The GOP's platform today is just nutso.. they've swung so far right I doubt Eisenhower would recognize them at all...

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/eridani/449

I think the first sentence sums it up perfectly

Although the 1956 republicans sound slightly more progressive than the 2010 Democrats

Eisenhower was just fine with 91% top marginal rates.  Let them re-invest it in the company instead of doling out zillions to nose-picking executives for bonus compensation. 

Ike won the war.  His ideas carried a lot of weight and his instructions even more.  He had the respect of the American people in a way no post-1960s president is likely to get. 

Ike wasn't out of office for four years before they picked Goldwater, who was a fruitcake, but still moderate compared to some Repubs today. 

Nobody was intending to half to go up against LBJ in '64.  JFK was a whole different ballgame.  If you wanna beat a real mean sonofabitch (LBJ), then you gotta work on tactics to beat a nasty political bulwark who had no trouble running mudslinging.  I think they anticipated JFK's reelection more as a coronation.  Wouldn't it have been great if Nixon had decided to run against JFK in '64, then gets his ass trounced.  Then he doesn't come back and bother us four years later.

Well, Doc says I can't go changing any of those things.  We're not supposed to alter the course of history. 
:(

The GOP's platform today is just nutso.. they've swung so far right I doubt Eisenhower would recognize them at all...

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/eridani/449


That;s why J.P. Stevens is now considered a liberal

The Republican mindset of today is essentially a platform of beliefs which if applied would return us to 1910 both socially and in terms of health, safety, regulations, etc. I go on Republican boards. Many of them are pretty much Laissez Faire enthusiasts. They'd be happy if we could strip all regulations and return to a time when discrimination was legal state by state and labor laws didn't exist.

The GOP/Tea Party now is becoming more and more rabid and angry day by day and more and more right wing. They've merged into some kind of Reaganite-Bircher-Social/Fiscal Conservative/Theocrat nightmare. They don't even care about terrorism, they only view communists as the enemy. It's like they're stuck in some sort of time warp.

It's scary.

And this...  my friends....  is why I'm eventually moving to Canada.  They have multiple sane parties, unlike us.

The Republican mindset of today is essentially a platform of beliefs which if applied would return us to 1910 both socially and in terms of health, safety, regulations, etc. I go on Republican boards. Many of them are pretty much Laissez Faire enthusiasts. They'd be happy if we could strip all regulations and return to a time when discrimination was legal state by state and labor laws didn't exist.

The GOP/Tea Party now is becoming more and more rabid and angry day by day and more and more right wing. They've merged into some kind of Reaganite-Bircher-Social/Fiscal Conservative/Theocrat nightmare. They don't even care about terrorism, they only view communists as the enemy. It's like they're stuck in some sort of time warp.

It's scary.


And yet... the Republican Party stands to make MAJOR GAINS in the Senate and the House in the November electionsm due to voter dissatisfaction with how the Dems have stewarded their majority positions in both houses, and the Presidency.

Seems that it is today's Dems that are out of touch with the voters...

And yet... the Republican Party stands to make MAJOR GAINS in the Senate and the House in the November electionsm due to voter dissatisfaction with how the Dems have stewarded their majority positions in both houses, and the Presidency.

Seems that it is today's Dems that are out of touch with the voters...


heh... if only.  The voters are upset the politicians couldn't wave a magic wand and fix all the mistakes from the last 8 years in two weeks.  It's not Democrats that are in danger, it's incumbents.  The Dems have the majority, so they are the ones that are going to stand to lose the most seats.

If the Dems could unite like the Republicans and get on message that the party that took a budget surplus and left us with 1.2 trillion in debt after 8 years is the least qualified party to discuss budgets and fiscal responsibility, I doubt the Dems would be in that much danger.

And yet... the Republican Party stands to make MAJOR GAINS in the Senate and the House in the November electionsm due to voter dissatisfaction with how the Dems have stewarded their majority positions in both houses, and the Presidency.

Seems that it is today's Dems that are out of touch with the voters...


If people voted their own interests...we'd have a revolution!
8)

I'm reminded of a quote that hung (possibly still does) on the wall of my high school law classroom: "here we go by majority rule, and if the majority are insane the sane must go to the asylum."

