we'll miss you......

[Steve]

Steve, my "description" is straight from the books. 96% white, religious, more rural than the rest of the country. And more Republican. It's not "me" that is authoritative, it's like numbers and stuff.

I've got no problem with white, religious and rural except when they send nutjobs like Bachmann to Congress, just like when rural, diverse and secular sends nutjobs to Congress I get pissed as well.

You're looped on this "taking income in 2012" stuff. Please go read the CBO projections, which show the deficit dropping significantly faster through 2016 than expected.

But the point remains. People who voted for Bachmann because "she's a nutjob but she's MY nutjob" over qualified alternatives are at the core of what is the problem with this country.

Au contraire, you seem to demonize "white, religious, and rural" which is why I took issue. What does it have to do with anything? If it wasn't to make a point that it is somehow a bad thing you wouldn't have mentioned it the candidates on both sides of the aisle were white. In fact the democrats were white males (oh the horror!).

You also presume that the other candidates were qualified. That's highly debatable. They were just as far left as Michelle was right. In my district that's a nonstarter.

In MN a purple people eater is a defensive lineman for the Vikings from the 70's....

 

[Steve]

"The CBO said the improving deficit picture would continue for several years but would reverse course in 2016, when spending picks up as a share of the economy and revenue levels off. It said Medicare and Social Security would begin to consume an even larger share of the budget. By 2023, Social Security and government health-care spending is expected to hit $3 trillion, or half the budget."-WSJ

Convenient to halt the discussion about deficit at 2016, because that's when it gets ugly and the runaway spending tightens the noose. In other words, you can raise taxes all you want but if you don't tackle spending you can't balance the budget.

 

[Doug S.]

I'm a flying purple people eater Bob.

The one eyed, one horned type???

They're the worst, Jeff, simply the WORST :shocked: !

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx47qrH1GRs[/ame]

 

[Jeff Young]

That's the one Doug.

No contraire Steve. Nowhere did I denigrate any one, white or black. My point was that her district sure seems like a triple bacon turducken for Republicans, and she almost lost in 2012 (and p.s. her opponents in 2008 and 2010 were FEMALE, thought as an expert and careful student of local politics you would have known that).

So I was wondering that if a lily white religious rural district almost turned on her, who would actually vote for the woman on the "my nutjob is better than any alternative" theory? You appear to have answered that question.

If you could take a minute and explain how far left these other candidates are with reference to actual position papers by them, that would be appreciated. Note that "in favor of a progressive tax system, Medicare, Social Security and some form of health care reform" is not "nutjob left" equivalent to Brainless Bachman.

Absolutely in 2016 the deficit problem comes back IF we don't do something about Social Security and Medicare. Totally agree. But the fixes are not that hard. Raise the retirement age to 68 and removing the income cap on SS taxes basically fixes SS. Medicare, a cap on end of life care does the same.

All without raising taxes any higher.

But to suggest that mainstream Democractic policies are bankrupting the country given what went on in the 90s and what is going on now is just dumb. Bachman dumb.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

What we need in this country is a national legislature which represents several points of view. I do not want to live in a country where the national law-making process is owned by any one party, not mine or anyone elses. A proper legislature needs to be functional, and able to pass meaningful laws that work for the betterment of the populace. Bachmann didn't contribute to that, and I'm glad she's out. I hope that her district elects someone who can work with all parties, who isn't a liar or a demagogue as she is, and can capably represent their constituency. I don't think that's too much to hope for. It will probably be a Republican. Good. We need Republicans of a different stripe than Bachmann.

 

[Jeff Young]

Absolutely. The country is stronger when we have two reasonable, responsible parties both seeking to better the country. A strong Republican party is just as good for the country as a strong Democratic one. But like the Democrats in the late 70s and 80s, this Republican party has been taken over by the fringe -- people like Bachmann -- and the folks who vote for people like her on the "my nutjob is a better choice than anything the "DemocRATS'" put up theory.

I suspect there are many reasonable Republicans in Minnesota's 6th and I hope one of them steps up to the plate to make that a productive seat in the House.

 

[craig]

Get Craik in here and we got us a good old fashion liberal circle jerk..:laugh:

 

[Jeff Young]

Always leave it to Automan to really add something to the discussion.

