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Anyone else excited to Make America Great Again?

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old gypsy

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This video is one hour and forty minutes long. Can you summarize what you think matters?
I watched it all, but if you aren't interested in doing so, the first five minutes of the video should answer your question.
 

Kylie Kinslayer

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Any of you actually know O'keefe's history when it comes to credibility? He's quite well know for shall we say, creative editing? Not saying he did or didn't in this case, but honestly all of this stuff, the videos, the wiki leaks, etc. needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
There is no integrity required when you're hearing what you want to hear. O'Keefe is famous for getting people to talk about hypothetical situations and then exposing it as if it happened. All should withhold judgement until his material is verified.
I agree with you that the messenger does have issues at times. But, just because the messenger has been flawed in the past does not mean the story is flawed. I mean out of ALL the expose' pieces he has done he was only proven guilty ONCE.. once out of all the expose's he has done? That is a better average than Katie Couric ;)

Not to mention the actual words coming out of their mouths (specifically the woman at the 10:26 mark) can not be dismissed as being a hypothetical situation. Braggadocios? Self important? Sure.. but no way to take that in a conversation and spin it to be out of context. Additionally, if the piece was indeed a true hatchet job.. head would not already being lopped off. So far two folks fired in the last 48 hours since the story broke? To me that kinda illustrates how accurate the reporting actually is. Sadly though, when it comes to the DNC and their Pac's, the people are not getting canned due to the severely bad actions, they are being fired solely because they were caught on video tape admitting to them... there are still plenty of folks running with their ideas and illegal junk.

I just hope Trump bashes and bashes and bashes and bashes on this tonight at the debate.
 

petemage

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Just get sick of seeing stupid memes and complete nonsense. Gotta let the poison out ;)
Yea, if it helps, those people have formed loud movements pretty much everywhere in Europe as well, but it's exactly the same complete nonsense as with the Trump campaign and their fans. Spread some lies, spread some fear, proclaim an super easy unfeasible solution to get the - let's say - less educated behind you. Just look Trump people in the US, National Front in France, AfD in Germany, Brexit movement, and so on. They love to buy every lie the amateurs on youtube are pushing out.

I tried to argue with those people for a while, but in the end you have to realize there is no point in doing so :) They just want to believe their "truth".
 

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I agree with you that the messenger does have issues at times. But, just because the messenger has been flawed in the past does not mean the story is flawed. I mean out of ALL the expose' pieces he has done he was only proven guilty ONCE.. once out of all the expose's he has done? That is a better average than Katie Couric ;)

Not to mention the actual words coming out of their mouths (specifically the woman at the 10:26 mark) can not be dismissed as being a hypothetical situation. Braggadocios? Self important? Sure.. but no way to take that in a conversation and spin it to be out of context. Additionally, if the piece was indeed a true hatchet job.. head would not already being lopped off. So far two folks fired in the last 48 hours since the story broke? To me that kinda illustrates how accurate the reporting actually is. Sadly though, when it comes to the DNC and their Pac's, the people are not getting canned due to the severely bad actions, they are being fired solely because they were caught on video tape admitting to them... there are still plenty of folks running with their ideas and illegal junk.

I just hope Trump bashes and bashes and bashes and bashes on this tonight at the debate.
From what I can find digging around in public record O'Keefe has never not released flawed evidence for his claims, everything has been recorded secretly as he manipulates the environment. Sure he's only been convicted of a crime once, and that was at a reduced charge, he has faced and lost or settled several other lawsuits over releasing edited video as civil matters. It is also somewhat interesting that his activity is financially backed by Breitbart.


EDIT

Before I forget, let me remind you, the media is not in the business of spreading the truth, they haven't been for a long, long time. The media is in the business of making money and forwarding agendas. They will do what ever they feel is in their own best interest. The New-York Evening Post, for example, largely considered primarily a tabloid today was once a very respected newspaper and is still the 7th most distributed paper in America initially was founded by Alexander Hamilton in order to legitimize publishing of Federalist Party propaganda.
 
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Garen

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I just hope Trump bashes and bashes and bashes and bashes on this tonight at the debate.
And this here is the problem with our campaign circus. A video by a shady film maker that has yet to be vetted. Who cares, it's a football game and I hope my guy bashes the other guy!
 

old gypsy

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This is all irrelevant!!! He hates Mexican!!


