4 ms·

>> You have to deny them victories, even on issues that you support. It sucks but the right has outsized influence over the country because of party discipline

>> You have to deny them victories, even on issues that you support. It sucks but the right has outsized influence over the country because of party discipline like I've just described. This attitude is the reason politics is fucked. Vote based on issues, not party bullshit. If a party is good on one issue you support and bad on every other issue obviously they won't get your support but voting based on a party and not issues is idiotic.

youdontknowtho 10y ago
I would say that the reason politics is fucked is that one party is an apocalyptic cult. The Republicans have given up on governance. Change is not possible when one party is willing to defy any norms. I wish it wasn't that way, but unless the right wing is broken as a political block, nothing is possible...
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  Your attitude is the problem. The other party is not 'an apocalyptic cult'. It's a different set of ideas to your own that's supported by about half the voters in your country. I'm not American but I say this as someone who's own views are pretty much opposite of everything the GOP stands for (I consider even the Democratic party in the US right wing). Demonising the other side gets you nowhere - it makes you look like the asshole, not them.
  - youdontknowtho 10y ago
    Wow. Have you not been paying attention? They actively portray liberals and Democrats as un-American all the time. Every democratic president or majority is illegitimate. They've actively stoked racial fears my entire life. They are opposed to critical thinking... you think that last one is hyperbole, except it isn't. The Texas republican party tried to add opposition to teaching kids critical thinking to their official platform in 2012. I wouldn't want to come across like an asshole, though. The other side denies science and started the Iraq war. But I would want to come off as harsh, though...
- sctb 10y ago
  If we're going to have the occasional political discussion on Hacker News, we're going to have to please refrain from calling names like "apocalyptic cult".
  - dredmorbius 10y ago
    When that's what senior GOP officials are calling the party themselves, and have been for years, well before the recent election cycle, and how it's referred to in mainstream media, you might care to reconsider your position. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-apocalyptic-gop-is-dragging-us-into-a-civil-war-20110907 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-apocalypti... https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the... http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2011/09/republican-party-congressional http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2011/09/republ... http://www.thehypertexts.com/Republican%20Insanity.htm http://www.thehypertexts.com/Republican%20Insanity.htm http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/07/the_republican_party_is_out_of_ideas_it_is_now_purely_a_cult_of_personality.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/201... There is such a thing as false balance.
    - 3131s 10y ago
      A single former GOP staffer is what 4 out of 5 of those articles are referencing. The last one doesn't even contain the words "apocalyptic cult".
      - pcvarmint 10y ago
        Correct, Mike Lofgren. [0] [0] http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779 http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operati...
  - youdontknowtho 10y ago
    I'm not the one that came up with that term. I think it was Norm Ornstein? What I don't understand is how you think you can have a discussion with one side willing to do anything to subvert your position. My point is that republicans have been playing to win and Democrats have been playing along. If you value science or secular society there isn't another choice. You have to oppose them.

youdontknowtho 10y ago

I would say that the reason politics is fucked is that one party is an apocalyptic cult. The Republicans have given up on governance. Change is not possible when one party is willing to defy any norms. I wish it wasn't that way, but unless the right wing is broken as a political block, nothing is possible...

k-mcgrady 10y ago
Your attitude is the problem. The other party is not 'an apocalyptic cult'. It's a different set of ideas to your own that's supported by about half the voters in your country. I'm not American but I say this as someone who's own views are pretty much opposite of everything the GOP stands for (I consider even the Democratic party in the US right wing). Demonising the other side gets you nowhere - it makes you look like the asshole, not them.
- youdontknowtho 10y ago
  Wow. Have you not been paying attention? They actively portray liberals and Democrats as un-American all the time. Every democratic president or majority is illegitimate. They've actively stoked racial fears my entire life. They are opposed to critical thinking... you think that last one is hyperbole, except it isn't. The Texas republican party tried to add opposition to teaching kids critical thinking to their official platform in 2012. I wouldn't want to come across like an asshole, though. The other side denies science and started the Iraq war. But I would want to come off as harsh, though...
sctb 10y ago
If we're going to have the occasional political discussion on Hacker News, we're going to have to please refrain from calling names like "apocalyptic cult".
- dredmorbius 10y ago
  When that's what senior GOP officials are calling the party themselves, and have been for years, well before the recent election cycle, and how it's referred to in mainstream media, you might care to reconsider your position. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-apocalyptic-gop-is-dragging-us-into-a-civil-war-20110907 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-apocalypti... https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the... http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2011/09/republican-party-congressional http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2011/09/republ... http://www.thehypertexts.com/Republican%20Insanity.htm http://www.thehypertexts.com/Republican%20Insanity.htm http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/07/the_republican_party_is_out_of_ideas_it_is_now_purely_a_cult_of_personality.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/201... There is such a thing as false balance.
  - 3131s 10y ago
    A single former GOP staffer is what 4 out of 5 of those articles are referencing. The last one doesn't even contain the words "apocalyptic cult".
    - pcvarmint 10y ago
      Correct, Mike Lofgren. [0] [0] http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779 http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operati...
- youdontknowtho 10y ago
  I'm not the one that came up with that term. I think it was Norm Ornstein? What I don't understand is how you think you can have a discussion with one side willing to do anything to subvert your position. My point is that republicans have been playing to win and Democrats have been playing along. If you value science or secular society there isn't another choice. You have to oppose them.