I think it was by Horace Mann but not sure

And yet... the Republican Party stands to make MAJOR GAINS in the Senate and the House in the November electionsm due to voter dissatisfaction with how the Dems have stewarded their majority positions in both houses, and the Presidency.

Seems that it is today's Dems that are out of touch with the voters...


Here's how American politics work.  Whoever is in power gets continuously berated by the "liberal" media.  It doesn't matter which party it is.  All that matters is that complaining is constant.  Bush got blamed for everything when he was in office, and now, Obama faces this same burden.  Republicans faced this when they had Congress, and now the Democrats face it.

If the Republicans do make major gains in Congress this November, then by 2012, the complaints will be split between Obama and the Republicans.

This all comes back to the simple fact that complaining is much easier to do than to present solutions.  The media and the public bitch about everything, but rarely do you hear them actually come up with a viable alternative.  The same goes for political opposition.

Here's how American politics work.  Whoever is in power gets continuously berated by the "liberal" media.  It doesn't matter which party it is.  All that matters is that complaining is constant.  Bush got blamed for everything when he was in office, and now, Obama faces this same burden.  Republicans faced this when they had Congress, and now the Democrats face it.

If the Republicans do make major gains in Congress this November, then by 2012, the complaints will be split between Obama and the Republicans.

This all comes back to the simple fact that complaining is much easier to do than to present solutions.  The media and the public bitch about everything, but rarely do you hear them actually come up with a viable alternative.  The same goes for political opposition.



One of the benefits of being an outsider -- such as Obama -- is you've had less time to get your hands dirty.*  So they're trying to pin the responsibility on Obama, but the charges ain't sticking. 

*And when your hands get dirty, nobody knows you at all!"
--Talking Heads

Here's how American politics work.  Whoever is in power gets continuously berated by the "liberal" media.  It doesn't matter which party it is.  All that matters is that complaining is constant.  Bush got blamed for everything when he was in office, and now, Obama faces this same burden.  Republicans faced this when they had Congress, and now the Democrats face it.

If the Republicans do make major gains in Congress this November, then by 2012, the complaints will be split between Obama and the Republicans.

This all comes back to the simple fact that complaining is much easier to do than to present solutions.  The media and the public bitch about everything, but rarely do you hear them actually come up with a viable alternative.  The same goes for political opposition.



But as H.L. Mencken put it, the job of the media is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable

But as H.L. Mencken put it, the job of the media is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable


Taking cues from the political class, the commercial media reversed Mencken to afflict the afflicted, comfort the comfortable, and promote consumerism. 

News divisions on network television always frequently lost money, but part of the FCC charter was to provide public service, including news on current events.  If the bubbleheads thought Cronkite was boring, they didn't have to watch.  After Reagan got rid of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, it was open season on hard news.  News was quickly marketed as entertainment and "infotainment" became a buzzword.  Scandal, sensationialism, and celebrity gossip supplanted money-losing objective reports on economics and political policy domestic and foreign.  Rush Limbaugh went national in 1988 and Fox News premiered in 1996, following a trend in media to help the rich and powerful feel good about themselves and suckers from the middle and working classes to feel good about the rich and powerful.  Such sentiment gave the right wing great influence on the nation's psyche. 

In 2000, the Republicans stole the presidential election with the aid of SCOTUS.  The right wing media told us Bush won fair and square.  The so-called "liberal" media said they smelled a rat, but, come on, it's not worth pursuing.  Don't be sore losers just because the other guys cheated!  A few eloquent voices -- such as journalist Greg Palast and attorney Vincent Bugliosi -- made the case for throwing out the results and impeaching the Supreme Court justices, but the rest of the media dismissed them as loonies or simply ignored them altogether.

The counterrevolution against representative democracy was complete.  George III would have been proud!
::)

Funny the leftits or liberals on this thread say the Repubs are too conservative but tell me are Republicans like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, George Voniovich, and Scott Brown that extremely right-wing? I don;t think so. Even a few years ago the Republicans had moderates like Norm Coleman and Gordon Smith in the US Senate.

