Why bother with the GOP if this is all it has to offer?

[Kdf101]

We're losing because nobody is willing to risk their political career to oppose this nonsense, so voters won't turn out for them.

As it stands now the GOP is effectively democrat-policy-but-drawn-out. If we can't revisit gay marriage after the consequences it has brought to society between drag shows for kids and kink fetish nonsense being taught to 4th graders, then we don't have a country worth much.

This has nothing to do with reasonable minds. This is good people trying to co-exist and tolerate degeneracy to the limits of their extent, and it being pushed further and further every day.

If something isn't done soon to draw a hard line and reel this in, it's going to end up spawning a political movement neither you nor I will have a good time with. This is the blind spot people of your persuasion aren't seeming to understand. The pendulum always swings, just how far are you comfortable with it swinging next time around?

We are losing because the GOP keeps driving away people who support smaller government, more freedom, lower taxes etc. There are a lot of peop,e who support all the above, but get turned off my the pseudo religious take of the party. More freedom is good. Get all the help you can, even if their personal values don’t align with yours. Just keep personal values out of policy decisions. I say it again, this all or nothing thing approach many republicans, of whatever sub clan, have is a losing proposition. Incremental betterment is the only winning strategy.

 

[indyblue]

I don't care who you are or what sexual preferences you have, if you support and truly believe in the 1A, 2A and the rest of the constitution you're good to go.

We really do need a 3rd party choice, but I don't expect one in my lifetime (~another 20+ years).

 

[Tombs]

Reminds me of my maternal grandfather who spent decades sure a race war was just around the corner. Always some cataclysm on the horizon to worry about, I suppose, and it costs us a lot of years when my interracial marriage made him concerned I'd be conflicted on what side to fight on. The idea that revisting gay marriage is a winner for Republicans is as likely as revisting miscegenation laws, and for the same reasons.

That pendulum did swing, we wound up with the moral panic where everything was satanic, and everything had to be hyper conservative or else you would be unpersoned by broader society. I think we're still on the opposite of that pendulum swing.

With where we are now, when that pendulum swings, it's going to be rough.

Counter cultures always pop up against authority.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

“Outside of a few elected Republicans, the majority of the GOP is a fake opposition party. They never fight on issues that matter when they matter and routinely cave on the major political fights of our time.”

The GOP Is A Fake Opposition Party With No Vision

There's only one legitimate political force playing to win in Washington, D.C., and it's not the Republican Party.

thefederalist.com

 

[Ingomike]

“Outside of a few elected Republicans, the majority of the GOP is a fake opposition party. They never fight on issues that matter when they matter and routinely cave on the major political fights of our time.”

The GOP Is A Fake Opposition Party With No Vision

There's only one legitimate political force playing to win in Washington, D.C., and it's not the Republican Party.

thefederalist.com

“At the end of the day, GOP voters must realize that politicians work for the people, not the other way around. If an elected Republican isn’t fighting and voting based on the interests of his or her voters, it’s incumbent upon conservatives to get active in Republican primaries and throw them out of office. Until then, conservatives should continue to expect more of the same, in which Democrats destroy the country while Republicans stand around and watch.”

 

[Ingomike]

“Outside of a few elected Republicans, the majority of the GOP is a fake opposition party. They never fight on issues that matter when they matter and routinely cave on the major political fights of our time.”

The GOP Is A Fake Opposition Party With No Vision

There's only one legitimate political force playing to win in Washington, D.C., and it's not the Republican Party.

thefederalist.com

I would love to see an in depth study of republican politicians and their voters. I am curious if they are reflecting the constituents that actually vote for them.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I would love to see an in depth study of republican politicians and their voters. I am curious if they are reflecting the constituents that actually vote for them.

Must be. They keep re-electing them.

 

[DadSmith]

Congressional tensions draw comparisons to pre-Civil War polarization

Tensions on Capitol Hill exploded this week with several heated moments, including one incident of alleged physical violence, leading experts to draw comparisons between the polarization in the years preceding the Civil War to current Republican divisions in the country's highest ranks.

www.washingtonexaminer.com

 

[JettaKnight]

If you were still working patrol or in security, would you want Stephanie HeShe as your partner or on your team?

If not, why not?

So, we're not just anti-DEI, we are actively exclusionary?


I remember the fights against affirmative action in the 80's when we pushed to have performance based hiring & promotions... I kinda miss those days.

