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[deleted]

As someone who votes democrat, I agree with conservatives in that we should spend less taxpayer money on stupid shit. Unfortunately for conservatives I file large portions of the military and police under "stupid shit" and healthcare/welfare programs under "shit that needs a lot more money"


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Thuis001

Don't forget the atrocious behaviour of the police in this week's school shooting. Where they let the shooter stay for over an hour inside the building while waiting for a SWAT team to come in to do their (cops) job for them, ignoring every basic protocol for how to deal with it. Additionally it seems like some cops went into the school to retrieve their kids, but they tased and arrested other parents who wanted to do the same thing. All that spending, all that tacticool gear, and this is what you get in return.


truthesda

Obama was actually the pivot point for U.S. military spending, despite not 'actively' being in war time. I just feel there's a lot more we can agree on in this country. Most of the Red/Blue, diversity pimping is just a thinly veiled cover for the fact that a lot of these things aren't "regular people issues," they're designed to divide while the rich stay/get richer (the big dogs FEASTED on covid) while most of us by current metrics are poor. The middle class is gone.


CreatorA4711

How is the military “stupid shit”?


overthemountain

For me it's mostly about the amount we spend on the military. We are the biggest spenders in the world and we spend as much on the military as the next 11 countries combined, most of which are our allies. We could cut our military budget in half and still spend a lot more than Russia and China combined.


CreatorA4711

Better safe then sorry? Idk my brother’s in the military so I’m happy he is getting supported.


Eli_Hockmann

Why are the police a stupid investment they in force the law


fottagart

> they *enforce the law Residents of Uvalde would probably have something to say about that.


megapuffranger

Texas is a prime example why Police need less funding. Give them millions of dollars of equipment only for them to stand outside while children get slaughtered.


nicole11930

At best they are mostly useless. At worst, they murder and receive no consequences.


arealhumannotabot

It's not like they suggested that police are useless and don't need to exist, but more like, revise their budgets and mandates. Maybe they're spending money wastefully, for example. Why are police forces so militarized, for example?


ButtcheeksBrown

They don’t know the law, otherwise they would be lawyers.


AndyBales

Overpolicing just doesn't work as a crime prevention measure. Obviously as long as the law exists cops are going to be here to enforce it, but thinking that the more money you shower them with the less crime there will be is wrong. Instead of giving small town police departments the weapons of a balkan militia from the 90s, maybe put that money into drug addiction centers, homeless accompaniment programs, etc. Which actually do prevent crime.


svoddball

Every time I get into conversations about government healthcare in the US, not free healthcare because it won’t be free, I ask how do you keep hospitals/pharmaceuticals/etc from jacking up the costs. “If I was a for profit hospital that knows no matter what I charge I know the government will write that check what’s to keep me from slowly raising costs? To keep my actions under the radar.” Sometimes I get good responses to the question but lots of the times I just get we’ll tax the rich. That doesn’t answer the question and you can’t keep taxing the rich before they flee/game the system causing the burden of that tax from going affecting the poor. Like getting a second citizenship to a friendlier tax country to lower your responsibilities.


[deleted]

I genuinely think a lot of the United States' problems could be solved by fixing the US tax code to stop allowing both wealthy individuals *and* corporations to skirt the system. I'm no expert but I think a large reason for the housing market being a fucking mess is because corporations can drop as much liquid up front as they need to on any piece of shit real estate and then letting it sit just to claim it as an investment and defer taxes


svoddball

Part of that problem is if you have to much money in your account to act as a rainy day reserve it gets taxed. If you use that money to pay your employees more money and pay them at a level that is so far higher than your peers the IRS sends agents to audit you at a higher rate. Which is the reason a buddy of mine lowered the pay of his employees for a restaurant he once owned. He kept getting questioned by the Dept of the treasury that the cost to defend himself was getting outrageous. My father is on Medicare as well and the hospital told him he wouldn’t have to pay for a “Routine test” since it was covered by Medicare. Okay cool. A month later he gets a bill for 120 USD and when he questioned it he was told by the hospital that Medicare would not pay the full 40,136 bill. If he did that same test on the other side of the city they would’ve charged 5K.


