So what's the point of political debate/discussion if no one ever changes their minds?

[Pavlov]

That's an easy question.

Democrat.

No video necessary.

[DarrinS]

That's an easy question.

Democrat.

No video necessary.

He would not be a Democrat in 2019.

[Pavlov]

He would not be a Democrat in 2019.

Of course he would.

[DarrinS]

Of course he would.

Based on what?

[Will Hunting]

Based on what?

How would he be a Republican? Use your own words this time big boy.

[Pavlov]

Based on what?

....if by a "Liberal," they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and su ions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say that I'm a "Liberal."

[baseline bum]

The actual tax plan he passed ended up at 70% iirc.

But he got dragged into that kicking and screaming when he was proposing the far more job creator friendly rate of 65%.

[DarrinS]

How would he be a Republican? Use your own words this time big boy.

....if by a "Liberal," they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and su ions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say that I'm a "Liberal."

Different standards for different posters, I suppose.

Oh, and based on the quote Pav posted, I am a liberal, too.

[Pavlov]

Our liberalism has its roots in our diverse origins. Most of us are descended from that segment of the American population which was once called an immigrant minority. Today, along with our children and grandchildren, we do not feel minor. We feel proud of our origins and we are not second to any group in our sense of national purpose.

[Pavlov]

The reason that Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and Adlai Stevenson had influence abroad, and the United States in their time had it, was because they moved this country here at home, because they stood for something here in the United States, of expanding the benefits of our society to our own people, and the people around the world looked to us as a symbol of hope.

[Pavlov]

Different standards for different posters, I suppose.

Oh, and based on the quote Pav posted, I am a liberal, too.

No you aren't.

Quit trying to co-opt presidents just because they were popular.

You got Trump. You want Trump. You support Trump. You defend Trump.

[Will Hunting]

Different standards for different posters, I suppose.

Oh, and based on the quote Pav posted, I am a liberal, too.

Pavlov and I agree on the issue so there's no need for me to ask him to regurgitate the argument I already put in my own words up above.

Still waiting for you to use your own words though.

[Quadzilla99]

That wasn't Dennis Prager. It was Larry Elder.

like that's any better

[Will Hunting]

For wanting a 65% top tax rate? So 5 points is the difference between right winger and socialist nutcase?

For the record, DarrinS dodged the out of this post

[baseline bum]

For the record, DarrinS dodged the out of this post

[Pavlov]

Honestly, before Darrin, et.al., accepted Trump into his life, about half the presidents would never have made it to office with a post-Drudge media climate just because of their ing habits.

Especially JFK.

I'd like to think Darrin and the rest will abandon their faux puritanism for good, but the very second Woman and/or Minority Democratic Candidate has anything resembling sex outside the old mores I think they'll don their hairshirts once more.

[pgardn]

OP

Some of us like to know which board members pull absolute crap off the Internet and believe it.
I personally find it fascinating what people believe to be true.

[Chucho]

Explain.

He hated pinko commie bas s.

[Down Under]

And you know there's many, many more verses of this type. Helping the poor seems to be a direct command of God.

My Dad mentioned this to an American colleague when he was in Afghanistan after she was complaining about dole bludgers (people on benefits) - he said that it wasn't a very Christian at ude in a tongue in cheek way & she went off at him

[RandomGuy]

And if JFK was around today the Sean Hannitys, Fox News, and Daily Wires would demonize him and pretend hes a dangerous, womanizing piece of

They would be taking Reagan to task as well, for having raised taxes. Reagan couldn't make it out of the primaries these days, which says volumes about how far to the right the party has lurched, despite their beatifying of St. Reagan.

[RandomGuy]

He's in his Libertarian phase. I went from leaning socialist (like real socialist, not social democracy) to Libertarianism because it's a solid and sensible idea in a vacuum, with its main selling point being limited government invention (this idea is attractive because, historically, governments have been bad actors). But for Libertarianism to work in the real world, you'd need a society of near-perfect ethical and rational agents.

Example: A Libertarian would argue there's no need for an FDA, because a food or drug company wouldn't knowingly bring to market a potentially harmful/substandard project since doing so would hurt profits long term. Nice logic. Except that's not how it works in the real world. If a drug company knows 5% of its patients experience dangerous side-effects and runs a cost benefit analysis that to make the drug 100% safe would cost an additional 50 million in research and development vs. 20 million in settled lawsuits/fines, they're going with the latter, especially if they're a publicly traded corporation. The Libertarian supply-side theory also doesn't work in the real world, at the macro corporate level at least.

I would say I'm a micro-Libertarian in that I believe small businesses should enjoy more tax cuts and a less regulated environment (as long as the less regulation doesn't have social consequences) than their corporate counterparts.

Agreed.

Full on Libertarianism fails to deal with resource asymmetry.

My fear is that corporations are getting bigger faster than anyone realizes. At some point they will be more powerful than any government. That should give anyone pause.