Political Hippo Circle Jerk - America, farg YEAH!

[phillymic2000]

How is it that the same people that voted 68% for Obama, are now complete idiots one year later for voting for a republican?  

[Diomedes]

it's a big loss for Obama, no question about it

conservatives stick together like a mob, liberals think for themselves rather than tow the party line, so they fracture out in all kinds of different ways.  makes progress difficult.  oh well.

[phillymic2000]

So thinking for themselves would be holding out until you get caked off for voting with the group, right?

[Susquehanna Birder]

Sure, there is no groupthink on the left. Okay. 

[Diomedes]

Of course there is.  The left is about progress though, and people have wildly different ideas about how to improve, so the group in general disagrees and splits much more readily than the right, who are as a whole about maintaining status quo.  It's only natural that conservatives enjoy more cohesion:  their goals are much simpler.

[rjs246]

So initially i was very upset about the Brown victory. But the more thought I've given it, the less impact it has.

I want healthcare reform to get done. The current bill isn't perfect, but it may have to become a little more perfect now in order to pass. So if healthcare reform still gets done and the bill is improved to appeal to more people, that's a good thing.

Brown was the better candidate and clearly ran the better campaign. Just like stubbornly Red states getting an infusion of democratic input was a good thing in 08, stubbornly Blue states getting some representation from the Right can be a good thing too.

Contrary to all political evidence, Massachusetts has a very conservative population. It also has a MASSIVE union population which is why it is always voting Blue, but a moderate conservative (which this guy appears to be) is way more in line with the general population there than the far left politicos who have traditionally represented them.

I mentioned in my previous post that Obama was going to have to start finding common ground with the Right in order to continue to be successful, all this means is that it will have to happen sooner than originally anticipated. If he and Pelosi and Reid can actually do that, I think the country will be better off. Having to rely on Pelosi and Reid to help isn't good, but anything is possible.

[phillymic2000]

I want healthcare reform to get done. The current bill isn't perfect, but it may have to become a little more perfect now in order to pass. So if healthcare reform still gets done and the bill is improved to appeal to more people, that's a good thing.

[Diomedes]

Republicans don't want reform, that's the problem.  They want to kill the bill entirely, not rework it, not add to it, not improve it.  They want it dead because they want Obama dead and because they don't want the people getting what they need from anyone other than their rich buddies who own pharma, insurance companies, etc..  They aren't interested in compromising at all.  Given their druthers, they'd remove insurance regulations and let the magical free market cure all ills.

In short, farg the Republicans.

[rjs246]

Republicans don't want reform, that's the problem.  They want to kill the bill entirely, not rework it, not add to it, not improve it.  They want it dead because they want Obama dead and because they don't want the people getting what they need from anyone other than their rich buddies who own pharma, insurance companies, etc..  They aren't interested in compromising at all.  Given their druthers, they'd remove insurance regulations and let the magical free market cure all ills.

In short, farg the Republicans.

You are absolutely right about this. The Republican population does want reform. Republican politicians don't because it is conceding victory to a powerful enemy. My point was simply this. The Dems now have to woo a single Republican vote. Something that they did not have to do before. If they can do that, the bill will probably be improved, the deficit will be decreased and tens of millions of people will have insurance who did not have it before. If they can't, then I will amend my thoughts on this whole thing. Let's give it time to see how it plays out.

[Diomedes]

What happens if the House is persuaded to accept the whole Senate bill kit and kaboodle?  Does that mean the bill just goes straight to Obama?  Is that even possible?

[phillymic2000]

Republicans don't want reform, that's the problem.  They want to kill the bill entirely, not rework it, not add to it, not improve it.  They want it dead because they want Obama dead and because they don't want the people getting what they need from anyone other than their rich buddies who own pharma, insurance companies, etc..  They aren't interested in compromising at all.  Given their druthers, they'd remove insurance regulations and let the magical free market cure all ills.

In short, farg the Republicans.

Your right every republican is a greedy mofo and doesn't care about anyone else

[PhillyGirl]

this country is filled to the brim with white bread, racist, greedy motherfargers who don't give a shtein about anyone or anything but themselves.  that's why white religious nutbags continue to get elected.  if this isn't a sign that the country is monumentally farged and deserves whatever fate awaits it then i don't know what is.

LOL at the racist greedy mofo's are only onthe right side. Both fargin sides only care about themselves. The left "care" about minorities becasue its votes for them. To say Reid, Pelosi, Kerry or any other repub or dem care about the common american is hilarious and not fargin true. Both sides are bought and sold by big business.

The left cares about giving healthcare to EVERYONE, not just minorities. Your thinking/words actually completely proves Rome's point.

[Diomedes]

Your right every republican is a greedy mofo and doesn't care about anyone else

Well that's a big portion of your gang, sure.  Then you got the family values set, doing meth with gay hookers after church, molesting little boys before mass, etc.  And of course you've got the white supremecist/militia set.

Finally, you've got a few hundred otherwise reasonable people who can't square themselves with liberal fiscal policy and live their political lives in the shadow of the rest of their party.

The fact remains that Republicans, despite crying about being locked out of this effort to reform heath care, have offered nothing substantive to the debate.  Death panel this, teabag that.  Bunch of dinosaurs.

[rjs246]

Well that's a big portion of your gang, sure.  Then you got the family values set, doing meth with gay hookers after church, molesting little boys before mass, etc.  And of course you've got the white supremecist/militia set.

Finally, you've got a few hundred otherwise reasonable people who can't square themselves with liberal fiscal policy and live their political lives in the shadow of the rest of their party.

You might be right about the majority of the 28% of the population who call themselves 'Republicans'. They tend to be pretty far out there.

But of the 55% of the population that considers themselves 'conservatives', in my experiences, fall much more squarely into the second description. This country is still pretty conservative at its core. Socially it is getting measurably more progressive, which is why candidates like Obama and Clinton can get elected and succeed, but even that ebbs and flows. Fiscally, it is definitely still a conservative place. Add it all up and the majority of conservatives are reasonable people, but those aren't the people that get headlines or have talk radio shows or lynch census takers so we don't hear as much about them.

[Diomedes]

That census worker committed suicide.  But I think you probably already read that?

I'm goading phillymic a bit here.  There are of course other kinds of republicans.  I didn't mention the jew haters or firearm fanatics, or the bankers.  What a dirty word.  Banker.