This place used to be quite different, no?

[Younigue]

They cry a lot, what do you call them or yourself?

Come on, give us a catch phrase for conservatives who cry so much (possibly in a effort to drown the left?). Especially when they come here to be intellectual thugs, checking their intelligence (when applicable and I'm dubious they ever had any in many cases) at the door and fail in dramatic fashion.

Women have heard this for years but it fittingly applies to you and several others... You're Ugly Criers. <--- would you prefer that over snowflake? It unfortunately has a feminine connotation. Let's change that together, alright little buddy?

didn't mean to reply to myself.

 

[WelshBloke]

It comes down to people not following the rules. Nothing more, nothing less.

This.

Theres a certain type of right wing poster that just cant handle moderation. They tend to explode in a tantrum of bile, entitlement and self pity then self immolate. They then stomp off in a huff complaining about how hard done they are and that everyone is just picking on them.

 

[dank69]

I consider myself fairly pragmatic and middle of the road. I lean left on some issues, right on others and quite frankly I view anyone that is fully onboard with either party to be a brain dead asshole. Make up your own mind instead of slavishly following somebody else's platform. I identify, or at least used to identify, more as a Republican than with the Democrats. But in the last 10 years or so I can't even call myself a Republican. I'm what used to be a Republican back when the party had a shred of sense, but that message has been so co-opted by the batshit crazy far right wing that moderate Republicans like me don't want anything to do with them anymore. They're as dead to me as ISIS and the Hare Krishnas. The Tea Party and the Trump-ettes have made it impossible to root for that side even when you loathe Hilary and her ilk.

I am so so surprised to find out you are an ex-Republican. For a second there I thought you were a true independent, not just a conservative without a home. J/K, not even for a nanosecond. I bet you couldn't provide a single credible source for your hatred of Hillary if your life depended on it.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I am so so surprised to find out you are an ex-Republican. For a second there I thought you were a true independent, not just a conservative without a home. J/K, not even for a nanosecond. I bet you couldn't provide a single credible source for your hatred of Hillary if your life depended on it.

Shh little monster, remember you support Trump bringing down the world and requires siding against his opposition.

If you want to bring chaos and shit you have to do it right.

 

[Younigue]

You are more reasonable than I had thought

Tread lightly mister, there are some on this forum who'd string you up for saying such a thing. Thoughts and prayers!

 

[dank69]

Shh little monster, remember you support Trump bringing down the world and requires siding against his opposition.

If you want to bring chaos and shit you have to do it right.

Trump doesn't need my help.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Trump doesn't need my help.

But support is mission critical. I'll share something with you and don't tell the rest of the forum. In some ways, I hope our "business as usual" government is taken and smashed to rubble. I don't support ideologues or ideologies as a rule although there situations where we have common views. Merit does not play a part in politics and the needs of the citizens have likewise become something to manipulate and heaven help those who disagree with "right thinking". People from both sides can get very nasty and they won't change. It won't happen because of the beast which is people, but eliminating the stranglehold of parties, all of them, is paramount to our future. That politicians do not have utter control over how to implement complex and to them incomprehensible mandates is likewise needed. Something simple like Facebook and social media, utterly dead stupidly easy in comparison to many things confounds Congress. They are still elected and ultimately get to enact or not however they have the comprehension of an ordinary citizen with a far greater thickness of biased partisan glasses.

So yeah, I'm an iconoclast too, but I don't want Trump to destroy. I want the experience of his inhumanity and foolishness along with all the participants to serve as motivation for reform. Not "politician" reform, but the kind that threatens their place in government.

 

[Starbuck1975]

The origin was conservatives mocking liberals but in practice they are the ones demanding that people stop criticizing them or that they are picked on. I can’t remember how many times conservatives have claimed a moderation conspiracy against themselves, for example.

I don’t know of any moderator conspiracy. I do know there is prevalent whining and lack of decorum, with people tolerating behaviors that align with their confirmation biases.

