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GOP seizes Senate

McConnell and Boehner penned an agenda statement in the WSJ opinion pages today. You're welcome.

John Boehner and Mitch McConnell: Now We Can Get Congress Going - WSJ - WSJ

The Bullet points:

Our priorities in the 114th Congress will be your priorities. That means addressing head-on many of the most pressing challenges facing the country, including:

• The insanely complex tax code that is driving American jobs overseas;

• Health costs that continue to rise under a hopelessly flawed law that Americans have never supported;

• A savage global terrorist threat that seeks to wage war on every American;

• An education system that denies choice to parents and denies a good education to too many children;

• Excessive regulations and frivolous lawsuits that are driving up costs for families and preventing the economy from growing;

• An antiquated government bureaucracy ill-equipped to serve a citizenry facing 21st-century challenges, from disease control to caring for veterans;

• A national debt that has Americans stealing from their children and grandchildren, robbing them of benefits that they will never see and leaving them with burdens that will be nearly impossible to repay.

Greetings, jmotivator. :2wave:

Since Obama has put granting amnesty or whatever, via an EO, to millions of illegals in the next week or so, contrary to the wishes of the American people, someone should get a lawsuit filed immediately to get a ruling on whether he has the authority to grant citizenship to anyone, and to halt same until it is decided one way or another. When the new Congress takes over, they can work on jobs and anything else they want to tackle. This amnesty :bs: is a miscarriage of justice, and a slap in the face of those who are following the law! Plus, it's just plain ignoring the laws of our land to suit someone's whim! I have no problem with anyone wanting to live in this country, but do it legally, damn it! :2mad:
 
Liberals and libertarians are reasonably rational and informed, while the GOP voters are clueless morons, as evidenced by the massive discrepancy in quality of life, education, economy, etc. of the liberal states (MA, MN, CA, WA, CT, etc.) vs. the right wing states (MS, AR, AL, LA, etc.).

The evidence says that this isn't really clear. Even when one considers educational attainment in various states, the perceived relationship breaks down when one starts looking at voting patterns. For example, from this year's exit polls:

1. The Democrats won the most and least educated segments of the electorate
2. The Republicans won the others
3. All educational groups showed significant support for both parties

Statistics:
- Postgraduate study: 53% Dem; 44% Rep
- College graduate: 44% Dem; 54% Rep
- Some college/associate degree: 45% Dem; 53% Rep
- High school graduate: 46% Dem; 53% Rep
- No high school diploma: 54% Dem; 44% Rep

Even otherwise, as evidenced by right wing posts in this thread itself, it's clear that none of the GOP voters who put the Senate Repubs in power have any idea which of their objective these pols are going to accomplish--a clear indicator of voter ignorance.

We keep asking them for specifics, and they come up empty :lamo

The inability to provide specific details is not confined to GOP voters. Moreover, different people have different interests e.g., some GOP voters might want to see a more assertive approach taken against ISIS while others might want to see reduced illegal immigration. But rather then getting down into such details, they may both argue that they want a change in direction. Moreover, voters in any group of political identity don't have entirely homogenous priorities, views and aspirations. There are also voters who voted for the GOP even as they acknowledge, let's say, climate change. Instead, they voted as they did, because they felt other issues were of higher priority for them (maybe they worked for an industry that would be adversely impacted by tougher regulations, hence they chose their own jobs ahead of addressing climate change; that would not be an irrational choice). In short, I'm not aware of credible empirical evidence to sustain the argument that GOP voters are qualitatively less informed than other voters. The exit polling also undercuts that hypothesis.
 
It was a useful post. A dramatic juxtaposition to your posting.

You mean like your categoric knowledge of Obama's agenda? If you can't bother to look, why should I consider your requests seriously? I generally look for myself at those things of political interest to me, and I assume others who are interested do the same. So beyond the grandstanding you and others are disingenuously engaged in, is there anything of substance you might wish to offer? A criticism of some agenda element? Oh, that's right. You don't know of any agenda.
 
Damn, JM. You're making it easy for 'em. They can't be bothered to look because they're desperately baiting. It shouldn't be such a mystery for 'em.
Yeah, all the improvements to the economy, the tax code, education, etc. is all racist, sexist, and right wing. In fact the better it is for the country the more 'extreme right wing' it becomes.
 
i don't expect much, republicans talk a good game, but in practice they don't get the job done.
Maybe. Obama is still Pres but the people will now have an opportunity to see what's on the table and how their politicians react to it.
 
Well, when the other side is being defiantly ignorant it's good to call them on it.

You're probably correct, but I hate to give these clowns much of anything especially when they already know, or should, what's likely to happen.
 
Actually, no, political divide is good for any developed nation. Sure, it gets people angry, but the pendulum is good for fighting tyranny. Myself, I think people should value it more.

