2014 US Election Open Thread

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I’m so glad the elections are over and thus I will be spared the usual mindless political ads on television until the next round of elections.
 
Ridgerunner said:
Had Obama been president in 2003, Saddam Hussein or one of his sons would likely be in power in Iraq unless Al Quaeda generated sufficient power to overthrow them, in which case the situation then would have been the same as now. Some would prefer that to the situation immediately preceding Obama’s abandoning of Iraq, but it’s hard to imagine why.

But had Hillary Clinton been president then, probably the second Iraq War would have still happened. Remember that she voted for it while in Congress.

So I’m not convinced Ron Paul said anything worth hearing on the subject.

The key thing in the central Middle East is not the taking out of Saddam Hussein. It’s the failure to follow up when all parties of importance begged us to stay longer to ensure the peace.
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If Obama was in power in 2003, would the republicans in Congress allowed him to start a war and make future generations pay for it?
 
Vanny said:
yeah I know this kind of thing worries me too, however the pushback in Texas maybe she’ll think twice
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Martha Coakley was already very pushy passing pro homosexual legislation at schools and in the elimination of the words mother and father at public school level. This one is going to be even more pushy. And while Baker is republican, when Republicans are in power here they would sell their soul to the devil with no problem (just look at Romney). So yes I am very worried. Soon we will see polygamist moving to MA.
 
tomarin said:
I’m so glad the elections are over and thus I will be spared the usual mindless political ads on television until the next round of elections.
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Yeah, you’ve got a couple of months reprieve, but don’t enjoy it too much, lol.
 
Ridgerunner said:
The “Hunger Games” approach would probably be more entertaining than a lottery. While the end would not be pretty, it could be interesting to watch, e.g., Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie stalking each other in a jungle, armed with crossbows.
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:hmmm:
 
stinkcat_14 said:
If Obama was in power in 2003, would the republicans in Congress allowed him to start a war and make future generations pay for it?
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Being that it’s 2014, that is of no significance; and if it were, it would be nothing more than pure speculation
 
Ridgerunner said:
I’m not sure there’s anything to go “back” to except more of the same. Remember the “spoils system”? Arguably, it was once even worse than now.

I’m not sure it’s possible to entirely rid a system of the influence of money.

Nor am I sure there’s any possibility all of three parties can long survive. It always comes back to two.

There is a system of proportional representation, of course, but it’s only on the state level. Originally, state legislatures appointed congressmen, and there’s something to be said for it.
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Only in the Senate.

Adding that level of separation between the people and those who rule them only assures that the power interests will be further protected.

ICXC NIKA.
 
RGCheek said:
Our current system is a DUOPOLY.

The Democrats and Republicans are not rivals, but partners who horse-trade office and have the same corporate bosses.
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completely agree, except that I wouldn’t use the term duopoly. It’s actually worse than that. we have a plutocracy, i.e. a system ruled by the small minority of wealthy elites who pull the strings of the two major parties.
 
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estesbob:
Observations on last night:
  1. Family ties didn’t help. Mark Udall, Michelle Nunn, Mary Landrieu and Jimmy Carters Grandson all had bad nights.
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I’d say family ties not helping you win was a no brainer in the case of Jimmy Carter’s grandson. After all, he is Jimmy Carter’s grandson.

Never in the course of US history has uttering the phrase “but wait, I’m related to Jimmy Carter” been seen as helpful…

Posted from Catholic.com App for Android
 
stinkcat_14 said:
If Obama was in power in 2003, would the republicans in Congress allowed him to start a war and make future generations pay for it?
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All wars are paid for by the next generation (financially that is; ultimately they are paid for by the generation of those who die fighting).

War is the most fiscally wasteful thing sovereign government does; it chews up wealth while subtracting from the economy.

All the more reason we need a POTUS who will make peace with the world. Neither party currently has such a person.

ICXC NIKA
 
DeniseNY said:
Being that it’s 2014, that is of no significance; and if it were, it would be nothing more than pure speculation
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No more speculative than what Obama would have done had he been in power. The one thing we can agree on though, is that it is definitely immoral to start a war and make someone else pay for it.
 
GEddie said:
All wars are paid for by the next generation (financially that is; ultimately they are paid for by the generation of those who die fighting).

War is the most fiscally wasteful thing sovereign government does; it chews up wealth while subtracting from the economy.

All the more reason we need a POTUS who will make peace with the world. Neither party currently has such a person.

ICXC NIKA
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I think if we adopted a paygo policy for wars, we certainly would have fewer of them. I think the support for the war would be much different if they had to pass a 10% across the board tax increase to pay for it.
 
stinkcat_14 said:
No more speculative than what Obama would have done had he been in power. The one thing we can agree on though, is that it is definitely immoral to start a war and make someone else pay for it.
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Bush’s fault, Fox news is evil. Does that pretty much cover it?
 
John_Matrix said:
I’d say family ties not helping you win was a no brainer in the case of Jimmy Carter’s grandson. After all, he is Jimmy Carter’s grandson.

Never in the course of US history has uttering the phrase “but wait, I’m related to Jimmy Carter” been seen as helpful…

Posted from Catholic.com App for Android
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Unless you’re trying to get Habitat for Humanity to build your house, possibly.
 
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didymus:
Well, the midterms are over, God be praised but now the two-year Presidential campaign will start [groan].
Can we come up with a better system? Maybe a “Hunger Games” contest to choose nominees instead of primaries? Or a national lottery to pick the President? I’m open to suggestions.
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Among presidential hopefuls, Chris Christie is not a fan of games related to hunger.

Posted from Catholic.com App for Android
 
estesbob said:
Bush’s fault, Fox news is evil. Does that pretty much cover it?
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I don’t see that Fox news is necessarily evil. Nor do I think Bush is any less incompetent than Obama. The point I raised however, is that Bush started a war and didn’t pay for it. That is not something that can be disputed. Nor is it praiseworthy.
 
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