 

[Bob Fechter]

Well we certainly have a strong Democratic Party.




At IRS Hearing: Talk Of 'Jackboot Of Tyranny' : The Two-Way : NPR

 

[Steve]

What we need in this country is a national legislature which represents several points of view. I do not want to live in a country where the national law-making process is owned by any one party, not mine or anyone elses. A proper legislature needs to be functional, and able to pass meaningful laws that work for the betterment of the populace. Bachmann didn't contribute to that, and I'm glad she's out. I hope that her district elects someone who can work with all parties, who isn't a liar or a demagogue as she is, and can capably represent their constituency. I don't think that's too much to hope for. It will probably be a Republican. Good. We need Republicans of a different stripe than Bachmann.

Jim, I think you're absolutely right. And I would agree Bachman wasn't a good representative and my hope is we'll have a more moderate candidate the next go-around. We seem to be electing the extreme candidates on both sides and the resultant vacuum in the middle has ground our legislative system to a halt.

 

[Steve]

That's the one Doug.

No contraire Steve. Nowhere did I denigrate any one, white or black. My point was that her district sure seems like a triple bacon turducken for Republicans, and she almost lost in 2012 (and p.s. her opponents in 2008 and 2010 were FEMALE, thought as an expert and careful student of local politics you would have known that).

So I was wondering that if a lily white religious rural district almost turned on her, who would actually vote for the woman on the "my nutjob is better than any alternative" theory? You appear to have answered that question.

If you could take a minute and explain how far left these other candidates are with reference to actual position papers by them, that would be appreciated. Note that "in favor of a progressive tax system, Medicare, Social Security and some form of health care reform" is not "nutjob left" equivalent to Brainless Bachman.

Absolutely in 2016 the deficit problem comes back IF we don't do something about Social Security and Medicare. Totally agree. But the fixes are not that hard. Raise the retirement age to 68 and removing the income cap on SS taxes basically fixes SS. Medicare, a cap on end of life care does the same.

All without raising taxes any higher.

But to suggest that mainstream Democractic policies are bankrupting the country given what went on in the 90s and what is going on now is just dumb. Bachman dumb.

If your intent wasn't to denigrate than why use "lily" in front of white. Your intent was clear no matter how much you protest

If you think the republicans are the only one with fringe candidates than you're very naive

SS requires a little more than raising the age to 68 but it is straightforward compared to Medicare. Medicare can be solved with a cap on end-of-life care? It's that simple? Very laughable, Jeff. It is far from that simple and if you don't know that you're naivite is beyond hope.

And yes, I would vote for any nutjob who will advocate sane economic policies (i.e. controlling spending which is the fundamental problem with our debt/deficit as agreed by the bipartisan deficit reduction committee) rather than crazy increases in spending that we can't afford (Obamacare) and increases in taxes combined with a steadfast refusal to cut spending in any meaningful way (democratic controlled Senate and President Obama). Bachman's opponents all supported Obamacare and increasing taxes.

And yes, SS and Medicare are going to crush us if not addressed by 2016. The democrats controlled the house, the senate and the presidency in 2008-2010 and did nothing......

 

[Bob Fechter]

Seriously? The party of Charlie Rangel, Robert Byrd, Maxine Waters, Joe Biden, the Clintons, Al Gore, Michael Dukakis, Anthony Weiner, Howard Dean, etc., etc. has a single word to say?

 

[Doug S.]

What we need in this country is a national legislature which represents several points of view. I do not want to live in a country where the national law-making process is owned by any one party, not mine or anyone elses. A proper legislature needs to be functional, and able to pass meaningful laws that work for the betterment of the populace.

I said the same thing before the most recent national election....said that I hoped that the house would be controlled by one party and the senate by the other, that way they would have to find a way to get along and run the country.

Hard to believe I could have been more mistaken!!! Look at the gridlock we're facing right now.

At least when one party is clearly in charge things get done...even if a minority of our population (if the vote represents the country accurately) is unhappy about what is getting done.

NOTHING is worse than nothing getting done.....:furious:
I'm ready to go back to the days of Camelot.....:idea:

Cheers!

Doug

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Seriously? The party of Charlie Rangel, Robert Byrd, Maxine Waters, Joe Biden, the Clintons, Al Gore, Michael Dukakis, Anthony Weiner, Howard Dean, etc., etc. has a single word to say?

