How can we take them seriously?

[kramwest1]

Only Singapore and Hong Kong have worse income inequality than the U.S.?
Is it possible to have static income between the classes? I doubt it.
So, why are people comfortable with income flowing up, and any taxation of the rich is "class warfare" and the government playing Robin Hood and redistributing wealth?

 

[PhilsFan]

this isn't enough for me to lose faith in the GOP just yet...

Exactly. This whole thing is just a conspiracy against conservatives by the mainstream media, guys. When will you figure it out?

 

[Canadiens1131]

Exactly. This whole thing is just a conspiracy against conservatives by the mainstream media, guys. When will you figure it out?

It's amazing that the average Joe making 45k/yr, drinkin' Bud Light, and ownin' lotsa guns keeps going back to the GOP, somehow tricked into believing it's the party that fights for the little guy.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

It's amazing that the average Joe making 45k/yr, drinkin' Bud Light, and ownin' lotsa guns keeps going back to the GOP, somehow tricked into believing it's the party that fights for the little guy.

Ugh, YES. This. Totally.

Angela

 

[LPU2]

It's amazing that the average Joe making 45k/yr, drinkin' Bud Light, and ownin' lotsa guns keeps going back to the GOP, somehow tricked into believing it's the party that fights for the little guy.

This was a brilliant campaign that began decades ago. And it's been wildly successful. All because republican strategists knew one TRUTH that everyone knows to be true, but no one dare say it out loud: that American voters, by and large, are stupid... and incredibly vulnerable to manipulation.

You should read "What's the Matter with Kansas." It's a book all about how this happened. A snippet:

Not long ago, Kansas would have responded to the current situation by making the bastards pay...When business screwed the farmers and the workers - when it implemented monopoly strategies invasive beyond the Populists' furthest imaginings -- when it ripped off shareholders and casually tossed thousands out of work -- you could be damned sure about what would follow.

Not these days. Out here the gravity of discontent pulls in only one direction: to the right, to the right, further to the right. Strip today's Kansans of their job security, and they head out to become registered Republicans. Push them off their land, and next thing you know they're protesting in front of abortion clinics. Squander their life savings on manicures for the CEO, and there's a good chance they'll join the John Birch Society. But ask them about the remedies their ancestors proposed (unions, antitrust, public ownership), and you might as well be referring to the days when knighthood was in flower.

 

[PhilsFan]

It's amazing that the average Joe making 45k/yr, drinkin' Bud Light, and ownin' lotsa guns keeps going back to the GOP, somehow tricked into believing it's the party that fights for the little guy.

Because the GOP cuts programs for the middle and lower classes for JESUS! Those liberal elites wouldn't know about JESUS.

 

[financeguy]

Only Singapore and Hong Kong have worse income inequality than the U.S.?

And Singapore and Hong Kong are wealthy countries.

 

[Canadiens1131]

Because the GOP cuts programs for the middle and lower classes for JESUS! Those liberal elites wouldn't know about JESUS.

With current GOP policy it's pretty funny (tragic), because they essentially endorse poverty-stricken couples having to keep an unwanted pregnancy, but then once that baby is born that family should UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES get government handouts, and in fact the parents are living off the system and it's their own fault for using their freedom of choice to have sex and risk an unwanted pregnancy.

 

[the iron horse]

I'm sorry to say it will only get worse for the poor once the hyperinflation kicks in. There are some troubled times ahead.

Press Play>>>

'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary.
Hard times, hard times, come again no more.
Many days you have lingered all around my cabin door.
Oh, hard times, come again no more.

~Stephen Foster

 

[maycocksean]

one TRUTH that everyone knows to be true, but no one dare say it out loud: that American voters, by and large, are stupid... and incredibly vulnerable to manipulation.

[/I]

This is virtually impossible to say without sounding terribly arrogant, which is why no one ever says it.

But I think it's really true.

Perhaps it's fairer--and kinder--to say that more often than not human beings don't make decisions in a completely rational way. The right has tapped into the fears of a good segment of this country and that fears overwhelms any rational analysis of the issues. In fairness, if we felt our backs were against the wall and had our media sources constantly stoking that feeling, whose to say we wouldn't respond irrationally as well?

 

[Canadiens1131]

This is virtually impossible to say without sounding terribly arrogant, which is why no one ever says it.

Q1: Why do conservatives like certain Fox News programming?

Q2: Why do liberals like certain MSNBC programming?



A: Because it's easier to have someone lay out an opinion for you, or to validate your preexisting opinion, than it is to do the independent research yourself and come to a decision on your own. People have limited time, and for many the lure of a quick and agreeable validation of their ingrained beliefs is preferable to the alternative.

This is mainly why I feel 0626622481802262's constant tit-for-tat combat with the lefties of this forum entertaining. Because at the end of the day, everyone's just validating his own opinion and it doesn't mean shit.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

This is virtually impossible to say without sounding terribly arrogant, which is why no one ever says it.

But I think it's really true.

Perhaps it's fairer--and kinder--to say that more often than not human beings don't make decisions in a completely rational way. The right has tapped into the fears of a good segment of this country and that fears overwhelms any rational analysis of the issues. In fairness, if we felt our backs were against the wall and had our media sources constantly stoking that feeling, whose to say we wouldn't respond irrationally as well?

