'm glad someone else 'Googled' that, as I was able to understand what it was from the comments.

If there is some concern that my objection to Kamala is that she is a woman, rest assured that doesn't matter to me in elected officials. I have voted for women who won their election campaigns, and went on to represent me and everyone else in their district. Mia Love being just one of the women I have voted for.

In short, or TLDR, Kamala's track record in all of her positions current and past, means I would never vote for her for anything.

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All good. I think you're a good person, so hopefully I haven't crossed any lines personally.

Stephen said:

Cody, you're better than this.

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Arguably, at best.

Stephen said:

Take some time to read up on JD Vance as well while you're finding out about Kamala. As I've stated before, I am no fan of his politics, but statements like this are so annoying because its just totally uninformed hyperbole. If you really read about his background and policy positions, there's nothing in there that's even remotely close to some "Gilead" White Christian Nationalist dystopian vision. (In reality its more big government, industrial policy, union pandering than even Al Gore or John Kerry were willing to propose.)
For example, did you know that he married an Indian woman in a Hindu ceremony and they maintain a mixed faith household? Sounds like a rather modern American family to me, doesn't it? Not exactly something welcomed by the White Nationalist movements.

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I do need to. I've admittedly read very little and have only judged based upon what I've been told. Mostly to the tune of his menstrual surveillance ideas and that he wants to overturn the Biden era medical privacy laws, and track women who seek reproductive care in other states.

Cody said:

Mostly to the tune of his menstrual surveillance ideas..., and track women who seek reproductive care in other states.

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I'd love to see your sources on that, because I've never once read or seen a a reliable source showing him or anyone with any credibility to actually be proposing such insane ideas. Its just the fever dream of the left wing of our politics. In fact, I'd call it the mirror image of the right's obsession with LGBTQIA++@XYZCOPTER stuff. Churn up the most insane talking points you can, take anything you hear out of context and turn it to 11 and then pin it on whoever remotely seems to agree with some semblance of your greatest fear. Rinse, repeat.

If anything, the Republican Party is moving to the left on social issues, not the right. Just look at them removing a national abortion ban from their platform in 2024 as an example. That's got a lot of the "religious right" up in a tizzy.

Cody said:

Mostly to the tune of his menstrual surveillance ideas and that he wants to overturn the Biden era medical privacy laws, and track women who seek reproductive care in other states.

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Are these recent statements by Vance? That is disturbing at any rate. I can’t imagine those two things passing any judicial review. 4th amendment at the very least.

Edit: I can definitely see Stephen being right about this being fake shit that’s stirred up by far left nut jobs. My brother sends me all kinds of wacky stuff about reproductive rights being trampled on by the supposed right wing, but they’re just B.S.

Both extremes engage in this behavior.

Stephen said:

If anything, the Republican Party is moving to the left on social issues, not the right. Just look at them removing a national abortion ban from their platform in 2024 as an example. That's got a lot of the "religious right" up in a tizzy.

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Certainly would not take the GOP Platform comment on allowing states to set their own abortion laws as 'moving left' on social issues. At best it is stepping back from they hypocrisy of using states rights to over turn Roe V Wade and then pushing for federal legislation on the same issue.

A better look at the social issue aspect of Republicans is what they have been legislating at the state level (on multiple social issues, including abortion, LGBTQ rights and schools) as well as Project 2025.

Trump may claim to not be familiar with it, but I find that laughable. The Heritage Foundation has a lot of influence in Conservative politics and even has this on the Project 2025 website home page:

"The 2025 Presidential Transition Project is being organized by The Heritage Foundation and builds off Heritage’s longstanding “Mandate for Leadership,” which has been highly influential for presidential administrations since the Reagan era. Most recently, the Trump administration relied heavily on Heritage’s “Mandate” for policy guidance, embracing nearly two-thirds of Heritage’s proposals within just one year in office."

And yes, Project 2025 does call for a nationwide abortion ban.

02SE said:

The private conversation that was recorded, where Trump made a locker-room type boast to another guy about grabbing them by the p***y, was apparently just wishful boasting, as there wasn't a cavalcade of women coming forward to sue Trump for doing so...

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Not sure how many more accusations it takes.

Houndoc said:

Certainly would not take the GOP Platform comment on allowing states to set their own abortion laws as 'moving left' on social issues. At best it is stepping back from they hypocrisy of using states rights to over turn Roe V Wade and then pushing for federal legislation on the same issue.

