Fight the good fight. It is worth it.

[Foxfyre]

For those of us who are not happy with the status quo, how do we do that?

1. Do some of you think if Republicans would just go away, your party would make everything wonderful?

2. Do some of you think if Democrats would just go away, your party would make everything wonderful?

3. Do some of you think if the libertarian philosophy had been voted on Tuesday, everything could be made wonderful?

Let's focus for a minute on the core issues that are not negotiable for us. What is it that you want your government to do? Please be specific and state it, if possible, without referencing anybody else or how it has been done in the past.

 

[Foxfyre]

What I want the federal government to do:

1. Keep me safe from enemies, foreign and domestic.
2. Follow the original intent of the Constitution
3. Implement sufficient regulation to prevent others from infringing on my unalienable rights and/or doing violence to each other and accomplish efficient cooperation between the states and other counties, and then leave me alone to live my life as I choose.

 

[Foxfyre]

I will further say that I no longer have confidence in either the Republicans or Democrats to produce the federal government that I want. I am now strongly leaning to a third party that embodies the principles that I see as most important.

 

[candycorn]

There can be honest discussion, but only when people take off their party glasses. Obama is not a evil pinko dictator commie, republicans are not racist grandpas trying to drag the country back to the stone age. How can we discuss the state of the nation when so many can't even agree that the other guy loves America too?

Amen to this and to Immie's immediately preceding post. The two sides have been demonizing each other for so long that we become unable to see or hear each other any other way. If I am wrong about Obama's efforts at bipartianship, I need to be able to accept and adjust my perceptions about that. If CClaytonJones is wrong about conservatives wanting to return to something that never existed he needs to be open to that. And we all need to be more sensitive to how others hear our stated opinions and concepts and make sure those are not misunderstood.

But the bottom line is that most of us really do want what is best for America and Americans. And somewhere between the two poles there is some common ground to be found.

There's no compromise between collectivism and individual liberty. These things are not compatible. You can't macromanage a society without micromanaging lives. So, all this kumbaya and naval-gazing is nothing but the left's latest feint. They just voted for the status quo, four more years of partisan division and gridlock. And now they're trying to convince you that somehow they've got a "mandate" for their loony agenda and that you shouldn't fight it anymore. But they've got no more "mandate" than they had last week. All they've got is a bunch of lazy looters who don't want to get off the gravy train.

We do have one thing...

SCOREBOARD.

Look at it.

 

[jillian]

I will further say that I no longer have confidence in either the Republicans or Democrats to produce the federal government that I want. I am now strongly leaning to a third party that embodies the principles that I see as most important.

then by all means, vote for that third party

 

[Foxfyre]

I will further say that I no longer have confidence in either the Republicans or Democrats to produce the federal government that I want. I am now strongly leaning to a third party that embodies the principles that I see as most important.

then by all means, vote for that third party

It doesn't exist yet. I was hoping we might discuss that as to the principles we would want in that third party. What do you want from your government that you would want a third party to promise?

 

[AmyNation]

I would love a viable third party.

Socially moderate, fiscally conservative.

 

[Foxfyre]

I would love a viable third party.

Socially moderate, fiscally conservative.

So this is what I want from the federal goverment:

What I want the federal government to do:

1. Keep me safe from enemies, foreign and domestic.
2. Follow the original intent of the Constitution
3. Implement sufficient regulation to prevent others from infringing on my unalienable rights and/or doing violence to each other and accomplish efficient cooperation between the states and other countries, and then leave me alone to live my life as I choose.

Would that fit the platform you could support in a third party effort?

 

[LoneLaugher]

You need more specifics.

 

[Foxfyre]

Those are the specifics. Of course each is subject to discussion and clarification, but you can't get much more specific than my list.

 

[Vast LWC]

Are you out of your friggin mind? When has the left EVAH held obummer accountable for any damn thing? Name one! Go ahead I double dog dare ya.

Wow, Foxfyre makes a very reasonable call for working together, and finding common ground, and this is your response?

That's messed up.

 

[AmyNation]

I would love a viable third party.

Socially moderate, fiscally conservative.

So this is what I want from the federal goverment:

What I want the federal government to do:

1. Keep me safe from enemies, foreign and domestic.
2. Follow the original intent of the Constitution
3. Implement sufficient regulation to prevent others from infringing on my unalienable rights and/or doing violence to each other and accomplish efficient cooperation between the states and other countries, and then leave me alone to live my life as I choose.

Would that fit the platform you could support in a third party effort?

Yes

At this point, I would support any candidate who I believed would reduce the deficit, limit the government and repeal the Patriot Act.

 

[LoneLaugher]

Those are the specifics. Of course each is subject to discussion and clarification, but you can't get much more specific than my list.

There are no simple solutions to complex problems. Aa political pltatform cannot consist of romantic notions like " follow the original intent of the Constitution". Especially when said intent is open to interpretation and in no way specific.

