Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an atheist. I believe in capitalism and free markets. I abhor the military-industrial complex. I'm concerned about human-induced climate change. I want lower taxes and somewhat less government. I support universal access to abortions, within some minor logical constraints. I feel like the LGBTQIA+ movement gets too much airtime and we don't need to bend over backwards for trans people. I despise trump and all the MAGA scum (because that's what they are). That said, I'd like to stop the flow of illegals across the southern border. I'd also love to see us allow in many more talented, educated people from all over world.

What do you think? After re-reading the above, I feel like I should probably vote republican, but i just hate most republican politicians!

If you despise both parties, you should vote for neither. We're in the toxic and messy political environment we're in because for too long people have been voting for their perceived lesser of two evils put forth by the R or D Party. That practice has given us a lower overall quality of people leading our Federal Government. If you don't think the person you are considering voting for is among the absolutely best of the best candidates for the position, don't vote for them. That methodology would surely rule out Trump and Biden. By continually meeting voter turn out expectations and by 98% of us continuing to vote for nothing but R and D candidates, the two parties are continually being rewarded for their less than ideal candidates and therefore they have no incentive to change for the better.

We are in this mess because of bothsides clowns like yourself.

We are in this mess when people like you and OP can look rationally at the Democratic Party and the Republican Party and their policies and actions and think for even a second that these two parties are remotely the same.

We’re in the mess because people like you who bothsides everything continually vote for Republicans no matter what crap they pull because if both parties are both the same better just move with the herd, right?

We have one functional party and one party that is, on several levels, trying to destroy the government. All of you who profess to hate both parties continually cite right wing talking points about the Democratic Party as to why you hate the Democrats, and not a one of you has any self awareness that you are just regurgitating right wing talking points that have no or minimal basis in reality.

So I guess just keep going on the way you are bothsiders. We certainly have a functioning government that’s totally not being held hostage both in Congress and in military appointments by the GOP and none of our soldiers are in any danger and there are zero humanitarian crises ongoing. So just lie back, relax and think of the flag as you vote Republican.

No one is claiming that both parties are "remotely the same". They are not the same. However, they do share one obvious thing in common- they are both complete and utter failures. Why? One party is so terrible that they nominated Donald J Trump to run for president on their party ticket twice!! The other party is so dysfunctional that they lost an election to Donald J Trump and then followed that up by losing 232 electoral votes to him in the next election!! These failures are unacceptable. If you are okay with these failures, you have different values compared to most of the rest of us Americans.

I'm an atheist. [Democrat]

I believe in capitalism and free markets. [Depends. Unfettered capitalism and free markets to benefit the billionaire? Then R. Ok with regulation and some controls? D. ]

I abhor the military-industrial complex. [Neither]

I'm concerned about human-induced climate change. [D. Existential issue]

I want lower taxes and somewhat less government. [Wash. Rs lower taxes for the rich and "less government" depends on the issue -- they are fine w/more government for things like abortions.]

I support universal access to abortions, within some minor logical constraints. [D, no contest.]

I feel like the LGBTQIA+ movement gets too much airtime and we don't need to bend over backwards for trans people. [But does this really in any way have any impact on your day to day life other than you feel icky about it? Why is this a big deal?]

I despise trump and all the MAGA scum (because that's what they are). [D]

That said, I'd like to stop the flow of illegals across the southern border. I'd also love to see us allow in many more talented, educated people from all over world. [Democrats have actually done a marginally better job on this than Rs, and thats a fact.]

What do you think? After re-reading the above, I feel like I should probably vote republican, but i just hate most republican politicians! [Obviously you should vote D; why is this even an issue.]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food for thought.

Journalist Bari Weiss, a […]

Bari Weiss is as much a Democrat as Liz Cheney. The Jerusalem Post refers to her as an “outspoken conservative.”

Do you work for corporate conservative media or something that you feel the need to misrepresent a Republican as a Democrat?

You don't recognize her as a traditional liberal Democrat because the Democrat party has moved so far left.
That is why she says she has been "left homeless."

I don’t recognize her as a Democrat because she’s an outspoken conservative. I am really sick of people like you who want to lie about people and also ignore that the GOP is a cesspool of fascists and stupid people. She’s a registered Independent, FFS. https://www.ft.com/content/5df58d12-935c-462b-81a0-50960c1ebf75 That means she’s not a Democrat, FYI. She’s your useful tool.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food for thought.

Journalist Bari Weiss, a […]

Bari Weiss is as much a Democrat as Liz Cheney. The Jerusalem Post refers to her as an “outspoken conservative.”

Do you work for corporate conservative media or something that you feel the need to misrepresent a Republican as a Democrat?

You don't recognize her as a traditional liberal Democrat because the Democrat party has moved so far left.
That is why she says she has been "left homeless."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food for thought.

Journalist Bari Weiss, a […]

Bari Weiss is as much a Democrat as Liz Cheney. The Jerusalem Post refers to her as an “outspoken conservative.”

Do you work for corporate conservative media or something that you feel the need to misrepresent a Republican as a Democrat?

No one identifies as Republican or Democrat anymore. Those terms have become insults.