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He doesn't hate Mexicans. He is, however, opposed to ignoring our immigration laws and allowing any person of any nationality to enter our country illegally.

None of this is irrelevant. And corruption should never be irrelevant.
 

Herman

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Twenty trillion dollars.

Twenty.

Trillion.

Dollars.

The government sure as hell better start adopting business principles to get its spending under control. Debt was at $10 trillion when Obama came in and is actually likely going to be closer to $21 trillion by time he leaves. We can't spend a trillion dollars a year more than we take in year after year. We can't adopt new spending programs when we can't pay for our current ones. And we can't raise taxes on a population that is already tapped out at both the individual level, small business level, and corporate level. If there is one business model that needs to be put into place, it's balancing the budget and cutting expenses in hard times.

And it's a pretty broad shot to says all his plans would be an unmitigated disaster. Can our immigration situation possibly get any worse? I think Trump would address it by securing the southern border, first and foremost. This will stop ALOT of heroin that comes into the United States, let alone more illegal immigrants who leach off the public system.

Can our trade imbalance with China and Mexico get any worse? Trump's position on trade policy is actually a lot more "liberal" than what you would see from modern day capitalists who wanted free trade... but he has America in mind and would put a stop to the imbalanced deals we sign onto again and again and again. No one in the last 40 years has had a trade policy as courageous as Donald Trump.

.
Just to be transparent
So how much of that is foreign debt and how much have that raised during the last 4 years because my guess is most of those 10 trillion is from government owned institutions ( countrys use to loan fromthemselves) and private persons in usa

You say private persons economy and small business are in bad shape ? then image how bad it could have been without those 10 trillion dollars because that is what they do invest in america if they spend more than they pull in on taxes

If the private economy of the average american is bad now then it is not the time to lower the state debt imo
 

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Just to be transparent
So how much of that is foreign debt and how much have that raised during the last 4 years because my guess is most of those 10 trillion is from government owned institutions ( countrys use to loan fromthemselves) and private persons in usa

You say private persons economy and small business are in bad shape ? then image how bad it could have been without those 10 trillion dollars because that is what they do invest in america if they spend more than they pull in on taxes

If the private economy of the average american is bad now then it is not the time to lower the state debt imo
If the debt isn't addressed now, and there is no effort to reign in the debt, then the USA will come to a point where it looks like Greece, only it will have a much more catastrophic effect on world events.

Further... how can we justify continuing to kick this can down the road? Who is going to pay for all of this spending? Our grand children? How is it fair to them? None of those questions can be answered, and that's a serious problem.

Maybe small businesses wouldn't hurt if money wasn't wasted on welfare subsidies for people of working age who decide not to work, but want to enjoy entitlements like food stamps, section 9 free housing, government subsidized cell phones, etc. At what point do we act as adults and tell people "no", you can't have that without working? At what point do we say, we can't take any more refugees and provide them with every dollar of spending they need to survive? The gravy train is running on fumes.

If we do not address our national debt... there will come a time when NO OTHER ISSUES MATTER. If another 10-15 years from now, we're looking at 40-50 trillion in debt... do you think violence between police officers and non-whites will matter? Do you think abortion or gay marriage will matter? Do you think funding military projects will matter? Do you think providing any amount of minimum social security net to the elderly will matter? Will the environment matter, or any basic human rights issues? If we do not address our national debt, it will become a problem so big that it will engulf every other issue or concern we have.

It is far better to take some pain now rather than risk catastrophe later.
 

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If the debt isn't addressed now, and there is no effort to reign in the debt, then the USA will come to a point where it looks like Greece, only it will have a much more catastrophic effect on world events.

Further... how can we justify continuing to kick this can down the road? Who is going to pay for all of this spending? Our grand children? How is it fair to them? None of those questions can be answered, and that's a serious problem.
This is from 2011 but is still the truth..

Also.. I think he is actually making the case for folks to vote Trump lol..

oh.. and language warning.

 

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An interesting bit of not too distant history that I came across tonight...

Just a brief glimpse of Hillary's book-signing in Chappaqua, New York on June 29, 2014. The people outside had some interesting things to say. It appears that some folks in her hometown of Chappaqua were not there to purchase her book. I also doubt that they plan to vote for her.

