It’s time to quell excessive partisanship in politics
read more recent story comments Reader comments| nobodyimportant Wednesday, July 18, 2012: 6:19 pm More from nobodyimportant  | Good luck Jim. The leadership on both sides of the isle vote nearly 100% party line. If you look at the rest of them, the norm is about 86-87%. The interesting thing is that the republicans have more of their members voting against the grain of their party than do the democrats. By that measure, the dems have more backbone than do the reps. Governing is messy. It frustrates members on both sides of the isle. But most get the picture that governing from a rigid ideology will put you out of the decision-making. It would be a lot easier to govern from extreme right or left if the population were skewed. As it is, since they are representing all of the people, they give some in order to get some. Call that bi-partisanship if you like, it is more about just getting business done. |
| Danny Stewart Wednesday, July 18, 2012: 7:11 pm More from Danny Stewart | Actually Nobody, the real truth is that those in the Republican that vote against the astablishment are the ones with the backbone. The establishment is far too liberal. |
| ronschoolcraft Wednesday, July 18, 2012: 9:00 pm More from ronschoolcraft | Nobodyimportant (goofy name, again) whoever you are... You already did the work for me. Thanks. Establishment Republicans are only marginally less liberal than the average Democrat. We need real conservatives, like Jim DeMint of South Carolina. There's a man with guts. The problem is really the ruling class vs. the rest of us -- Republicans and Democrats. Why is it so important to get things done? I'd be happy if the government did nothing. At least then our liberties wouldn't be threatened further. We're better off when laws are not being passed. The only laws we need to have passed at the moment are ones to abolish the IRS, the EPA, the DOE, Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, the Labor Department, the Agriculture Department, etc. We live in a post-Constitutional country. It will take much work and sacrifice to restore things to the way that they should be -- to the form of government established by the Constitution. |
| ronschoolcraft Wednesday, July 18, 2012: 9:02 pm More from ronschoolcraft | The ratings trolls are at it again. I'm going for -10. Come on -- I know you can push me over. |
| ronschoolcraft Wednesday, July 18, 2012: 9:19 pm More from ronschoolcraft | Let's see -- Liberals/Democrats, almost to a person, support the following: 1) Bigger, more intrusive government 2) Abortion on demand -- the murder of innocent children whose only crime is that they haven't lived long enough to be born 3) Gay marriage -- a perverse lifestyle choice (there's no such thing as "a homosexual" -- only one who practices a homosexual lifestyle) 4) Reinterpretation of the Constitution -- most call it a charter of negative liberties. It tells us what government cannot do. They want it to be a charter of positive government power, telling us what the government must do for us. Since they cannot get the support to re-write it, they plant judges on the court to read their desires into it. I cannot support anyone who believes or supports these positions. That excludes nearly everyone with a D by his name. It's interesting that Jim Nicholls stated above that he wants people who vote 100% for constitutional/biblical principles -- and his comment is rated at -3. It is disgusting that our nation has sunken that low that wanting constitutional governance is a bad thing. |
| nobodyimportant Wednesday, July 18, 2012: 10:31 pm More from nobodyimportant | Actually, Ron, I agree with you about the need for smaller government and that there are far too many governmental departments and agencies. While I also would like a government that brings those things to reality, I don't see it in the even distant future. And I also agree with your position that the Republican party is not going to stand for the things you advocate. Virtually every republican presidential hopeful this past winter and spring was more "conservative" (I hate that term, as I do "liberal", because there is no solid definition for either in the politics of today) than Mitt Romney. The candidate that spoke most frequently and consistently about excessive government was Ron Paul. His positions are closer to liberterianism than republican. But he scared the republican power brokers, as did Rick Santorum. They knew that the voting public was further to the middle than either of them, and that if either one of them became the candidate, the game was over, slam dunk for President O'Bama. So they chose a republican who was middle to left on every issue but economics. He had to sign the pledge to deny the Massachuessetts health care plan turned national health care plan. Once he did