Anonymous wrote:Food for thought.

Journalist Bari Weiss, a […]

Bari Weiss is as much a Democrat as Liz Cheney. The Jerusalem Post refers to her as an “outspoken conservative.”

Do you work for corporate conservative media or something that you feel the need to misrepresent a Republican as a Democrat?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an atheist. I believe in capitalism and free markets. I abhor the military-industrial complex. I'm concerned about human-induced climate change. I want lower taxes and somewhat less government. I support universal access to abortions, within some minor logical constraints. I feel like the LGBTQIA+ movement gets too much airtime and we don't need to bend over backwards for trans people. I despise trump and all the MAGA scum (because that's what they are). That said, I'd like to stop the flow of illegals across the southern border. I'd also love to see us allow in many more talented, educated people from all over world.

What do you think? After re-reading the above, I feel like I should probably vote republican, but i just hate most republican politicians!

If you despise both parties, you should vote for neither. We're in the toxic and messy political environment we're in because for too long people have been voting for their perceived lesser of two evils put forth by the R or D Party. That practice has given us a lower overall quality of people leading our Federal Government. If you don't think the person you are considering voting for is among the absolutely best of the best candidates for the position, don't vote for them. That methodology would surely rule out Trump and Biden. By continually meeting voter turn out expectations and by 98% of us continuing to vote for nothing but R and D candidates, the two parties are continually being rewarded for their less than ideal candidates and therefore they have no incentive to change for the better.

We are in this mess because of bothsides clowns like yourself.

We are in this mess when people like you and OP can look rationally at the Democratic Party and the Republican Party and their policies and actions and think for even a second that these two parties are remotely the same.

We’re in the mess because people like you who bothsides everything continually vote for Republicans no matter what crap they pull because if both parties are both the same better just move with the herd, right?

We have one functional party and one party that is, on several levels, trying to destroy the government. All of you who profess to hate both parties continually cite right wing talking points about the Democratic Party as to why you hate the Democrats, and not a one of you has any self awareness that you are just regurgitating right wing talking points that have no or minimal basis in reality.

So I guess just keep going on the way you are bothsiders. We certainly have a functioning government that’s totally not being held hostage both in Congress and in military appointments by the GOP and none of our soldiers are in any danger and there are zero humanitarian crises ongoing. So just lie back, relax and think of the flag as you vote Republican.

If you despise both parties, pick the one that is not trying to overthrow your country. Simple.

Food for thought.

Journalist Bari Weiss, a Jewish liberal who quit the New York Times over its anti-Semitism, writes:

”As a Democrat who has been left homeless, who is now definitely in the center but probably leaning increasingly right, I am left yet again with an appreciation, despite the messenger, of the message of the Trump administration because what those guys did was pretty incredible in hindsight.”

“So much of the work that happened in that [Trump] administration turns out to have been right. And that’s what is so frustrating for me. The work on the border wall? We didn’t like the messenger, so we killed the message. Turned out it was right. Issuing long-term debt to refinance when rates were at zero? We didn’t like the messenger, so we killed the message. A structural peace in the Middle East? We didn’t like the messenger, so we killed the message.”

“When are we gonna stop shooting ourselves in the foot? And when are we going to actually see and take the time to look past who is saying things and actually listen to them word for word?”

“If it’s clear that the last two weeks have been a wake-up call, the next question is: Why?”

“Part of the answer is the sheer depravity of Hamas’s terrorism. That depravity has made the justification and celebration of their acts by those who police pronouns that much starker. The contradictions and moral bankruptcy of a worldview that spends years worrying about microaggressions and tone policing, but can’t decide what side it is on after the beheading of babies, aren’t exactly difficult to spot.”

“To put it another way: when Black Lives Matter organizations are lionizing Islamist terrorists by posting a paraglider logo, you’d be a fool not to reassess things.”

“The events of the last week have shattered the illusion that wokeness is about protecting victims and standing up for persecuted minorities. This ideology is and has always been about the one thing many of us have told you it is about for years: power.

“And after the last two weeks, there can be no doubt about how these people will use any power they seize: they will seek to destroy, in any way they can, those who disagree.”

Anonymous wrote:I'm an atheist. I believe in capitalism and free markets. I abhor the military-industrial complex. I'm concerned about human-induced climate change. I want lower taxes and somewhat less government. I support universal access to abortions, within some minor logical constraints. I feel like the LGBTQIA+ movement gets too much airtime and we don't need to bend over backwards for trans people. I despise trump and all the MAGA scum (because that's what they are). That said, I'd like to stop the flow of illegals across the southern border. I'd also love to see us allow in many more talented, educated people from all over world.

What do you think? After re-reading the above, I feel like I should probably vote republican, but i just hate most republican politicians!

You understand, where the bolded is concerned, that the democrats take a more libertarian view of LGBTQ+ and that by passing laws making, for example gay marriage legal, they are just leveling the playing field for everyone. It is the right that has taken the moralist "marriage is between a man and a woman" stance and has given these issues the airtime that you seem to disfavor. Same with the idea that it takes therapy and medical procedures to affect a gender transition, and that it is the right, on moral grounds, that is making an issue of what should be a private issue between a person and their doctor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The next election is about one thing, OP. How do feel about democracy? Is it important to you? Or would you be cool with supporting an authoritarian transition?