 

[dank69]

But support is mission critical. I'll share something with you and don't tell the rest of the forum. In some ways, I hope our "business as usual" government is taken and smashed to rubble. I don't support ideologues or ideologies as a rule although there situations where we have common views. Merit does not play a part in politics and the needs of the citizens have likewise become something to manipulate and heaven help those who disagree with "right thinking". People from both sides can get very nasty and they won't change. It won't happen because of the beast which is people, but eliminating the stranglehold of parties, all of them, is paramount to our future. That politicians do not have utter control over how to implement complex and to them incomprehensible mandates is likewise needed. Something simple like Facebook and social media, utterly dead stupidly easy in comparison to many things confounds Congress. They are still elected and ultimately get to enact or not however they have the comprehension of an ordinary citizen with a far greater thickness of biased partisan glasses.

So yeah, I'm an iconoclast too, but I don't want Trump to destroy. I want the experience of his inhumanity and foolishness along with all the participants to serve as motivation for reform. Not "politician" reform, but the kind that threatens their place in government.

"Right think" is typically just a code phrase for "thinking supported by facts and evidence that contradicts my personal beliefs." Your view of the Democrats is distorted by your personal bias, as is the view of every other "independent" that can no longer justify being a Republican but will sooner lop off their hand than join the dirty liberals. After all, if liberals have been right about most of this stuff all along, then you were duped for most of your life and the ego just isn't going to stand for that nonsense. Therefore, the liberals MUST be just as bad as the conservatives, and now you're the smart one for being an independent thinker. Anyone that agrees with most of the Democratic platform must be a sheep. It can't possibly be that their policies are grounded in reality.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

"Right think" is typically just a code phrase for "thinking supported by facts and evidence that contradicts my personal beliefs." Your view of the Democrats is distorted by your personal bias, as is the view of every other "independent" that can no longer justify being a Republican but will sooner lop off their hand than join the dirty liberals. After all, if liberals have been right about most of this stuff all along, then you were duped for most of your life and the ego just isn't going to stand for that nonsense. Therefore, the liberals MUST be just as bad as the conservatives, and now you're the smart one for being an independent thinker. Anyone that agrees with most of the Democratic platform must be a sheep. It can't possibly be that their policies are grounded in reality.

If the liberals MUST be just as bad explain how it is that in this forum alone I condemn Trump and his ilk and side with espoused tenents of the left like protecting the weak and poor? Rightthink is what you are engaging in. If I don't embrace your perspective I must be one of "them". No, I am not and I am in no way obliged your hate little monster than I am of a white supremacist. Your pack nature determines whether a thing is right or wrong, not the thing in itself.

"Every other independent". Well, that's a mighty pronouncement. In your undistorted view, you can, of course, say with certainty what Independents think and how they arrived at their decisions. My, you do have a remarkable superpower. If I become like you will I say things like that? I daresay I would. I'd be compelled to distort, hate, and maybe go out and vandalize some property of an NRA official. All because I'd share your enlightenment, your One True Way and partake of today's opiate of the masses, partisan politics.

So Great One, tell everyone who I've voted for, how I came to be an independent thinker, not a slave to you or "them". Naturally, proof of your faith will be required.

You are the reflection of what you hate in ignoring that significant fact. Your personal mirror condemns your thinking and there is often horror in being forced to face one's true self.

I tease you hoping you'll realize that being as you act, a creature of hate, might cause you to take pause and reconsider thoughtfulness. You aren't ready yet.

 

[soulcougher73]

This is a silly statement. If older conservatives wanted a safe space they certainly wouldn’t come here...although I think most now recognize it is best to not enter a circle jerk thread without a raincoat.

Some of the liberal posters, like you, engage in intellectually honest debate. Others are a bunch of dogmatic lemmings.

Also, the origin of the word snowflake in political debate does not apply to conservatives no matter how deperately some of the liberals here try to appropriate it.

"Snowflake" can be used on anyone who snowflakes. It has no biases. In fact you are snowflaking right now

 

[Noah Abrams]

And Libertarians are the toddlers of politics.

