Will the people of opposing parties ever come together in the interest of what's good for the people

[Skip Intro]

Poll question: Will the people of opposing parties ever come together in the interest of what's good for the people

of this country?

You know, I feel about burnt-out.

I thought I became politically aware during the Reagan admin. I voted for him twice because my new-to-politics view succumbed to rw spin machine that demonized his opponents. I voted for him twice. Not proud of that, but it's true.

I was ambivalent during bush 1's run.

I became a Clinton fan, and a fan of Dems, as I grew more aware. Voted for Bill twice. The pure venom that was unleashed daily against him from the right only solidified my new views. And while issues were finally taking their rightful place in my mind during Clinton's first term, it was still more about personality for me. I hated the repubs then, with no idea how much I'd come to hate them under bush2.

The attack on Iraq, and I credit having found DU shortly after bush2's "election," with opening my eyes to what was really going on at the time, was an eye-opener. As repubs fell in lockstep line to support bush's unjustified war, I grew to hate them. Opponents were smeared in the worst kinds of ways, while the repubs flew the flag and played the 9*11 card incessantly.

And they, as a whole, have shown no remorse, and only seek to use things which many still hold dear to divide us, while our leaders, when we do elect them, seem purposely ineffective at taking advantage of any opportunity to do things differently, or fending off attacks on their views and agendas that should have been expected.

So I'm kinda back at square one, except wiser. Enough of us play the politicians' games to keep them or their kin in power. And Americans are divided as ever. They hurl "socialist" at us and we hurl "racist" at them. And we all seem to be playing the same tired game over and over again. When character insults substitute for honest debate on what actions should be taken in the best interest of the people of the US, I kinda don't want to play anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Dem through and through - we do seem to stand up for the little guy now and then, which is far more than I can say for the repubs. But the question has crossed my mind tonight, so I ask:

Do you think there will ever come a time when enough thinking people reject the charade we know as politics today, and actually come together, agree to honestly consider each others' views and where necessary, disagree on some things, politely and respectfully, but actually work together to move forward, taking care of things that really should be taken care of?

[Selatius]

1. Nope.

In Congress, too much money is in the process. Too much money is at stake. Decisions are made based on that money changing hands. Sure, if it's just ordinary people in working class lives, there's a chance they'd come together and make decisions. However, ordinary people do not make decisions about laws. That is left up to senators and congressmen. They make the laws, and money is given to them to influence their decisions. Ordinary people don't have that kind of job.

[Skip Intro]

2. But ordinary people put those Congresspeople and Senators in office.

That is our power.

[Selatius]

8. What difference does that make? People know more about petty things than important things.

You can blame the corporate media for this lack of an informed citizenry. I submit to you the notion that no republic can long endure if its citizens are not informed about the important issues that affect us all. It will eventually collapse into a tyranny. It is the way of history, and it always has been.

[tridim]

3. The MSM could put a stop to it all

But that would be bad for ratings.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. We are near the end of our imperial run

when that comes, and it will be mostly sudden, all bets are off.

We could unite as a country, after a lot of screaming and finger pointing... the country could fall apart, or anywhere in between.

You will get, since it is coming relatively soon, a front row to history.

The last Empire to fall was the USSR... in our life time. There are similar systemic reasons for the fall of the American Empire. But a lot of what goes on in DC, is not only who pays for the elections, but Empire. Once that goes... all bets are off.

Oh and yes, they do call me Casandra.

[Pirate Smile]

5. We were headed off an economic cliff as President Obama was sworn in. It was an enormous moment of

crisis. The time when you would expect lawmakers to do what was necessary to try to save the Country. Instead of trying to help, Republicans made a concerted decision to fight everything Obama did for purely political reasons - his success in turning the Country & economy around could lead to decades of Democrat dominance - like FDR & Democrats in Congress had after 1932. It shouldn't have been surprising but it still really was shocking. I also don't think there is any way they would rally around the President if the Country was attacked. They would rip him to shreds immediately.

[depakid]

6. Given how successful it's worked out for them thus far- I'd be expecting more of the same

Now, had the president actually made them (as well as ideologues in his own party) pay a political price and hit them over the head with the blame at every opportunity, rather than continuing to pursue his bipartisan fantasies (to the point of grovelling at times) it might have been a very different story and we'd be talking about relegating them to the fringe for a generation come November.

[Oregone]

7. pot brownies

:rofl:

[old mark]

9. Now, THAT is the real problem in the USA!!! nt

[boston bean]

10. I don't care if they ever come together. That is never going to happen.

The right will never believe what you or I believe. So when we have the power we must shift the country using the same tactics they used to shift it right to shift it back to the left.

Anything less than that is capitulation.

All this coming together shit does is give cover to the corporatists in Washington who hold most the power now.

Do the Democrats want to put the power back into the hands of the people? If so, then they ought not care what the right thinks and water down their policies to be just a smidge better. All that does is slow it down, there is no reversal, and no reversal will come with that strategy.

[IndianaGreen]

11. Republicans and Democrats are two wings of the same bird of prey

Those were Ralph Nader's words, but they don't come near as close as those of the prophet George Carlin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHd_jXtp4Rs

The 2-party system is a farce!