What we need is an economy that works for most Americans.....

[durangodawood]

What we need is an economy that works for most Americans, and not gimmicks like one time $2000 "rebates" and 50 year mortgages.

And by most Americans I mean everyone whos willing to work. We are nowhere near that. Loads of hardworking people are right on the edge or going backward economically.

Just my opinion. I know its not popular.

 

[Hentenza]

So we don’t need either the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party.

Got it.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

So we don’t need either the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party.

Got it.

We need either (or both) parties to actually address matters that actually impact a majority of Americans. Culture war nonsense from either side isn’t making life easier for anyone at the moment and it’s all the two major parties seem to be focused on because they bring people out to vote but even that is starting to slip as we saw with the recent mayoral election in NYC.

 

[Hentenza]

We need either (or both) parties to actually address matters that actually impact a majority of Americans. Culture war nonsense from either side isn’t making life easier for anyone at the moment and it’s all the two major parties seem to be focused on because they bring people out to vote but even that is starting to slip as we saw with the recent mayoral election in NYC.

Yes but what’s worse for an independent voter like me is the lack of cooperation between the parties. The ideologies are so far apart that they can’t even talk. Everything has to be a fight. The important issues are ignored. The campaign promises or even the candidate’s independent views might not be what they end up doing if elected.

 

[durangodawood]

So we don’t need either the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party.

Got it.

I know theres a good number of Ds who could do this well. Certainly not all tho.

As for Rs, there may well be. But at the moment they are completely under Trumps thumb if not hounded out of the party altogether. For sure a strong economy requires we adhere to certain conservative principles. But for now proper conservatives are laying low in the face of gimmicky and self serving Trumpism.

 

[durangodawood]

We need either (or both) parties to actually address matters that actually impact a majority of Americans. Culture war nonsense from either side isn’t making life easier for anyone at the moment and it’s all the two major parties seem to be focused on because they bring people out to vote but even that is starting to slip as we saw with the recent mayoral election in NYC.

It would be a miracle if this thread generates as much interest as Cracker Barrel going "woke".

 

[durangodawood]

So we don’t need either the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party.

Got it.

I really do take your point in this way tho: We need to break the 2 party structural duopoly.

(We have to do this right tho. Not wasting votes on doomed 3rd party spoilers, but by structural reforms to the way elections are conducted such that alternative party votes dont just advance your worst choice.)

 

[GoldenBoy89]

Yes but what’s worse for an independent voter like me is the lack of cooperation between the parties. The ideologies are so far apart that they can’t even talk. Everything has to be a fight. The important issues are ignored. The campaign promises or even the candidate’s independent views might not be what they end up doing if elected.

I don’t see either party working towards bridging the divide but maybe after enough establishment candidates on each side lose enough elections the party leadership will start to realize they don’t have the support they thought they had.

That’s my hope.

 

[Chesterton]

It would be a miracle if this thread generates as much interest as Cracker Barrel going "woke".

Miracle achieved. It has generated as much interest in my mind as Cracker Barrel going "woke".

(Cracker Barrel - what a racist name.)

 

[mark46]

I don’t see either party working towards bridging the divide but maybe after enough establishment candidates on each side lose enough elections the party leadership will start to realize they don’t have the support they thought they had.

That’s my hope.

???
I guess I don't understand.

REPUBLICANS
Almost every establishment office holder has been booted out In the last couple of decades, especially since Trump was first elected. How has this affected the leadership of the Republican Party. Are you saying that they will now see that realize that they don't have the support that they had before they kicked them all out.

I don't see it that way at all.

Trump and his MAGA team have almost absolute control of the party. There is no meaningful opposition within the party. As has it has been since the beginning, Trump has absolute control of the MAGA base come election time/

And what have the Republicans learned in recent elections.

1) In presidential elections, they have enough vote to win. They thought they won three times. Of course, they have only won two, In the last election, Trump won 100% of the swing states.

2) The Republicans have majorities in both the Senate and the House. Anyone running that they don't like, they remove through the primary process. OF COURSE, they are likely to lose the House in the off-elections. This is almost always the case. They are very likely to keep the Senate, a major win for so unpopular a president.