"No, I don't wanna" isn't how you operate a government.

I am afraid you are showing utter ignorance about libertarian-ism, and making a fool of yourself.

Just the sentence, "how to operate a government" betrays your thinking about politics. And it is the same misconception that many other have. Politics is a lot more than operating a government. That is only one part of it.

And the "I wanna do this" crowd, which is both parties, they are the ones who are looting the country with both hands, bankrupting it, laughing all the way to the bank themselves, and their own personal power and prestige.

Is it "adult behavior" to ruin and bankrupt your future generations? What could be more selfish and morally corrupt? That is your two adult parties.

The recent spending bill that passed, there was only one Senator who spoke on the Senate floor about the sheer moral bankruptcy of it. Only one Senator who called out the BS about our military getting weak so more dollars need to be shoveled into it, pointing out the fact that just since 9/11/2001, military budget has doubled! Only one Senator who spoke out against these various domestic programs which are nothing but stealing tax money and shoveling it to to useless govt workers and the pet constituents of the left. That was a libertarian, Rand Paul.

Plus it is not about Paul or any person. Paul is flawed and opportunistic himself many times. It is about a philosophy which does not treat hard earned tax money as govt pocket money. It is about protecting the natural rights of people, rights that they have the second they are born

Yes, it is the "adults" who are corrupt to the core. Both of them equally.

 

[brandonbull]

You don't even see the irony in your post, do you?

It wasn't loaded with unfounded personal insults so 404 on irony. I wasn't racist, xenophobia, sexist, or homophobic either in my posting. Wow! Some claim that is impossible.

 

[brandonbull]

Yet you are still here. If your theory was correct you would have been booted long again.
It comes down to people not following the rules. Nothing more, nothing less.

It comes down to people trying to bully others off the forums with a constant barrage of unfounded nonsense. I enjoy making the useful idiots from the left get triggered when presented with the truth.

 

[dank69]

If the liberals MUST be just as bad explain how it is that in this forum alone I condemn Trump and his ilk and side with espoused tenents of the left like protecting the weak and poor? Rightthink is what you are engaging in. If I don't embrace your perspective I must be one of "them". No, I am not and I am in no way obliged your hate little monster than I am of a white supremacist. Your pack nature determines whether a thing is right or wrong, not the thing in itself.

It doesn't take a liberal to condemn Trump and you can still be a conservative even though you want to protect the weak/poor. Rightthink is not what I am engaging in, at all. I am simply guessing at what you are thinking. You can be honest and admit it, or you can be dishonest and deny it, or since I am a mere mortal it is entirely possible that I am completely wrong about you. All I have to go on is your posting history and I certainly haven't read all of your posts here. Are you going to deny your hatred of Hillary? The only "them" I am accusing you of being a part of is "people who hate Hillary but don't really know why." I think you would agree that irrational hatred is probably wrong, but maybe you will surprise me and say it isn't. It is more likely that you will instead claim your hatred is not irrational. You might even make some lame attempt to provide evidence for it and then ignore when that evidence is torn to pieces. You might just stick to an evidence-free claim. You might even just get hung up on semantics and claim you don't hate her and that it's more of an intense dislike.

"Every other independent". Well, that's a mighty pronouncement. In your undistorted view, you can, of course, say with certainty what Independents think and how they arrived at their decisions. My, you do have a remarkable superpower. If I become like you will I say things like that? I daresay I would. I'd be compelled to distort, hate, and maybe go out and vandalize some property of an NRA official. All because I'd share your enlightenment, your One True Way and partake of today's opiate of the masses, partisan politics.

So Great One, tell everyone who I've voted for, how I came to be an independent thinker, not a slave to you or "them". Naturally, proof of your faith will be required.

See, you need to pay more attention, because you will notice that "independents" is in quotes and it is in quotes for a reason. It is in quotes because not all independents are the same, and I am only referring to the subset of independents that fit the description immediately following. And yes, I believe I have effectively paraphrased their line of thinking quite well, thank you very much. I run into this type all the time, and it's always the same thing. It doesn't make them bad people, it just means they have not shed their useless ego yet. Perhaps you might consider that your hyperbolic reaction to my post might be motivated by the very same? Perhaps it is your ego that caused you to construct a ridiculous straw man to win against instead of failing to address my actual post?

