Have you switched sides politically?

[frostbitmic]

I turned 18 back in 1980 and registered as an Independent where I promptly voted for the Independent candidate, John Anderson.

 

The way that I feel is that as a social liberal and a fiscal conservative, neither party represented me and the way that the country has been run over the past 30 years I have a strong distaste for Democrats and Republicans. All either side gives a rats ass about is winning the next election instead of improving the country.

 

I tend to vote 3rd party at every opportunity and would love to see a moderate 3rd party that can compete with the two worthless ones that run this joint.

[KD in CA]

I turned 18 back in 1980 and registered as an Independent where I promptly voted for the Independent candidate, John Anderson.

 

The way that I feel is that as a social liberal and a fiscal conservative, neither party represented me and the way that the country has been run over the past 30 years I have a strong distaste for Democrats and Republicans. All either side gives a rats ass about is winning the next election instead of improving the country.

 

I tend to vote 3rd party at every opportunity and would love to see a moderate 3rd party that can compete with the two worthless ones that run this joint.

 

Same here.

 

Thing is, I came to realize that social change and resulting policy really is still based on a mandate from the people. The politicians just follow the crowd and later try to take credit. The most obvious example of this in recent history is gay marriage. Obama denounced it as a candidate, then after being elected realized public opinion had finally shifted on the issue. So he dispatched Moron Joe to make a pro-gay marriage statement and once he confirmed there was little or no backlash, he then came out in favor of it ('evolved', wasn't it?). Then suddenly there were court cases everywhere looking for confirmation of new rights. The road to gay marriage was paved by people like Ellen Degeneres. The Obamas and Clintons of the world were nothing but opportunistic bystanders.

 

Fiscal issues meanwhile, are entirely directed by the policy makers and we are entirely at their mercy.

 

Thus, stance on social issues is the very last thing I consider in any candidate.

[Drunkard]

I've turned more liberal over the years as the Conservatives have gone further and further down the religious rabbit hole.

[Azalin]

I've turned more liberal over the years as the Conservatives have gone further and further down the religious rabbit hole.

 

I don't see conservatives as being any more or less religious than they've ever been. Personal experience has shown me that the goodness, morality, or sincerity of a person is not dependent upon their faith or lack thereof.

[Drunkard]

 

I don't see conservatives as being any more or less religious than they've ever been. Personal experience has shown me that the goodness, morality, or sincerity of a person is not dependent upon their faith or lack thereof.

It feels like they have to me but that may be just because I pay more attention to the news than I used to. The Republicans had like 15 people running in their primary and only a couple of them avoiding pandering to every evangelical they could.

[Azalin]

It feels like they have to me but that may be just because I pay more attention to the news than I used to. The Republicans had like 15 people running in their primary and only a couple of them avoiding pandering to every evangelical they could.

 

I would imagine that's because Republicans tend to draw significantly more votes from people of faith. The red state/blue state map is a pretty good illustration of that.

[Keukasmallies]

As a conservative on some issues, a liberal on others, I'm about to drop my party affiliation and finish my term in office [life] as a small i independent. I've always been frustrated by the fact that I support many of the Democrat's issues,but simply can't abide the doofus leaders of that band, e.g., Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Clinton, Schumer, et al.

[IDBillzFan]

It feels like they have to me but that may be just because I pay more attention to the news than I used to. The Republicans had like 15 people running in their primary and only a couple of them avoiding pandering to every evangelical they could.

 

The left does the exact same thing. Barry sat in Wright's pews for years specifically to begin his political career, and once he got to the WH, the very last place you would find Barry and family would be at church because, as Michelle said, they had better things to do on Sunday...like lounge and nap.

 

One thing I'm curious about, though: if you are convinced the right keeps going down the Evangelical rabbit hole, are you not equally concerned with liberals drilling deeply into the Muslim rabbit hole?

 

I mean, behead a few Christians, and no one on the left cares, but ban a couple of Muslims from flying and suddenly the left is outraged that the world is Islamophibic.

