Ok, I vote republican 'cause I usually agree more with their view on issues. That said, I can't really say that I've listened to the left much. So, all of you, educate me on left vs. right views.

I'll start with a list of a few issues and would like to be educated on how each side really sees it. I don't care about the candidates just the issues and how they might be dealt with. Look, I can't sit and learn from the media, they're a bunch of nuts, left or right (except for O'Reilly and Beck ;-)).

Since I believe this election is very important I am going to ask all of you for input. Will it change my vote? Maybe not but at least I can say I heard both sides.

How 'bout:
The economy. What differs between the left and the right?
The war in Iraq.
Washington's inaction in every area.
Climate change and what should be done.
Gaining independence from foreign oil (foreign energy sources).
Social issues (abortion, gay marriage, etc.).

Add your own. Hey I'm just trying to get some input from folks I'm willing to listen too.

Too much to answer here.
Post a individual question or opinion, add a little juice to it and let the fireworks begin.[laugh]

Too much to answer here.
Post a individual question or opinion, add a little juice to it and let the fireworks begin.[laugh]

Come on, pick one if necessary, but let me know how each/either side would handle it.

Sad to say it, but realisticially neither will do jack.

Oh, they will talk ,and pontificate, and regulate till they are blue in the face, but in the end nothing meaningfull will change.

They will make more laws then choose when and who to enforce them on, and more of our rights will dissappear.

I just think it will happen quicker with the left.

Sad to say it, but realisticially neither will do jack.

Oh, they will talk ,and pontificate, and regulate till they are blue in the face, but in the end nothing meaningfull will change.

They will make more laws then choose when and who to enforce them on, and more of our rights will dissappear.

I just think it will happen quicker with the left.

you are correct, sir. government will never bring us more rights, just slowly erode at the ones we have. The last 8 years have seen massive losses of civil liberties. It would of happened if Gore would of won, don't get me wrong. Most of congress didn't even read the patriot act. Massive conspiracy against America if you ask my honest opinion.

Here read this! Send it to someone.

Right down to basics:



545 PEOPLE By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congre ssman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibi lity. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ ..

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone,=2 0have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.

1. You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope they do something about it.

2. You can agree to vote against everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.

3. You can decide to run for office yourself and agree to do the job properly.

4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

YOU DECIDE, BUT AT LEAST SEND IT TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, MAYBE SOMEONE IN THERE WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Both sides play every issue.
Those who say we shouldn't be in this war are voting to fund it. They voted to go to!!!

Ok, I vote republican 'cause I usually agree more with their view on issues. That said, I can't really say that I've listened to the left much. So, all of you, educate me on left vs. right views.

I'll start with a list of a few issues and would like to be educated on how each side really sees it. I don't care about the candidates just the issues and how they might be dealt with. Look, I can't sit and learn from the media, they're a bunch of nuts, left or right (except for O'Reilly and Beck ;-)).

Since I believe this election is very important I am going to ask all of you for input. Will it change my vote? Maybe not but at least I can say I heard both sides.

How 'bout:
The economy. What differs between the left and the right?
The war in Iraq.
Washington's inaction in every area.
Climate change and what should be done.
Gaining independence from foreign oil (foreign energy sources).
Social issues (abortion, gay marriage, etc.).

Add your own. Hey I'm just trying to get some input from folks I'm willing to listen too.


I bet there is very little difference between the two parties. You just have very vocal members on the fringe of both that will get lots of air time. Seen a press conference today with Obama on the news, saying how McCain's economic plan is a plan for failure, blah blah blah, and never said anything about HIS plan. McCain likes to answer a lot of questions that he was a POW for 5.5 years. While his sacrifice for his country cannot be understated, that itself shouldn't qualify him as president. Most ads I see for the congressman are attack ads, again, saying what their opponent did or did not do, and that the public should vote for their candidate without reasons. Sadly, Canadian politics is becoming the same thing. The ruling conservatives have been rolling out the attack ads on the liberal party, and thats about it. I despise the federal liberal party, but I'd vote for them before the conservatives because they have thus far abstained from the mud slinging on such a public level.

I've been preaching this for a year.

Both partys are running weak candidates. Do you agree?

They do this so, each voter can vote for thier choice, or against the other.
This has a purpose.

This keeps the voters involved with only 2 partys.
I keeps a third party from even getting 10% of the votes!!!
A lot of us are talking about this very thing.

I've been preaching this for a year.

Both partys are running weak candidates. Do you agree?

They do this so, each voter can vote for thier choice, or against the other.
This has a purpose.

This keeps the voters involved with only 2 partys.
I keeps a third party from even getting 10% of the votes!!!
A lot of us are talking about this very thing.

I'd agree that both are weak candidates. The only real candidates that I'd like to see won't ever get nominated, because they aren't enough of a politician. I'd like to see someone actually pick a view, justify it, and stick with it. And I'm not talking the typical abortion/gay marriage/gun rights issues, since each party is pretty clear on where they stand. Thats where the change Obama is preaching about comes in, but I don't think either of them will bring in much change, other than its a black pres, or a female VP.