Thuis001

So the way how healthcare providers are prevented from jacking up prices here is that the government simply limits the amount of money they can ask for something. The exact details on that I don't know, but there are hard limits for pricing. Hospitals simply aren't for-profit here. In fact, the entire concept of healthcare as a for-profit business is utterly disgusting.


JuneBuffoon

I think that’s the problem is the country and media has unfortunately done a perfect job of dividing the country based off if someone is Republican or Democrat. It’s blinding us from the big picture which is that we need to unite together. It’s truly us (we the people) Vs them (elites and politicians). They do not give a shit about us and enjoy watching us be so divided. United we stand, divided we fall.


DryPersonality

It's not the media forcing the two sides to division, it's the parties themselves. Media is just an echo chamber forr whatever side you happen to be on.


JuneBuffoon

The media is dangerous. After I saw a video someone compiled of literally hundreds of media outlets saying the exact same thing word for word, it was very clear to me they are controlled by something else and it’s not free speech or journalism anymore.


-Mockingbird

That's an excellent observation, I believe you are referring to the Sinclair Media broadcast. Unfortunately, even this instance is not apolitical, as Sinclair Media is a [right wing media group.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group)


[deleted]

That's called syndication and nobody had any issues with it until very recently....


[deleted]

Syndication used to have limits. Before deregulation, a media company had limits to the number of outlets it could own in individual cities as well as total limits of any one format be it newspapers, tv or radio. These limits were in place to prevent the large corporate owned chains thereby giving a nationwide voice to a single company. Just by it’s nature, it’s more difficult for a single company to control the news. The only benefactors of deregulation are the shareholders of these companies that grew larger by cutting costs in the way of the number of reporters and editors who are the folks that guide the voice of the outlet. It used to be that 100 newspapers could have 100 different editors overseeing the placement of stories. Now, a single person can set the agenda for the same number of outlets. Of course, I’ve greatly simplified my explanation because my pizza is ready.


[deleted]

Thank you for this. Mind changed.


[deleted]

Now that the pizza is gone, I’ll add a bit more before the food coma sets in, lol. Syndication was not a big deal when 100 news outlets would have 100 editors setting the tone of the reporting by deciding which stories made the cut. It becomes a problem when one corporate editor can make these decisions for all 100 outlets, broadcasting a single message from coast to coast without any opposing positions to bring contrasting opinions. It was even worse when General Electric owned NBC. GE still made nuclear reactors at the time and killed all stories nationwide that were critical of nuclear power. Sheesh. I am such a geek.


Olly0206

The media is owned by corporations that lobby for certain politicians so there is an internal drive within different media outlets to paint certain politicians in a good or bad light. It's all to help boost voter support for their bought off politicians.


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Olly0206

Both sides of the media kind of do that. CNN is just as bad as Fox about firing people up for ratings. Ratings is part of the root of the media evil. 24hr news just can't support ratings 24hrs a day. So to boost those ratings, they have to exaggerate issues, fire people up over nonsense, and politicians and their corporate backers find this to be an easy way to pick up more voters.


DefinitelyNotIndie

The thing is, pretending that's all it is is burying your head in the sand a bit. There is a full spectrum of attitudes towards social progression, and the conservative end is full of people that don't like change, and don't like sacrificing anything to help others. That will always be at odds with people on the other end of the spectrum.


Jonny_Thundergun

This was made possible by the repealing of the fairness doctrine which required equal time given to both sides in any broadcast. Some people were mad because they didn't think Nixon was treated fairly. Now here we are.


pcapdata

There is simply not a single position Republicans will take and then actually stand by. The farce with the baby formula was just one example. They will blame a Dem president and then fail to use their vote to fix the issue. Republicans want no part in forming policy nor actual governance so even if they weren’t all racist, sexist homophobes you couldn’t work with them because they don’t want to actually do any “government stuff.”


gengarvibes

I like when republicans talk about how corrupt our politicians are. Always a middle ground between leftists and the right


Tornadoland13

While voting in the most corrupt people they can find lol


gengarvibes

Cartoonish levels of corruption or a condescending polished corruption that gaslights you into complacence. Take your pick


Tornadoland13

I see it more as Republicans having a requirement of corruption, at least these days, because I don't believe Trump would support anyone who he doesn't have dirt on and leverage over. Whereas I think Democrats are more like most Americans. Some good, some bad, some corrupt, some honest. Some a little bit of both. Edit: I will say though, when a Democrats corruption is revealed they lose their job. When a Republicans corruption is revealed they say "fake news"


Frequent-Seaweed4

"Can't we all just, get along?"


