I Never Realized How Scary These People Are...

[WiffenPoof]

I caught some of the GOP debate tonight and it scared the hell out of me.

What has happened to this country???

You want to let the people that feel they have been hurt by Fed regulations make up the committees that make decisions on the matter??!

I'm sorry, but I am so disgusted on this hard turn to the right that our country has taken. It started a long time ago...but has increased dramatically in the past two years. I supported our President...I fought for his campaign. I don't know what he could have done to at least slow down this self-destruction...but, for sure, he hasn't done much.

Have you ever heard Mario Cuomo talk about America? Have you ever heard him speak on what it means to be a Democrat? Obama is either unable or unwilling to FIGHT for the soul of this country. The Republican Party to include the Tea Baggers would have never gained the kind of foothold they have if our President had not squandered the historic mandate he had.

Even here on DU, the Democratic Party has been redefined. I know...because I have been a lifelong Dem and now I'm considered on the fringe...a radical.

We used to have very clear and honorable principles as a Party. Now....we are merely a shadow of ourselves. We have been taken over by Blue Dogs and Moderates that would make Richard Nixon look liberal. There is hardly a hair of difference between the two parties now.

One thing for sure...I will not live long enough to see us return to our former glory as a party...a party that always fought for the little guy...for the under-represented....the Party of the People. There is hardly a hair of difference between the two parties now.

-P

[kenny blankenship]

1. I would love for an interviewer to ask Barack Obama why he is a Democrat,

what is so good about being a Democrat and why it's better to be a Democrat than a Republican.

Except I'm sure he has practiced some glib bullshit answer for that one, too.

[elleng]

3. ...

:thumbsdown:

[polmaven]

17. I'll second that.

:thumbsdown:

[elleng]

37. Thanks, pol.

[Tx4obama]

6. Here's a link to LIST, which outlines some of the differences

between the Democrats and Republicans

http://www.democratsforprogress.com/2011/09/03/we-all-have-a-choice-in-the-2012-election/

[mzmolly]

7. Killer good article.

:hi: Thanks for sharing Tex.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. It WOULD be an interesting question

and it would be a glib answer, you are right.

[Enthusiast]

13. Me too.

I would also like to ask him why he misled us. "Mr. President, why did you lead us to believe that you were a traditional New Deal/labor supporting Democrat when in reality you have more in common with today's Republicans?"

[trumad]

14. Stupid post of the day...and it's only 6:45 am

[dionysus]

36. quite a fixation you have there.

[Skittles]

2. yup

Dems moved so far to the right they are, well, no longer Dems, and conservatives moved so far right they are in batshit insane territory :scared:

[MissDeeds]

16. +1 n/t

[hobbit709]

20. That's it in a nutshell.

When the Democratic party platform of 2008 was to the RIGHT of the Republican party platform of 1956, what other conclusion can be drawn.

[CrispyQ]

39. Your's is a key point.

When liberals say there's not much difference between the two parties, the point you made, is what they mean. The current dem party looks like yesterday's repub party. I agree with posters below that the current dem party isn't anything like the current repub party, but it's not like the old time dem party either. I didn't vote for repubs 30 years ago, but I should vote for them today because they have a D behind their name?

The party left us & the left is out in the cold.

My focus is on local elections. Obama can get what he needs from his Wall St. pals.

[villager]

4. The actual (former) center is now the "far left." The middle-right is "the center,"

...even in self-styled "undergrounds..."

[Dragonfli]

5. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1927118&mesg_id=1928823

[Kennah]

8. I tell myself this is The Fourth Turning and we're at the bottom, but ...

... I fear the worst is yet to come.

[quinnox]

9. Obama has done a fine job

if you were expecting a centrist Republican as the President. This guy is so scared of being called a liberal Democrat he will act like a republican lite to stop any of that talk.

[SammyWinstonJack]

29. +1000!

[immoderate]

35. You make it sound like he doesn't want to be a Republican.

Somebody's making him do this? :shrug:

--imm

[AndyTiedye]

10. "Citizens United" Changed Everything

Unlimited secret corporate cash has a way of doing that.

We will never even know how much we are being outspent,
because they don't have to disclose any of that.

[The Genealogist]

11. I think a lot of the hard right turn can be laid at the doorstep of the "news" media

So much of the news media just regurgitates right wing talking points. One part of it is the corperatization and takeover of the media increasingly by owners with right-wing agendas. Another part is that many media outlets that are not under right wing control are so afraid of being branded as leftists/socialists/communists that they sludge up the works with pro-right wing propeganda and attempts to appear "balanced," by printing as neutral whatever is the wild-eyed right wing gibble-gabble de jour. Add to this that radio is full of hours and hours everyday of hard-right nutcases spewing their insanity. When most of the messages people get day after day after day are only so much right wing propeganda, ever crazier, it is no wonder that the country has taken a hard right turn.

