No Matter Who You Are Tell Me When You Think Our Current Form of Government Became Dysfunctional?

[Anonymous]

Was it with Nixon? Jimmy Carter? Trickle Down Economics? The New Deal under FDR? Hillary, Bill, W, James Madison?

[Anonymous]

Southern stratigy

[Anonymous]

Citizens United. Full stop. Money isn't speech, I don't care what SCOTUS says. It lets the Kock brothers spend tens of millions of dollars on sketchy PACs, and essentially buy congressmen and the President . Who are government officials going to listen to? Them and their multi-million donation or the 10,000 Americans who can donate $100 each? Citizens United gives a select few Americans enormous power in government.

Federal elections should be funded through our tax dollars, with no one able to donate more than a nominal amount.

[Anonymous]

When Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine. This gave birth to Fox, a right wing propaganda network. The people are misinformed and tricked on Fox and don't know fact from fiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Citizens United. Full stop. Money isn't speech, I don't care what SCOTUS says. It lets the Kock brothers spend tens of millions of dollars on sketchy PACs, and essentially buy congressmen and the President . Who are government officials going to listen to? Them and their multi-million donation or the 10,000 Americans who can donate $100 each? Citizens United gives a select few Americans enormous power in government.

Federal elections should be funded through our tax dollars, with no one able to donate more than a nominal amount.

Citizens United has you up in arms, but confiscating union dues from workers and having union goons throwing those confiscated dollars (against the will of workers who EARNED those dollars) towards democrat candidates is OK, right??? Tell me more!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine. This gave birth to Fox, a right wing propaganda network. The people are misinformed and tricked on Fox and don't know fact from fiction.

Are you telling me there was a doctrine that hindered freedom of the press until Reagan did away with it? Bravo to Ronald Reagan.

[Anonymous]

This thread is going to be a must-check in. The perspective of some people is hilarious.

I had no idea Republicans were the only ones that used actual money for their campaigns, that's amazing!

Do Democrats require just cupcakes and warm hugs to pay for their ads, literature and manpower?

[Anonymous]

When news became 24/7 cable ready and OpEds were not limited to editors and editorial boards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Citizens United. Full stop. Money isn't speech, I don't care what SCOTUS says. It lets the Kock brothers spend tens of millions of dollars on sketchy PACs, and essentially buy congressmen and the President . Who are government officials going to listen to? Them and their multi-million donation or the 10,000 Americans who can donate $100 each? Citizens United gives a select few Americans enormous power in government.

Federal elections should be funded through our tax dollars, with no one able to donate more than a nominal amount.

Citizens United has you up in arms, but confiscating union dues from workers and having union goons throwing those confiscated dollars (against the will of workers who EARNED those dollars) towards democrat candidates is OK, right??? Tell me more!

Nope. I'm in a federal union and pay dues, but it is right to work. I do not believe in mandating union membership, and I am fine with the fact I choose to pay dues and some people don't. My union has done good work for me, like our new telework agreement, and I believe in supporting that. But other people might not, and that's fine. If enough poeople don't think the union is worth the dues, the union will cease to exist.

And to the extent people choose belong to unions, I believe the unions should focus on improving their working conditions and not on raising or donating money to anyone, of either party. I can choose who to donate to myself. I don't need the union to make that call for me.

But nice ASSumption.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Citizens United. Full stop. Money isn't speech, I don't care what SCOTUS says. It lets the Kock brothers spend tens of millions of dollars on sketchy PACs, and essentially buy congressmen and the President . Who are government officials going to listen to? Them and their multi-million donation or the 10,000 Americans who can donate $100 each? Citizens United gives a select few Americans enormous power in government.

Federal elections should be funded through our tax dollars, with no one able to donate more than a nominal amount.

This.

With social media and televised debates, there's no need for the cross country dog and pony show.

[Anonymous]

And yet, the choice to not join the union is not always there, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine. This gave birth to Fox, a right wing propaganda network. The people are misinformed and tricked on Fox and don't know fact from fiction.

Agree

[Anonymous]

Tipping point? I think after the 2010 Midterms when any semblance of trying to enact policy went out the window in Congress. Since then, US government has been in complete dysfunction mode.

Key Contributing factors?
- Post-Reconstruction Era backlash and enactment of Jim Crow
- McCarthyism
- Southern Strategy
- Grover Norquist anti-tax extremism
- Contract with America and rise of Congressional Republican brinksmanship
- Iraq vote as litmus test for Democrats
- Citizens United and rise of TEA Party (esp. post Obamacare Town Hall demonstrations)

Ultimately, though, I think every single thing boils down to the lingering unresolved issues from slavery. Not the lingering racism which is rampant in most Western democracies, but many unresolved issues post slavery. While I think most Americans are unconflicted about the moral benefits of ending slavery, we have never fully grappled with the philosophical meaning of Federalism from a social or economic standpoint. Racism is part of the legacy, but so is fighting over the welfare state, corporatism, wealth inequality, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine. This gave birth to Fox, a right wing propaganda network. The people are misinformed and tricked on Fox and don't know fact from fiction.

Agree

Why didn't Obama and the veto proof Democratic majority reinstate it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tipping point? I think after the 2010 Midterms when any semblance of trying to enact policy went out the window in Congress. Since then, US government has been in complete dysfunction mode.

Key Contributing factors?
- Post-Reconstruction Era backlash and enactment of Jim Crow
- McCarthyism
- Southern Strategy
- Grover Norquist anti-tax extremism
- Contract with America and rise of Congressional Republican brinksmanship
- Iraq vote as litmus test for Democrats
- Citizens United and rise of TEA Party (esp. post Obamacare Town Hall demonstrations)

Ultimately, though, I think every single thing boils down to the lingering unresolved issues from slavery. Not the lingering racism which is rampant in most Western democracies, but many unresolved issues post slavery. While I think most Americans are unconflicted about the moral benefits of ending slavery, we have never fully grappled with the philosophical meaning of Federalism from a social or economic standpoint. Racism is part of the legacy, but so is fighting over the welfare state, corporatism, wealth inequality, etc.

Agree with much of this and was going to bring up Grover Norquist specifically. But I think it started in 1994, and turned worse in 2010. Gingrich becoming Speaker and the crowd that was elected that year was the beginning of the end of bipartisan cooperation in Congress.