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wait a second... I count nine Republican initial supporters and four Democrat initial supporters. Where are you getting the "...illusion that the Democratic Pa

wait a second... I count nine Republican initial supporters and four Democrat initial supporters. Where are you getting the "...illusion that the Democratic Party is at all useful or decent" part at all? from Wikipedia(you know how to get there still): The Stop Online Piracy Act was introduced by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) and was initially co-sponsored by Howard Berman (D-CA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), John Conyers (D-MI), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Timothy Griffin (R-AR), Dennis A. Ross (R-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Lee Terry (R-NE). As of January 16, 2012, there were 31 sponsors.[82] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act#Supporters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act#Supporte... I think both sides are terrible but to lambaste one side for something that they didn't do is bad reporting.

jessriedel 15y ago
> I count nine Republican initial supporters and four Democrat initial supporters. Where are you getting the "...illusion that the Democratic Party is at all useful or decent" part at all? The OP's whole point is that the Democratic party is arguably less bad than the Republicans, but that they are still very bad and deserve no loyalty. Your pointing out that more Republicans initially supported the bill does not conflict with this. Here is a list by propublica.org which lists likely supporters and opponents for SOPA/PIPA. http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/ http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/ I count 37 Republicans and 43 Democrats on the list of supporters. I count 14 Republicans and 17 Democrats on the list of opponents.
- weaksauce 15y ago
  I understand that they are about equally as bad; I don't understand the conclusion: "vote republican because those democrats are bad." If anything vote libertarian or independent to show disapproval. Vote against the people in your congress/senate that support it. I am not going to argue here which one is less bad because that's pointless and off topic. I am merely pointing out the logical disconnect that I saw.
  - jessriedel 15y ago
    Well, you misinterpreted. The conclusion of michaelochurch was decidedly not to "vote republican because those democrats are bad." He said > I will be likely voting Republican (for the first time in my life) for at least some of the 2012 elections, out of my commitment to vote against any incumbent who supports or votes for SOPA
    - weaksauce 15y ago
      You are correct; I misread it.
    - repsilat 15y ago
      This is the important point - the US doesn't have a strong party system. Senators aren't evicted from their party when they cross the party line like they are in other countries. Outside of the presidential election, voters in the US don't vote for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, they vote for their electoral reprentative. The party of the representatives on offer might be a decent heuristic for their policies and values, but the informed voter has a lot more information at their fingertips than just that.
      - bricestacey 15y ago
        Worse, with a 2 party system you can't necessarily vote for your preferred candidate. In most cases, elections are so skewed toward Democrat/Republican candidates and often are so close between the two that you have no short-term effect unless you vote for the Democratic or Republican you hate the least.
tsotha 15y ago
I'm a conservative, so I normally vote Republican, but it's not hard to recognize the corruption this represents. Everybody on that list, regardless of party, needs to be run out of office. The more tar and feathers involved the happier I'll be.

jessriedel 15y ago

> I count nine Republican initial supporters and four Democrat initial supporters. Where are you getting the "...illusion that the Democratic Party is at all useful or decent" part at all? The OP's whole point is that the Democratic party is arguably less bad than the Republicans, but that they are still very bad and deserve no loyalty. Your pointing out that more Republicans initially supported the bill does not conflict with this. Here is a list by propublica.org which lists likely supporters and opponents for SOPA/PIPA. http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/ http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/ I count 37 Republicans and 43 Democrats on the list of supporters. I count 14 Republicans and 17 Democrats on the list of opponents.

weaksauce 15y ago
I understand that they are about equally as bad; I don't understand the conclusion: "vote republican because those democrats are bad." If anything vote libertarian or independent to show disapproval. Vote against the people in your congress/senate that support it. I am not going to argue here which one is less bad because that's pointless and off topic. I am merely pointing out the logical disconnect that I saw.
- jessriedel 15y ago
  Well, you misinterpreted. The conclusion of michaelochurch was decidedly not to "vote republican because those democrats are bad." He said > I will be likely voting Republican (for the first time in my life) for at least some of the 2012 elections, out of my commitment to vote against any incumbent who supports or votes for SOPA
  - weaksauce 15y ago
    You are correct; I misread it.
  - repsilat 15y ago
    This is the important point - the US doesn't have a strong party system. Senators aren't evicted from their party when they cross the party line like they are in other countries. Outside of the presidential election, voters in the US don't vote for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, they vote for their electoral reprentative. The party of the representatives on offer might be a decent heuristic for their policies and values, but the informed voter has a lot more information at their fingertips than just that.
    - bricestacey 15y ago
      Worse, with a 2 party system you can't necessarily vote for your preferred candidate. In most cases, elections are so skewed toward Democrat/Republican candidates and often are so close between the two that you have no short-term effect unless you vote for the Democratic or Republican you hate the least.

tsotha 15y ago

I'm a conservative, so I normally vote Republican, but it's not hard to recognize the corruption this represents. Everybody on that list, regardless of party, needs to be run out of office. The more tar and feathers involved the happier I'll be.