You are the reflection of what you hate in ignoring that significant fact. Your personal mirror condemns your thinking and there is often horror in being forced to face one's true self.

I tease you hoping you'll realize that being as you act, a creature of hate, might cause you to take pause and reconsider thoughtfulness. You aren't ready yet.

Tease away. I do not care. I hate because while conservative blockheadedness was all fun and games in the past, we now have Donald Fucking Trump in the goddamned WH you you still want to blame liberals for it.

 

[Jhhnn]

I am afraid you are showing utter ignorance about libertarian-ism, and making a fool of yourself.

Just the sentence, "how to operate a government" betrays your thinking about politics. And it is the same misconception that many other have. Politics is a lot more than operating a government. That is only one part of it.

And the "I wanna do this" crowd, which is both parties, they are the ones who are looting the country with both hands, bankrupting it, laughing all the way to the bank themselves, and their own personal power and prestige.

Is it "adult behavior" to ruin and bankrupt your future generations? What could be more selfish and morally corrupt? That is your two adult parties.

The recent spending bill that passed, there was only one Senator who spoke on the Senate floor about the sheer moral bankruptcy of it. Only one Senator who called out the BS about our military getting weak so more dollars need to be shoveled into it, pointing out the fact that just since 9/11/2001, military budget has doubled! Only one Senator who spoke out against these various domestic programs which are nothing but stealing tax money and shoveling it to to useless govt workers and the pet constituents of the left. That was a libertarian, Rand Paul.

Plus it is not about Paul or any person. Paul is flawed and opportunistic himself many times. It is about a philosophy which does not treat hard earned tax money as govt pocket money. It is about protecting the natural rights of people, rights that they have the second they are born

Yes, it is the "adults" who are corrupt to the core. Both of them equally.

Rand Paul nonetheless voted for the massive tax giveaway to the wealthy. It was a straight party line vote.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/19/us/politics/tax-bill-senate-live-vote.html

Go figure, huh?

 

[dank69]

I am afraid you are showing utter ignorance about libertarian-ism, and making a fool of yourself.

Just the sentence, "how to operate a government" betrays your thinking about politics. And it is the same misconception that many other have. Politics is a lot more than operating a government. That is only one part of it.

And the "I wanna do this" crowd, which is both parties, they are the ones who are looting the country with both hands, bankrupting it, laughing all the way to the bank themselves, and their own personal power and prestige.

Is it "adult behavior" to ruin and bankrupt your future generations? What could be more selfish and morally corrupt? That is your two adult parties.

The recent spending bill that passed, there was only one Senator who spoke on the Senate floor about the sheer moral bankruptcy of it. Only one Senator who called out the BS about our military getting weak so more dollars need to be shoveled into it, pointing out the fact that just since 9/11/2001, military budget has doubled! Only one Senator who spoke out against these various domestic programs which are nothing but stealing tax money and shoveling it to to useless govt workers and the pet constituents of the left. That was a libertarian, Rand Paul.

Plus it is not about Paul or any person. Paul is flawed and opportunistic himself many times. It is about a philosophy which does not treat hard earned tax money as govt pocket money. It is about protecting the natural rights of people, rights that they have the second they are born

Yes, it is the "adults" who are corrupt to the core. Both of them equally.

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/news...ers-statement-on-omnibus-appropriations-bill-

Unfortunately, there are two fundamental failings in this deal that prevented me from voting for it. First, this bill does not address the great moral issue of our time – the fact that 800,000 young Dreamers in the DACA program are in grave danger of losing their legal status and subject to deportation. Second, the $165 billion increase in defense spending over two years is much too large. I believe in a strong military, but at a time when the U.S. spends more on defense than the next 12 countries combined, this increase is much too much.