 

Or does that rabbit hole not matter to you.

[Drunkard]

 

The left does the exact same thing. Barry sat in Wright's pews for years specifically to begin his political career, and once he got to the WH, the very last place you would find Barry and family would be at church because, as Michelle said, they had better things to do on Sunday...like lounge and nap.

 

One thing I'm curious about, though: if you are convinced the right keeps going down the Evangelical rabbit hole, are you not equally concerned with liberals drilling deeply into the Muslim rabbit hole?

 

I mean, behead a few Christians, and no one on the left cares, but ban a couple of Muslims from flying and suddenly the left is outraged that the world is Islamophibic.

 

Or does that rabbit hole not matter to you.

I'm not a fan of any religion personally because I think it's selling an invisible product and taking complete advantage of peoples' fear of dying.

 

That rabbit hole of Islam doesn't matter as much to me because Muslims don't control this country. We're way more likely to have to deal with the repercussions from people like Ted Cruz, Mike Pence, Mika Huckabee, Ben Carson, or Rick Santorum trying to take us back to the days of Leviticus than we have to worry ahout Sharia Law in this country.

 

Trump did his share of pandering to the Evangelicals as well but I get the sense that he worships at the altar of money above everything else.

 

I'd rather have 8 years of Trump in the White House than 1 day of Pence and his fetus funerals and conversion therapy nonsense.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Drunkard

[KD in CA]

We're way more likely to have to deal with the repercussions from people like Ted Cruz, Mike Pence, Mika Huckabee, Ben Carson, or Rick Santorum trying to take us back to the days of Leviticus than we have to worry ahout Sharia Law in this country.

I've heard this kind of fear mongering since Reagan. What examples are there of our progress back to Leviticus?

[Drunkard]

I've heard this kind of fear mongering since Reagan. What examples are there of our progress back to Leviticus?

The ongoing crusade to overturn Roe v Wade for one thing. Trying to put nonsense like intelligent design on an even playing field with evolution in public schools is another plus the overall fight to dispute scientific consensus in general. That's enough to keep me and many others from ever voting Republican but the fetus funerals and conversion therapy garbage that Mike Pence has pushed for in Indiana is another example.

[grinreaper]

I'm not a fan of any religion personally because I think it's selling an invisible product and taking complete advantage of peoples' fear of dying.

 

That rabbit hole of Islam doesn't matter as much to me because Muslims don't control this country. We're way more likely to have to deal with the repercussions from people like Ted Cruz, Mike Pence, Mika Huckabee, Ben Carson, or Rick Santorum trying to take us back to the days of Leviticus than we have to worry ahout Sharia Law in this country.

 

Trump did his share of pandering to the Evangelicals as well but I get the sense that he worships at the altar of money above everything else.

 

I'd rather have 8 years of Trump in the White House than 1 day of Pence and his fetus funerals and conversion therapy nonsense.

That's what they said in Germany, England, France, Sweden and Belgium too.

[Drunkard]

That's what they said in Germany, England, France, Sweden and Belgium too.

Then we should treat all religions like a pox on society. The solution isn't to cave in to the ridiculous demands of Christianity just because people in this country are more comfortable that way.

[IDBillzFan]

I'm not a fan of any religion personally because I think it's selling an invisible product and taking complete advantage of peoples' fear of dying.

 

I'm not certain I follow what you're getting at here. What is the invisible product and how are they taking advantage of peoples' fear of dying?

 

And when you're done with that, I'm curious about your concerns for conversion therapy. Which one are you referring to? Conversion therapy of homosexuals ore conversion therapy for transgender four-year-olds?

Then we should treat all religions like a pox on society. The solution isn't to cave in to the ridiculous demands of Christianity just because people in this country are more comfortable that way.

 

What ridiculous demands are made of you by Christians?

[grinreaper]

Then we should treat all religions like a pox on society. The solution isn't to cave in to the ridiculous demands of Christianity just because people in this country are more comfortable that way.

