Wolf! Wolf! Meh!

[Gaspar]

Democrats have always had the image of "The Party That Cares."  This is what attracts the young and more emotional among us to become democrats.  This is why I became a democrat in college.

Over the years, and certainly as I became a conservative, I learned that this image of democrats is their most powerful weapon.  They use it by making everything important into a crisis that will starve, kill, cripple, retard, or disadvantage their constituency.

I grew up with political ads about old people on street corners begging for medicine, and doey eyed children with tattered cloths holding broken pencils in filthy classrooms. Every election of a democratic politician is framed to save us from some human disaster of Nazi proportions.  Every democrat sponsored bill MUST pass or else the economy, school system, roads, old people, you name it will perish.

With the continuing campaign of President Obama we have a president who never stopped campaigning and never started leading.  As a result he has skipped from crisis to crisis, preserving each through incompetence, all while continuing to propagate new and more important hobgoblins.

With his statements last week, designed to inflame the old, the veterans, and those who rely on government assistance, everyone was braced for the backlash of protest.  Aside from the shock his statements had amoung the conservative talking heads, there was almost no perceivable reaction.  In fact, over the last year there has been very little reaction to the doom scenarios of the president or his minions.

If this is true, that the modern left has suddenly grown tired of riding the train from crisis to crisis, the president has a problem.  He has no experience promoting anything outside of crisis.  His background as a community organizer was solely based on rallying people around negative situations to effect change.

Perhaps the people are tired and ready for simple logical solutions to end problems rather than simply emphasize them?

[nathanm]

Over the years, and certainly as I became a conservative, I learned that this image of democrats is their most powerful weapon.  They use it by making everything important into a crisis that will starve, kill, cripple, retard, or disadvantage their constituency.

You do realize that you're not talking about a partisan issue at all, right? If you truly believe that Republicans don't fearmonger the smile out of everything at least as badly, if not worse than Democrats do, you're truly hopeless.

[Red Arrow]

You do realize that you're not talking about a partisan issue at all, right? If you truly believe that Republicans don't fearmonger the smile out of everything at least as badly, if not worse than Democrats do, you're truly hopeless.

I think that with the first options of the debt crisis being to stop Social Security and military checks, the Democrats have an edge on being worse at the moment.

[Red Arrow]

Democrats have always had the image of "The Party That Cares." 

I believe they do care.  They just don't know how to achieve the goal of fixing a problem rather than treating a symptom.

[nathanm]

I think that with the first options of the debt crisis being to stop Social Security and military checks, the Democrats have an edge on being worse at the moment.

I think playing this game is completely silly. They're clearly both major offenders here. Republicans, after all, have been claiming we're taxing our grandchildren, will be subject to hyperinflation, and will be taken over by Communists if we don't get the budget deficit under control right this second. Oh wait, I'm sorry, the last one supposedly already happened.

[Conan71]

You do realize that you're not talking about a partisan issue at all, right? If you truly believe that Republicans don't fearmonger the smile out of everything at least as badly, if not worse than Democrats do, you're truly hopeless.

You seem to justify the failings of your party or favored political figure by pointing to the other party's or said politicians predecessor(s) failings.  Why not expect or want a higher standard out of your own party?

[Red Arrow]

I think playing this game is completely silly. They're clearly both major offenders here. Republicans, after all, have been claiming we're taxing our grandchildren, will be subject to hyperinflation, and will be taken over by Communists if we don't get the budget deficit under control right this second. Oh wait, I'm sorry, the last one supposedly already happened.

None of your examples have such an immediate effect as stopping paychecks.  It strikes a bit more fear into people than saying your grandchildren will pay more taxes.  How much is hyperinflation?  I remember significant, double digit inflation during the end of the Carter Presidency.  It was not all his fault but it still happened on his watch and we managed to live through it.

[custosnox]

I'll stick with my original answer, do away with the party system.  Should never have developed to begin with.

[Conan71]

I'll stick with my original answer, do away with the party system.  Should never have developed to begin with.

But I love to par-tay!!!

[carltonplace]

You seem to justify the failings of your party or favored political figure by pointing to the other party's or said politicians predecessor(s) failings.  Why not expect or want a higher standard out of your own party?

Conan, I'm not sure you're right to jump on Nate here. The whole point of the original post was to incent Democrats to go on the defensive. Nate is the only one that bit.

I'm not certain what Gaspar is playing at here but it doesn't help...it only serves to create an even bigger divide. Personally I'm tired of the parties and their constant finger pointing, their invented political theater, their attempts to create a schism in US society and tired of all of the sound bites and foaming at the mouth "pundits" that make money in propping up our ever widening dogmas.

All they are doing is providing a decoy to prevent us from seeing how incapable they all are of doing what is right for our country in favor of pandering to their hard core political bases. "Look at this, not at that".

[we vs us]

Democrats have always had the image of "The Party That Cares."  This is what attracts the young and more emotional among us to become democrats.  This is why I became a democrat in college.

