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What are Republicans so "scared" of?
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Anonymous
It seems like pure free market capitalism has not been working for us lately. Personally, I think that ethics and responsibility were pushed to the wayside and greed and unethical, irresponsible dealings took over. I am all for more government regulation at this point. It seems like lenders, banks, borrowers, etc. haven't done a very good job of regulating themselves. |
Anonymous
I wouild add to the above reposne the fact that Clinton left behind the largest budget surplusi n history. Bush left behind the largest deficit. Democrats have been more fiscally conservative in recent decades. They also support capitalism (despite the riduculous "socialsim" rhetoric comeing from some fear-mongering corners of the Republican party. A recent study by a Johns Hopkins Univ professor demonstrates that even Wall Street grows faster under the Democrats (there is a thread, started by me, a couple of weeks ago ont his forum: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30410.page#193535). It is time that the Republicans take a hard look at the economic facts over thepast few decades. If it is fiscal conservatism and growing markets that you want, vote Democratic! |
Anonymous
The above bears emphasis. I think people tend to gloss over facts that they disagree with. |
Anonymous
A lot of Republicans have been saying the same thing (including my husband). I think it was Bill Bennett on CNN who said on election night that Republicans used to be known for national security and being fiscally conservative, but that Bush basically blew that away and the left the party in a shambles. In order to make the party strong again, they need to get back to that again. |
Anonymous
| Yes, a lot of the "scared" stories are about issues on which there is no hard evidence that Obama would do anything harmful. If people think that his tax policies are socialist, i wonder how they think they fared economically under Clinton versus Bush? Most of Obama's tax plan is just a return to the Clinton years, when our economy prospered. Hardly socialism. On Constitutional issues, Obama is one of the foremost legal experts on Constitutional Law. I wonder whether Bush ever used it for anything other than toilet paper? Big versus small government? How about smart government, which is what Obama is talking about. National Security? Diplomacy is one of the most important tolls in our national security arsenal. Unfortunately, with the Bush Doctrine in force, I have never felt less secure as an individual. While I agree that we had to come down hard against terrorism after 9/11, the chosen response since then, especially in Iraq, was to create terrorist sentimetn where there was none). I have yet to find any of the Republican arguments against Obama as very compelling. Perhaps with the exception of ardent pro-lifers. I am pro-chice and the issue can be a deal breaker for me so I understand that it may be for others on the other side of the issue. |
Anonymous
| I am not scared, but I am a bit uneasy. I worry about the people who follow Obama in a cultish kind of way. Many see him as some sort of a profit, and I can see how easy it would be to take advantage of that standing. |
Anonymous
I could say the same for the Sarah Palin groupies, like the stupid housewives who say, "She's just like me." |
Anonymous
I am the PP immediately above you. I am an Obama supporter but understand your "cultish" remark. I don't think that many people would use the word prophet, but I think there is a strong feeling that he is a "transformational" figure, meaning somebody who genuinely believes in positive change for the better (whether you agree with al his policies or not). He is one of the most inspirational political speakers that we have had in the past decades and has motivated a lot of young people to dedicate their time to charity or community based activities. Even if you are right, I am not sure how he could really "take advantage" of the situation - he does not appear to think himself to be a "prophet" - just an ordinary guy, with a desire to do some good in the world, and has proven from his actions that he believes it can happen from the bottom up, not the top down. |
Anonymous
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Beyond the fact that Obama is a charismatic speaker, I think the high expectations are part of our process, in which we get so emotional about elections that we tend to convince ourselves that our guy is wonderful and the other guy is a disaster.
I don't have any great ideas how to accomplish it, but I would like to see the process more closely resemble a dispassionate study of qualifications than a crowd at a wrestling match. |
Anonymous
This is so not true - the idea of expanding the paying people to work (EIC) so that the bottom 50% of the population pays no income taxes to me is just wrong. A PP stated it pretty well when s/he said that all citizens need some skin in the game. There is zero incentive for all citizens to support responsible government spending when 50% don't contribute (or get held up for depending on your POV) to the income taxes that fund government. To say that 'they do pay taxes' is a red herring - the Federal govt is not in the business, or at lease should not be in the business, of paying folks back for their sales taxes, motor vehicle registration taxes, fuel taxes or property taxes. I personally think income tax rates will have to rise just to pay for the various Fall '08 bailouts - and I would prefer that our higher taxes be paying down debt rather than turning around and paying the increased revenues to other citizens who are outside the liability boundaries. I guess that is what makes me a fiscal conservative. |
Anonymous
Obama will appoint liberal justices to replace liberal justices. Status quo. |
Anonymous
It never ceases to amaze me how many people are just willfully ignorant. Democrats are not socialists. You will likely have MORE of a tax cut under Obama than you would have had under McCain (unless you are very wealthy). The welfare state comment is just ridiculous. |
jsteele
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Interesting that you didn't acknowledge that these individuals do pay payroll taxes which are the taxes most relevant to the discussion. Despite your efforts to isolate income taxes from all other taxes, the fact remains that the recipients will still be net tax payers. Moreover, as consumers of government services and spending, we all have an interest in responsible spending whether we pay taxes or not. You don't have to pay taxes to understand that its a mistake to fund an unnecessary war while our bridges collapse beneath us. |
Anonymous
Well that's a relief. At least he's not filling up the bench with more conservatives. |
Anonymous
And, it turns out, "Joe the Plumber", the poster child for the "Obama's a socialist who wants to take my money and spread it around" crowd, was the recipient of welfare TWICE as a child -- and says it was a good and helpful thing for his family. But it was OK for his family to accept that kind of wealth spreading, I guess, because they were using it, not abusing it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7x0YyLDono&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/ |