So, you want to get rid of atheism too? Well, if we are going to do this right you're going to have to sacrifice the global warming/climate change religion too.

Edited March 12, 2017 by grinreaper

[Drunkard]

 

I'm not certain I follow what you're getting at here. What is the invisible product and how are they taking advantage of peoples' fear of dying?

 

And when you're done with that, I'm curious about your concerns for conversion therapy. Which one are you referring to? Conversion therapy of homosexuals ore conversion therapy for transgender four-year-olds?

 

 

What ridiculous demands are made of you by Christians?

The invisible product is salvation, heaven, or whatever you want to call their unproven beliefs. They take advantage of the fear of death by using it to rake in billions of dollars they don't even pay taxes on while pushing their agenda against gays , abortion, science, and whatever else they believe the old book of bad ideas tells them to do.

 

The conversion therapy I was referring to is their practice of sending away gay family memebers to Jesus camps where they pray the gay away, give them electroshock therapy, or whatever other voodoo they think will make that person fit their description of normal.

 

As for the ridiculous demands you can see examples in any of the various laws that tend to get passed in bible belt and areas that pander to evangelical nonsense. Any example where they try to legislate their personal morality onto the rest of us heathens and non believers such as trying to teach kids in public school that the earth is 6,000 years old and was created in 6 days, abstinence only "sex" education, laws that don't let you purchase alcohol on Sundays, dry counties, the various hurdles that try to usurp a woman's right to choose, all this transgender bathroom nonsense, putting references to their faith in courthouses, on the money, and into the pledge of allegience. I'm sure there are money other examples but that should be enough to get my point across.

 

This country would be a whole lot better if religious types could just be content with thinking the rest of us are going to hell rather than trying to subvert the free will their book tells them all of us are supposed to have.

[Drunkard]

So, you want to get rid of atheism too? Well, if we are going to this right you're going to have to sacrifice the global warming/climate change religion too.

I don't buy into this nonsense because that's the same tactic Evangelicals use to try to put intelligent design on par with evolution and they just aren't equal and no amount of grandstanding and false equivalency on your/their part will ever make it so no matter how much you want it to.

 

Atheism is not a religion (which is what makes it appealing to begin with) and neither is climate change. The climate is changing. 2014 was the hottest year on record, until 2015 surpassed it, and then 2016 surpassed that. The only actual point to argue is how much impact man is contributing to it or whether it's a natural cycle that the earth is going through based on ice core samples, fossil records, and whatever else they use to measure temperatures over millions of years. I certainly don't know but I'd venture to side with the side that says pollution overall isn't good for us or the planet rather than the side that makes money by extracting resources from the earth as fast as humanely possible while not caring what they do about the waste it generates.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I don't buy into this nonsense because that's the same tactic Evangelicals use to try to put intelligent design on par with evolution and they just aren't equal and no amount of grandstanding and false equivalency on your/their part will ever make it so no matter how much you want it to.

 

Atheism is not a religion (which is what makes it appealing to begin with) and neither is climate change. The climate is changing. 2014 was the hottest year on record, until 2015 surpassed it, and then 2016 surpassed that. The only actual point to argue is how much impact man is contributing to it or whether it's a natural cycle that the earth is going through based on ice core samples, fossil records, and whatever else they use to measure temperatures over millions of years. I certainly don't know but I'd venture to side with the side that says pollution overall isn't good for us or the planet rather than the side that makes money by extracting resources from the earth as fast as humanely possible while not caring what they do about the waste it generates.

Global warming is absolutely faith based.

[Drunkard]

Global warming is absolutely faith based.

What a compelling argument. I'm certainly now convinced. How can I join your cult and subscribe to your newsletter? When do I get to take the red pill?

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

What a compelling argument. I'm certainly now convinced. How can I join your cult and subscribe to your newsletter? When do I get to take the red pill?

Go read the global warming hoax thread for my position nooblord.