General Politics Discussion (IV) [ARCHIVED] • Page 849

Most people (and all politicians) would, I think, agree that they care more about American lives than foreign lives without much hesitation.

 

I will say something similar to this----I think most of us who are politically active want and expect every person out there to care about these issues deeply, but most people don't. So when those people care enough about 2 or 3 issues to call their senators, I'm pretty damn happy that they're getting involved on any level on my side of that particular issue.

Whether it's by nature or circumstance, most people will care the most about issues that impact them the most. It's tough to get around that. I really really wish people cared about the bullshit going on with the NPS and public lands as much as I do, but I also understand that not everyone is going to spend the energy they have getting as outraged at it as I am. If they're politically aligned with me on most issues, even if they're not as far left as me, I'm not going to belittle them because it's not an issue they're tweeting or calling about. They'll still vote in a way that is more likely to help me out on my issue, even if they're not screaming about it. It's the right wingers who want to drill into every piece of public land we have that I will belittle. (Oh, and yes, Dems are FAR more likely to be "doves" than the GOP, even if the party as a whole is about 15 years behind the base on the issue, but if we continue down this path we'll just get into another "what is better vs. what is the best" argument that doesn't need to be rehashed.)

I want American adventurism overseas to be curtailed to the extreme. But I also want single payer health care. And better stewardship of public lands. And a tax code that pretty much tax everyone higher. And a better social safety net. And mass investment in infrastructure. And stronger voting protections for disenfranchised groups, etc. Most people will only take the first two or three things they care about most, and vote based on those issues, regardless of whether or not the person is in sync with them on the other issues. And sometimes, you're voting for someone who's just more likely to sign legislation than veto it. Do I think Cory Booker is a staunch single payer advocate? Probably not. He could probably take it or leave it. Do I think President Cory Booker signs a single payer health bare bill if Dems pass one through the House and Senate? Without a doubt. If someone like me, who pays immense attention to politics, has to think about the horse race like that, then I imagine for the people who aren't as connected to politics but then see a tweet from someone in "The #Resistance" that points out the GOP is holding funding for CHIP hostage, and they know that pisses them off to no end that they HAVE to call their Senator, they certainly aren't going to go "Oh, you know what? You voted to increase military funding, so I'm not even bothering with you anymore", and I'm not gonna get mad at them for not doing so. I'm just happy to get them involved on CHIP. Hopefully it leads to more involvement and activism on other issues, or just more knowledge on other issues. It started with health care for me and now I care way more about a shitton of other issues, and changed my young inexperienced opinions on a bunch of issues, all thanks to me getting interested in the ACA and the process of passing it. If I'm a political newbie and I facebook/tweet about CHIP and say "thank you senator ______ for doing what I asked for on CHIP!" and then just get a bunch of assholes in my mentions saying "fuck off, he's a horrible person for voting for military spending and you should be ashamed of yourself for even associating with him", why in the blue hell would I want to support whatever the person yelling at me is supporting?

 

You're conflating two things - the guy in your mentions is being a dick and that's why you claim not to care. Is the problem that he's being a dick or is it that his pet issue is one you don't care about? The secret is it doesn't matter - either way, his concern is secondary to you because they're those people over there being effected. That's fine, just admit it. Don't you remember that West Wing scene?

 

Ah that explains it

 

It’s going to be interesting to see how he handles this because of his well-known childlike reverence of military officials.

 

Folks, I found the worst video on the internet

 

And if all he sees you talking about is chastising others for not caring about HIS issue the most, would he not then conclude that his concern is secondary to you?

But my point was exactly that---that for most people, what's going to matter the most to them is what impacts they see directly around them. I'm not denying that, I'm saying it's a (pretty sad) fact. The way to change that isn't to be a dick to people on social media for liking someone for voting on their pet issue in a way they wanted to see said person vote. I roll my eyes when I see people patting Tom Carper on the back for some things, but attacking the person for doing so ain't gonna bring them around to my side of things. I want them to keep contacting Tom Carper about those issues, not berate them for not getting involved in the political process in ways that don't live up to my expectations. The sad truth is just contacting him is a huge step up, and for a lot of people, that first step is one that, a few years down the line, may lead them to thinking on other issues the way I think, and they'll be one more person who'd like to see the Tom Carper's of the world primaried by more progressive candidates (It wouldn't work with him unfortunately because he was an extremely popular governor and Delaware is about as corporate Dem as you can get, but others like him getting primaried in states a progressive will win would be nice)

 

Let’s also note that there’s no way he wrote this. No weird quotation marks, capitalized words, doesn’t end on one weird word. My guess is this a Stephen Miller tweet.

 

Gotta have that see through.

 

I’d like to think the NRA would receive enormous punishment if this is true. But it would probably amount to a $500,000 fine.

 

Because he's a dumbass

 

Lol

 

I don't believe trump has ran anywhere for at least 20 years

 

I could see him running around his hotel room chasing escorts

 

Running out of the hotel room when someone shows up

 

It’s the least you could do you piece of shit.

 

While Yakety Sax is playing

 

That's My Donald!

 

It's been skyrocketing at a pretty wild pace over the last few weeks, even compared to the months before that. I'd imagine a significant part of that is the tax bill, but I was looking for deeper analysis beyond "consumer confidence is up" on the pro-GOP side and "it's gonna crash soon" on the anti-GOP side.

 

I just had to make up a lie to my boss about why I just spit water out onto my keyboard. He sits directly across from me and we face each other.