Filthy liberals do not count as Senators.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Tease away. I do not care. I hate because while conservative blockheadedness was all fun and games in the past, we now have Donald Fucking Trump in the goddamned WH you still want to blame liberals for it.

Well here's a thing. The Dems played their part in the loss. If you wish to imbue yourself with the qualities of an infallible Christ, do so by all means. The Very Sad Trump supporter, Biden, or is it the CrookedBiden? Hard to know. Anyway, Biden pointed out some flaws in Hillary's approach, and Obama was more oblique cautioning about relying too heavily on identity politics, Hillary's projected image. These things made her a questionable candidate by important Dems in the party. But hubris was the response to criticism, with attacks on those who didn't care for her. Note not Trump supporters, but those who didn't become part of her Faithful Tribe. If you don't stand for us you stand against us and America, for Trump and racists?

And I do blame elements of the Democrats and some who claim to be liberals because guess what? They played a part in their own defeat.

But of course, that means I embrace Trump or did? Nope. I never liked the man and never supported him. What I did not know is the degree of damage he would cause and honest people will admit they didn't either.

BTW when it mattered in my state, the guaranteed Dem supporting state? I voted for the liberal, Bernie. Why? Because of the power of the Bully Pulpit, he had the ear of the people and that puts pressure on Congress. He had a better chance of winning the general because virtually every indicator showed he'd win against Trump. Lose against Hillary, but beat Trump.

The partisan hacks went with someone already with a handicap and a history to attack.

Yeah, the "left" owned that, or perhaps the Dems who like to call themselves liberal.

Trump? He owes the nation for whatever he has done and if he or others engaged in illegal activities they should be tried not in Congress alone but by a judge and jury just the same as any other, and the harshest penalty given. His white supremacists should be scorned and accountability by EVERYONE in office given without excuses. No campaign funds to pay for sex abuse compensation, Republican or not. That's not the half of that.

Now if that's "blaming the liberals" in your mind then so be it.

 

[Noah Abrams]

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/news...ers-statement-on-omnibus-appropriations-bill-



Filthy liberals do not count as Senators.

Did I not mention that the left wants to shovel money and resources to its pet constituents? So we should legalize DACA people? Why? And what does it have anything to do with voting on a spending bill? Did Sanders mention that the bill bankrupted the country even more? By the way, I respect Sanders. He is one of the very few politicians who genuinely believes in his ideology - not like the usual cynical and self interested fuckers on the left and right

 

[dank69]

Did I not mention that the left wants to shovel money and resources to its pet constituents? So we should legalize DACA people? Why? And what does it have anything to do with voting on a spending bill? Did Sanders mention that the bill bankrupted the country even more? By the way, I respect Sanders. He is one of the very few politicians who genuinely believes in his ideology - not like the usual cynical and self interested fuckers on the left and right

I wouldn't expect a conservative to understand why we should legalize DACA people. I also wouldn't expect a conservative to stop worrying about Democrats who make personal gains on the side by enacting policy that benefits us all while instead favoring Republicans who make money on the side by enacting policy that buttfucks us all.

 

[Noah Abrams]

Rand Paul nonetheless voted for the massive tax giveaway to the wealthy. It was a straight party line vote.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/19/us/politics/tax-bill-senate-live-vote.html

Go figure, huh?

I think Paul was wrong to vote for it. Two reasons, and both of these have been pointed out by some honest conservatives as well

1. It didn't do anything for the ordinary person. It was mainly for the investor class.
2. Bankrupted the country even more.

But I am interested in this term, "giveaway" that is used a lot. If I give something to someone, lets say a bicycle, there is an underlying assumption there. That I own that bike.

 

[Noah Abrams]

I wouldn't expect a conservative to understand why we should legalize DACA people. I also wouldn't expect a conservative to stop worrying about Democrats who make personal gains on the side by enacting policy that benefits us all while instead favoring Republicans who make money on the side by enacting policy that buttfucks us all.

