Liberal vs Conservative, democrat vs republican

Liberal vs Conservative, democrat vs republican

  • Democrat

    Votes: 8 42.1%
  • Republican

    Votes: 11 57.9%

  • Total voters
    19
Here's one homo lovin' leftie pinko commie bastard!
Translation: liberal (alhough not extremely so)
 
I like to think of myself as neurtral and choose sides depending on what I think of the issue.

I'm Independant, but if I have to choose, obviosuly a Demy.
 
Republican.

I enjoy politics. However, I have no interest in digging into the few debates on political issues that have sprung up around here. I simply here for the bigger dick.
 
Originally posted by penguinsfan
Republican.

I enjoy politics. However, I have no interest in digging into the few debates on political issues that have sprung up around here. I simply here for the bigger dick.
Showing my age, this reminds me of the joke campaign slogan for Richard Nixon's second term -- "Why change Dicks in the middle of a screw?" :)
 
What about the Green Party? They are pretty good about trying to expose corporate corruption. One of the reasons for going to war w/ Iraq, was to get the heat and news off of the Enron Scandal its its connection with George W. Bush.

I have a question for you guys,

What kind of views make a person liberal or conservative?
 
<<I have a question for you guys,

What kind of views make a person liberal or conservative?>>


uh, hum, well, i think for most people here it is more of the fiscal sense. liberals believe in broader government programs and regualtion, supported by more taxation. more social programs, welfare, government industrial control, ect.

conservatives want less total government spending (*ahem* even though all modern republican presidents have enormous budgets *ahem*), less welfare and social programs, highly privatized industry with little or no government interference.

basically you could say liberals have a socialist streak, conservatives have more a libertarian, laissez faire approach that is likened to greater personal accountability.

more philosophically you could say conservatives are more darwinian in approach, feeling things should play out naturally as they fall within society and it's not the government's role to do anything except provide basic security and order required by the people.

liberals might argue that government is an encompassing tool that should be employed to equalize society for those at a disadvantage and is the center of progress, or something, that's a shitty defenition, i'm a little sleepy.

anyway, keep in mind those are sort of the polar points of the spectrum, today the way people align themselves along the parties can have everything to do with one issue, like abortion or religion, ect. or it can be regional, economic, social influence, and any number of broader influences. i think few people actually evaluate what their personal ethics and priorities are, and then try to activel equate them to a political philosophy. often times i think it's far more abitrary, which is a shame. certain groups are associated with either side, like conservative christians with the right, hard-lining environmentalists with the left, and so on. all punk rockers are anarchists. greatful dead, phish, string cheese incident and widespread panic fans are green party but they're too smoked out to vote.

commie . . . . . socialist . . . .liberal . . . .centrist . . . .conservative . . . .libertarian . . . .militia member

i think it goes something like that . . . just kidding
 
was to get the heat and news off of the Enron Scandal its its connection with George W. Bush.

come on man, thats the worst thing I've ever heard. I doubt anyone even democrats would risk the lives of Americans just to further themselves politcally, thats a pretty irresponsible statement.
 
liberals might argue that government is an encompassing tool that should be employed to equalize society for those at a disadvantage and is the center of progress, or something, that's a shitty defenition, i'm a little sleepy

Conservatives feel that it is the duty of the people to provide for themselves. Liberals feel that people are unable to do this and thus they need a bigger government to support them. But that's just my biased opinion.
 
You'll find that for the most part, well off people are conservative and less well off people are liberal.

Basically, neither one is right, but liberals are more for all people, while conservatives are for the ones that have already made it. Hence, Republicans being more for the rich and democrats lean towards the poor.

Conservatives argue that people should make it on their own, without taking many factors into consideration. It is very hard to start with nothing in this country and takes a while to build up and become successful. Conservatism is a very "me me me" way of thinking. Conservatives basically just want the police and military set up to stop people from trying to take what is "theirs".

Liberals also don't take a lot into consideration. Many conservatives have worked to get to where they are and don't want the government taking it from them. Liberalism is a "equality for all" way of thinking at the expense of the rich. Usually to the extreme though.

I personally believe in a middle ground. Where it is easier for a poor person to become successful if they work hard enough. The rich hate this idea as it would butt in on their earnings.

In a utopian society, which will never work because of human nature, there are no classes and everyone lives equally. It's basically a harmonious society with little to no drama. Socialism strives for a near-utopian society. This can be seen in many European countries and Australia.

We in America are made to believe that Lassiez-faire capitalism is the greatest social structure of them all. This is pure brainwashing by the rich, or as Karl Marx calls them, the "burgeois". I highly recommend reading a summary of the "Communist Manifesto". It is not about communism, but a book about the downsides of capitalism.

If you want to see what capitalism will eventually do to a country, look at the trends for small businesses. This country has one of the highest small business failure rates in the world. The reason is that many cannot compete with corporations. How can a mom&pops store compete with Wal-Mart's prices? They cannot, it is economically impossible.

