Lounge of Tomorrow - Political Persuasion- how did you get there?

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It was fairly easy to predict the path this thread would take, which is why I refrained from posting.

I did bring popcorn, though.:D

Well if we do decend down that path, I hope I'll get the chance to toss a few Molotov One Liners

I'm counting on that, €uro. Just don't scorch the popcorn.:cheers:

Ah, but I love the burnt pieces

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaeagles

I was going to quote ISM but found there was too much to quote. I think JWBear, who somewhere else posted that Republicans act as if they have the moral high ground, needs to read that post by ISM and make a determination as to who believes they have moral high ground. Perhaps I will copy it to a word document and paste it whenever someone claims that Republicans act as if they are good and dems are evil. Apparently there are (gasp!) dems that have that attitude as well.

I don't really know what else to say about it. It would be pointless when I have been defined as supporting evil.

I can't really say why I am conservative. I have conservative leanings, but I consider myself to be a strict constructionist. I suppose Madison was evil when he said, when a small charitable appropriations bill came before him -

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on the objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."

Does this mean I don't support charity? Not in the least. I support charity from charitable organizations of which the government should not be one.

I have read the Federalist Papers. I love the Constitution for what it was intended to be. Before anyone jumps on me and talks about slavery and women voting and the like, the Constitution was only intended to be a "living, breathing document" in terms of the amendment process. It is what it is and to change it requires not the whim of a legislator or President or judge, but a process, and it has rightly been changed in the past. It is not my goal to open a debate on Constitutional philosophy, but more to describe why I am the way I am.

Like LSPoor above me, I also believe that "all people deserve as good a life as possible". I just think that is done differently than liberals do.

This all begs the question.

Whether it is good, right or moral to outlaw abortion, criminalize gay sex or ban gay marriage does not hinge on whether the effort would surpass constitutional scrutiny.

Whether it is good, right or moral for businesses to refuse to serve people based on race does not hinge on whether the Civil Rights Act really was a valid exercise of power under the Commerce Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment.

Whether it would be good, right or moral for each state to enshrine one religion (which one might it be?) and ban all others does not hinge on whether Justice Scalia is right and the Establishment Clause only prevents Congress from establishing a national church.

By the way, why shouldn't the state or federal government be in the business of providing "charity?" By government charity, I assume you don't want to pay to help poor people. What else don't you want to pay for, directly or indirectly? Social security? Farm subsidies? Tax credits to industries? Public schools your kids don't attend? Maintenance on roads you don't drive? Government is just one form of organization and human action. If Jesus comes back and says, how're you doing with Matthew 25:31-46, I don't think he would be offended to see compassionate and charitable efforts being conducted through civil governments as opposed to megachurches.

This is an interesting thread to me, as I'm trying to figure the whole politics thing out. As Alex pointed out, the religion of my birth prohibits political opinions/discussion and participation. However, I believe that to be a load of crap, as people are obviously going to have opinions regardless of whether they qualify their statements with, "even though I'm politically neutral."

So, I'll say my dad is conservative, and my mom is liberal. I'm sure I'm far more to the liberal side, but I really don't have a clue as to what that means, except that I usually agree with dems when opinions are stated.

I really couldn't care less about politics mostly, but it's come to my attention that there are certain local propositions that I actually care about. THings that could potentially make a difference in the community. I.e, pigs that can't stand up, or tax reductions that mean no more free museum days, etc. However, I'm not even sure when voting is, or where one goes for that sort of thing. So we'll see what happens.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

Whether it is good, right or moral to outlaw abortion, criminalize gay sex or ban gay marriage does not hinge on whether the effort would surpass constitutional scrutiny.

What does it hinge on, in your opinion? I'm guessing it will be something about equally subjective and arbitrary.

I've never considered myself a democrat or a republican. Kerry was the first democrat I ever voted for and I wasn't pleased about it. I wan't pleased that I had to choose between him and Bush. I wasn't pleased that he was the best the dems could come up with. As Lewis Black says, "It was like choosing between two bowls of sh*t. The only difference was the smell."

My problem isn't with republicans, per se. It is with those that cannot see how horrible this current administration is. I truly believe that this administration are going to leave the world in much worse shape than how they found it and that we have to put a stop to it. If all we have to look forward to from the republicans is eight more years of the crap we have seen, then they will not get my vote. If I hear one that has some decent ideas on how to fix this mess we are in, I will listen to what they have to say. I will hold the democratic candidate to the same standard.

I want to hear solutions, not lies and distortions and spin. I want someone more interested in education than gay marriage. I want someone who understands fiscal management and foreign policy. I want someone who will project an image of the United States to the world that I can be proud of, not someone who comes off like an ignorant bully gunslinger. I want someone who can speak, who can motivate, who can exude confidence and strength without making idle threats.

Whichever candidate comes closer to matching this profile, democrat or repulican or other, will get my vote.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wendybeth

It was fairly easy to predict the path this thread would take, which is why I refrained from posting.

I did bring popcorn, though.:D

*munch munch*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

This all begs the question.

Whether it is good, right or moral .....

Whether it is good, right or moral.....

Whether it would be good, right or moral.....

By the way, why shouldn't the state or federal government be in the business of providing "charity?"

So....another democrat whom I assume dislikes that the Republicans stand on their pedestals and make morality judgements does the same? I'm shocked. So you are saying that you vote democrat because it is....well.....more moral. You make the judgement over and over that you dislike when Republicans make it.

Why shouldn't the government be in the business of providing charity? Well, the father of the Constitution that I quoted earlier, being Madison, seemed to think it was UnConstitutional. Apparently from your posting you think that constitutional scrutiny is a good thing. However, it is also apparent that it is only a good thing if you agree with the item that is put under such scrutiny.

As far as charitable work, I won't bother to list what I contribute to, and they are not primarily "megachurches", as you put it. As with my minimum wage example, the (so-called) charitable work of the government often does more harm than good.