Do Democrats Seek out the "80/20" Issues and seemingly deliberately get on the losing side of them?

[Concerned American]

The OP specifically mentioned USAID, that is only a tiny fraction of foreign aid. Foreign aid also includes the billions in military aid we send every year to Israel and Egypt.

And Ukraine!

 

[Seymour Flops]

Well they seem to have hired one.


The OP specifically mentioned USAID, that is only a tiny fraction of foreign aid. Foreign aid also includes the billions in military aid we send every year to Israel and Egypt.


I'm a Dem and I'd like to see less military aid sent to Israel for example.

I appreciate you being the only Democrat to even try to seriously answer this thread.

So, my question, after having watching this clip, is do Democrats think it is unfair to ask what benefits American taxpayer/voters get from the incredible amount of money we spend on foreign aid?

Should we just answer that it is altruistic and they are not expected to benefit from the money their money that our leaders send out of the country?

Feel free to address it in terms of military aid to Israel and Ukraine, if you like.

 

[alang1216]

I appreciate you being the only Democrat to even try to seriously answer this thread.

Thanks.

So, my question, after having watching this clip, is do Democrats think it is unfair to ask what benefits American taxpayer/voters get from the incredible amount of money we spend on foreign aid?

I think it is very valid question to ask. We should be asking it of every dollar we spend.

Should we just answer that it is altruistic and they are not expected to benefit from the money their money that our leaders send out of the country?

Altruism is a positive but we should look at long term benefits to the US. Medical is one. New diseases in Africa will quickly be here, e.g., AIDS. Immigration is another. Giving money to develop countries like El Salvador will slow the flow of desperate people.

Feel free to address it in terms of military aid to Israel and Ukraine, if you like.

Israel is the powerhouse of the Middle East but our aid only makes them less desirous of peace. I see Russia as our adversary, just as they see us as theirs, so any money we give to Ukraine weakens Russia and makes us more secure.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

Well they seem to have hired one.


The OP specifically mentioned USAID, that is only a tiny fraction of foreign aid. Foreign aid also includes the billions in military aid we send every year to Israel and Egypt.


I'm a Dem and I'd like to see less military aid sent to Israel for example.

Don't Let Academentia and Its Gradchewits Cast a Spell on You

For a hundred years, the Jews in Israel have been on the front lines of the War on Terror, taking a bullet for us Dhimmis. Not funding them would be like FDR not giving military aid to the Marines on Iwo Jima.

But it would be undiplomatic for politicians to point that out. Not doing so confuses the public when the politicians give other reasons, even though it makes sense to oppose what they allow us to think are the real reasons.

So, if you think the Jews are just fighting their own local war, or that the jihadists are a tiny group of unrepresentative Moslems, or even that terrorism was provoked by the Jews and the Zionists should be blamed for 9/11, that's what happens when you look up to the Influencers for answers.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

And Ukraine!

Whoever Tells Us We Should Worship a Supreme Document Are the Only Ones Who Benefit from It

It shows how stupid our form of government is that the Constitution's Crowned Clowns were able to force into the same bill the aid for either both Israel and the Ukraine, or for neither.

 

[g5000]

"80/20" issues are issues in which the overwhelming majority of Americans take one side or the other. Not a fairly even split as we have on most controversial issues, but a very lopsided divide, so lopsided that it is political poison to take the unpopular side.

Donald Trump and Replicans are exploited these issues against the Democrats.

CNN's Scott Jennings comments on Donald Trump's ability to get Democrats to make unpopular stands against him:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/02/06/jennings_trumps_superpower_is_getting_democrats_to_oppose_him_on_80-20_issues.html

A few comments of my own:

First, this is not new, nor Trump-specific. Having Trump lead the Republican Party has exacerbated this phenomena, but I noticed it long before I ever heard of Donald Trump, except as a Billionaire who liked to self-promote. I observed years ago on other forums that liberals seem to be more contrarians than ideologues. They never know which side to take on an issue until they see which side the majority of typical Americans take, and then they take the opposite side.