 

old gypsy

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Some Bernie supporters aren't exactly enchanted with Hillary.

This mid-debate post uploaded tonight is quite interesting.

 

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I'm not a huge pro-lifer or an advocate for anti abortion! I think a woman has the right to choose what happens to her body. I don't agree with it persay and don't agree with many many pro lifer views. With that said, I would never entertain the idea unless my wife's life was in danger and the baby wouldn't be able to survive that's my personal opinion. But! With that said, you call us deplorables, or clingers, or uneducated.. to support this woman you are DISGUSTING! DISGUSTING as a human being! I am absolutely ashamed to share the same air with a person who can say this is what's good. I've always respectively disagreed with her views.."not all of them" just the major ones. Like amnesty of federalized healthcare. This is beyond disgusting, and to choose someone who claims aborting a fully grown baby and saying if it endangered the woman's health. When obviously that's what emergency C-Sections are for..to say that's it not murder to kill a fully grown baby inside the womb for ANY reason. As a woman, you're DISGUSTING! As a man you ARE in fact a deplorable human being! I'm glad you dislike Mr Trump so much to turn a blind eye on the HORRIBLE HORRIBLE excuse for a human! May god have mercy on you, you soulless DISTURBING, DISGUSTING self!


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What is it that you thought you heard? Its this very line of ignorance that maintains the controversy over abortion. Late term abortions are rare, most people terminate in the first trimester, beyond that, most reasonable politicians and pro-choice advocates are OK with restrictions on late term abortion, including Hillary. A c-section is indeed utilized to avoid further complications in late term pregnancies, but it's not always an option when the baby cannot survive outside of the womb.
 

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Our national debt needs to be the primary issue. Abortion won't matter if in 10-15 years from now, our national debt stands at $40-$50 trillion dollars. All the pro-life Supreme Court rulings in the world can't spare us the evil that will occur in the event of a financial meltdown by the United States and it's repercussions around the world.

I'm also afraid that the abortion battle, even in the event of several Republican White Houses and Congresses, is a lost issue. It's not one that should take away political capital from our national security issues home and abroad, illegal immigration, attacks on police officers, or the national debt. Abortion is an issue in the Democrats home court. They love talking about abortion because it allows them to distract from the real issues and attempt to scare young women into the belief that all conservatives are big evil bogeymen. Don't fall for their bait!
 

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What is it that you thought you heard? Its this very line of ignorance that maintains the controversy over abortion. Late term abortions are rare, most people terminate in the first trimester, beyond that, most reasonable politicians and pro-choice advocates are OK with restrictions on late term abortion, including Hillary. A c-section is indeed utilized to avoid further complications in late term pregnancies, but it's not always an option when the baby cannot survive outside of the womb.
Re watch the debate! It's clear where she stands. So C-sections aren't an option late term pregnancy so vacuum suction is the answer? I'm confused with that statement. So the baby in the final trimester can not live outside the womb is what your saying? For what reason? Deformities?Show me a legitimate case where final trimester abortion was used so I can see a legit reason why days before birth you would abort. I don't have the stomach to sift through it.


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cazador

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Ya know, maybe I am being partial or mis understanding the statement. Abortion is when you deliberately terminate a pregnancy according to the definition. So what you're saying is abortion is sometimes needed in late term pregnancy as opposed to an emergency C-Secrion because the baby can not live outside the womb, or it would effect the woman's life. I'm still confused how abortion would be the better route then an emergency C-Section. I'm not debating an abortion prior to 29 weeks, I don't agree with it completely but I'm not going to debate the whole living being theories. Correct me where I'm wrong though, at 8 months pregnant what are the circumstances where an abortion would be the solution over emergency delivery..I'm not a doctor, nor do I claim to be one so I'd love to be schooled in my ignorance.


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Garen

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Re watch the debate! It's clear where she stands. So C-sections aren't an option late term pregnancy so vacuum suction is the answer? I'm confused with that statement. So the baby in the final trimester can not live outside the womb is what your saying? For what reason? Deformities?Show me a legitimate case where final trimester abortion was used so I can see a legit reason why days before birth you would abort. I don't have the stomach to sift through it.