I have been in many debates with conservatives and in most cases, they turn out to be well off. It makes sense for a person to side with his best interest though. You rarely find someone who will choose what is the best for all people at his own expense.

It is sad, but it is the conservative attitude that will eventually destroy this country. The phrase "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" has never been so true. Many people will argue that people are living better than they ever have, but in reality, they haven't. Americans are plagued with debt and many will be a slave to their debt until the rest of their lives. The poor are getting restless and are becoming tired of the opression. Many middle class people do not see this opression or will turn a blind eye to it. It exists and will one day blow up in the faces of everyone who refuses to see it.

Americans might live in a big home and drive a new car, but they do not own them. The bank owns them. The car company owns them. People are a slave to their debt, so if you think about it, their job owns them.

Conservatives often ask me for a solution to the problem that faces America. What can we do to fix it. The solution is simple in words, but impossible to execute. We must decrease the value of land and regulate how much land a person or corporation can own. This would make it fair for everyone start out. Debt for the average American would decrease considerablly. Small businesses would have an easier time opening and staying open for business. This would kill everything capitalist America represents though.

The middle class, working class, and struggling people of this country need to unite and realize that this country has a serious problem that needs fixing. It will not be fixed by writing to your congressman or picketing outside of your local city hall. You need to get out there and vote in every election. Pick the right choice in 2004. Don't vote for who you think "looks" the most like a leader. Pick the one who will do the best job for everyone, not just a certain few.

If voting doesn't work, we could always have another revolution. :p
 
spektrum, i think you're a good dude, so i hate to see you biting into the communist stuff. i think you are a college student right? it seems common to get sold on the manifesto at that age . . . and by itself theres a lot of good and intriguing ideas in there, but they just don't fly.

but seriously, communism and socialist states don't work. it leads to human suffering and hardship, take a look around the world. even china, the last bastion of communism, they've only managed to revitalize their national outlook by only retaining communism as it was originally laid out under mao in appearance, they've dramaticaly swooped towards free markets. not all socialism is bad, if you read my posts you'll see i'm pretty liberal, but actual communism and ideas out of the manifesto? Marx was a smart guy, but ultimately he was dead wrong about most things and had only a limited grasp of economics as he was writing before a lot of key research and understanding had been published.

all the talk of stages of history, violent revolution, means of production, it's fascinating but it's a limited and poorly realized scenario. for instance, making ownership in the largest corporations publicly available with the market kind of negates marx's whole prerequisite for the means of production shifting hands and so on. i don't want to start rifling through academic points on marx, but he just didn't know enough and his theories aren't sound.

also the business about all conservatives being well off, i wouldn't agree with that either. you're down here in the south like me, go down to po-dunk shit-burgh wherever around where we live and see what the folks think of "lib-ralz." they don't like 'em. at least in my experience. the intellectual power base for leftism is centered in college campuses, independent publishing circles, hollywood to some extent, and environmentalist movements. all these groups carry a certain amount of influence. the stereotypical image of the liberal often portrayed by arch conservatives like o'reilly and hannity is a sissy-necked well-to-do academic who is out of touch with the real world and working people. that's a myth too, but i tend to believe that most liberals populate the middle class and conservatives dominate the extremes on either side.
 
All I know is, I work my ass off and have nothing to show for it. It's not because I waste my money. It's because I do not get paid near enough.

I'm also the owner of a small business and am getting killed by the competition. There is no possible way for me to compete with their prices. It seems like my only choice is to slave away for them making pennies.

That's capitalist america. You don't have to tell me I buy into communist beliefs. I live day to day struggling.

What do you do for a living, if I might ask?
 
oh shit man, i really wasn't trying to pick on you at all, i hope you're not taking it that way. i'm not against people succeeding, i just don't think that communism makes life any better for those struggling. if you look at the bolshevik's they fucked over the peasants the worst, trostky wrote them all out of the equation to make sure they couldn't interfere with the institution of the state, and he thought poor workers were lazy and unreliable without brutal military discipline. now i know soviet communism and marxism ain't the same, famously so, but still, i just tend to believe it sells a lie to the poor.

as for what i do, i don't do anything, i'm a senior in high school. my parents are well-off, my dad is a research MD and my mom consults on bioethics for drug companies. i've had an easy life by all means, but that doesn't mean i automatically side down with capitalism just because it's done fine by me. i'm anything but a free market nut, and america isn't purely capitalist, we've got strong socialist elements and i'm in favor of more.

i believe strongly in government programs to bolster the middle class and help the poor achieve a better position, in other threads i argue vigorously for things like affirmative action, welfare, and various other social programs that are extremely unpopular in a board that is dominated by middle aged white males.

anyway, i didn't mean to insult you in any way, i just naturally like to decry communist philosophies, i'm the type of self-rightous motherfucker that thinks i can always make people see it my way. congratulations on your gains by the way, i'm looking to hike up the girth myself and it was inspirational to see you making strides. as soon as i head off to school and have some more free time and can get a membership on MOS i'll be right there with you.
 
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