 

[JettaKnight]

“At the end of the day, GOP voters must realize that politicians work for the people, not the other way around. If an elected Republican isn’t fighting and voting based on the interests of his or her voters, it’s incumbent upon conservatives to get active in Republican primaries and throw them out of office. Until then, conservatives should continue to expect more of the same, in which Democrats destroy the country while Republicans stand around and watch.”

Likewise, some of these up and need to put aside their selfish ambitions and work toward a common goal - America.

Seems like MTG and her ilk are too wrapped up in self promotion and whipping up anti-woke foment to be effective.

 

[BugI02]

So, we're not just anti-DEI, we are actively exclusionary?


I remember the fights against affirmative action in the 80's when we pushed to have performance based hiring & promotions... I kinda miss those days.

Gender dysphoria is a mental illness, not a protected class

 

[JettaKnight]

Gender dysphoria is a mental illness, not a protected class

Autism is a mental illness - so is a ton of of things (Has Trumpism made it in the DSM?).

Doesn't mean they can't do the job.

 

[BugI02]

Autism is a mental illness - so is a ton of of things (Has Trumpism made it in the DSM?).

Doesn't mean they can't do the job.

Cool. You can take them all on your fire team, then

 

[KLB]

Autism is a mental illness - so is a ton of of things (Has Trumpism made it in the DSM?).

Doesn't mean they can't do the job.

Are you lumping disorders and illness together?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Gender dysphoria is a mental illness, not a protected class

Not real familiar with employment law as it relates to ADA, are you? I'm no expert, but even at my level I know you can't discriminate for mental illness if reasonable accomodations can be made, same as physical illness.

I see you got real quiet on the topic when I said I valued compentency over demographics. You and your imaginary fire team obviously feel differently. I wonder how you'd feel about a trans- cyclist blocking the road to protest marijuana legalization. Could *they* be on your 'fire team'.

 

[INPatriot]

Great thread. Great opinions. Great input. Great posts. I thank you all. I think I liked three or four debated posts in a row because I believed that valid points were made.

Beliefs are one thing, how those beliefs are administered are another. That ultimately brings people in or drives people away.

In our third century of independence, four decades after the Cold War and after eight decades of American hegemony worldwide, the populace has been lulled into complacency. They've never tasted anything but decadence and luxury items so there is no sense of urgency for the austerity of preserving something.

This forum is the far right side of the bell curve, whether one is conservative, liberty-minded, Constitutional, etc. The far right hand side of the bell curve never needs any other part of the curve UNTIL it's time to get people in their boat so that majorities can be earned, work can be done, legislation can be passed or denied and movement one way or the other takes place or does not.

We're coming into an election year. People like Trump's policies, but not Trump. People thought DeSantis was Trump without the Trump baggage, but he has not moved the needle. Nikki Haley appears to be the slower walk towards what we don't like.

Maybe, Vivek's style needs to be considered. People like his message, but aren't sure because he has no track record. He believes in the morality necessary to execute a republic, he sympathizes with our Judeo-Christian traditions and foundation but is not evangelical or even Christian. He talks to anyone and everyone without talking at them, unless it's a snarky debate moderator or Ronna McDaniel. He speaks to the proper 21st Century platforms where he can get the most reach. He can appeal to the young, empathize with the apathetic, but speak to the concerned. I admit, I hope he really believes what he says and is not just a flash in the pan.

But then there's that damned purity test that has popped up in this thread and so many others.

 

[Leadeye]

Who gets the money and what gets done with it, that answers a lot of questions in the end.

Always follow the money

 

[BugI02]

Not real familiar with employment law as it relates to ADA, are you? I'm no expert, but even at my level I know you can't discriminate for mental illness if reasonable accomodations can be made, same as physical illness.

The Psychiatric Enforcement Guidance, however, clearly limits the definition of impairment, providing that [n]ot all conditions listed in the DSM-IV . . . are disabilities, or even impairments, for purposes of the ADA. [47] In fact, identifying the mental impairment, whether or not it is in the DSM, is just the first step in determining whether an individual meets the requirements for disability under the statute. Under the ADA, the disability must also substantially limit one or more of the major life activities of the individual.[48]

I guess you could argue being mentally unstable and believing what is demonstrably untrue would substantially limit 'one or more major life activities'

Not sure about your definition of 'competency' where it concerns a manifestly unstable individual, but you get to do you

Maybe you imagine they would be something like John Malkovich's character in Red, where a paranoid psychotic also manages to be a useful and reliable team player. Not like that's just Hollywood story telling or anything. Personally, I think you're more likely to get 'Audrey' Hale than private Vasquez

 

[JettaKnight]

Are you lumping disorders and illness together?

Yes, you are correct... I blame the third bourbon when typing that.