I tallked about this a few months ago too I mean the Repubs might have moderates like John Hooeven, Mark Kirk, and Mike Castle in the US Senate in 2011.

Taking cues from the political class, the commercial media reversed Mencken to afflict the afflicted, comfort the comfortable, and promote consumerism. 

News divisions on network television always frequently lost money, but part of the FCC charter was to provide public service, including news on current events.  If the bubbleheads thought Cronkite was boring, they didn't have to watch.  After Reagan got rid of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, it was open season on hard news.  News was quickly marketed as entertainment and "infotainment" became a buzzword.  Scandal, sensationialism, and celebrity gossip supplanted money-losing objective reports on economics and political policy domestic and foreign.  Rush Limbaugh went national in 1988 and Fox News premiered in 1996, following a trend in media to help the rich and powerful feel good about themselves and suckers from the middle and working classes to feel good about the rich and powerful.  Such sentiment gave the right wing great influence on the nation's psyche. 

In 2000, the Republicans stole the presidential election with the aid of SCOTUS.  The right wing media told us Bush won fair and square.  The so-called "liberal" media said they smelled a rat, but, come on, it's not worth pursuing.  Don't be sore losers just because the other guys cheated!  A few eloquent voices -- such as journalist Greg Palast and attorney Vincent Bugliosi -- made the case for throwing out the results and impeaching the Supreme Court justices, but the rest of the media dismissed them as loonies or simply ignored them altogether.

The counterrevolution against representative democracy was complete.   George III would have been proud!
::)
Funny Max, you mention FOX but forgot about MSNBC, hmmmm!

heh... if only.  The voters are upset the politicians couldn't wave a magic wand and fix all the mistakes from the last 8 years in two weeks.  It's not Democrats that are in danger, it's incumbents.  The Dems have the majority, so they are the ones that are going to stand to lose the most seats.

If the Dems could unite like the Republicans and get on message that the party that took a budget surplus and left us with 1.2 trillion in debt after 8 years is the least qualified party to discuss budgets and fiscal responsibility, I doubt the Dems would be in that much danger.
Uh, Max, uh I would expect you to be a little more political savvy knowing you. The Clinton Budget Surplus was made under a Republican Congress but thanks for not mentioning that! Under then House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Republican Floor Leader Trent Lott spending from 1995-1999 only went up by 3% each year!

You say 1.3 trillion dollar debt after 8 years well I think 700 billion of that was TARP which should be mostly paid back by now. So the actual debt was like 500 billion under W.

Funny Max, you mention FOX but forgot about MSNBC, hmmmm!


MSNBC only hired anchors such as Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann when there was an obvious market for a primetime counter-Fox News.  It was a business decision.  It's all sponsored by the same financial services, car companies, oil firms, dog food brands, and what have you.  MSNBC still features "Morning Joe" with Joe Scarborough -- a right-wing Republican former congressman from Florida. 

You can hear progressive radio programs in my area, such as Thom Hartmann, Stephanie Miller,  Randi Rhodes (who is annoying), and RFK, Jr., because I happen to live in an extremely liberal pocket of America.  However, out in the middle of Indiana or Nebraska, it's ALL Rush Limbaugh, William Bennett, Oliver North, etc.  The sort of far-right swill that pervades ClearChannel is was considered whacko by conservatives in the 1970s.  It's either that or endless Christian Right indoctrination. 

The wingnuts always argue, "But this is what the free market demands!"  Come on, we ALL grew up watching endless television commercials: Don't think about what you want with your own brains, we'll TELL you what you want!!! 

Limbaugh and FOX News were forced down the throats of the American people.  I was there, I watched it happen.

Um, as to your remarks on the budget, you were actually responding to ChuckyG, so I will defer to Sir Charles for a rebuttal.
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/07/pfiade.gif

You say 1.3 trillion dollar debt after 8 years well I think 700 billion of that was TARP which should be mostly paid back by now. So the actual debt was like 500 billion under W.


