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I wonder if this is a reaction to Republican party politics of the last 20 years or so? They seem to speak with a single voice, even if that voice is usually sa

I wonder if this is a reaction to Republican party politics of the last 20 years or so? They seem to speak with a single voice, even if that voice is usually saying stupid, hateful, regressive things. That they march in such lockstep is probably their greatest asset as a party, and I really don't know if it's something to be emulated or not (leaning toward 'not', though).

brandonmenc 12y ago
Conservatives, Republicans in particular, unlike the Left, when it comes time to vote, will put aside even major differences in order to crush what they consider to be the greater evil. After that, they get back to the usual internal skirmishes.
WillNotDownvote 12y ago
"They seem to speak with a single voice" This is something that even casual observation of the real world as opposed to rhetoric will show you that it's not true.
- deciplex 12y ago
  Like, when they all mysteriously start saying "I'm not a scientist" at exactly the same time? I'm not suggesting they all adhere to the same ideology. I'm saying that they have better party discipline.
omegaham 12y ago
I would actually argue that the Left is far more ideologically consistent. The Right is badly split between the fiscal and the social conservatives; half of them couldn't care less about abortion and gay rights, and half of them couldn't care less about the economy. In contrast, while they disagree about how far left to go, the Left is mostly pretty consistent on the fundamentals of their platform.
- deciplex 12y ago
  I think that's more the fact that any leftists you can get to stay in a room together for five minutes without tearing each others throats out, will by necessity be ideologically consistent with each other. I'm leftist, but I'm also pro-gun (how else to overthrow the ruling class, after all), and I think there are probably some innate gender differences in humans, much like there are in e.g. Sumatran orangutans. I wouldn't last two minutes in deBoer's class, and while I'm leftist, I could never be an ally of The Left.

brandonmenc 12y ago

Conservatives, Republicans in particular, unlike the Left, when it comes time to vote, will put aside even major differences in order to crush what they consider to be the greater evil. After that, they get back to the usual internal skirmishes.

WillNotDownvote 12y ago

"They seem to speak with a single voice" This is something that even casual observation of the real world as opposed to rhetoric will show you that it's not true.

deciplex 12y ago
Like, when they all mysteriously start saying "I'm not a scientist" at exactly the same time? I'm not suggesting they all adhere to the same ideology. I'm saying that they have better party discipline.

omegaham 12y ago

I would actually argue that the Left is far more ideologically consistent. The Right is badly split between the fiscal and the social conservatives; half of them couldn't care less about abortion and gay rights, and half of them couldn't care less about the economy. In contrast, while they disagree about how far left to go, the Left is mostly pretty consistent on the fundamentals of their platform.

deciplex 12y ago
I think that's more the fact that any leftists you can get to stay in a room together for five minutes without tearing each others throats out, will by necessity be ideologically consistent with each other. I'm leftist, but I'm also pro-gun (how else to overthrow the ruling class, after all), and I think there are probably some innate gender differences in humans, much like there are in e.g. Sumatran orangutans. I wouldn't last two minutes in deBoer's class, and while I'm leftist, I could never be an ally of The Left.