patrick.net

The cynical party. I like that! Sign me up and pass me the kool aid!

Squatting in East CoCo says

Who do we vote for?

Always the other guy.
One 4 year term for any douche bag to fuck up the country, then that's it!
On to the next asshole. I hope you'll join in 2016 in getting Mit Romney out of office.

There is not third party option and there never will be in this country.
90% of the reason I blame solely on the Democrats.
They know if an Independent(or anyone other than a Liberal or Republican or no offshoot there of) ever got a word in edge wise, they would lose 85% of their voters in one political season.

Republicans aren't as worried about it, they know that their conservative base will never vote for anyone but a republican.

There is an awful lot of using the founding fathers as a means to compare the politics of today- usually in an attempt to prove one's point of view. If one reads about what the founding fathers were all about and what type of men they were, these were fairly forward-thinking men ahead of their time and its interesting that even today many of their ideas have not really been fully carried out.

As far as the notion behind "Blind" devotion to one party or another, I grew up in a mixed household. Half in my family were Republicans. They other half were Democrats. As such, if there were any political discussions, they were carried out in a sensible, civil manner. In many ways these were constructive and interesting. We could see that we were about 98% in agreement with one another.

I would welcome that sort of dialog but I feel that it is now sorely missing from the political conversation between both parties. The biggest issue is that people have now concerned themselves less about the actual politics and more with in most cases unrelated things- basically portraying one side as strictly liberal, the other as strictly conservative.

We need to get beyond name calling.

Both parties work for the poeple with the money.

What has Obama done to reign in Big Finance?

Sure, Obama might not be as bad as Romney (on Economic issues) but I'm tired of voting for the lesser of two evils.

I am glad I am merely rabid and apolitical. I will give the cannibal anarchists rabies when they come to get me, and I will bite first.

Ceffer says

I am glad I am merely rabid and apolitical. I will give the cannibal anarchists rabies when they come to get me, and I will bite first.

Haha!

When I come home from a tough day of work, and blow a bowl of grass in my basement, and police kick in my door, ransack my property, shoot my dog, throw me in prison, then (once I'm rehabilitated, or paid my debt to society) release me to the probation system where they harass my whereabouts and rifle thru my urine,,,,,I guess that is all the unjust doings of evil republicans, and the democrats are lining up around the block to 'help' me?

Of course they are, those altruistic for profit democrat lawyers donate large gobs of the money they extort from working folk like me, to democratic lawmakers, to make sure that they can keep their cushy little game of slaughtering liberties and human rights.

They are like, so different from the evil republicans

Go team democrat, go!

errc says

When I come home from a tough day of work, and blow a bowl of grass in my basement,

You ever looked at the back of a $10 dollar bill?

You ever looked at the back of a $10 dollar bill...on weed??? Yeah!

errc says

Of course they are, those altruistic for profit democrat lawyers donate large gobs of the money they extort from working folk like me, to democratic lawmakers, to make sure that they can keep their cushy little game of slaughtering liberties and human rights.

I always said the difference between Liberal lawmakers and Conservative lawmakers.

Republicans want to pass laws telling you what can't do.

Democrats want to pass laws to make you do things you don't want to do.

Either way, someones dirty filthy paws are baring down on the Liberty throttle.

How about a "Moderate" party: Socially liberal & Fiscally conservative

Politicalcompass has a pretty good graphic representation of what you're saying. I like their quiz, too:

http://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2012

Yes, that's why America desperately needs a Conservative Worker's Party.
Socially conservative, but on the side of working people rather than the 0.1%.

Are you baiting me? ;-)

I can't believe anyone from the SF Bay Area would say such a thing. Social conservatives are dumb bigots who deserve their fate, right? ;-)

No bait.

America needs a socially conservative labor party that will really work for their own rights while promoting their personal beliefs, unlike the Republican leadership strategy of paying lip service to workers' personal beliefs while ruthlessly abusing them to make more profits for the 0.1%.

Jimbo in SF says

How about a "Moderate" party: Socially liberal & Fiscally conservative

No bait.

America needs a socially conservative labor party that will really work for their own rights while promoting their personal beliefs, unlike the Republican leadership strategy of paying lip service to workers' personal beliefs while ruthlessly abusing them to make more profits for the 0.1%.

Patrick, we had one. Most Democrats in Ohio are still that way, not understanding that the party they think they belong to no longer exists.

rootvg says

Patrick, we had one. Most Democrats in Ohio are still that way, not understanding that the party they think they belong to no longer exists.

Yep. I think the same would go for a lot of "Rust Belt" Democrats.

freak80 says

rootvg says

Patrick, we had one. Most Democrats in Ohio are still that way, not understanding that the party they think they belong to no longer exists.

Yep. I think the same would go for a lot of "Rust Belt" Democrats.

There's a friend of my mom's that I go back and forth with on Facebook and she thinks the sun rises and sets on the grave of Franklin Roosevelt but when the Democrats start talking about gay rights she immediately turns off. This is how Republicans win elections and I think it's how they're gonna win in 2012. God, Guns and Gays have won elections for Republicans in this country for a very long time.