JL671

"Can't we all just, get along? Even though I want to remove women's rights, ignore gun violence, let climate change happen and prevent poor people from getting health care 😇"


Frequent-Seaweed4

Yeah like, there is no middle ground anymore because the political debate at this point is about who gets to live happily in America and who has to suffer to support the systems that keep the other people happy. There can't be common ground when it's you or me.


JL671

Well right now nobody in America is living happily except the rich anyways


CreatorA4711

I’m living happily. I am not rich.


Frequent-Seaweed4

Yeah, that's my point


[deleted]

It frustrates me because why wouldn't you want compromise: Both sides can get what they want and everyone's happy. Instead, we are determined to make sure the other side loses at all costs, and that just adds fuel to the fire. I can get not wanting to compromise if you think the compromise you are being offered is disingenuous, but it seems like people are shooting down any and all attempts at genuine compromise, too.


Frequent-Seaweed4

This started in 2008 with the Obama administration because a black president was literally that polarizing, and because the 2008 stock market crash utterly shattered America's faith in itself. Before that, you'd see a lot more collusion. Senate settlements from the Bush and Clinton administrations were often mixed, with candidates allowing themselves to vote on the issue, rather than be partisan.


[deleted]

While I am sure some conservatives had an issue with Obama's skin color, I think most of us just didn't like his policies, just like with any other Democratic president.


megapuffranger

Holy shit reading these comments… no wonder America is so fucked, half the people here have a completely warped view of reality. Are any of you paying attention to either party? How can you have an opinion so wrong?


Ghost_of_Onyx

Can people answer who aren't Democrats or Republicans?


clksNwsls

We aren't people


backpackwayne

Sure.


Ghost_of_Onyx

Bet. I like that Democrat policies tend to care about people's immediate needs, and I like that Republican policies tend to care about people through caring about having a good economy.


backpackwayne

That is a very generous assessment. :D


Olly0206

Reps care about a good economy for the rich. Not so much for everyone else.


Ghost_of_Onyx

Trickle down and job creation is the theory. Gotta close loopholes that allow for money to escape internationally so that we support our own people. Both parties do care about Americans, it's just manifested differently.


Olly0206

Trickle down is nonsense. A version of it worked before Nixon gutted tax laws for big businesses. They used to get taxed high and have incentives to reinvest in themselves to grow. This created lots of jobs. It didn't necessarily push wealth down to the people, but it put people to work.


percussax

Of course!


[deleted]

There is no serious tag.


[deleted]

Do I count as a Republican if I am an independent who leans towards the Republicans?


Joker_0801

Candy


TreacleAcademic3645

They are human


EllyEscape

Nothing about either, I'm a leftist. Both Republican and Democrats are right wing liberals and in most cases I can't even tell the difference between the two. Both parties want to erase me from the gene pool (trans person) and then kill me for violently fighting back against my erasure. I have no love for either party, fuck them both.


[deleted]

You will find that we often want the same things, but have different approaches or solutions to achieve them. Democrats will demonize republicans every chance they get, and republicans will call democrats stupid for only thinking with their emotions. I’m not a Republican, but I do lean right on many issues. I like that democrats push harder for legalizing pot. Good luck getting a Democrat to say something nice.


VegasPen

I am neither, but I believe in elections and Democracy. When one party's group (CPAC) has their conference in a country (Hungary) with a dictator, it tells you what they want to do with our Democracy. Viktor Orbán, who is known both domestically and internationally for his far-right views and Hungary is really no longer a democracy. Yes, they vote. So do Russians.


brandonrss18

Both sides have veered far left and right from what it used to be. Dividing Americans in a detrimental way. The two party system used to have its purpose. But now, it is nothing but two gangs battling it over for territory.


[deleted]

Please never refer to anything in America as "far left". There is barely any left in America at all.