Witness their embrace of Islam in the aftermath of 9/11, and their sore loser attitude at the end of the Cold War, and their insistence of zero restrictions on abortion, even in the 9th month, for examples.

There is a narrow demographic that is with the Democrats on these things for ideological reasons, mostly college women, not all of whom are even old enough to vote. There is a narrow democraphic that agrees with them on those issues because they are true followers of the Democratic Party. The rest of Democrat voters do not really believe in their side of those issues.

So, why do Democrats embrace those issues? I have a theory, but I'd like to hear from others before I state it.

Are you aware 80 percent of Americans are in favor of a path to legal status or citizenship for illegal immigrants?

Tell us again who is on the wrong side of the issues.

 

[Frankeneinstein]

"80/20" issues are issues in which the overwhelming majority of Americans take one side or the other. Not a fairly even split as we have on most controversial issues, but a very lopsided divide, so lopsided that it is political poison to take the unpopular side.

Donald Trump and Replicans are exploited these issues against the Democrats.

CNN's Scott Jennings comments on Donald Trump's ability to get Democrats to make unpopular stands against him:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/02/06/jennings_trumps_superpower_is_getting_democrats_to_oppose_him_on_80-20_issues.html

A few comments of my own:

First, this is not new, nor Trump-specific. Having Trump lead the Republican Party has exacerbated this phenomena, but I noticed it long before I ever heard of Donald Trump, except as a Billionaire who liked to self-promote. I observed years ago on other forums that liberals seem to be more contrarians than ideologues. They never know which side to take on an issue until they see which side the majority of typical Americans take, and then they take the opposite side.

Witness their embrace of Islam in the aftermath of 9/11, and their sore loser attitude at the end of the Cold War, and their insistence of zero restrictions on abortion, even in the 9th month, for examples.

There is a narrow demographic that is with the Democrats on these things for ideological reasons, mostly college women, not all of whom are even old enough to vote. There is a narrow democraphic that agrees with them on those issues because they are true followers of the Democratic Party. The rest of Democrat voters do not really believe in their side of those issues.

So, why do Democrats embrace those issues? I have a theory, but I'd like to hear from others before I state it.

The solutions they propose are the problem, taking up the 1/5th argument is the intent of our constitutional democracy...the idea behind our constitution was to fix the problem of majority rule without erasing the minorities wants and needs as it had been in previous democracies...
...it is why we have the term un/inalienable rights and why we have an electoral college to name just two, if they did not take up these causes then who would?

 

[Seymour Flops]

Are you aware 80 percent of Americans are in favor of a path to legal status or citizenship for illegal immigrants?

No, link please.

Tell us again who is on the wrong side of the issues.

The Democrats.

Because however, many people would like to see a path for citizenship for people already here, I know for sure that 80% don’t want that path citizenship to be offered to the continuous stream of illegal aliens that Biden was letting over our border.

Not without securing the border first. if the border stays as secure as it is and will be when we finish building the wall, even I would be OK with noncriminal aliens being offered a long-term path to citizenship.

Show me a poll that said keep letting them in and make them citizens.

 

[alang1216]

Don't Let Academentia and Its Gradchewits Cast a Spell on You

For a hundred years, the Jews in Israel have been on the front lines of the War on Terror, taking a bullet for us Dhimmis. Not funding them would be like FDR not giving military aid to the Marines on Iwo Jima.

But it would be undiplomatic for politicians to point that out. Not doing so confuses the public when the politicians give other reasons, even though it makes sense to oppose what they allow us to think are the real reasons.

So, if you think the Jews are just fighting their own local war, or that the jihadists are a tiny group of unrepresentative Moslems, or even that terrorism was provoked by the Jews and the Zionists should be blamed for 9/11, that's what happens when you look up to the Influencers for answers.

