4 ms·

What compels a person to move right in America these days? The Republican party is fiscally irresponsible and only knows how to play identity politics. Watching

by nawgz 3y ago

What compels a person to move right in America these days? The Republican party is fiscally irresponsible and only knows how to play identity politics. Watching as a foreigner it's clear the Dems are a bad joke but the Republicans are actively hateful against large swaths of their own country

mikecoles 3y ago
Backwards, bud.
- nawgz 3y ago
  I encourage you to look at a chart of the US deficit by administration if you’re challenging the fiscally responsible part. If you’re challenging the hateful part, you must be blind.
  - wonderwonder 3y ago
    I would argue that both sides are equally hateful and full of disdain for the other. The time of calm rational conversations where we agree to disagree has unfortunately passed. I can have a beer and calm conversation with anyone and have done it many times. I've even done it with open anti Semites and neo Nazis [it was a very good conversation] while I'm Jewish. These days instead of trying to understand where someone is coming from and having an open exchange of ideas, everyone just resorts to personal attacks and outrage. It's exhausting.
  - jpadkins 3y ago
    congress controls the budget, not the presidential administration. It is very common in US politics to have split branches (Republican president with Democrat control of the congress and vice versa) with only very brief periods where a single party controls both branches. I think the conclusion you can come to when looking at deficit spending by congressional control is neither party is fiscally responsible in the last 40 years.
  - mikecoles 3y ago
    Neither blind nor the useful idiot in this chain.
appplication 3y ago
I can answer this. I’ve found myself gliding further left on some issues, while also distancing myself from other issues that the Democratic Party finds itself championing. Generally, I would probably most closely align with Bernie Sanders’s ideology. For me, moving right does not mean I would ever vote republican. They’re not a party of anything in particular other than obstructionism, identity politics, and institutional self-destruction for the enrichment of a very small (<0.1%) group of Americans and corporations. That said, some things I trend more “right” than I used to, as a consequence of living in San Francisco: - Highly addictive drug use should not be a free for all, it should be aggressively curtailed. This doesn’t need to be punitively, but I don’t think institutionalizing and forced rehab is strictly wrong. I also have no problem with increased taxes funding this. - Homelessness is not a right. Common space in cities is not a place for us to let the lowest of society collect and inhabit. - Crime should be punished, and organized crime/gangs should be aggressively snuffed out. This almost sounds like an absurd statement to make, but SF/Oakland DA’s have taken the stance that prosecuting crime is inherently racist, and essentially opt to release criminals rather than charge them. - Race based affirmative action/reparations/benefits should not exist. These are great ideas on paper, but they are radicalizing to other systemically oppressed groups (e.g. poor white people end up pissed off and alienated, and align with the Republican Party, despite it being completely opposed to their own interests) For anyone reading, this is just some personal takes in response to the question. I’m not looking to have a political debate on here.
- nawgz 3y ago
  I'm sorry, what? Supporting taxation? Believing rehab is necessary for curbing addiction instead of simple willpower? The state enforcing its laws? Equity? These are lefty positions if I've ever heard them
  - appplication 3y ago
    They are, but unfortunately the one option we have for “left” policy in this country doesn’t have a great track record of taking realistic stances on these issues.

by nawgz 3y ago

mikecoles 3y ago

Backwards, bud.

nawgz 3y ago
I encourage you to look at a chart of the US deficit by administration if you’re challenging the fiscally responsible part. If you’re challenging the hateful part, you must be blind.
- wonderwonder 3y ago
  I would argue that both sides are equally hateful and full of disdain for the other. The time of calm rational conversations where we agree to disagree has unfortunately passed. I can have a beer and calm conversation with anyone and have done it many times. I've even done it with open anti Semites and neo Nazis [it was a very good conversation] while I'm Jewish. These days instead of trying to understand where someone is coming from and having an open exchange of ideas, everyone just resorts to personal attacks and outrage. It's exhausting.
- jpadkins 3y ago
  congress controls the budget, not the presidential administration. It is very common in US politics to have split branches (Republican president with Democrat control of the congress and vice versa) with only very brief periods where a single party controls both branches. I think the conclusion you can come to when looking at deficit spending by congressional control is neither party is fiscally responsible in the last 40 years.
- mikecoles 3y ago
  Neither blind nor the useful idiot in this chain.

appplication 3y ago

I can answer this. I’ve found myself gliding further left on some issues, while also distancing myself from other issues that the Democratic Party finds itself championing. Generally, I would probably most closely align with Bernie Sanders’s ideology. For me, moving right does not mean I would ever vote republican. They’re not a party of anything in particular other than obstructionism, identity politics, and institutional self-destruction for the enrichment of a very small (<0.1%) group of Americans and corporations. That said, some things I trend more “right” than I used to, as a consequence of living in San Francisco: - Highly addictive drug use should not be a free for all, it should be aggressively curtailed. This doesn’t need to be punitively, but I don’t think institutionalizing and forced rehab is strictly wrong. I also have no problem with increased taxes funding this. - Homelessness is not a right. Common space in cities is not a place for us to let the lowest of society collect and inhabit. - Crime should be punished, and organized crime/gangs should be aggressively snuffed out. This almost sounds like an absurd statement to make, but SF/Oakland DA’s have taken the stance that prosecuting crime is inherently racist, and essentially opt to release criminals rather than charge them. - Race based affirmative action/reparations/benefits should not exist. These are great ideas on paper, but they are radicalizing to other systemically oppressed groups (e.g. poor white people end up pissed off and alienated, and align with the Republican Party, despite it being completely opposed to their own interests) For anyone reading, this is just some personal takes in response to the question. I’m not looking to have a political debate on here.

nawgz 3y ago
I'm sorry, what? Supporting taxation? Believing rehab is necessary for curbing addiction instead of simple willpower? The state enforcing its laws? Equity? These are lefty positions if I've ever heard them
- appplication 3y ago
  They are, but unfortunately the one option we have for “left” policy in this country doesn’t have a great track record of taking realistic stances on these issues.