what could be done to unite this country and end the partisan bs?

[Procrustes Stretched]

as far as i can see...obama has not made any move to "unite" this country behind him or any recovery plan. with only 25% of the stimulus money released...(according to npr)...

No move? Are you blind or just dumb? Maybe your ideology or something else is blinding you?


note: I did NOT vote for Obama in either the primary or general. I have principles.

 

[tigerbob]

it didnt help the implications that we didnt have honest elections....now all elections results are in doubt.
even the landslide of obama has been called into question (now before someone points out..that it wasnt that much of a landslide...it was called that for bush...so lets move on) once you began to question the machinery and it cant answer...you have two ways to go...repair or cover up...both sides have opted to cover up...

being old school..(hush shogun) i remember simple things like paper ballots, paper trails...before the age of everything done by computer. how hard is it to register to vote? should registering to vote really be something that is simple and taken for granted? i always hear how troops are dying for our free speech and free elections? but it seems we have free speech zones now...what happen to the entire country being free speech zones...and free elections that less than 1/2 the people vote in? we have gone from denying people the right to vote to perhaps making it too easy or letting people take it for granted....you should cherish your ability to vote, freely and openly ..and your vote should count.

i dont care if you are one of those crazy fred phelps people...you still have the right to free speech....with which should come consequences....people talk about the south being violent and racist...yea well maybe we are both...but here when you call a black man a ****** and he kicks your ass...in the mountians we just call that....letting your ass over ride you mouth....and you still have the right to vote.

much was made over obama turning out the "young" vote....he didnt...the numbers were about the same...considering all the talk of newly registered voters.

At the last election in the UK, we still had to get a piece of paper with the names of the candidates on it, take a pencil, put an X in the box next to the desired name, fold the piece of paper up and but it is a ballot box, like it's been done for centuries.

Old school and low tech I know, but infinitely more satisfying IMO. We were all roaring with laughter at the whole "hanging chad" thing. I think everyone was amazed that a country like America could fuck up something so basic.

Even more shocking to people living outside this country is the fact that every state has its own "rules" for election day--from the designated hours polls will stay open to the type of voting machines used. Uniformity would go a long way toward resolving issues at the ballot box before they escalate into national scandals.

And let's ALL hope and pray the party committees resolve once and for all how far in advance of a national election primaries can be held so we don't have to go through THAT nonsense again. On the Republican side, McCain won enough delegates so early on that most states didn't even have a chance to cast ballots for anyone else. On the Democratic side, with states trying to leapfrog in front of each other, the primary campaign went on for almost a year.

True - everyone finds that stunning. But then the whole concept of the rights of the individual states to make their own laws seems so damn important here, in a way that many other western democracies could never really understand. Try and suggest a single law for voting and you get hordes of people screaming about big government, which leads neatly on the the right to bear arms (in case the government ever 'turns on the people', whatever that means), another thing many other countries can't understand.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

The best thing we can do is to repeal the 16th Amendment, this way Congressmen would have to represent their State instead of their political party.

Piece of cake.

 

[Xenophon]

The best thing we can do is to repeal the 16th Amendment, this way Congressmen would have to represent their State instead of their political party.

Piece of cake.

That would be wonderful, and of course it won't happen.

 

[strollingbones]

why wont it happen...we talk and run our mouths..but then dont put our votes where our mouths are....we have a group of iraq vets running...trying to make a change...how many of you voted for one of them? or did you vote by party lines....it does not matter at this point..when the division started..what matters is the solution to it....obama is not using his office to united us....so far i see nothing more than politics as always...

we all talk about stopping the machine..and yet no one stands up to it....

 

[MaggieMae]

why wont it happen...we talk and run our mouths..but then dont put our votes where our mouths are....we have a group of iraq vets running...trying to make a change...how many of you voted for one of them? or did you vote by party lines....it does not matter at this point..when the division started..what matters is the solution to it....obama is not using his office to united us....so far i see nothing more than politics as always...

we all talk about stopping the machine..and yet no one stands up to it....

Exactly. Polling of Congress has been in the toilet for years, regardless which party is in control, yet when folks on the street are asked if they're happy with their own lawmakers, they all say YES. Go figure.

Great thread, btw, Bones.

 

[sealybobo]

Figure out what the conservative gene is and abort every republican fetus late term for the next two generations.

And spread the wealth so that Bill Gates and John McCain and George Bush only make $50K a year and no healthcare and no pension. And no enheritences.

And then lets see how "fair" the system is to them.

Rich liberals can keep their money though. Because we still need rich people. Its the greedy ones that are screwing things up.

 

[Newby]

Simpleness from a simpleton.

 

[Fatality]

"what could be done to unite this country and end the partisan bs?״

all socialists and communists could die and rot in their graves

 

[jillian]

Figure out what the conservative gene is and abort every republican fetus late term for the next two generations.

And spread the wealth so that Bill Gates and John McCain and George Bush only make $50K a year and no healthcare and no pension. And no enheritences.

And then lets see how "fair" the system is to them.

Rich liberals can keep their money though. Because we still need rich people. Its the greedy ones that are screwing things up.

er... bill gates IS a rich liberal.

 

[Liability]

what could be done to unite this country and end the partisan bs?

Let's ask Saul Alinsky!

"[R]ub raw the wounds of discontent!"

