2018 Midterm Election Thread

[revo]

Saying conservative must mean something to you. Paul Ryan has championed being a policy conservative his entire 20 years in office, and was known as the policy wonk with the plan. So with trump era. where all branches held R majority, they all held hands with this mass tax plan, the greatest draining of resources from the 99 percent in order to further enrich the top 1 percent in history, Paul Ryan must have felt he had done all he came to washington to do, and is bowing out at end of his term

CBO released april 9th the budget and economic outlook 2018 to 2028, showing u.s. is aggressively adding to debt this year and next year, with debt by 2028 topping 100 percent of us gdp. This quantum leap is during a booming economy, the polar opposite of what Obama inherited. That economy was the great banking disaster fueled by derivatives trading of swaps and the housing bubble. World was literally days away from a financial collapse that we can talk about. But this is different, Trump took office with economy humming nicely and decided to aggressively starve off the vast majority of population to hyper accelerate wealth of a handful of people.

Conservative used to mean financial responsible, what does it mean now?

[gcstomp]

paul ryan is worth about 1000 trumps. he is measured, reasoned, served his time climbing ranks in public service. and he is not by natural inclination a schoolyard bully trading fire and fury insults with leader of NK, or bashing a gold star family, or applying 2nd grade nick names to anyone who speaks truth he doesnt like.

hell, paul ryan is worth more than 1000 trumps. if he is exiting now to preserve his rep and run as president at future time, be it 2020 or sometime in next 30 years, good on him.

[Bernie Brewer]

paul ryan is worth about 1000 trumps. he is measured, reasoned, served his time climbing ranks in public service. and he is not by natural inclination a schoolyard bully trading fire and fury insults with leader of NK, or bashing a gold star family, or applying 2nd grade nick names to anyone who speaks truth he doesnt like.

hell, paul ryan is worth more than 1000 trumps. if he is exiting now to preserve his rep and run as president at future time, be it 2020 or sometime in next 30 years, good on him.

Indeed. All of this.

[Mithrandir]

So, let me see if I understand what you’re saying, you’re not a conservative? And, it’s just conservatives that post ignorant stuff online? Got it.

Not quite. It's Conservatives that I come across that tend to believe made up stuff more than the Liberals that I come across.

[Sour Masher]

Not quite. It's Conservatives that I come across that tend to believe made up stuff more than the Liberals that I come across.

Not to speak for Bernie, but I believe his point is that your Ryan post reveals you are liberal leaning, so 1. your perception of the unfounded beliefs of others might be colored by your own confirmation biases (this claim is one I concede for me--we all see more lumbar in the eyes of others), and 2. your post illustrates that liberals can post crass opinions that don't include facts as well (this claim, if Bernie is making it, is a bit of a stretch only because I think your initial claim was about unfounded claims, not about how crassly those claims are expressed).

[Bernie Brewer]

Not to speak for Bernie, but I believe his point is that your Ryan post reveals you are liberal leaning, so 1. your perception of the unfounded beliefs of others might be colored by your own confirmation biases (this claim is one I concede for me--we all see more lumbar in the eyes of others), and 2. your post illustrates that liberals can post crass opinions that don't include facts as well (this claim, if Bernie is making it, is a bit of a stretch only because I think your initial claim was about unfounded claims, not about how crassly those claims are expressed).

Well, on point 1, I completely agree. Including me, I wish we all could see the lumber in our own eyes first! I think we all tend to become victims of our own confirmation biases. I know I do. But, I try not to.

To point 2, I was applying a liberal (no pun intended, well, maybe just a little one ) interpretation to his thread. Could I get away with a post saying that about Obama, or Hillary, or ___(insert name here)__ on the left without being pounced upon or challenged by 90% of the posters on this Board? So I was merely speaking up for the minority.

[Sour Masher]

So I was merely speaking up for the minority.

How very progressive of you Bernie! .

[Hornsby]

Here's my issue with the backpatting that Paul Ryan is receiving for being a principled conservative...when the heat was on, he folded. I don't know the percentage, but he capitulated to Trump on almost every position. Conservatism used to mean something, and believe it or not, I'm a fiscal conservative. Now, it's literally selling out the poor and the middle class for the gain of the wealthy. The nation is is a terrible financial position, with the deficit hurtling to a trillion dollars and more...some estimates claim that it'll be TWO trillion before too long. That is Paul Ryan's legacy, along with not fighting Trump on important social issues, and world issues.

Here's a little illustration that I found to show just how horrifying a number one trillion is:

1,000 seconds is equal to almost 17 minutes. It would take almost 12 days for a million seconds to elapse and 31.7 years for a billion seconds. Therefore, a trillion seconds would amount to no less than 31,709.8 years. A trillion seconds ago, there was no written history.

So no, Paul Ryan deserves no accolades or sympathy in my book...he could have at least tried to stem the tide, and when it counted, he did nothing but enable it.

[Bernie Brewer]

How very progressive of you Bernie! .

[drumroll]ba dah dump, ching[/drumroll]

[Sour Masher]

Here's my issue with the backpatting that Paul Ryan is receiving for being a principled conservative...when the heat was on, he folded. I don't know the percentage, but he capitulated to Trump on almost every position. Conservatism used to mean something, and believe it or not, I'm a fiscal conservative. Now, it's literally selling out the poor and the middle class for the gain of the wealthy. The nation is is a terrible financial position, with the deficit hurtling to a trillion dollars and more...some estimates claim that it'll be TWO trillion before too long. That is Paul Ryan's legacy, along with not fighting Trump on important social issues, and world issues.

Here's a little illustration that I found to show just how horrifying a number one trillion is:

So no, Paul Ryan deserves no accolades or sympathy in my book...he could have at least tried to stem the tide, and when it counted, he did nothing but enable it.

When was the last time we've had true fiscal conservative leadership in the executive or legislative branches? None of Reagan, Bush I and II, and Trump were/are. The concept that the GOP represents fiscal conservative ideals is very outdated, and yet that perception persists for some reason. I guess they are good at branding.

[dslaw]

Ryan branded himself a fiscal conservative. But it seems that only applied from 1999-2000 and from 2009-2016 when he talked about balancing the budget and controlling spending. Coincidently those were the times democrats were president. When republicans were in office he voted to cut taxes, fund a war, fund Medicare Part D, fund a bailout, cut taxes again. I don't see anyway this guy could ever get my vote for another office.

[Mithrandir]

Correct me if I am wrong on these:

Ryan is against anything that helps gay and lesbians.
Ryan is against stronger background checks for gun purchases.
Ryan is against Planned Parenthood
Ryan is against legal abortion
Ryan is against equal pay for women

What has he done as far as Health Care?

[Mithrandir]

Well, on point 1, I completely agree. Including me, I wish we all could see the lumber in our own eyes first! I think we all tend to become victims of our own confirmation biases. I know I do. But, I try not to.

To point 2, I was applying a liberal (no pun intended, well, maybe just a little one ) interpretation to his thread. Could I get away with a post saying that about Obama, or Hillary, or ___(insert name here)__ on the left without being pounced upon or challenged by 90% of the posters on this Board? So I was merely speaking up for the minority.

You could say whatever you want about Hilary or Obama. I don't really care for either of them.

[onejayhawk]

Correct me if I am wrong on these:

Ryan is against anything that helps gay and lesbians.
Ryan is against stronger background checks for gun purchases.
Ryan is against Planned Parenthood
Ryan is against legal abortion
Ryan is against equal pay for women

What has he done as far as Health Care?

Why not just say he's Republican?

J

[Mithrandir]

Why not just say he's Republican?

J

Is EVERY Republican against the issues I named?