3) Anyone trying to get elected as a Republican will need Trump support. so all the candidates witll be MAGA.
================
DEMOCRATS

1) The Democrats think they have the support of a majority of Americans and stand for them on the issues important to them. As long as this is the case, the Democrats have little chance to win a national election.

2) On a national basis, Democrats have also kicked out almost all their establishment moderates, leaving the far left and left to dominate what's left. Democrats do NOT have the basis to get a majority of electoral votes. Most Democrats think that they could win a national election in 2028 and no major steps need to be taken to rid itself of LOSING cultural issues and what step it needs learn to appeal to non-college degree voters

3) Democrats don't know what they stand for. There are a few who do, and a few governors who could lead. Of course, they will have almost no chance to win in the 2028 Democratic primaries.

BOTTOM LINE
There is a long time until 2028. There is little reason to believe that the Democratic Party of 2028 will have a ghost of a chance of winning the presidency unless we are in a recession. The Senate and House are always possible. The presidency is another matter. Some issues that Democrats need to get right
AFFORDABILITY
SAFETY IN OUR STREETS
CONTROL OF OUR BORDERS
REDUCTION IS DRUG TRAFFIC
and all the cultural issues such as sexual identity is schools and trans rights in our schools and on our sports teams

 

[essentialsaltes]

The DOW broke 48,000!

62% of Americans invest (directly or indirectly) in the stock market. So there you are!

 

[durangodawood]

Miracle achieved. It has generated as much interest in my mind as Cracker Barrel going "woke".

(Cracker Barrel - what a racist name.)

Yes I do recall you taking a considerable interest in the Cracker Barrel thread

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

So we don’t need either the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party.

Got it.

I get tired of both parties. Also, I get tired , that they make so much money. All the campaign money going to politicians. When it can go to programs for the homeless or children.

 

[BCP1928]

???
I guess I don't understand.

REPUBLICANS
Almost every establishment office holder has been booted out In the last couple of decades, especially since Trump was first elected. How has this affected the leadership of the Republican Party. Are you saying that they will now see that realize that they don't have the support that they had before they kicked them all out.

I don't see it that way at all.

Trump and his MAGA team have almost absolute control of the party. There is no meaningful opposition within the party. As has it has been since the beginning, Trump has absolute control of the MAGA base come election time/

And what have the Republicans learned in recent elections.

1) In presidential elections, they have enough vote to win. They thought they won three times. Of course, they have only won two, In the last election, Trump won 100% of the swing states.

2) The Republicans have majorities in both the Senate and the House. Anyone running that they don't like, they remove through the primary process. OF COURSE, they are likely to lose the House in the off-elections. This is almost always the case. They are very likely to keep the Senate, a major win for so unpopular a president.

3) Anyone trying to get elected as a Republican will need Trump support. so all the candidates witll be MAGA.
================
DEMOCRATS

1) The Democrats think they have the support of a majority of Americans and stand for them on the issues important to them. As long as this is the case, the Democrats have little chance to win a national election.

2) On a national basis, Democrats have also kicked out almost all their establishment moderates, leaving the far left and left to dominate what's left. Democrats do NOT have the basis to get a majority of electoral votes. Most Democrats think that they could win a national election in 2028 and no major steps need to be taken to rid itself of LOSING cultural issues and what step it needs learn to appeal to non-college degree voters

3) Democrats don't know what they stand for. There are a few who do, and a few governors who could lead. Of course, they will have almost no chance to win in the 2028 Democratic primaries.

BOTTOM LINE
There is a long time until 2028. There is little reason to believe that the Democratic Party of 2028 will have a ghost of a chance of winning the presidency unless we are in a recession. The Senate and House are always possible. The presidency is another matter. Some issues that Democrats need to get right
AFFORDABILITY
SAFETY IN OUR STREETS
CONTROL OF OUR BORDERS
REDUCTION IS DRUG TRAFFIC
and all the cultural issues such as sexual identity is schools and trans rights in our schools and on our sports teams

It's time for the Democrats to throw LGBTs under the bus and move forward on substantive issues. I'm sorry for those people but it really won't be any worse for them than back in the 50s and most of them survived that. Strategically, Democrats have to decouple the culture war left from the labor left and get down to business. The labor left is starting to coalesce around the Berniecrat faction; perhaps the best path is to abandon the Democratic Party altogether.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

It's time for the Democrats to throw LGBTs under the bus and move forward on substantive issues. I'm sorry for those people but it really won't be any worse for them than back in the 50s and most of them survived that. Strategically, Democrats have to decouple the culture war left from the labor left and get down to business. The labor left is starting to coalesce around the Berniecrat faction; perhaps the best path is to abandon the Democratic Party altogether.

