Tag: democrats

A Third Voice for America

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United States’ politics are ridiculous.

At the time of the writing of this blog our elected officials have still not approved a budget. While there may be many factors that contribute to this a major one is the United States’ two party political system. Right now the only political parties that can win Presidential elections (and most House and Senate seats) are the Republican and Democratic parties. Unfortunately only having two real choice hurts the voter.

While many Americans would say they are unhappy with both political parties they most often choose what they consider the lesser of two evils (whether that be Republicans or Democrats). An American who votes for a third-party under the current political system is essentially wasting their vote. Third parties in the United States do not have an enough public support to compete with the Republican and Democratic parties. As a result Americans must elect the same elected officials over and over again.

However this can all change.

If Republicans and Democrats keep running this nation into the ground the American people will grow tired of both parties. When that happens other political parties can (and will) rise to power and represent the interests of the many instead of the few.

Rah Rah Romney!

therightliberalLeave a comment

All the politicos are talking about the GOP so why shouldn’t I join in? I can think of some reasons but reasons be damned. I digress.

As the Great Divide among Republican questioning the validity of Mitt Romney as a candidate continues, people are running wild in wonderment of what the GOP will do.

The issue is simply that many members of the GOP feel that Mitt Romney does not hold true to their ideals and that is a valid concern. But they then look down the list and cringe, realizing that there is not a soul on there that is electable.

In this three horse race to the glue factory there is only one candidate that would have a chance against Obama and that is Romney. Granted, I don’t think it’s much of a shot but with American voters you just never know.

Santorum is seemingly gaining momentum but at this point it is borderline irrelevant. Gingrich can’t even see the other two, but in true nature of his sheer evilness, Gingrich is staying in the race in an attempt to spoil it for the other two.

I have no idea how many times I have written this but the GOP are a mess. I am on edge that there will be a sudden surge of conservatism and the GOP will regain their lost strength but I have not seen a hint of that happening.

It seems as though Republicans have packed up their guns and beer and decided that 2012 was meant for hunting anyways. Cheney will be delighted.

It is not as though the GOP doesn’t have the funds or the populous to draw from, they just don’t have a candidate. And in my eyes, its not as though they missed someone that should have run. Palin would have added to the hilarity but nothing more and Christie would have just made an ass out of himself.

Who knows, maybe I am completely underestimating the GOP and will be in for a shock come November. But for now I remain confident of the GOP and their mistakes.

Good ol’ Santorum

therightliberalLeave a comment

I must say I enjoy seeing a candidate claim a victory when he is not going to win. Santorum is doing exactly that and it sums it all up for the GOP.

Santorum has been winning primaries, with the most recent being Kansas. He claimed a “landslide” victory, although the validity of that is questionable.

Santorum recently gave a speech claiming that he was on the way to getting the GOP nomination. Ironically, Santorum doesn’t really have a hope in hell of getting the nomination unless Romney is accused of something quite shocking.

It seems to be the pattern of the times that GOP members have a total disregard for the strength of their party. As a liberal it makes me happy to see as it is comical the way in which the wheels have fallen off.

Yet, I think that the political world will follow in the separation of parties into every (wo)man for themselves. We are not getting much done as parties and we have a better chance of getting things done individually.

That being said, the Democrats will enjoy sitting back and watching the GOP fall apart. But the first to fall could also be the first to get up. Only time will tell.

Santorum?

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Despite the CPAC victory for Romney, there is a challenger in Rick Santorum.

Santorum recently won three state’s GOP caucus/primaries, a big surprise for the front-runner, Mitt Romney.

Things just seem to get stranger and stranger.

Now I don’t think that Romney will lose the nomination to Santorum but I think the trend shows the real weakness in the GOP. They have become so divided that they are running into the problem that they cannot agree on the ideals they want to see from their candidates.

Romney has been having to defend his “conservativeness” to the GOP party because heaven forbid there is a moderate candidate.

I may be naive, but it seems to me like that GOP is changing very quickly and I believe it has to do with the increase in (relatively) young republicans like Sarah Palin and Santorum.   They have polarized the party between the radicals and moderates.

Similar things are bound to happen for the democrats before too long, but for now, the GOP is being put at a major disadvantage. Within a short amount of time, we could have a major change of the two-party system, potentially having more than two parties.

Change happens in politics but this seems to be happening faster than usual. We are seeing a lot of change in our country right now and this is just part of it. From changes in the economy and social standings to changes in politics, we are going to have to deal with change quickly.

Are We Still a Democracy?

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I often hear people saying “we live in an oligarchy” or “we live in a plutocracy” (or both). We title ourselves a democratic republic, but is that still the case today?