[WinkyDink]

15. Really? 2000 did not lift that veil? I've heard Mario; I've met Mario. I admire Mario. His son? Not

so much.

But never forget the COUP D'ETAT:

[newfie11]

18. Yes you are right.

I am amazed the stupidity of the people in this country. Is every one on some kind of drug that makes them loose their common sense? Your also right about Obama. I am at a loss on how to correct that. I don't think there will be a primary and my only hope is maybe he will be more outspoken when he is not looking toward another reelection.

[TexasProgresive]

19. unrec

The only times I hear statements like: "There is hardly a hair of difference between the two parties..." it raises my hackles. There is a lot of room for improvement in our party-but we are not to be compared with extreme right wing pukes.

[Waiting For Everyman]

23. I have to agree with you - that's an important distinction.

And at times like these, the difference between the parties matters more than ever.

[TexasProgresive]

32. The other thing is that these kind of statements are designed for one thing

to discourage democrats from voting. If there is one thing that makes pukes happy is when we don't vote, and failing that they do what they can to stop us from voting or will throw our ballots in the trash.

[NNN0LHI]

21. Anyone who compares those freaks of nature who were on the stage last night to Dems ...

... either isn't playing with a full deck or has an agenda.

Don

[Octafish]

22. Fish rot from the head down.

The nation is led by warmongers and mass murderers. Our policies benefit warmongers and mass murderers. It's understandable to see how so many people will find nothing wrong with killing and making a buck.

[southernyankeebelle]

24. I feel the same. These baggers are suppose to be christains. OMG.

[EstimatedProphet]

25. These people are not going away

The worst aspect of what Fox has done to news media is that it has made it OK to be a racist and a bully. The racists and bullies are never going to let go now that they've gotten some attention. They'll tear down the world first. That's what they always do when they get control.

[treestar]

26. What is "fighting for the soul of this country" ?

and shouldn't we all do it? This is a government of the People. The Constitution starts out "We the People" and defines the President in Article II.

This vague "fight" business gets us no where. The Tea Party would not just disappear due to some vague action of "fighting" by the Executive Branch. We don't get to expect the Executive Branch to quash all opposition.

The right is part of the soul of this country. No superman is going to remove them. We can't just sit back and expect the Executive Branch to remove them. Even the judicial branch will rule they have a right to free speech.

[Bluenorthwest]

31. So what is the proper 'Thrid Way' compromise to offer these

people shouting 'let him die'? It is not the executive branch alone that is puffing up this right leaning concept that compromising with the radical right is the guiding principle, it is their self declared 'supporters' who do that, and they are NOT the executive, nor do they speak for that branch or the President.
So what is the 'middle way' you suggest? I myself do not think the right wing is part of our national soul, I think they are internationalists without regard for the state of the nation, caring only for profits which have no borders. You see the right as part of our soul, so how would YOU compromise with this lot?
They say 'let the uninsured die'. What is your compromise offer to the radical right? And how do you personally reconcile the President's claim of Christianity when asked about civil rights for minorities he does not like with this idea that there are no principles, only compromises? How can marriage be of such great importance if the people in those marriages are of no value, their lives not even worth saving?
So, Christian in regard to teh gay, but calloused Randianism in all other things, is that the compromise? Or is the 'Christian' shit just bladerdash from word go?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

27. "There is hardly a hair of difference between the two parties now."

You should have kept watching. The part where the crowd agreed with the premise of letting an uninsured person die was one pivotal distinction between the two parties. Then Dems aren't known to cheer for executions either.

You'd be closer to say the Dems of today resemble to Republicans of yesterday in many ways. But face it, the Republicans of today are insane, filled with a raging hate and dangerous. Even I can't defend comparing the two.

[chillspike]

28. Wait 'till you figure out how STUPID they are

Fun times!

[scheming daemons]

30. "Hardly a hair's difference between the parties" condradicts your first paragraph

You start out by being upset about what you saw last night from the far right. Justifiably so.

Then you say there is no difference between them and Obama??

Listen to yourself.

[WiffenPoof]

38. You Make an Excellent Point...

Maybe I should have stuck to the notion that the Dem Party has moved to the Right and left it at that.

-P

[KurtNYC]

33. They speak in rehearsed soundbites which are generated by focus groups.

Basically they go around and ask voters 'What would you like to hear a candidate say?' and "What should be done about ____?'

They aggregate those answers finding the most common phrases and the candidates use those exact phrases in debates, commercials and campaign speeches. They are just speaking back to the customer in the language of the customer. Standard marketing.

Obama does the same thing and very well. Apparently when they asked voters what they wanted in 2008, the voters used the words "hope" and "change" more frequently than other words.

[immoderate]

34. Obama does not channel FDR. He's a Reagan guy.

Ya notice?

--imm