You should vote in the Republican primary
...even if you're a Democrat (where laws allow it). Here's why:
Let's not kid ourselves- the Democrats are sure to nominate Hillary Clinton. There's nothing any of us can do to change that.
But the Republican primary is wide open. It's a free-for-all civil war between several different ideologies. You have a real chance to make a difference and actually bring reform to the party. If the Republicans go on to beat Hillary with the better candidate, that candidate will define the Republican's philosophy for generations to come. And even if you really don't want the Republican to win, you can still have your say in the Republican primary and go on to vote for Hillary in November.
You should do this and teach the Republicans a lesson. Because given how the debate is going over there right now, they certainly haven't learned anything from Bush's mistakes. Or McCain's. Or Romney's.
Let's not kid ourselves- the Democrats are sure to nominate Hillary Clinton. There's nothing any of us can do to change that.
But the Republican primary is wide open. It's a free-for-all civil war between several different ideologies. You have a real chance to make a difference and actually bring reform to the party. If the Republicans go on to beat Hillary with the better candidate, that candidate will define the Republican's philosophy for generations to come. And even if you really don't want the Republican to win, you can still have your say in the Republican primary and go on to vote for Hillary in November.
You should do this and teach the Republicans a lesson. Because given how the debate is going over there right now, they certainly haven't learned anything from Bush's mistakes. Or McCain's. Or Romney's.
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The idea is that you should vote for the people who you think will actually improve the system. If you vote for someone who just abuses the power they've gained, then yeah, you've got nobody to blame but yourself. And the same is true if you don't vote at all. If you didn't even try to change the outcome, then you've got nobody to blame but yourself for the outcome.
The only moment when you can really blame someone else is when you vote for someone who has the right principles, and who is doing their best to make a change for the better, but that person does not win. Only then can you blame all the stupid, corrupt people in this country for making this country a worse place, because you have done what you could to stop it.
But yeah, there is danger in it- if a candidate fools you into electing them (as Barack Obama did for so many people who thought he would push back against Bush's overreach) even though they have the wrong principles, then it is your fault, and you should accept it and learn from it. For instance, quite a few people could have told you in 2008 that Obama was an authoritarian power-seeker. You should listen to those people when you make your voting choices in the future (i.e. don't be fooled into voting for Bernie Sanders).
The only moment when you can really blame someone else is when you vote for someone who has the right principles, and who is doing their best to make a change for the better, but that person does not win. Only then can you blame all the stupid, corrupt people in this country for making this country a worse place, because you have done what you could to stop it.
But yeah, there is danger in it- if a candidate fools you into electing them (as Barack Obama did for so many people who thought he would push back against Bush's overreach) even though they have the wrong principles, then it is your fault, and you should accept it and learn from it. For instance, quite a few people could have told you in 2008 that Obama was an authoritarian power-seeker. You should listen to those people when you make your voting choices in the future (i.e. don't be fooled into voting for Bernie Sanders).
I'm not voting at all. Hahaha....
"It's a free-for-all civil war between several different ideologies"- Where dude? I don't see any different 'ideologies' in this clusterfuck of 20-odd GOP candidates for president.
How many more of these arrogant assholes are going to waste our time announcing or half-announcing that they're running for president? Nobody wants all these fools. There hasn't been any unique ideas out of any of them, they all say the same exact thing- they hate President Obama, Obama is weak, we should go to war with Iran, we should start another one in Iraq, we should give Wall Street even more free-reign to do whatever it wants, and give the richest top 1% more tax breaks. Nobody but the super rich wants this shit. Then there's this idiot Rand Paul who has played politics with our national security for the past week.
The guy belongs to a party who wrote and passed the Patriot act in 2002, and if you listen to the rhetoric of ALL the other 20-odd candidates they all say the same thing- that it should be preserved, they support it, it's their party platform, and they passed another bill that is the same thing as the patriot act without the phone number collection- wow what a day for freedom. I don't think so. You support the party that passed that bill and stands for the Patriot act.
If Rand Paul wants to pretend to be a renegade, then he should leave the GOP. A politician who claims to have a different message from a party while remaining a member of it isn't someone America is going to trust.