If you still think I am a conservative (and whatever that means for you), then you Sir, are an idiot. I think it would be useless to engage with you. Please continue to live in your imaginary liberal utopia which benefits us all. If you find a time machine, please go back to Soviet Union in the year 1977, where you will find policies that benefited us all. Thank you.

 

[dank69]

Well here's a thing. The Dems played their part in the loss. If you wish to imbue yourself with the qualities of an infallible Christ, do so by all means. The Very Sad Trump supporter, Biden, or is it the CrookedBiden? Hard to know. Anyway, Biden pointed out some flaws in Hillary's approach, and Obama was more oblique cautioning about relying too heavily on identity politics, Hillary's projected image. These things made her a questionable candidate by important Dems in the party. But hubris was the response to criticism, with attacks on those who didn't care for her. Note not Trump supporters, but those who didn't become part of her Faithful Tribe. If you don't stand for us you stand against us and America, for Trump and racists?

And I do blame elements of the Democrats and some who claim to be liberals because guess what? They played a part in their own defeat.

But of course, that means I embrace Trump or did? Nope. I never liked the man and never supported him. What I did not know is the degree of damage he would cause and honest people will admit they didn't either.

BTW when it mattered in my state, the guaranteed Dem supporting state? I voted for the liberal, Bernie. Why? Because of the power of the Bully Pulpit, he had the ear of the people and that puts pressure on Congress. He had a better chance of winning the general because virtually every indicator showed he'd win against Trump. Lose against Hillary, but beat Trump.

The partisan hacks went with someone already with a handicap and a history to attack.

Yeah, the "left" owned that, or perhaps the Dems who like to call themselves liberal.

Trump? He owes the nation for whatever he has done and if he or others engaged in illegal activities they should be tried not in Congress alone but by a judge and jury just the same as any other, and the harshest penalty given. His white supremacists should be scorned and accountability by EVERYONE in office given without excuses. No campaign funds to pay for sex abuse compensation, Republican or not. That's not the half of that.

Now if that's "blaming the liberals" in your mind then so be it.

Yes, that undoubtedly qualifies as "blaming the liberals." Haha. Also I think stretching my actual stance that "conservatives own this" into "imbuing myself with the qualities of an infallible Christ" might fit the definition of another straw man, but whatever. It's not like you are interested in actually addressing my posts anyway as evidenced by your complete elimination of most of my previous one so you could only focus on the small part you thought you could counter.

 

[dank69]

If you still think I am a conservative (and whatever that means for you), then you Sir, are an idiot. I think it would be useless to engage with you. Please continue to live in your imaginary liberal utopia which benefits us all. If you find a time machine, please go back to Soviet Union in the year 1977, where you will find policies that benefited us all. Thank you.

Hey guy, 2/3rds of Republicans support citizenship for DACA recipients. If sharing a policy with the extreme right wing of the already right wing party doesn't make you a conservative, I don't know what would.

 

[Jaskalas]

Would you agree that the left has slid further to the left as well?

As a frame of reference, this country slid "right" with trickle down Reaganomics in the 80s and has not yet recovered its senses to fix the damage wrought by the more... conservative economic policy. It is therefore difficult to appreciate anyone's slide "further left" when it has resulted in literally nothing. Reagan's policy still rules Washington DC and our people are still suffering for it.

There may be greater push back to try and fix it, there may be greater cultural division and fighting... we may be galvanized further from each other, but the ruling economic policy of this nation has not been restored or wrested from conservative control in nearly 40 years. Prevailing Democrat VS Republican leadership is a wrestle over how little to help our people. In the end, even winning would result in utter failure.

It is going to take a sweeping change to push off from the conservatism of the 80s, and then beyond to improve upon our New Deal and post-war policy. Capitalism has evolved, but our policy has been stuck in the mud and leaves more people behind every year. Labor loses more value every year but we still cling to old ideas. Forgive me if progress seems foreign to our nation, but I would not call it "sliding left". Those are Americans sinking into an abyss and crying for help. I implore us all to hear them, and discuss what to do about it.

Apologies, if the mythical bootstraps will not suffice.