Every religion has its zealots, what Israel has done is give focus to grievances of Muslims zealot and excuses for terrorism in the defense of their faith. Creating a Jewish state that discriminates against Muslims in what was once a Muslim state just fuels the extremists.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

Every religion has its zealots, what Israel has done is give focus to grievances of Muslims zealot and excuses for terrorism in the defense of their faith. Creating a Jewish state that discriminates against Muslims in what was once a Muslim state just fuels the extremists.

The Holy Land Was Hollow Until the Jews Returned

How much evidence do you need that the Muzzies are subhuman savages? They were nothing but thrill-killing desert bandits even before Mohammed.

It is our evolutionary and existential duty to make sure that unfit and obsolete races don't survive. It's obvious what will happen if we continue to treat them like equals, with the same rights as the Jews have.

 

[alang1216]

The Holy Land Was Hollow Until the Jews Returned

How much evidence do you need that the Muzzies are subhuman savages? They were nothing but thrill-killing desert bandits even before Mohammed.

It is our evolutionary and existential duty to make sure that unfit and obsolete races don't survive. It's obvious what will happen if we continue to treat them like equals, with the same rights as the Jews have.

Spoken like someone who doesn't know any Muslims personally. Sad.

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

They’re reflexively against Trump, even if working with him would be popular…Very dumb.

He's an orange bag O' shit.

 

[j-mac]

He's an orange bag O' shit.

Poor baby…

 

[martybegan]

Are you aware 80 percent of Americans are in favor of a path to legal status or citizenship for illegal immigrants?

Tell us again who is on the wrong side of the issues.

Link?

 

[ozro]

If President Trump showed up on camera with a cat, all the lefties would abandon their cats. (Remember all those cat ladies Vance talked about?)
That's all they got: Trump bad..... anything Trump does is bad......hate Trump.

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

If President Trump showed up on camera with a cat, all the lefties would abandon their cats. (Remember all those cat ladies Vance talked about?)
That's all they got: Trump bad..... anything Trump does is bad......hate Trump.

Non lefties think he sucks too.

 

[Seymour Flops]

If President Trump showed up on camera with a cat, all the lefties would abandon their cats. (Remember all those cat ladies Vance talked about?)
That's all they got: Trump bad..... anything Trump does is bad......hate Trump.

lol!

Every day, Trump should do something like that. One day, bring a cat, the next day dye his hair, blue, the next day wear a lip ring, Get a weave and put his hair in a man bun for one day.

Liberals would have mass anxiety attacks, wondering if something they’re doing is something that Trump did and they missed it.

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

lol!

Every day, Trump should do something like that. One day, bring a cat, the next day dye his hair, blue, the next day wear a lip ring, Get a weave and put his hair in a man bun for one day.

Liberals would have mass anxiety attacks, wondering if something they’re doing is something that Trump did and they missed it.

Normal people don't even ponder this nonsense.

 

[g5000]

If President Trump showed up on camera with a cat, all the lefties would abandon their cats. (Remember all those cat ladies Vance talked about?)
That's all they got: Trump bad..... anything Trump does is bad......hate Trump.

If Trump had a cat, he would tell you it is a dog, and you'd believe him.

What's more, you would argue strenuously for weeks to prove his lie.

 

[g5000]

Link?

Immigration

In your view, should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased? On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?

news.gallup.com

Fox News Poll: 83 percent support pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants

Large majority of Americans want undocumented immigrants in US to be granted legal status: poll

The majority of Americans still favor a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, poll shows


A supermajority of Americans want a path to legal status and/or citizenship for illegal immigrants. A FACT the GOP has been ignoring for a very long time.


Reagan's own words:

"Illegal immigrants in considerable numbers have become productive members of our society and are a basic part of our work force. Those who have established equities in the United States should be recognized and accorded legal status."


Just one more example of how far off the conservative reservation Donald Trump has led his cult.