The multiparty system isn't much better than the two party system, atleast up here. We have 2 main parties that garner about 75% of the vote, and then 3 smaller parties that get 24%, and then 1% on the much smaller parties that have only one candidate. You still wind up with a two party system, and the third biggest acting as the deal breaker if its a minority parliament. If its a majority, its just like when the repubs held the legislative and executive, the opposition always votes against the bills, regardless of what it is, for no other reason than they can and it won't even matter.

Both parties are taking us to the same place, the Republicans are just doing it more slowly.

In this election the only real differences in the issues you asked about are:

McCain wants to finish the job then leave Iraq, Obama just wants to leave.
McCain will allow some drilling, Obama wants to wait for some magic new technology we don't have yet. Neither of these options will fix the problem.
McCain is pro-life, Obama doesn't want his daughters "punished with a baby."

Will either of them improve your life? No. Will either of them make things worse than they are now? Yes, I think both of them will.

I'm a Libertarian at heart but in the past I've voted for Republican presidents as the lesser of two evils. The Republicans are now where the Democrats were in the early '80's, and the Democrats are now full-fledged socialists. This year I think I'm voting for Barr.

Both parties are taking us to the same place, the Republicans are just doing it more slowly.

In this election the only real differences in the issues you asked about are:

McCain wants to finish the job then leave Iraq, Obama just wants to leave.
McCain will allow some drilling, Obama wants to wait for some magic new technology we don't have yet. Neither of these options will fix the problem.
McCain is pro-life, Obama doesn't want his daughters "punished with a baby."

Will either of them improve your life? No. Will either of them make things worse than they are now? Yes, I think both of them will.

I'm a Libertarian at heart but in the past I've voted for Republican presidents as the lesser of two evils. The Republicans are now where the Democrats were in the early '80's, and the Democrats are now full-fledged socialists. This year I think I'm voting for Barr.

Looking at the positions historically does add some light. Have to agree, neither will help the average guy out. Regardless, DC will continue to take our money and move it into their own pockets.

I'm going to vote Glenn Beck for president. [tapdshut]

McCain is pro-life, Obama doesn't want his daughters "punished with a baby."

Will either of them improve your life? No. Will either of them make things worse than they are now? Yes, I think both of them will.

I'm a Libertarian at heart but in the past I've voted for Republican presidents as the lesser of two evils. The Republicans are now where the Democrats were in the early '80's, and the Democrats are now full-fledged socialists. This year I think I'm voting for Barr.

I know a lot of people vote Republican because they are pro-life, but big deal how hard have they tried to stop it?
When you say Obama doesn't want his daughters punished with a baby do you really think he would want his daughter to get a abortion just because he is pro-choice[nonono]

To me the differance between Rep. and Dems is the Rep. only want to give money away to foreign nations in the form of aid. Dems do the same but also spend money on domestic programs.

To me the differance between Rep. and Dems is the Rep. only want to give money away to foreign nations in the form of aid. Dems do the same but also spend money on domestic programs.

Here's another perspective.
Republicans want to allow us to succeed or fail on our own. If we make good decisions we get to reap the harvest.
Dems want to be big brother and give us what they think we should have.
I say no thanks!!!
I've got a mother...I don't need another one.

I
When you say Obama doesn't want his daughters punished with a baby do you really think he would want his daughter to get a abortion just because he is pro-choice[nonono]He said it, not me. Look it up.

So, all of you, educate me on left vs. right views.

Some have summarized modern politics this way…

Left: Tax and Spend
Right: Borrow and Spend

Speaking in generalities and upfront I’ll say I’m a registered Republican but have been told many times that I have more Libertarian views than Rep….

The ‘left’ or liberals in this country believe in the almighty Government being the solution to nearly every issue. The extreme portions of the left believe in something close to socialism… you can see it in their words. Just today, Joe Biden said the proposed tax increases on the ‘rich’ should be viewed as “patriotic”.

The ‘right’ or conservatives in this country believe in limited federal Government and the principals of the market economy. Some of us actually believe the State governments should have more ‘power’ than the Feds. The extreme portions of the right are solely focused on social issues i.e., abortion, same-sex marriage.

I know some of the liberals cringe at this and want to jump up and down and remind everyone how much the federal government and spending has grown in the past 8 years and they’re right… that’s the real problem with politics… IMO, there is very little difference in either major party when it comes to the actual politicians.

Both sides of the aisle care very little about doing what their constituents want or sticking true to the ‘promises’ they made while campaigning. They didn’t get into national politics for that. For them, it’s about power. Look at the current drilling debate… statistics say that 65%+ of the populous wants to drill. The Dems (in control of Congress) went on vacation and when they returned they put forth ‘comprehensive’ bills that are so laughable that they’re going to get vetoed. It’s been stated that the house bill includes more provisions addressing bicycles than nuclear power.