The situation I pointed out would exist only if there were overwhelming evidence that one side had truly superior policy prescriptions. Public policy isn't science. It is linked to the broader environment (demographics, sociocultural situation, technology, etc.), which is in a continual state of flux. Hence, public policy can't become rigid without losing effectiveness. Moreover, since there is no near perfect policy approach, there is diversity of opinion (liberal, conservative, libertarian, etc.). In a world of change, that diversity of political thought is a strength (and your position articulates that), as effective policy makers can draw from a larger pool of ideas to confront societal challenges and opportunities. Clearly, some extremes have been properly discredited e.g., fascism, but in the mainstream, there is a lot of heterogeneity.
 
Greetings, jmotivator. :2wave:

Since Obama has put granting amnesty or whatever, via an EO, to millions of illegals in the next week or so, contrary to the wishes of the American people, someone should get a lawsuit filed immediately to get a ruling on whether he has the authority to grant citizenship to anyone, and to halt same until it is decided one way or another. When the new Congress takes over, they can work on jobs and anything else they want to tackle. This amnesty :bs: is a miscarriage of justice, and a slap in the face of those who are following the law! Plus, it's just plain ignoring the laws of our land to suit someone's whim! I have no problem with anyone wanting to live in this country, but do it legally, damn it! :2mad:

I agree. But since the illegal immigration debate is about to be severely modified during the lame duck session it wouldn't make much sense to include the Republican response until Obama makes his move. Obama could just as easily be trying to smoke out the Republicans with this threat of EO, so better to call his bluff and let him further screw the Democrats with yet another unpopular EO if he chooses to go that route.
 
Yeah, all the improvements to the economy, the tax code, education, etc. is all racist, sexist, and right wing. In fact the better it is for the country the more 'extreme right wing' it becomes.

According to Obama, all we need is amnesty. Everything else is just fine. We're just too stupid to know it. And that explains the election outcome.
 
See there you go with that right wing mentality, get everything as cheap as possible, but in the long run it comes to bite you in the ass. It comes with a price.


so i take it you are buying your lamps at tiffany's, while most of us use a store like Sears or Ikea.

But as an aside, why would i pay a mechanic $ 35.00 an hour, when i can get exactly the same quality of work done for $ 27.50 an hour?

That's not a right wing mentality.....

Thats common sense.....something too many on the left never use
 
so i take it you are buying your lamps at tiffany's, while most of us use a store like Sears or Ikea.

But as an aside, why would i pay a mechanic $ 35.00 an hour, when i can get exactly the same quality of work done for $ 27.50 an hour?

That's not a right wing mentality.....

Thats common sense.....something too many on the left never use

It reminds me of the old marketing story about Sony successfully raising their status in the electronics market by simply raising their prices.

Also this oldie but goodie:

 
The evidence says that this isn't really clear. Even when one considers educational attainment in various states, the perceived relationship breaks down when one starts looking at voting patterns. For example, from this year's exit polls:

1. The Democrats won the most and least educated segments of the electorate
2. The Republicans won the others
3. All educational groups showed significant support for both parties

Statistics:
- Postgraduate study: 53% Dem; 44% Rep
- College graduate: 44% Dem; 54% Rep
- Some college/associate degree: 45% Dem; 53% Rep
- High school graduate: 46% Dem; 53% Rep
- No high school diploma: 54% Dem; 44% Rep



The inability to provide specific details is not confined to GOP voters. Moreover, different people have different interests e.g., some GOP voters might want to see a more assertive approach taken against ISIS while others might want to see reduced illegal immigration. But rather then getting down into such details, they may both argue that they want a change in direction. Moreover, voters in any group of political identity don't have entirely homogenous priorities, views and aspirations. There are also voters who voted for the GOP even as they acknowledge, let's say, climate change. Instead, they voted as they did, because they felt other issues were of higher priority for them (maybe they worked for an industry that would be adversely impacted by tougher regulations, hence they chose their own jobs ahead of addressing climate change; that would not be an irrational choice). In short, I'm not aware of credible empirical evidence to sustain the argument that GOP voters are qualitatively less informed than other voters. The exit polling also undercuts that hypothesis.

There is also the disparity between an eduction and common sense. Judging from the results of many schools at every level it seems that the students are being brain washed rather than gaining a well rounded education.

Most of those veterans who contributed to winning WWII, and later creating one of the most prosperous economies ever, did not graduate from high school. Yet despite this lack I doubt that anyone would claim these were 'uneducated' people.
 
There is also the disparity between an eduction and common sense. Judging from the results of many schools at every level it seems that the students are being brain washed rather than gaining a well rounded education.

Most of those veterans who contributed to winning WWII, and later creating one of the most prosperous economies ever, did not graduate from high school. Yet despite this lack I doubt that anyone would claim these were 'uneducated' people.

I don't disagree. The educational attainment question is a proxy but has limitations. With respect to the WW II veterans, I have no doubt that many of those who did not even graduate from high school could have succeeded in college had they pursued their studies. What that demographic cohort accomplished in all aspects of life attests to that cohort's capability. We owe a lot of the opportunities we have had in life to those veterans, both for their sacrifices during WW II and for what they accomplished afterward. Arguments that they were/are "uneducated" have no merit whatsoever.
 
i don't expect much, republicans talk a good game, but in practice they don't get the job done.

And Democrats do? Were you around for the last six years and Tuesday's election? There's a correlation.
 