Yes. Anything even SLIGHTLY partisan is VERBOTEN (unless one is rubbing it raw for the greater glory of modern American liberoidalism).

 

[probus]

no way we ever come together and end the "partisan" stuff and still remain strong-- how can we do that and still remain a nation that at least represents the other side?-- i don't want "automoton"-- if we're too pussy to debate and show passion about all subjects how can we live?-- i don't know about u guys but i need a little conflict in my life-- i mean, something more than turning on CSI-- as a democracy we must always debate and fight about what we believe or we will stagnate in the worst way-- Regards, probus

 

[WillowTree]

as far as i can see...obama has not made any move to "unite" this country behind him or any recovery plan. with only 25% of the stimulus money released...(according to npr)
what is going on...i see this country being more and more divided. or perhaps its just the rantings of the extremes on both sides is driving the middle crazy. i have watched...why are liberals so stupid....why are conservatives so stupid...threads go out...people ..there is no differences in the parties....there are hot topic issues that the powers to be use to distract the people ...and i think its simply the political machine that has taken on a life of it's own...combined with people who are no longer citizens. by citizens, i mean people who take the time to research the issues and the candidates....it is impossible with today's media to get a clear picture of anything. our news is so controlled and censured....cnn and fox...it does not matter...one is spoon feeding the left....one is spoon feeding the right....so instead of looking at what is happening.....everyone simply continues the party rant. as long as you do that you will get the government you deserve.

keeping the people divided and distracted...like a gang of pickpockets in a crowd...how long are we gonna allow this? dont we all basically want the same things in life....happiness...security for our families....the ability to work hard and get a head.

i hate to be so fucking rah rha at this hour...but we need to remember this...we are americans before we are democrats or republicans or any other party. we are all americans first. we have americans dying on two war fronts, we need to remember that daily? we need to hold the current administration to the same reasoning...the causes of the wars have not change, the deaths still mount...yet there is little discussion of the death toll..which everyone did under bush? why has that changed?

does obama realize he has backed out of his promises made to a lot of "independent" voters? obama won by uniting a lot of groups....now the party will take the hit in 2010. 2 years of gridlock and we are where in 4 years...

I'm thinking about what you have asked.. really. but now I have to ask you a question.. Didn't you realize before you voted for the obamalama that he was blatantly playing a race war and a class war? didn't you know before that class and race warfare would divide the country? Now think about that,, it's what you voted for.

 

[Navy1960]

I've said this many times on here and will say it again here, each and every citizen of this nation that is here or for that matter at anytime exercising their rights to express themselves under the constitution is lending the highest form of honor to our Govt. and the men and women who have served and died defending it. While I may disagree with many on the other side , sometimes strongly on policy and sometimes on issues that I believe will effect this nation it does not mean that those that support such things do not have my respect for their exercise of their rights. In fact I have a daughter who is firmly a democrat much to my sadness *laughs* however no father could have been more proud of a daughter the day voted for President Obama the first time because she is carrying on a great tradtition that I spent 20 plus years of my life defending. What we all need to realize from time to time is Washington DC forgets that regular Americans are not that much apart on basic things as they would wish them to be, it's they how seperate us all into groups and once we all realize that its THEY WHO WORK FOR US and not the other way around then and only then will we come together as a nation and create a bright future for all of us.

 

[MaggieMae]

no way we ever come together and end the "partisan" stuff and still remain strong-- how can we do that and still remain a nation that at least represents the other side?-- i don't want "automoton"-- if we're too pussy to debate and show passion about all subjects how can we live?-- i don't know about u guys but i need a little conflict in my life-- i mean, something more than turning on CSI-- as a democracy we must always debate and fight about what we believe or we will stagnate in the worst way-- Regards, probus

Nice to see someone new with a lot of common sense to offer. I'll only add that there are always two sides to every story, even in our personal lives. No one is ever all right or all wrong, but political standoff in recent years seems to ignore that phenomena.

 

[MaggieMae]

I've said this many times on here and will say it again here, each and every citizen of this nation that is here or for that matter at anytime exercising their rights to express themselves under the constitution is lending the highest form of honor to our Govt. and the men and women who have served and died defending it. While I may disagree with many on the other side , sometimes strongly on policy and sometimes on issues that I believe will effect this nation it does not mean that those that support such things do not have my respect for their exercise of their rights. In fact I have a daughter who is firmly a democrat much to my sadness *laughs* however no father could have been more proud of a daughter the day voted for President Obama the first time because she is carrying on a great tradtition that I spent 20 plus years of my life defending. What we all need to realize from time to time is Washington DC forgets that regular Americans are not that much apart on basic things as they would wish them to be, it's they how seperate us all into groups and once we all realize that its THEY WHO WORK FOR US and not the other way around then and only then will we come together as a nation and create a bright future for all of us.

The only problem with that premise, however, is that each representative and senator does NOT work for "all" of the American people. First, they get elected by constituents in their respective states with the anticipation that they will act in a manner they (the electors) want. And those desires might differ greatly from the folks in the next state over.

What happens once elected is that those elected officials must at every point during the process of enacting legislation consider what their own constituents expect from them AND meld that with what the rest of the American people expect. It's a delicate balance.

 

[probus]

thanks maggs-- i'm new here but am slowly picking my way around-- some people just wish we could all hold hands and sing frikkin' "kumbaya" all the time-- the day that happens is the day to start thinking about eating a bullet-- Regards, probus