First, a few definitions (from Google) for those younger/ignorant readers:

1. Democracy: A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives

2. Plutocracy: Government by the wealthy

3. Oligarchy: A small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution

4. Republic: A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch

5. Totalitarian (from Wikipedia because I liked their definition better): Government regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life

6. Meritocracy: Government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability

So, now that’s out of the way we can start to look at this. Immediately we can say that we do not live in a meritocracy given that the GOP controls the House.

It would be very hard to say that we are not living in a plutocracy given that most of the politicians in Washington are extremely wealthy and the fact that it is damn near impossible to be elected into a high position without wealth from the private sector.

The debate could rage on about whether or not we live in an oligarchy or not but I would argue that if we are in a plutocracy (which we are) then it must also be an oligarchy because the elected officials are only from the top 2% or so, which is a (relatively) small group of people.

It is quite clear (just by the definition) that we do not live in democracy solely based on the definition. That being said, we do live in a representative democracy in which we vote for people that vote for us. It is not a democracy in the original sense, but it is a modification of it.

Added to that is the part of us being a republic. I think that without a doubt we are a republic if you look at the definition, there just isn’t really any arguing with that.

And then we get to my favorite, the totalitarianism. Based on that definition it would be hard to argue one way or another. Yes, the government does control much of our lives. But, we do still have freedoms that we use daily. In my mind we have not gotten to the point of being totalitarian and I feel that the American spirit will keep that away.

So what are we then? I would say we are a Demoplutoligaric Republic, but that’s just me.

We live in a society that is becoming more and more elite. Although the tone of this may sound pessimistic I am not. My feeling is that we must commit to what we want to be, we must make progress in some direction.

If we want the wealthy to rule the country, lets be honest about it and just commit to it. If we stop being closet elitists then we can decide to make progress. That being said, we must be careful what we choose.

We live in a key time where the power could switch very quickly into hands that may not use it in the way we want. We as a country must come together and decide where we need to go and how we will get there.

Mudslinging 101

therightliberalLeave a comment

Oh the GOP, how they make politics interesting.

I was recently watching Rick Santorum’s concession speech from Florida (although it was given in Las Vegas) and I was shocked to see that he was not saying anything negative. In fact it was quite the opposite, with him complimenting Mitt Romney.

But his obsequiousness is only because he knows he can’t win so he is shooting for Vice President. Hey, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

Butt then I saw Gingrich’s speech. All I can say is wow. What an evil and stupid man.

The basis for his speech was basically saying that he could still manage to win “Evil Dictator of Whatever Country I’m Currently In”.

He said that in his first day he would overturn both “Obamacare” and the choice to delay the Keystone pipeline. He said his goal was to get the Democrats out and save America.

Well so much for bipartisanship.

Gingrich is a crazy man and to be honest he scares me. His goals are for full control by the Republicans of the government so he can get rid of every program and tax ever devised. That sure will help.

Romney and Gingrich have gone back and forth for quite a while now, slinging much mud at each other.

It doesn’t seem to have gotten them very far.

All this negativity helps no one. It may seem hypocritical coming from someone who is writing about how idiotic and unhelpful these people are, but when the stakes are as high as they are  now, some foresight would help.

Instead of proving how incapable your opponents are, why now show how capable you are?

And there is the answer: none of them are capable.

RIP Reason

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I knew Jon Huntsman was not going to win the Republican nomination. But I still could not help but be a little sad when he dropped out of the race.

My friends and family know me as the Republican basher, that guy who always says the obnoxious and inflammatory comments about the Good Ol’ Party.

But Jon Huntsman was different, he actually was intelligent and reasonable. Now the GOP has members who are very intelligent, take Dick Cheney for example. But Dick makes Stalin look like a teddy bear. I’m sure the GOP has had reasonable members who were unintelligent too, I just can’t think of any.

But Huntsman checked both boxes. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Huntsman explained that his reason for being part of the Republican party was just because he though the people of Utah (his state) would be the most open to it.

I’m not trying to claim him as a Democrat because he is not. There is probably some obscure party in Australia that his ideals fit perfectly in to, but because of our system, he has an R next to his name.

But he did not let that get in the way of trying to make sense. He was not like Romney, trying to make himself look like a crazy teabagger who just wants to get rid of every single government program and become an isolationist nation that is at war with every single Islamic state.

No, he supported socialized programs and tax hikes. He thought we should stop fighting people for no apparent reason and we should protect the environment. He also thought we should work to cut some redundant government programs and reduce big government and that Boehner is at least some what competent.

It says a lot that a man who just stuck by his beliefs seemed to be such an oddity. Our system has come to the point that someone in the middle, who works to bridge the two parties, is looked at as being ineffective and plain wrong.

It is sad that Huntsman could not gain more ground in the primaries but I hope that he changed a few peoples mind in the process. I hope that he made some people see that there is room for the middle, that reason can conquer our stupid polarization. Jon Huntsman gave me hope, and that is more than can be said for most candidates.

So I’m now switching to endorsing this man for the Republican nomination, and yes, that is a boot on his head. Free Ponies for All!