And Democrats do? Were you around for the last six years and Tuesday's election? There's a correlation.

i have been involved in politics for 30 years, and although i do not agree with democrats and their polices at all, i have to admit, when they get elected ........will work hard to push and get their agenda passed into law.

republicans make many promises and once elected, generally do not keep most of them.
 
No no, I meant in reply to his evidence of job growth. I'm looking more for the sound basis of it than an opinion. Sorry, although I know where you're coming from :)
First you have to define what you accept as "evidence"
 
so i take it you are buying your lamps at tiffany's, while most of us use a store like Sears or Ikea.

But as an aside, why would i pay a mechanic $ 35.00 an hour, when i can get exactly the same quality of work done for $ 27.50 an hour?

That's not a right wing mentality.....

Thats common sense.....something too many on the left never use

I buy American as much as possible. My Guitars are all Gibson and Martin. They cost more however the quality is far superior to any Asian imported guitar. My Jackets and outerwear are SchottNYC. Union made in Brooklyn NY. More money, however the items will last my entire life. My boots are either Frye or Justin. You get what you pay for. I also prefer to keep as much of My consumer dollars in the country and as local as possible. I know some things are impossible to get that are American made, however at least I'm doing My part to try and keep manufacturing jobs here as fruitless as that may sound.
 
i have been involved in politics for 30 years, and although i do not agree with democrats and their polices at all, i have to admit, when they get elected ........will work hard to push and get their agenda passed into law.

republicans make many promises and once elected, generally do not keep most of them.

So tell me about Harry Reid.
 
I buy American as much as possible. My Guitars are all Gibson and Martin.

Your choices in guitars, at least, appear to be bipartisan.

Gibson's chief executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, contributed to Republican politicians. Recent donations have included $2,000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and $1,500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.... By contrast, Chris Martin IV, the Martin & Co. CEO, is a longtime Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee over the past couple of election cycles.
 
I buy American as much as possible. My Guitars are all Gibson and Martin. They cost more however the quality is far superior to any Asian imported guitar. My Jackets and outerwear are SchottNYC. Union made in Brooklyn NY. More money, however the items will last my entire life. My boots are either Frye or Justin. You get what you pay for. I also prefer to keep as much of My consumer dollars in the country and as local as possible. I know some things are impossible to get that are American made, however at least I'm doing My part to try and keep manufacturing jobs here as fruitless as that may sound.


and my boots were made by Heritage in Austin.........so what?

See there you go with that right wing mentality, get everything as cheap as possible, but in the long run it comes to bite you in the ass. It comes with a price.


everything comes with a price......and people make decisions every day about where to shop, and what to buy

Walmart doesnt exactly sell a lot of USA made products though, does it?

dont blame the right wing for chasing a lot of manufacturing out of this country.....

the unions, and their unwillingness to see what was happening around the globe contributed mightily to that problem

The legislators and their trade laws contributed also.....but it was going to happen....sooner or later

the only right wing part you have right is that corporate america is in business for themselves

not their workers...not the unions.....

it is all about the profits and growth of the company.......

some on the left think that is wrong......i think it is capitalism

companies have a responsibility to their owners, and their shareholders.....that's it
 
Your choices in guitars, at least, appear to be bipartisan.


Ooof..... And I was such a huge Fan of Martin's.

Well there's always Taylor. Dont tell me their run by some Liberal whako too.

My Favorite Acoustic is a Taylor.
 
and my boots were made by Heritage in Austin.........so what?

See there you go with that right wing mentality, get everything as cheap as possible, but in the long run it comes to bite you in the ass. It comes with a price.


everything comes with a price......and people make decisions every day about where to shop, and what to buy

1.Walmart doesnt exactly sell a lot of USA made products though, does it?

2dont blame the right wing for chasing a lot of manufacturing out of this country.....

the unions, and their unwillingness to see what was happening around the globe contributed mightily to that problem

The legislators and their trade laws contributed also.....but it was going to happen....sooner or later

the only right wing part you have right is that corporate america is in business for themselves

not their workers...not the unions.....

3it is all about the profits and growth of the company.......

some on the left think that is wrong......i think it is capitalism

companies have a responsibility to their owners, and their shareholders.....that's it
1. That's one reason why I never give them My money.
2. I will, they are largely to blame. 3. When profits outweigh providing superior and quality products, exceptional service then My dollars will be spent elsewhere. It's a shame that more people don't follow that. We as a consumer based society have come to accept mediocrity much to simply because it's "cheaper"
 
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George Bush weighs in on the election
 
1. That's one reason why I never give them My money.
2. I will, they are largely to blame. 3. When profits outweigh providing superior and quality products, exceptional service then My dollars will be spent elsewhere. It's a shame that more people don't follow that. We as a consumer based society have come to accept mediocrity much to simply because it's "cheaper"
When the cost of living comes more in line with what it should be, then a person can be more dicriminating.
 
It is definitely silly season around here.:lol:

"Season"?

It's been silly like that since a certain community organizer delivered a speech to a lost-cause Democratic convention where the hopeless were fooled into thinking socialism is liberalism and image trumps substance.
 
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