I think this is a much more apt way of putting it . That, and desperate times lead to desperate moves.

Like I said, in some ways I feel bad for these people, they're being led and manipulated and it really sucks. And the people doing it SHOULD feel ashamed. But of course, they don't.

But at the same time, I wonder how many more times they can stand being burned, too.

Angela

 

[PhilsFan]

A: Because it's easier to have someone lay out an opinion for you, or to validate your preexisting opinion, than it is to do the independent research yourself and come to a decision on your own. People have limited time, and for many the lure of a quick and agreeable validation of their ingrained beliefs is preferable to the alternative.

People like sports, like music, like television, like movies ... people don't really like politics. They don't like to think about it or research it beyond hearing what's being thrown back and forth in the media.

 

[Canadiens1131]

People like sports, like music, like television, like movies ... people don't really like politics. They don't like to think about it or research it beyond hearing what's being thrown back and forth in the media.

Well, I'd say that those examples you gave are leisure activities, and people will usually block off time for leisure to maintain their sanity. You would probably look at a guy at work funny if he told you he was going home to watch 2 hours of C-SPAN and then post on his favourite political message boards.

 

[PhilsFan]

But politics doesn't seem directly connected enough to fall under the necessities category either, for the vast majority of people. It's not a chore. It kind of falls into that in between where it doesn't seem necessary like going to the grocery store, and it isn't as fun/relaxing as kicking back and watching a game.

 

[Canadiens1131]

But politics doesn't seem directly connected enough to fall under the necessities category either, for the vast majority of people. It's not a chore. It kind of falls into that in between where it doesn't seem necessary like going to the grocery store, and it isn't as fun/relaxing as kicking back and watching a game.

Yep, and those are two immediate strikes against making a well-informed voting decision.

It's no wonder why radio talk show hosts seem to have amazing command over vast swaths of the U.S. voting population. When else do you have nothing better to do than listen to someone else's political opinion distilled and formulated for you like candy sweet applesauce baby food? Stuck in traffic for 45 minutes with no recourse except for the radio and a distaste for Katy Perry or Akon.

 

[Pearl]

We certainly can't take this woman seriously:

If state Sen. Jane Cunningham has her way, the under-14 crowd will no longer have to worry about those stuffy labor laws saying they can’t hold a job. Teenagers of all ages will be freed from restrictions limiting how many hours they can flip burgers. And if they want to staff the drive-through window all night long, Cunningham is for that too. To heck with those early morning classes.
To see Cunningham’s motives, check out the latest information.
The Missouri legislature can always be counted on to come up with bizarre legislation, but Senate Bill 222 is the strangest we’ve see in awhile.
Cunningham, a Republican from St. Louis County, would also repeal the requirement that 14- and-15-year-olds apply for a special permit in order to work. And the state Division of Labor Standards would no longer inspect workplaces tht employ children or require them to keep special records for their youthful employees.
Cunningham is totally pro-business, but this is over the top. Under her proposed legislation, a 12- or-13-year-old could be sent to work full time in Missouri, perhaps under the guise of receiving a home-school education, of which Cunningham is a big supporter.
This bill sounds too Dickensian to go anywhere, but you never know. One ominous sign: Cunningham’s bill is assigned to the Senate’s general laws committee, which is chaired by…Senator Jane Cunningham.

Missouri senator wants to repeal child labor laws | Midwest Voices
​

 

[BVS]

There seems to be a movement within some conservative circles that no longer values higher education so this sorta makes sense.

 

[Irvine511]

welcome to the 19th century.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

It's no wonder why radio talk show hosts seem to have amazing command over vast swaths of the U.S. voting population. When else do you have nothing better to do than listen to someone else's political opinion distilled and formulated for you like candy sweet applesauce baby food? Stuck in traffic for 45 minutes with no recourse except for the radio and a distaste for Katy Perry or Akon.

I'd sooner listen to the music myself, no matter how crappy. Or I'd just sit in silence. Truly, sometimes that is golden. I've heard bits of Rush when on a town bus before, forget his commentary, his voice alone is enough to make me want to turn it off after five seconds.

As for this Cunningham person...uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...WHAT?

And if they want to staff the drive-through window all night long, Cunningham is for that too. To heck with those early morning classes.

Forget the fact they have class the next day (though that in and of itself is certainly cause for concern), the idea of a 14 year old at a drive-thru at 3 in the morning is just screaming tragic story for the next day's front page news. No way in hell would I feel comfortable with any child being at a workplace at that time of night. I'm an adult and I don't like the idea.

Her reasoning is freakin' warped:

The current restrictions, Cunningham says, imply “that government can make a better decision than a parent.”

Or it could just be, y'know, a logical safety measure. I wouldn't exactly trust any parent who was okay with letting their 13, 14 year old child work late at night, either.

Also, Cunningham, who is no fan of public schools, dislikes the provision in state law that says students younger than 16 must obtain signed permission from their school before taking a job.

O-kay, then.

Seriously. What. Is. WRONG. With. People?

Angela

 

[Dalton]

welcome to the 19th century.

Hey asshole, how's about you come and slum it with us commoners in the Lemonade Stand?

 

[Tiger Edge]

Canadiens113148912741284, will you marry me?

(so i can become a canadian citizen)

 

[Irvine511]

Hey asshole, how's about you come and slum it with us commoners in the Lemonade Stand?