I agree. God, Guns, and Gays are the wedge used to divide working people against each other so that they can more easily be exploited. When working people are busy fighting each other about those issues, the 0.1% can pass laws exempting themselves from paying taxes.

I also agree that Democrats have alienated huge swaths of voters that care more about the social issues than economic ones.

So we need a third party.

I agree. God, Guns, and Gays are the wedge used to divide working people against each other so that they can more easily be exploited. When working people are busy fighting each other about those issues, the 0.1% can pass laws exempting themselves from paying taxes.

I also agree that Democrats have alienated huge swaths of voters that care more about the social issues than economic ones.

So we need a third party.

Our system of government isn't set up for third parties. Washington (and even most of the Founders) hated parties. Agreeing to have two was a fallback and even then we have two podiums in the House not three and not one. The whole idea was for two parties to provide a safety valve but both be headed in basically the same direction. That's exactly what we have.

Congress isn't the British Parliament. It was never supposed to be.

The Professor says

United States political and finance industry leadership has recently been dominated by people associated with Harvard and Yale. All nine members of the current Supreme Court attended Harvard or Yale law schools.

Harvard and Yale should be broken up under anti-trust laws. They clearly have a duopoly on political power.

As a rabid left wing atheist, I think both parties are utterly corrupt, our political system is completely dysfunctional, and money is to blame.

Give each candidate for Congress who gathers more than X signatures $100k and let them have at it. No external funding sources allowed. About time they started working for us instead of special interests and those with deep pockets. Democrats are just as guilty as Republicans, which is why I left the Democratic party a number of years ago.

But it will never happen, none of them will bite the hand that feeds them.

The Professor says

It seems as though about 30% of the people are rabid democrats. Another 30% are rabid republicans.

Seems about right. The 30% rabid republicans are more batshit crazy and extremist than their counterparts on the left though, and thus are more scary.

The truth is, of course, orthogonal to the left-right line.

The Professor says

I want to vote for the anti war candidate.

Which one is that?

Ron Paul

The Professor says

30% for dee, 30% for dum, you decide who side your on. Whether dum or dee are elected the power will not change. Don't argue with me.

What of the rest of us? 40% would be a majority over dee and dum.

Who do we vote for?

Isn't that 40% the 40% of the population that doesn't vote?

The Professor says

What of the rest of us? 40% would be a majority over dee and dum.

Who do we vote for?

Demand an end to closed primaries.
Us 40% don't get to participate in democracy. The most important part of any election is the primaries. We have no say in the primaries what so ever.
We only get to choose between the most incompetent states men only after the Twiddly Dem and Twiddly Pub have had their go at Democracy and have put their slimy spit all over it. Then it becomes a question of which spit covered douche bag, do we independents like the most.

There is no such thing as a "third party" and there never will be. And in this day and age, there's no such thing as a political party, there's only two powerful political forces in America that have hijacked democracy. And this will continue to be the SOP in this country until we the sensible 40% can nominate Dennis Kusinich in 2008 and Ron Paul in 2012. There will always be those adults that seem like a breath of fresh air in the Presidential race, but they will never win. Because the represent all things that stands for change of the way the broken system is now. They don't tow the party line and that scares the hell out of the Liberal Democrat guard, as well as the GOP hardliners. In fact Ron Paul scared the living goatshit out of the Liberal media so mush so. They made it their mission to get Romney nominated. Then played the victim when it almost bit them in the ass.

End closed primaries NOW, no taxation with out representation!

Libertarian.

FortWayne says

Libertarian.

Yeah but the smart ones really run on either of the two parties.
Besides only a very few people will actually get to nominate someone running on the "Libertarian" party, I certainly wouldn't be able to nominate a Libertarian, as I'm not registered as such. I'm registered as NPA(No Party Affiliation) Which really means, I'm not a allowed to vote for ANYONE in the primaries.
Besides that, even if I leave it up to you to nominate a Libertarian as a third party choice. People are already brainwashed voting for a third party candidate is a wasted vote. Even if a Liberal or a Republican liked that Libertarian candidate, they are unlikely to vote for him, because they did not participate in the nomination process. So they don't really have any personal connection to that candidate.

Capt...I think Ron Paul would do well as a third party candidate, but I'm not kidding myself... I know he would do a lot better running as a Republican.

FortWayne says

Capt...I think Ron Paul would do well as a third party candidate, but I'm not kidding myself... I know he would do a lot better running as a Republican.

We're almost there Fort.
I'm NOT saying candidates like Ron Paul, should run as a Republican or a Democrat. I'm saying they should USE those existing sanctioned parties, only to legitimatize their bid.

The reality of now is, there aren't any "Real" republicans or democrats in either party. So does it really matter what ticket Ron Paul or Dennis Kusinich or even Raulph Nader for that matter runs on. We just need these people to get in, and put an end the corruption and lobby mill system that our current system operates under, in the quise of democracy. Not to embrace them continue the pattern.

CaptainShuddup says

End closed primaries NOW, no taxation with out representation!

This is precisely why felons, minors, and the mentally ill should be allowed to vote or not taxed.