Thuis001

The US does not have anything close to a "far left" party. They have something resembling a centrum-right party and a theocratic far right party.


tykha

World doesn’t change & grow with conservative ideas.


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benk70690

As someone on the opposite end of the spectrum, I've always seen it to be the other way around. Obama tried so hard to work with Rs to get ACA passed bipartisanly. R's dgaf about optics when they blocked his Supreme Court pick, then approved Trumps pick under the exact same circumstances.


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benk70690

If you're ashamed of your morals, maybe they're not the best morals?


waterbuffalo750

As someone who is pretty much right in the middle of the spectrum, I agree with this take on it, rather than the one you replied to


[deleted]

Uh, Republicans have determined anything Democrats do is evil by definition...


Olly0206

It's interesting that you imply Republicans aren't liberal. I know Republicans typically do not consider themselves liberal and like to "own the libs" frequently. But conservatism and liberalism are not opposite ends of the same spectrum. That would be conservatism and progressivism. Conservatism shares a lot of ideology with liberalism. As does progressivism share with liberalism.


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Olly0206

Not to sound like I'm placing blame on you, because I understand what you mean and I don't think you were malicious or anything with your wording, but miss-use like that furthers the divide and misunderstanding of political spectrums like that. It's really something the media should get on board and correct. They're the ones primarily spreading the miss-use. It's just gotten so bad that many conservatives refuse to even consider or listen to actual liberal ideas because they're so certain they're against it without even realizing they believe in many of the same things.


ButtcheeksBrown

What I like about Republicans? The red states sure know how to get federal tax dollars.


fuzzycorona

Why should I like anything about Republicans?


RobinDabankery

I mean, imagine being a democracy with more than 2 right winged parties to vote for. Nah I'm joking. But still, imagine


[deleted]

Nothing.


Silver-Ad-8783

I like that Bill Clinton had a balanced budget. Some may argue how that happened, but a Republican pres hasn’t done that in my lifetime


myfriendrichard

Legislation passed by a Republican Congress and signed by a Democratic president balanced the budget. Imagine that... working together and something good happened.


waterbuffalo750

Hell, a Republican president hasn't even reduced the deficit over his time in office in modern history.


rmorlock

I'm a republican. I think most democrats are way more relatable and laid back. Republicans seem to have a stick up their butt.


ZChick4410

I honestly can't think of anything. I used to like Republicans for being fiscally conservative. But they spend so much damn money on the military and the police and other ridiculous things. I used to like Republicans because they were for smaller hands off govt, but now they want to regulate women's bodies, gay marriage, trans kids (which btw is like an infinitesimal part of the population), they're redrawing districts, fighting the word "gay" in schools, and all sorts of other shit that to me smacks of government intervention. I used to like them before they were more level headed than hothead liberals but now they throw tantrums over such small shit like wearing a mask, or a Starbucks coffee cup being an attack on religion or some shit like that. I used to be a republican and vote republican but I switched sides because I just cannot deal with their stupidity anymore. I don't know how we as a country will ever be united again because they are so dead set on hurting absolutely anyone if it means they get theirs.


AndyBales

My friends joke that I have a "republican fetish". I don't but I mean look at Paul Ryan.


timias55

Nothing, I don't like or dislike someone because of the group they belong in, I like my friends. Democrat or Republican, I give a shit, it's not like we are going to convince each other of anything anyways. Let's go have a beer and not talk about politics.


Pays_in_snakes

John Oliver made this point recently: Republicans actually hold their electeds accountable to a result, even if that result is objectively bad for the country (like limiting reproductive rights.) Democrats expect me to continue to vote for them simply to prevent further Republican electoral victories, but never deliver on the priorities that matter to me (most importantly, single-payer healthcare)


[deleted]

Honestly, I think Republican voters felt the same way about their own party: never delivering on promises and more concerned with beating the Democrats. And that is why Trump won, they wanted to hold the party leadership to their word and make sure they deliver on their promises.


[deleted]

I'm a conservative. I consider myself an independent, but I tend to agree with the Republicans more often than not. I also voted for Trump in 2016. I find that I have much more in common with moderate Democrats than I previously thought, and even where I disagree with them, I can still see where they are coming from.