How many more of these arrogant assholes are going to waste our time announcing or half-announcing that they're running for president? Nobody wants all these fools. There hasn't been any unique ideas out of any of them, they all say the same exact thing- they hate President Obama, Obama is weak, we should go to war with Iran, we should start another one in Iraq, we should give Wall Street even more free-reign to do whatever it wants, and give the richest top 1% more tax breaks. Nobody but the super rich wants this shit. Then there's this idiot Rand Paul who has played politics with our national security for the past week.
The guy belongs to a party who wrote and passed the Patriot act in 2002, and if you listen to the rhetoric of ALL the other 20-odd candidates they all say the same thing- that it should be preserved, they support it, it's their party platform, and they passed another bill that is the same thing as the patriot act without the phone number collection- wow what a day for freedom. I don't think so. You support the party that passed that bill and stands for the Patriot act.
If Rand Paul wants to pretend to be a renegade, then he should leave the GOP. A politician who claims to have a different message from a party while remaining a member of it isn't someone America is going to trust.
Parties change when someone with a different message is able to form a winning coalition. That's when the party suddenly realizes that they all need to change their message in order to stay relevant in national politics.
I'd vote for Rand in the Ohio primary just to piss off Republicans. They'll never let him win the nomination, btw.
www.bostonherald.com/news_opin…
www.bostonherald.com/news_opin…
Well, they were never going to let Reagan win the nomination, right?
Reagan was a neo con puppet -- I don't think Paul would go along with their foreign policy.
Only after he got shot though.
Good call. Everyone's probably a neocon after they get shot.
No he wasn't. Reagan didn't fight a single war. His foreign policy philosophy was "Peace through strength." It was the Bush family that started the whole neocon thing.
Bush was a neocon when Reagan was still a Democrat. Together, they were involved in plenty of conflicts. I just don't think Rand Paul and the neocons would ever work together.
Which war were we fighting between 1980 and 1989?
Grenada, The Cold War, The War on Drugs and Libya and Reagan sold weapons to the Iranians and funded the Nicaraguan Contras.
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me no like poolticks. poolticks make me head hurt. me try smash poolticks, but more poolticks pop up. that why me no like poolticks.
"You should do this and teach the Republicans a lesson."
Yes, let's discard honesty to teach our opponents a lesson. How very progressive of you.
Yes, let's discard honesty to teach our opponents a lesson. How very progressive of you.
I'm not usually one to defend Schemer, but what he's promoting doing here is honesty, not the reverse. Instead of just going with whatever color you want to win because you have no real alternative there is actually a chance here to have an alternative.
Voting for the color you want to win is far more dishonest than voting for a platform you actually support, so I really don't know what you're barking about.
Voting for the color you want to win is far more dishonest than voting for a platform you actually support, so I really don't know what you're barking about.
Your opinion was noted - and then blown out my ass with the rest of the trash.
I'm barking about having to listen to people like you, arf out drivel like this.
I'm barking about having to listen to people like you, arf out drivel like this.
People like me? You don't even know who the fuck I am or what the fuck I stand for. So while you're blowing things out your ass you can take your opinion and shove it up there to stop the leakage.
It's true that I don't know who you are,
truer still that I don't care - and by far.
I'd stuff my opinion up there to stop that leak,
but that'd mean my turning the other cheek,
which'd make you all hungry, you' angry lil' chump,
go back to your basement, be a good grump.
I don't care who you are or what you stand for. Your Mommy does, but I'm not she, although our mustaches are similar. I was not talking to you, you responded using "barking", I responded, your head exploded.
Some reason I should care?
truer still that I don't care - and by far.
I'd stuff my opinion up there to stop that leak,
but that'd mean my turning the other cheek,
which'd make you all hungry, you' angry lil' chump,
go back to your basement, be a good grump.
I don't care who you are or what you stand for. Your Mommy does, but I'm not she, although our mustaches are similar. I was not talking to you, you responded using "barking", I responded, your head exploded.
Some reason I should care?
What does this have to do with honesty? Open-primary states encourage the public to vote in whichever primary they want. This process that I'm suggesting is exactly how parties in the US evolve to properly represent the people.
You're doing it to "teach people you disdain a lesson" no good cause at all, just shrill whinerism.
And there is no party that properly represents the people, so your theory is pretty much garbage.
And there is no party that properly represents the people, so your theory is pretty much garbage.
The fact that party ideology CAN change if the voters demand it is a unique feature of the US system. Both the Republicans and Democrats have changed their ideologies before, and will do so again. We are at one of those critical moments where change is possible.
It's hardly unique to the USA, it happens in all mature democracies...