Way to go, Bob. I'm speechless. Actually not, but nothing I want to put on "paper", even here.

Yeah, Bob, the party of all those people. And also the party of Jack Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Getting rid of Michele Bachmann (who has done the country and the people of Minnesota a huge favor by getting rid of herself) will be a very positive thing for the GOP. You guys are Darwinizing yourselves out of existence. If the only people that will vote for your candidates are angry old white folks, how long are you going to be able to last? This country needs a viable and functional two-party system, not a system composed of one functioning party and another one whose chief occupation is saying "no" to everything. You all can't get there by electing people like her and Cruz and Grassley. It isn't going to work.

If the GOP wants to stick to a set of core values which keep losing elections for them, ok, so be it. But continuing on a course which eventually insures a ONE party system (which is what you guys are doing) is the ultimate form of disloyalty to one's country. It's a shame you guys can't see that far ahead.

 

[Doug S.]

This country needs a viable and functional two-party system....

I've said for a long time that this country needs a viable 3rd party!

...but, I guess, to need a 3rd party we'd need to already have two viable parties, and right now I don't see it. I agree with your description of the GOP these days....too much anger, too bombastic....not in touch with the average American at all. I say let 'em go the way of the dinosaurs, along with the TEA partiers who are dragging them down that road.

Mind you I'm not saying that the Dems are all that in touch with the average American....just not as out of touch as the Repubs. Sad to say it's become a "which is the lesser of the two evils" issue :thumbsdown: .

Cheers!

Doug

 

[Jack]

Just imagine what the ticket would look like if Anthony Weiner and Eric Holder ran for office...

 

[Jim Craik]

Jack,

That reminds me of the Ferraro Mondale ticket..........

 

[craig]

Just imagine what the ticket would look like if Anthony Weiner and Eric Holder ran for office...

God help us.....every uneducated fag would be voting for the "weiner holder" ticket.

 

[Bob Fechter]

Way to go, Bob. I'm speechless. Actually not, but nothing I want to put on "paper", even here.

Yeah, Bob, the party of all those people. And also the party of Jack Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Jimbo, you do realize how dirty johnson was, don't you? All the lies about Viet Nam to benefit the Military Industrial Complex you guys are always railing against? Then there's the "War On Poverty." How many untold trillions have gone down that black hole, while enslaving millions of impoverished Americans into the system for perpetuity???? Hmmmmm?

Kennedy??>?? That's the main reason I pray every night B.O. won't become a martyr like him and is allowed to fail on his own incompetency, rather than become an incompetent saint.

Roosevelt???????? He figured out how to buy votes for the Democratic Party in perpetuity. He also figured out how to establish agents of the Soviet Union into high positions in our nation's bureaucracy in perpetuity as well.

I wonder why Alger Hiss isn't a dirtier entry in the dictionary that Joe McCarthy, but we know who writes those dictionaries, don't we.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

I do realize how dirty Johnson was, Bob. He stole the election from Coke Stephenson- the election to the Senate that ended up making him President. And Johnson screwed up plenty, both by accident and on purpose- the Vietnam War, for example. But- he did more for the cause of civil rights and equality than any president save Lincoln. And I've done the reading- including all five volumes of Caro's biography to date.

Kennedy? he wasn't incompetent, but he didn't achieve what LBJ did. I agree about the sainthood, but no one wants to see any president martyred.

Roosevelt? again, I don't agree. All of these guys, and all their Republican equivalents, operated in an era of election-stealing which was egregious and wicked. We are only marginally better- witness the Bush 2.0 "victory". We probably ought to have election monitors from South Africa in OUR country. Or maybe from Finland or Denmark. But you can't use the fact that their election may have been illegitimate to detract from their accomplishments- and FDR accomplished a great deal. For example, Bush 2.0 did more than anyone gives him credit for to combat AIDS and other diseases, internationally. Most people don't know that, or if they do, they dismiss it.

It's not possible to have a constructive discussion with folks who hate Democrats because they're Democrats- even though they may have things in common with them. We all have to live here, and living here includes putting up with a lot each of us doesn't like. What are the alternatives? Moving to Mars?