Are our politicians really this Stupid? Or are we that Complacent as voters?

1. 85

   Don Bobbittposted 10 years ago

   Are our politicians really this Stupid? Or are we that Complacent as voters?
   
   It isOct.15,2013. Is this day going to go down as another "Day of Infamy" in our History,or will we and the rest of the world just laugh the budget impasse as another example of our beloved politicians just being the fools we expect them to be/
   
   

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2. 71

   The Frog Princeposted 10 years ago

   I think our politicians think we as stupid as we appear to be by sending most of them back over and over to do more damage to this country. 
   
   The Frog

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   1. 85

      Don Bobbittposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You must be right! As I sit and watch this thing going down to the wire, I realize that there really is no wire. They are all intent on destruction at the cost to the American Public.
      DON

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      Dont Taze Me Broposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You raise your children to never lie, never name call, don't leave things to the last minute, don't blame others for your mistakes, don't coverup wrong doing - then they daily watch our political leaders build careers on what we tell kids not to do.

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3. 78

   junksellerposted 10 years ago

   The Tea Partiers and Evangelicals have come to the realization that the future doesn't really want them. For them a black man as president, a rising population of immigrants, homosexuals being able to marry, women having freedom to control their sexuality, etc. is the Apocalypse and many of them are perfectly willing to burn down everything rather than let that happen. That isn't stupid, it is insane.
   
   That doesn't mean there isn't also stupidity. Of course there is individual stupidity, but there is also collective stupidity. If the Democrats were smart they would have told the lunatic right to piss off a long time ago. The whole notion of not negotiating with terrorists is a useful one in this case.
   
   As voters we are also horribly complacent and ignorant. You can walk around outside and find a sizable number of people who can't tell you who the Vice President is. How these people even manage to tie their shoes each day is beyond me. Try something more complicated, such as naming all the cabinet members, and you'll be lucky to find one person out of a thousand who could.
   
   Yes politicians suck, but our complacency and ignorance is what allows them to be, and I think we are getting exactly what we deserve.

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   1. 45

      Ericdierkerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I am really glad this long post was made. I did not really think people thought that way long enough to write it down. Wow. What a mess.

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   2. 71

      The Frog Princeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Somehow your Democratic stupidity keeps shining through junkseller.  Elections are still decided by INDEPENDENTS not partisan idiots.

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   3. 78

      junksellerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Perhaps you missed the part where Obama won as a centrist against Romney who was busy humping the far right. But Democrats are the stupid ones right? What's really amazing is that the GOP is STILL doing it. They'll lose the house at this rate.

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   4. 45

      Ericdierkerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I am amazed. Someone who still thinks this is one party's fault. You my friend are a loyal die hard. Very impressive.

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   5. 78

      junksellerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The majority of the country thinks one party is to blame, so don't act like I'm some grand anomaly and yes, I'm loyal to Democracy, so thanks for the compliment.

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   6. 67

      LandmarkWealthposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Actually Romney lost because he lost about 4 million votes from polled Conservatives that didn't vote in the last election and thought Romney was too liberal and stayed home.  More Americans self identify as conservative than liberal.

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   7. 78

      junksellerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Most Americans self-identify as moderates, which Obama won by 15 points. And I haven't seen any evidence that conservatives didn't turn out where it mattered. Romney did better in swing states than Bush or McCain. Still lost.

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   8. 67

      LandmarkWealthposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      More Americans still identify conservative over liberal. The one unifying tenet of the Tea party, fiscal restraint is extremely popular among the population. It's all in how the questions are phrased.  And Romney polled terrible with conservatives

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4. 67

   LandmarkWealthposted 10 years ago

   They're not stupid...we are.  They live in the lap of luxury with all kinds of special perks while convincing the masses that we desperately need them.  They have addicted large numbers of the nation to entitlements designed to keep them dependent on their supposed helping hand they lend the the masses who only need to listen and let them tell us how to live. 
   
   This supposed deadline is a classic example of preying on the stupidity of the American people.  Aside from the ridiculous idea that you can somehow default on a fiat currency, let's put that aside for a moment.  Total Federal Spending is approximately 3.5 Trillion.  About 1.2 Trillion is discretionary spending.  Meaning Mandatory spending is about 2.3 Trillion.  Federal Tax Revenue is on track for 2.7 Trillion.  That means the only way there is a default, which technically would be more like a delay of payment upon settlement, is if the treasury opted to not make a payment.  I stress OPTED, because this is very much a choice.  There is no shortage of revenue to meet the mandatory spending.  With 400 billion in excess revenue above mandatory spending, there is more than enough to prioritize the net interest on the national debt of 260 billion annually.  Clearly there is a far greater economic impact from missing or delaying an interest payment then simply not funding one of the 1.2 trillion dollars in discretionary spending until some sort of agreement is reached.
   
   But that is not the way DC operates.  Particularly this group. They would rather terrorize the American people with nonsense.  Even more ridiculous is the GAO puts out reports annually that cite specific areas of enormous redundancy and waste in the gov't.  But do our elected officials address that first in a gov't shut down.  Of course not.  Instead they spend extra money to put up barricades to block veterans from visiting a park.  They instruct park rangers to make peoples lives as difficult as possible.  They spend extra money to evict people from Federal lands that weren't costing the gov't a penny.  Why...to terrorize the people into believing that we so desperately need them.  Because if they actually did their job and focused on all the waste in DC, most people wouldn't even know the gov't was shut down if they weren't being told it was on the news.  Perhaps that is what they are so afraid of.  They told us the sequester was the end of the world, and in fact it greatly reduced the deficit more so than any measure in 30 years.

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   1. 80

      brblogposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      LW - you always have very well-thought-out (and longer) answers. I might agree with them or not but I wonder if the complacent ones out there (meaning most) actually get past the first paragraph - and that, wouldn't you agree is part of the problem.

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   2. 85

      Billie Kelpinposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      LW, I doubt that even a small percentage of the new members of the House even understand your second paragraph. The old timers in the Senate and House do, I believe,but it's that dogmatic new faction that really doesn't get it, don't you think?

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   3. 67

      LandmarkWealthposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, most people are complacent.  And I think all elected officials understand full well.  I think the newer members of the house are actually the only ones addressing the real problem.  Which is and always has been too much spending.

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5. 80

   brblogposted 10 years ago

   I don't think our politicians are stupid; in-fact, most of them are very smart. Are we complacent? Not all but probably too many of us are. When politics becomes a career, that is when the trouble starts. When special interests pour millions into a politician's coffers, that is when the trouble gets worse. Even those with good intentions are doomed to fail in this environment. Power corrupts, money corrupts, greed corrupts, capitalism corrupts, religion corrupts, bureaucracy corrupts. The system is flawed and our "precious" constitution has something to do with that as well. Of course we know that other systems have been tried and they might even be worse. So I don't pretend to have any answers to this mess . . .

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   1. 85

      Don Bobbittposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      brblog- Well Put. I was waiting for soemone to state what to all of us should be "the obvious". And the obvious is the fact that what is going on at this moment with congress has always gone on, literally from day one, except with instant press.

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