Unbelievable.

It is unbelievable but it’s where we are. Democracy is having knock down drag out fights but then when the voting happens - accepting the outcomes, sharpening your message, building broader coalitions, and coming back to fight another day. If we agreed on nothing else as Americans, we have accepted this. But MAGA has upended this fundamental axiom. That is what the basis of election denial is - the election didn’t go your way so pretend something was wrong with the election. It’s natural for people to be upset and to look for reasons that their candidate lost - I was upset in 2016 so I understand the urge. But pro-democracy candidates, even when sad/angry etc, will accept the results for the good of the democratic system. And that action on their part will keep their supporters in line.

We see it happening again in the intra party fighting in the House. The ultra right wing do not have the votes to control the House. But they cannot accept that outcome. So they try to upend it by removing McCarthy and then pressuring people to vote for Jordan (nobody was threatened for not voting for Scalise).

If we want to keep democracy, MAGA has to be crushed. Because it’s authoritarian in nature. Then you can go back to thinking about the policies that matter to you (abortion, taxes, whatever).

In your opinion, what is the correct method for ensuring election integrity, and what should be done if interference is suspected?

What they're already doing...keeping paper ballots so that a hand recount can eliminate any errors potentially introduced by voting machines. There will always be a few "dead people voting" which is not actual fraud - just people who vote early then die before election day. But that doesn't happen on a large enough scale to change anything. There's a reason the "stop the steal" crowd attacked Dominion and Smartmatic - any fraud significant enough to swing an election would involve their machines.

Note, however, they didn't attack the ESS/Diebold machines, you know, the ones that actually are connected to the internet and are manipulable...because projection.

Anonymous wrote:I'm an atheist. I believe in capitalism and free markets. I abhor the military-industrial complex. I'm concerned about human-induced climate change. I want lower taxes and somewhat less government. I support universal access to abortions, within some minor logical constraints. I feel like the LGBTQIA+ movement gets too much airtime and we don't need to bend over backwards for trans people. I despise trump and all the MAGA scum (because that's what they are). That said, I'd like to stop the flow of illegals across the southern border. I'd also love to see us allow in many more talented, educated people from all over world.

What do you think? After re-reading the above, I feel like I should probably vote republican, but i just hate most republican politicians!

If you despise both parties, you should vote for neither. We're in the toxic and messy political environment we're in because for too long people have been voting for their perceived lesser of two evils put forth by the R or D Party. That practice has given us a lower overall quality of people leading our Federal Government. If you don't think the person you are considering voting for is among the absolutely best of the best candidates for the position, don't vote for them. That methodology would surely rule out Trump and Biden. By continually meeting voter turn out expectations and by 98% of us continuing to vote for nothing but R and D candidates, the two parties are continually being rewarded for their less than ideal candidates and therefore they have no incentive to change for the better.

At this point, if you want to protect your right to vote voting Democrat is the only option.

No independent or small alternative party has a chance while there is so much money needed in an electoral campaign. How about banning political advertising on tv, radio and social media within a certain amount of time before an election? Other countries do that easily enough. That would certainly help level the playing field.

How about abolishing political appointments to government positions? That’s actually illegal in many countries but seems commonplace here. It is an explicit form of corruption. Sending some random party donor out as ambassador cannot be justified.

How about an independent electoral commission?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The next election is about one thing, OP. How do feel about democracy? Is it important to you? Or would you be cool with supporting an authoritarian transition?

Unbelievable.

It is unbelievable but it’s where we are. Democracy is having knock down drag out fights but then when the voting happens - accepting the outcomes, sharpening your message, building broader coalitions, and coming back to fight another day. If we agreed on nothing else as Americans, we have accepted this. But MAGA has upended this fundamental axiom. That is what the basis of election denial is - the election didn’t go your way so pretend something was wrong with the election. It’s natural for people to be upset and to look for reasons that their candidate lost - I was upset in 2016 so I understand the urge. But pro-democracy candidates, even when sad/angry etc, will accept the results for the good of the democratic system. And that action on their part will keep their supporters in line.

We see it happening again in the intra party fighting in the House. The ultra right wing do not have the votes to control the House. But they cannot accept that outcome. So they try to upend it by removing McCarthy and then pressuring people to vote for Jordan (nobody was threatened for not voting for Scalise).

If we want to keep democracy, MAGA has to be crushed. Because it’s authoritarian in nature. Then you can go back to thinking about the policies that matter to you (abortion, taxes, whatever).

In your opinion, what is the correct method for ensuring election integrity, and what should be done if interference is suspected?

What they're already doing...keeping paper ballots so that a hand recount can eliminate any errors potentially introduced by voting machines. There will always be a few "dead people voting" which is not actual fraud - just people who vote early then die before election day. But that doesn't happen on a large enough scale to change anything. There's a reason the "stop the steal" crowd attacked Dominion and Smartmatic - any fraud significant enough to swing an election would involve their machines.