that, he was given the green light and the other real republicans (sans Paul) were moved aside "for the good of the party." We are a deeply divided nation. There is no chance for any candidate who is extreme in any direction. Independent and "moderate" votes win elections. That truth will decide who runs for office and ultimately who wins. The election this fall is going to be close. A lot depends on the state of the economy in the next four months. Frankly, I think it has to get a lot worse for Romney to get the nod. He is not well respected within his own party, let alone the general electorate. He simply was the only candidate with even a chance. But if anyone is deluded in thinking that he will represent traditional values, there is a big surprise coming unless he has had a religious experience and has been delivered from his past. There aren't any real good choices coming up. I was discussing this with a few of my Christian brothers and sisters earlier this week. After some whining, we settled down and came to the conclusion that it isn't important. God is in control and there is not one govenment in existence that He does not allow. I was reminded of the Apostle Paul. He wrote several of his epistles from a Roman jail. Never once did he pray that he would be released frpom that horrible place. He was content to stay there and let God use him where he was. It is not eternally significant who in government leads us. Most of the time, when we complain about government, it is because of what we think it means for us, what we stand to gain or lose. That's a selfish way to look at our surroundings. I'm rambling. Gnite. |
| booger Wednesday, July 18, 2012: 11:25 pm More from booger | I say have Obama and Romney be co-presidents and give the billions they are going to spend to charities. Save us lots of money and time and BS. Neither one of them would please 50%+ of the country no matter what. And, by the way Ron, Jesus wouldn't belong to either party. The Bible clearly states those who covet wealth and money are wicked and will not enter the pearly gates.....those who don't love thy neighbor - those who don't treat "aliens" as their own, etc. etc. etc. I know you already know this. And, I am sure you also know Jesus hung out with prostitutes and lepers and the absolute scuzz of the earth when here. He loved them all. |
| ronschoolcraft Thursday, July 19, 2012: 3:06 am More from ronschoolcraft |
You are making a lot of assumptions. Are you accusing me of being covetous?-- while hiding behind a screen name -- |
| ronschoolcraft Thursday, July 19, 2012: 3:12 am More from ronschoolcraft | nbi You have bought into the conventional wisdom. Santorum, Gingrich or Cain would have all been better candidates than Romney. I would have loved to have seen Gingrich head to head with Obama. It would have been a landslide for Gingrich. |
| ronschoolcraft Thursday, July 19, 2012: 3:15 am More from ronschoolcraft | Come on trolls. I'm only at -5... |
| Danny Stewart Thursday, July 19, 2012: 6:24 am More from Danny Stewart |
Funny how liberals won't admit to being liberal. Even behind a username. Conservatives don't have a problem admiting to being conservative. Nor do we make excuses for it. |
| nobodyimportant Thursday, July 19, 2012: 8:28 am More from nobodyimportant | Ron, I didn't say that the other candidates would not have been "better" candidates. The conventional wisdom that you say I bought into was the wisdom of the republican leadership who put the candidate out there who they thought had the best chance to win, regardless of where he stood on many of the issues dear to the hearts of people on the far right. If you think they didn't move the others aside, you don't understand politics at that level. Gingrich scared the peejeebies out of the republican big-wigs. He is a loose cannon with a lot of baggage from his congressional leadership days as well as his personal life. He is articulate and can speak to many issues without notes and preparation from the guys upstairs, but he also is the republican version of our vice president when it comes to things that come out of the mouth. He would have been a great debater, as he was in the primary debates, but the leadership substance isn't there. My personal favorite was Rick Santorum because he gave more than lip service to being a Christian. But here again, an evangelical (real) Christian can't win right now. That is a shame, but it is real. The other Christians who ran for the office looked more like the mainstream Christians (pew sitting luke-warm Christians), and then there was Romney, the strangest of all picks if being a Christian was anywhere on the criteria list. There are more than a few of us who find it hard to put a cultist in office and it becomes a choice between two bad choices. |
| 58 comments found | |
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