Debate

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With the Republican debates (if you can call them that) going on right now, I was reminded of how much I enjoy a good debate (this is how it’s done), mainly because I have not seen one during this election.

You see, the Republican candidates are either too crazy and misinformed to be able to argue their point of view, or they are stuck on advertising themselves to America in what they think is the way Americans want to see them.

Gingrich (who is crazy evil) does seem to have a bit of skill at the game. Unfortunately his combination of hypocrisy and shear Darth Vaderness makes him so unappealing to listen to that he is mostly ignored.

The ignorance that is shown on the stage pretty much cancels out any interest I have in the debates beside entertainment and the crazy things they say. And that is unfortunate, because the art of debate is a great one.

The whole trick is to stay calm and look for that one mistake. If you can keep up with good rebuttals and attacks long enough, your opponent will slip up, and when they do, you must be ready to pounce.

Once you have seen the mistake you must attack. In this case, offense is the best defense. They can argue all they want but you will always be able to fall back on their mistake. Hopefully, they become flustered, allowing you to find more and more mistakes.

The goal, in the end, is not to convince your opponents they are wrong, but everyone in the room that you are right. It takes patience and knowledge, but when played properly, a debate can contain fantastic results.

I am constantly looking for someone to debate with, about any issue that is found to be controversial. To test myself I often argue the side I disagree with. By doing so, I learn the enemy, giving me the upper hand if I ever end up on the other side.

Debate is really and art form and one that is not used enough in today’s society. If we talked more about the important issues, the whole country would become better informed, hopefully leading to a better society.

So get out there and argue! Don’t just yell, look for the mistakes and attack, attack, attack!

Herman Cain, You Make Me Laugh

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Herman Cain might know something about business and the economy from his time owning a pizza chain. But when it comes to foreign policy he is lost.

Just take a look at this map in which he displays his thoughts on the world.

Now I’m sorry, but I know some kids in middle school that could tell me as much. And yet, this is the most we have heard out of Cain as far as foreign policy goes.

But this is fantastic news. I will personally endorse Herman Cain for the GOP nomination because he is so clueless and such a mess that Obama could laugh his way to a second term.

On top of his ignorance of the world around us, Cain also is a hypocrite…big time. While many politicians often do not practice what they preach, Cain has taken it to drastic levels. He has had an affair with a woman for 13 years, and his wife just found out about it.

Now he has denied these allegations, stating that he was just helping the woman in question financially. Odd that he would be texting her at 4 in the morning and made over 61 calls to her.

Now this would not be such a big deal (it seems like almost all politicians are getting some on the side these days) but the fact that one of his largest points has been the strength of family. Every politician is a hypocrite but Cain has gotten to the point of being a joke.

The whole Republican lineup has gotten to the point of just being a laughing stock and for that I thank them. Every night I can turn on the TV and laugh as I watch them struggle to give coherent answers with the small amounts of knowledge they have.

If you want to laugh some more go read this article.

Super Failure

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The Super Committee was bound to fail from the start. But let me say this, it is not all bad that the committee did fail.

Whomever thought that putting 6 Democrats and 6 Republicans together to cut $3 Trillion from the US budget should not be in a position of power. I mean, let’s be honest; conservatives and liberals do not see eye to eye on many issues, but the one above all is how to go about cutting debt.

So from that it may seem as though no one is really to blame except for the system, but sadly, that is incorrect. The Republican party is to blame (I would highly recommend going to that link if you disagree, or agree for that matter) for the Super Committee not working.

With the above statement, I obviously have some defending to do, so here it is. Let me say this: I do not blame the Republicans for the failure because I am a Democrat (although usually I do love to blame them). The blame comes from the cold, hard facts.

Democrats were ready to make compromises on some key issues. They offered to lower the cuts on defense spending as well as put some more programs on the table that could be cut or have funding taken away from. Although they were not completely open (as is to be expected in negotiations) they were open to compromise.

That much could not be said for the Republicans. They refused to even look at a 30% decrease in defense spending, denied any attempt to raise tax figures for the ultra wealthy, and demanded that more programs be axed completely.

Now for the happy side. Luckily for the country, the Budget Control Act that was passed by Congress stipulates that if the “Super” Committee failed to come up with cuts, $1.28 trillion cuts would automatically go in to effect, half of which come from defense spending. Although a small amount compared to our $15 trillion of debt, it is a start, and everything has to start somewhere.

In an ideal world (which is probably just ideal to me) most of the cuts would happen in the defense department. But instead, unemployment payments will start being cut in July in many states and many government-funded programs will struggle for funding.

I think we as a country need to look deep inside ourselves and ask what we need and what we can do without. Do we need trillions upon trillions in defense spending? Or would it be easier to just have fewer enemies? These are stilted and bias questions but ones that we still need to ask ourselves.