Please. Drill down if you wish to have a discussion that goes deeper than platitudes.

 

[Foxfyre]

I would love a viable third party.

Socially moderate, fiscally conservative.

So this is what I want from the federal goverment:

What I want the federal government to do:

1. Keep me safe from enemies, foreign and domestic.
2. Follow the original intent of the Constitution
3. Implement sufficient regulation to prevent others from infringing on my unalienable rights and/or doing violence to each other and accomplish efficient cooperation between the states and other countries, and then leave me alone to live my life as I choose.

Would that fit the platform you could support in a third party effort?

Yes

At this point, I would support any candidate who I believed would reduce the deficit, limit the government and repeal the Patriot Act.

If we go with original intent, there will be no deficits, except in very short term and manageable instances, as the Founders would see the federal government having no right or purpose in forcing the people to take on debt obligations.

The original intent of the Constitution was strictly limited government--it could do only what the Constitution explicitly allowed and it did not allow the federal government to order what sort of society the people chose to have.

 

[Foxfyre]

I would love a viable third party.

Socially moderate, fiscally conservative.

So this is what I want from the federal goverment:

What I want the federal government to do:

1. Keep me safe from enemies, foreign and domestic.
2. Follow the original intent of the Constitution
3. Implement sufficient regulation to prevent others from infringing on my unalienable rights and/or doing violence to each other and accomplish efficient cooperation between the states and other countries, and then leave me alone to live my life as I choose.

Would that fit the platform you could support in a third party effort?

Yes

At this point, I would support any candidate who I believed would reduce the deficit, limit the government and repeal the Patriot Act.

If we go with original intent, there will be no deficits, except in very short term and manageable instances, as the Founders would see the federal government having no right or purpose in forcing the people to take on debt obligations.

The original intent of the Constitution was strictly limited government--it could do only what the Constitution explicitly allowed and it did not allow the federal government to order what sort of society the people chose to have.

The Patriot Act, however, falls within the duty of government to provide the common defense and we would have to negotiate on that one. There are some who say most provisions were necessary to provide defense against America's enemies who are determined to do the most horrific violence to hurt us as much as possible. Think 9/11. And there are others who believe it goes too far in giving government power to restrict freedoms. So that one is defnitely worthy of discussion and negotiation.

 

[Immanuel]

I would love a viable third party.

Socially moderate, fiscally conservative.

So this is what I want from the federal goverment:

What I want the federal government to do:

1. Keep me safe from enemies, foreign and domestic.
2. Follow the original intent of the Constitution
3. Implement sufficient regulation to prevent others from infringing on my unalienable rights and/or doing violence to each other and accomplish efficient cooperation between the states and other countries, and then leave me alone to live my life as I choose.

Would that fit the platform you could support in a third party effort?

Yes

At this point, I would support any candidate who I believed would reduce the deficit, limit the government and repeal the Patriot Act.

I believe you supported Obama this year. Did you do so because you believed that he would do these things or did you do so because you believed neither he nor Romney would do these things, but you believed Obama was the lesser of two evils?

If I am incorrect in my believe about who you supported, please forgive me.
Immie

 

[Foxfyre]

So this is what I want from the federal goverment:


Would that fit the platform you could support in a third party effort?

Yes

At this point, I would support any candidate who I believed would reduce the deficit, limit the government and repeal the Patriot Act.

I believe you supported Obama this year. Did you do so because you believed that he would do these things or did you do so because you believed neither he nor Romney would do these things, but you believed Obama was the lesser of two evils?

If I am incorrect in my believe about who you supported, please forgive me.
Immie

Immie, you know I love you dearly, but I don't care who Amy voted for or why or what she thought any given candidate would do.

She has nobly, and bravely I might add, stated what she wants in a federal government. So lets put the sand on this past election. It is done and cannot be undone.

Here is what I want from the federal government and would support a third party who would embrace it.

What I want the federal government to do:

1. Keep me safe from enemies, foreign and domestic.
2. Follow the original intent of the Constitution
3. Implement sufficient regulation to prevent others from infringing on my unalienable rights and/or doing violence to each other and accomplish efficient cooperation between the states and other countries, and then leave me alone to live my life as I choose.

What do YOU want from your federal government?

 

[LoneLaugher]

More specifics are needed.

 

[Foxfyre]

More specifics are needed.

Again my list is specific. Give me an example of what would be saatisfactory as specific to you.

 

[AmyNation]

So this is what I want from the federal goverment:


Would that fit the platform you could support in a third party effort?

Yes

At this point, I would support any candidate who I believed would reduce the deficit, limit the government and repeal the Patriot Act.

I believe you supported Obama this year. Did you do so because you believed that he would do these things or did you do so because you believed neither he nor Romney would do these things, but you believed Obama was the lesser of two evils?

If I am incorrect in my believe about who you supported, please forgive me.
Immie

Nope. Obama didn't earn my vote.

I voted third party this year, because it was the only palpable choice for me.