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I don't see the relevance of the method used. Hillary is on record for allowing abortion in all cases for medical reason, and on record for restricting late term abortion when there is no medical reason. "Late term" does not really have a scientific definition. Most abortions occur in the first trimester, about 9% in the second, and about 1.5% in the third, and how many of these are occurring on the last few days? When Trump makes that claim, he is technically correct because the law does not forbid it in some places, but it's a huge emotional appeal because in reality you won't find many people who performed an abortion in the final days.
 

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If the debt isn't addressed now, and there is no effort to reign in the debt, then the USA will come to a point where it looks like Greece, only it will have a much more catastrophic effect on world events.

Further... how can we justify continuing to kick this can down the road? Who is going to pay for all of this spending? Our grand children? How is it fair to them? None of those questions can be answered, and that's a serious problem.

It is far better to take some pain now rather than risk catastrophe later.
I do not argue that usa does not have alot of debt they do but it is nowhere near the domsday scenario you paint it out to be
Why you compareUSA to greece they are nothing alike Usa have full controll of the dollar and greece have pretty much no controll at all over theire currency euro (germany with theire strong industry is the economic powerhouse in eu and they call the shots) also usa is the world leading economy and both china and eu biggest trading partner it is in theire best intrest that it goes good for usa

Loaning money is like spending your kids money or spending your later self money but it has been proven so many times that if you tighten the belt realy hard during bad times it only make the bad times uneccesary long for example if you now have 5 dollars extra to spend every month it will take you 10 years to pay off your your 500 dollar debt but 10 years from now times is better and you have 50 dollars extra every month to me it make more sense to pay of that loan later in life
 

Garen

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Abortion is an issue in the Democrats home court. They love talking about abortion because it allows them to distract from the real issues and attempt to scare young women into the belief that all conservatives are big evil bogeymen. Don't fall for their bait!
How do you see it this way? Roe vs Wade was determined in the 70s and still stands. Abortion is a patient and doctor matter, but every single Republican candidate makes it a cornerstone of their campaign.

Trump, Pence, Bush, Carson, Cruz, Huckabee, Santorum, Walker, Fiorina, Perry, Jindal, Paul... Every Republican candidate was against abortion, either indirectly by de-funding organizations like PP, or challenging Roe vs Wade. A few of them even having had limited it in their own states as Governor.

Whose calling for expansion of abortion? The left is entirely on the defense.
 

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How do you see it this way? Roe vs Wade was determined in the 70s and still stands. Abortion is a patient and doctor matter, but every single Republican candidate makes it a cornerstone of their campaign.

Trump, Pence, Bush, Carson, Cruz, Huckabee, Santorum, Walker, Fiorina, Perry, Jindal, Paul... Every Republican candidate was against abortion, either indirectly by de-funding organizations like PP, or challenging Roe vs Wade. A few of them even having had limited it in their own states as Governor.

Whose calling for expansion of abortion? The left is entirely on the defense.
Republicans DO NOT make it a corner stone of their campaign. Democrats force the issue to the front of the line so they can make accusations against the Republicans by claiming they are against women's rights, sexist, chauvinist, etc. It is liberalism who is so constantly fixed on reminding Americans about this issue.

By all means, a few of those folks you named... i.e., Santorum, Huckabee, Bush... made it a bigger part of their campaign than most... but that's just who they were: Christian conservatives playing to their religious base. However, saying that it is the Republicans who keep talking about this and the Republicans who are going on the offense, is completely false. With the exception of Texas, nearly every other state in the union has gotten more liberal on this subject... both in opinions of their constituents and their laws. ObamaCare basically made abortion a "human right" in the vein of being "free healthcare for women".

There is no more divisive and controversial issue than abortion. For whatever unfortunate reason, support for abortion has been on the rise for the last three decades and is now generally a majority opinion in most polls taken on the topic. Republicans do not benefit in general elections by discussing this topic, which is why I constantly tell my fellow conservatives to talk about issues that are more important and issues we can win: the national debt and our national defense.
 