During elections, almost everything a politician says is specifically scripted to garner votes. Their positions will change depending on who they are speaking too and how far into the election they’ve gotten. Historically, Democrat presidential candidates aim more towards the far left during the primary to secure the official party nomination and then move towards the ‘center’ during the general election to appeal to moderates from both parties and independents. Republicans do the same thing…aiming for the social conservatives/evangelicals during the primary and then moving to the center…

Presidential elections go like this… 40% of voters are locked into the Dems regardless of the candidate. 40% of voters are locked into the Reps regardless of candidate. It’s the battle for the other 12-17% of the voters as some percentage of voters always vote for 3rd party candidates. Many people probably forget that Ross Perot was leading the polls during the summer of the 1992 election and then withdrew from the race. He had a difficult time regaining his support upon re-entry but still ended up with a lions share (19%) of the popular vote but not a single electoral vote.

Here's another perspective.
Republicans want to allow us to succeed or fail on our own. If we make good decisions we get to reap the harvest.
Dems want to be big brother and give us what they think we should have.
I say no thanks!!!
I've got a mother...I don't need another one.
The good old Bush administration is considering setting up a gov agency to soak up bad loans. Who is the big brother now?
This statement made commodities fall today Cost me a $$$$$ Thanks big brother [dummy]

A liberal is a conservative who has been arrested.
A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged.

So now that we the people own 80% of AIG, the largest insurance company in the world, why not just insure the entire US population?
Heath care problem solved.

So now that we the people own 80% of AIG, the largest insurance company in the world, why not just insure the entire US population?
Heath care problem solved.
Hmmm take something that's already in financial straits and stress it even more as well as destroying our health care system????
No thanks!!

So now that we the people own 80% of AIG, the largest insurance company in the world, why not just insure the entire US population?
Heath care problem solved.

If you think that look North and see how its working for Canada.. Or how about G.B. [coffee]


I say this and am UN-INSURED.

If you think that look North and see how its working for Canada.. Or how about G.B. [coffee]


I say this and am UN-INSURED.

I have seen no problems with the health care up here. I can see a Dr. any time I wish. For coverage for my wife and me it is about $70 a month. I am not sure where the info on how bad our health care comes from, but it is faulty.
If someone can give examples of problems with the Canadian health care please list them

I have seen no problems with the health care up here. I can see a Dr. any time I wish. For coverage for my wife and me it is about $70 a month. I am not sure where the info on how bad our health care comes from, but it is faulty.
If someone can give examples of problems with the Canadian health care please list them
Okay but your Tax rates have to cover it and I know from working in the American Health Care system in the past Many Canadians elect to come south and pay for care.

Clayten

The only problem I continually hear about the canadian public health system, is wait times.

Also, compared to south of the border, it appears that our health professionals are paid less, which is why we lose a lot of highly trained people to other countries. That said, I don't know for sure what our people get paid. There are also shortages of health care workers everywhere, due to the border slippage caused by low wages. Back to waiting times..... When you need an operation for just about anything,you have two choices, join the waiting list, or cash out and go south. You can buy health there.

More and more, you can buy it within our borders too, which I think is fine. Most people believe that this creates a 2 tier system of health care, but in reality, there is still public health care, which through taxation we all pay for, and there are private clinics. Should we choose to use those private clinics, we pay for them over and above what rev canada takes to support the public health system. That is not 2 tier, that is criminal. But then, so is most of our government, so it all works out.

Bottom line is, if you can spring the cash to have yourself looked after, chances are your health is critical to your job/lifestyle that allows you to have that spare cash. Therefore, we should not be penalised for choosing to keep ourselves healthy.

that's enough of a rant, I'm waaaayyy off track here.

have a good one

Glad a Canadian weighed in on this because I was not intending to insult our neighbors at all.
Just pointing out its not all roses and I know about 1/3 of Americans would abuse it by thinking Hey its free and i have a hang nail better go to the ER.
Costs would sky rocket.

Um lets see if I can figure this out...."we the people"now own AIG.So,since I am a part of "we the people" does this now mean that I am now able to take business trips on "my Gulfstream" that I now own?[laugh]
Can one of you more enlightened types 'splain to me why "we the people"paid more than $.09 on the dollar for uncollectable debts?[verymad]

Granted there are wait times. But I have to wait to see a dentist, which are not covered on the health care. Any life threatening health problem is generally taken care of right away. Things like hip and knee replacements do have a wait time. But they are getting them. It would be interesting to know how many low income US citizens in need of a knee or hip replacement even get them.
And yes our taxes do help pay for the health care. But just think if it starts to drive me crazy, I can go see a shrink on the systems cuff.[laugh]

Granted there are wait times. But I have to wait to see a dentist, which are not covered on the health care. Any life threatening health problem is generally taken care of right away. Things like hip and knee replacements do have a wait time. But they are getting them. It would be interesting to know how many low income US citizens in need of a knee or hip replacement even get them.
And yes our taxes do help pay for the health care. But just think if it starts to drive me crazy, I can go see a shrink on the systems cuff.[laugh]

Hmmm good point LMBO