Over the years, and certainly as I became a conservative, I learned that this image of democrats is their most powerful weapon.  They use it by making everything important into a crisis that will starve, kill, cripple, retard, or disadvantage their constituency.

I grew up with political ads about old people on street corners begging for medicine, and doey eyed children with tattered cloths holding broken pencils in filthy classrooms. Every election of a democratic politician is framed to save us from some human disaster of Nazi proportions.  Every democrat sponsored bill MUST pass or else the economy, school system, roads, old people, you name it will perish.

With the continuing campaign of President Obama we have a president who never stopped campaigning and never started leading.  As a result he has skipped from crisis to crisis, preserving each through incompetence, all while continuing to propagate new and more important hobgoblins.

With his statements last week, designed to inflame the old, the veterans, and those who rely on government assistance, everyone was braced for the backlash of protest.  Aside from the shock his statements had amoung the conservative talking heads, there was almost no perceivable reaction.  In fact, over the last year there has been very little reaction to the doom scenarios of the president or his minions.

If this is true, that the modern left has suddenly grown tired of riding the train from crisis to crisis, the president has a problem.  He has no experience promoting anything outside of crisis.  His background as a community organizer was solely based on rallying people around negative situations to effect change.

Perhaps the people are tired and ready for simple logical solutions to end problems rather than simply emphasize them?

GYOFB

[Gaspar]

My observation was more to point out that it seems like the screams of terror are less and less effective.

Perhaps if we had achieved economic recovery they would have more bite, but it seems like what comes out of the mouths of the President, Pelosi, and Reid is just anticipated noise.

In the beginning, it looked like the president was going to embrace a new direction for economic recovery.  All crisis would then be avoided because power fell almost completely on the side of democrats.  All of the ideas of green growth and the end of oil and the reversal of global warming and secure state jobs for everyone would be achieved.

It seems like people have woken up and realize that the vision was without a foundation.  Hope & Change required details, and there were no details, just grand frameworks and broad ideas.  

[Conan71]

Conan, I'm not sure you're right to jump on Nate here. The whole point of the original post was to incent Democrats to go on the defensive. Nate is the only one that bit.

I'm not certain what Gaspar is playing at here but it doesn't help...it only serves to create an even bigger divide. Personally I'm tired of the parties and their constant finger pointing, their invented political theater, their attempts to create a schism in US society and tired of all of the sound bites and foaming at the mouth "pundits" that make money in propping up our ever widening dogmas.

All they are doing is providing a decoy to prevent us from seeing how incapable they all are of doing what is right for our country in favor of pandering to their hard core political bases. "Look at this, not at that".

I think you are right to an extent that I shouldn't have jumped on him with both feet.  You definitely hit the nail on the head about the smokescreen or decoy as you said.  I'm of the belief that the GOP and Dems are dysfunctional twins each providing cover for the other as they systemically plunder the treasury at the pleasure of those who put them in power.

Back to your point of Nate's post though, I'm merely trying to point out that there seems to be a certain mentality across the electorate that says: "We can justify this behavior because they do it."  

That's tantamount to abdicating our ability to force change out of our leaders when we don't really approve of their actions but we become a willing accomplice because we say: "That's just the way it is, I'm going to have to live with it."

It also goes along with the lines of figuring government is so big we simply can't do anything about it except borrow more money and/or raise taxes to pay for the monster that's been created.  It's a cop-out.

[carltonplace]

My observation was more to point out that it seems like the screams of terror are less and less effective.

Perhaps if we had achieved economic recovery they would have more bite, but it seems like what comes out of the mouths of the President, Pelosi, and Reid is just anticipated noise.

In the beginning, it looked like the president was going to embrace a new direction for economic recovery.  All crisis would then be avoided because power fell almost completely on the side of democrats.  All of the ideas of green growth and the end of oil and the reversal of global warming and secure state jobs for everyone would be achieved.

It seems like people have woken up and realize that the vision was without a foundation.  Hope & Change required details, and there were no details, just grand frameworks and broad ideas.  

Your observation is just regurgitation of current republican political posturing. I'm up to date on the sound bites, thanks.

[carltonplace]

I think you are right to an extent that I shouldn't have jumped on him with both feet.  You definitely hit the nail on the head about the smokescreen or decoy as you said.  I'm of the belief that the GOP and Dems are dysfunctional twins each providing cover for the other as they systemically plunder the treasury at the pleasure of those who put them in power.

Back to your point of Nate's post though, I'm merely trying to point out that there seems to be a certain mentality across the electorate that says: "We can justify this behavior because they do it."  

That's tantamount to abdicating our ability to force change out of our leaders when we don't really approve of their actions but we become a willing accomplice because we say: "That's just the way it is, I'm going to have to live with it."

It also goes along with the lines of figuring government is so big we simply can't do anything about it except borrow more money and/or raise taxes to pay for the monster that's been created.  It's a cop-out.

Yep, instead of working together to find real sollutions to real problems lets just play as dirty as possible and then point fingers and yell "He started it".  It's asinine, adolescent and played out.