The two wars have cost over one trillion under GW's watch (not including the costs since he left).  I haven't seen a breakdown that says that if TARP is fully repaid (which we know it won't be) will reduce the deficit, but I was seeing the 1 trillion dollar deficit numbers even before TARP was announced.  I assume that since TARP is considered a loan that it's not considered part of the deficit numbers until those loans actually default.  So it's entirely possible the numbers will be higher once those loans default.

MSNBC only hired anchors such as Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann when there was an obvious market for a primetime counter-Fox News.  It was a business decision.  It's all sponsored by the same financial services, car companies, oil firms, dog food brands, and what have you.  MSNBC still features "Morning Joe" with Joe Scarborough -- a right-wing Republican former congressman from Florida. 

You can hear progressive radio programs in my area, such as Thom Hartmann, Stephanie Miller,  Randi Rhodes (who is annoying), and RFK, Jr., because I happen to live in an extremely liberal pocket of America.  However, out in the middle of Indiana or Nebraska, it's ALL Rush Limbaugh, William Bennett, Oliver North, etc.  The sort of far-right swill that pervades ClearChannel is was considered whacko by conservatives in the 1970s.  It's either that or endless Christian Right indoctrination. 

The wingnuts always argue, "But this is what the free market demands!"  Come on, we ALL grew up watching endless television commercials: Don't think about what you want with your own brains, we'll TELL you what you want!!! 

Limbaugh and FOX News were forced down he throats of the American people.  I was there, I watched it happen.


Um, as to your remarks on the budget, you were actually responding to ChuckyG, so I will defer to Sir Charles for a rebuttal.
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/07/pfiade.gif

Yeah I know you live in Massachusetts I think. Well, Nebraska thats mostly conservative. I don;t think Indiana is that conservative political idealogy wise of a state though. I mean Obama did win Indiana 50%-49% in 2008 although he was the first democratic presidental candidate to win Indiana since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

I don't really listen to Rush or Oliver North though. I like Bill Bennent though when he is on TV.

Funny the leftits or liberals on this thread say the Repubs are too conservative but tell me are Republicans like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, George Voniovich, and Scott Brown that extremely right-wing? I don;t think so. Even a few years ago the Republicans had moderates like Norm Coleman and Gordon Smith in the US Senate.

I tallked about this a few months ago too I mean the Repubs might have moderates like John Hooeven, Mark Kirk, and Mike Castle in the US Senate in 2011.



Yeah, these guys might be moderate compared with the rest of the GOP, but the party is going its best to get rid of them, and they usually tow the party line while talking the moderate talk.  So even if they are moderates, they are still obstructionists, like with extending unemployment bennies

Yeah, these guys might be moderate compared with the rest of the GOP, but the party is going its best to get rid of them, and they usually tow the party line while talking the moderate talk.  So even if they are moderates, they are still obstructionists, like with extending unemployment bennies
The Dems want to push out moderates too like Blanche Lincoln and you guys want Max Baucus, and Mary Landrieu gone too. I say watch out too both parties because if you don;t  have moderates running in both parties(Dems and Repubs) your gonna have more Lincoln Chafee types running as independents!!

Wait...the Dems were the ones who voted for  pay-go down party lines and than they wanted to extend un-employment benefits without paying for it.  The Dems like Dick Durbin and Sherrod Brown are talking out of both sides of their mouths!

Here's a lesson for the Dems you can't spend more than you take in...California anybody?? THe Repubs found out this the hard way when they lost in 2006 and 2008 badly!

Yeah I know you live in Massachusetts I think.


The Pioneer Valley, specifically Hampshire County, is liberal compared to most of Massachusetts.  We're one of a few areas that went heavily for Coakley to replace the Late Ted Kennedy.  Scott Brown (R-MA) won that race.  However, in towns such as Amherst, or Cambridge out near Boston, Coakley won 84% of the vote.  Amherst and Cambridge are both surrounded by prestigious institutions of higher learning.  That tells you what you want it to tell you.

Gov. Bill Weld was a prime example of a Massachusetts Republican.  He leaned liberal for social issues and conservative for economic issues.  He was libertarian when it favored the rich.  The fact that the Democrat running for governor in 1990, John Silber, president of BU, was pro-life/anti-choice cost the Dems that election.
::)