A better look at the social issue aspect of Republicans is what they have been legislating at the state level (on multiple social issues, including abortion, LGBTQ rights and schools) as well as Project 2025.

Trump may claim to not be familiar with it, but I find that laughable. The Heritage Foundation has a lot of influence in Conservative politics and even has this on the Project 2025 website home page:

"The 2025 Presidential Transition Project is being organized by The Heritage Foundation and builds off Heritage’s longstanding “Mandate for Leadership,” which has been highly influential for presidential administrations since the Reagan era. Most recently, the Trump administration relied heavily on Heritage’s “Mandate” for policy guidance, embracing nearly two-thirds of Heritage’s proposals within just one year in office."

And yes, Project 2025 does call for a nationwide abortion ban.

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I figured the Project 2025 boogeyman would pop up sooner or later. All I'm going to say is that the Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank, and think tanks produce think pieces. Project 2025 is over 900 pages, and I doubt you've read much of it. I sure as hell don't have time for that sort of reading these days! But from the bits that I have read, its pretty fair to say that it's not some Necronomicon waiting to be unleashed upon the world like its being portrayed.

And yes, Heritage has a long history of influencing Republican administrations, much like the Center for American Progress has for Democrats. Basically look at think tanks as talent pools administrations use for staffing up departments when they enter office. Its where people who want to get into government park themselves and learn, discuss, and debate policy ideas.

Houndoc said:

All the assault allegations against Donald Trump, recapped

Their charges range from an unwanted touch from behind to aggressive, sudden kissing to fingers groping up their skirt and into their underwear. Donald Trump and his campaign insist all of the stories are fabricated and politically motivated.

www.pbs.org

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/e-jean-carroll-trump-trial-verdict-05-09-23/index.html

Not sure how many more accusations it takes.

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cnn and pbs = trustworthy

Spork said:

View attachment 174872

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I support Point #14 whole heartedly.

Houndoc said:

All the assault allegations against Donald Trump, recapped

Their charges range from an unwanted touch from behind to aggressive, sudden kissing to fingers groping up their skirt and into their underwear. Donald Trump and his campaign insist all of the stories are fabricated and politically motivated.

www.pbs.org

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/e-jean-carroll-trump-trial-verdict-05-09-23/index.html

Not sure how many more accusations it takes.

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Read your source and noticed

A) all of these stories were from 2016 with most of the alleged assaults happening before 2000. 16 year delay seems suspicious. Could there be an ulterior motive here?
B) Jill Harth – 1992-1993. Story in the The New York Times on October 9, 2016.
A Florida businesswoman. Harth alleged that he groped her under the table at dinner with her boyfriend then repeatedly got her alone, and it would turn into a “wrestling match.” She sued Trump for breach of contract, sexual harassment and at one point attempted rape. She settled and then in 1998 dated Trump. - How do you trust a source that counts an accusation of sexual misconduct from a woman who later dated the alleged perpetrator? REALLY?
C) Spend 10 minutes and go watch Stormy Daniels on Bill Maher. She is adamant in 2018 that she was not a victim, that she was not coerced or forced by Trump to sleep with him, it was her choice and she was not a #METOO victim. Now read her testimony from the trial this year. We have video evidence she changed her story, how many of the others did the same without the evidence?

I'm certain Trump is an ass hole and has repeatedly taken advantage of women. I'm also certain thousands of women would jump at the chance to bang a millionaire and later feel like the whore they are and change their story, especially if they can benefit monetarily from it. We have evidence of both of those things.

Stephen said:

I support Point #14 whole heartedly.

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i eye balled it and then though the trans am is too mainstream for Stephen so I guess you want cocaine back in coke a cola.

Can we please not disparage whores in our political discourse? I've known more than a few whores, strippers and double dippers. They're just people, getting along as best they can. Same as all of us.

- DAA

DAA said:

Can we please not disparage whores in our political discourse? I've known more than a few whores, strippers and double dippers. They're just people, getting along as best they can. Same as all of us.

- DAA

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A lot more likely to walk away with your wallet with the whores...

DAA said:

Can we please not disparage whores in our political discourse? I've known more than a few whores, strippers and double dippers. They're just people, getting along as best they can. Same as all of us.

- DAA

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As someone who is mildly Autistic, I totally appreciate a straight forward transaction, nothing against someone earning a living doing manual labor. Just calling a spade a spade.

MSM running cover again...