This issue is not about LGBT or transgender topics, but rather concerns civil rights. The question remains whether every American, regardless of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, has equal rights. If equal rights are granted to all, then an individual's sexual orientation should not affect those rights. Currently, discussions about civil rights may receive less attention in the political sphere, while topics related to the LGBTQ community often attract more focus ( for or against) than broader conversations about equality for all Americans.

Similarly Police accountability is generally a widely accepted concept. However, topics such as "defend police" or "abolish police" tend to attract more attention and discussion then talking about accountability.

I think both sides are more interested on the 30 second sound bite then actual policy. As a result they lose majority American.

 

[BCP1928]

This issue is not about LGBT or transgender topics, but rather concerns civil rights. The question remains whether every American, regardless of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, has equal rights. If equal rights are granted to all, then an individual's sexual orientation should not affect those rights. Currently, discussions about civil rights may receive less attention in the political sphere, while topics related to the LGBTQ community often attract more focus ( for or against) than broader conversations about equality for all Americans.

Similarly Police accountability is generally a widely accepted concept. However, topics such as "defend police" or "abolish police" tend to attract more attention and discussion then talking about accountability.

I think both sides are more interested on the 30 second sound bite then actual policy. As a result they lose majority American.

The culture war has been used by both sides to divide the working class and distract us from the substantive issues which affect us all.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

The culture war has been used by both sides to divide the working class and distract us from the substantive issues which affect us all.

No one is dividing into anyone. No one is distracting anyone. Voters themselves are involved in these cultural conflicts.

Political parties engage in cultural conflicts because most Americans, regardless of their political affiliation, like cultural debates. The majority of evangelical Christians believe that the pro-life movement takes precedence over economic issues. Similarly, progressives consider matters such as pro-choice or civil rights for LGBTQ individuals to be significantly more important than US debt crisis.

It is your prerogative to consider cultural issues less significant in life. However, others may view these topics more important than anything else.

 

[BCP1928]

No one is dividing into anyone. No one is distracting anyone. Voters themselves are involved in these cultural conflicts.

Political parties engage in cultural conflicts because most Americans, regardless of their political affiliation, like cultural debates. The majority of evangelical Christians believe that the pro-life movement takes precedence over economic issues. Similarly, progressives consider matters such as pro-choice or civil rights for LGBTQ individuals to be significantly more important than US debt crisis.

It is your prerogative to consider cultural issues less significant in life. However, others may view these topics more important than anything else.

I do not consider the cultural issues less significant. What I object to is the use of these issues as a tool to divide the workforce. For instance, that we can't have single-payer health care because it's "socialist" and everybody knows that the end goal of socialism is to turn your kids gay. Whether gays can get married or drag queens can read to kids, even abortion, have nothing whatever to do with the economic well-being of the working class. They are separate issues.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

I do not consider the cultural issues less significant. What I object to is the use of these issues as a tool to divide the workforce. For instance, that we can't have single-payer health care because it's "socialist" and everybody knows that the end goal of socialism is to turn your kids gay. Whether gays can get married or drag queens can read to kids, even abortion, have nothing whatever to do with the economic well-being of the working class. They are separate issues.

You are oversimplifying a complex issue. If Democrats created a single-payer health system that excluded transgender surgery or treatment, would conservatives then support it? I do think they would.

 

[Hentenza]

You are oversimplifying a complex issue. If Democrats created a single-payer health system that excluded transgender surgery or treatment, would conservatives then support it? I do think they would.

As an independent, I would support it in principle. However, both parties keep kicking the can down the road.