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I do not argue that usa does not have alot of debt they do but it is nowhere near the domsday scenario you paint it out to be
Why you compareUSA to greece they are nothing alike Usa have full controll of the dollar and greece have pretty much no controll at all over theire currency euro (germany with theire strong industry is the economic powerhouse in eu and they call the shots) also usa is the world leading economy and both china and eu biggest trading partner it is in theire best intrest that it goes good for usa

Loaning money is like spending your kids money or spending your later self money but it has been proven so many times that if you tighten the belt realy hard during bad times it only make the bad times uneccesary long for example if you now have 5 dollars extra to spend every month it will take you 10 years to pay off your your 500 dollar debt but 10 years from now times is better and you have 50 dollars extra every month to me it make more sense to pay of that loan later in life
Ever since 2007/2008 - nearly every year 33%-39% of the entire Federal government is funded by debt.

Let me repeat that for emphasis:

Ever since 2007/2008 - nearly every year approximately 33%-39% of the entire United States Federal government budget is funded by debt.

One word: UNSUSTAINABLE. I could MAYBE understand if that were the case for one or two years, during the deepest part of the recession, however that has not been the case. It's been nearly a decade. It is now the "new normal" to borrow nearly $1.2-$1.5 trillion dollars every year.

What do we have to show for all of this borrowing we have done? Our roads are in piss poor shape. Veterans don't get proper care. Our military is falling behind in some areas. What has all of this borrowing done to benefit us? I can't think of anything.

Additionally, look at how much it is costing us to make annual interest payments on our debt... nearly $350 billion this year alone. And remember... that isn't paying down any debt, that is just payments necessary for the benefit of continuing to renew our good credit rating on that debt. Those interest payments alone are nearly 11% of the Federal budget.. and it gets bigger every year. How can we sustain this? How can we continue to borrow at this rate without any plan to pay it down beyond "let's hope we hit a streak of 3 decades of 8% growth a year". That will never happen.

Here's my suggestion, admittedly straight out of the Romney playbook:
We need to CUT spending, put a CAP on future Federal spending, at 20% or less of the national GDP, and have a BALANCED budget amendment to the Constitution.
 

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Republicans DO NOT make it a corner stone of their campaign. Democrats force the issue to the front of the line so they can make accusations against the Republicans by claiming they are against women's rights, sexist, chauvinist, etc. It is liberalism who is so constantly fixed on reminding Americans about this issue.

By all means, a few of those folks you named... i.e., Santorum, Huckabee, Bush... made it a bigger part of their campaign than most... but that's just who they were: Christian conservatives playing to their religious base. However, saying that it is the Republicans who keep talking about this and the Republicans who are going on the offense, is completely false. With the exception of Texas, nearly every other state in the union has gotten more liberal on this subject... both in opinions of their constituents and their laws. ObamaCare basically made abortion a "human right" in the vein of being "free healthcare for women".

There is no more divisive and controversial issue than abortion. For whatever unfortunate reason, support for abortion has been on the rise for the last three decades and is now generally a majority opinion in most polls taken on the topic. Republicans do not benefit in general elections by discussing this topic, which is why I constantly tell my fellow conservatives to talk about issues that are more important and issues we can win: the national debt and our national defense.
Dude the current candidate for vice president for the Republican ticket wants "Roe vs Wade in the ash pit of history."* Your spin is not going to work.

*Paraphrase
 

Garen

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Ever since 2007/2008 - nearly every year 33%-39% of the entire Federal government is funded by debt.

Let me repeat that for emphasis:

Ever since 2007/2008 - nearly every year approximately 33%-39% of the entire United States Federal government budget is funded by debt.

One word: UNSUSTAINABLE. I could MAYBE understand if that were the case for one or two years, during the deepest part of the recession, however that has not been the case. It's been nearly a decade. It is now the "new normal" to borrow nearly $1.2-$1.5 trillion dollars every year.

What do we have to show for all of this borrowing we have done? Our roads are in piss poor shape. Veterans don't get proper care. Our military is falling behind in some areas. What has all of this borrowing done to benefit us? I can't think of anything.

Additionally, look at how much it is costing us to make annual interest payments on our debt... nearly $350 billion this year alone. And remember... that isn't paying down any debt, that is just payments necessary for the benefit of continuing to renew our good credit rating on that debt. Those interest payments alone are nearly 11% of the Federal budget.. and it gets bigger every year. How can we sustain this? How can we continue to borrow at this rate without any plan to pay it down beyond "let's hope we hit a streak of 3 decades of 8% growth a year". That will never happen.

Here's my suggestion, admittedly straight out of the Romney playbook:
We need to CUT spending, put a CAP on future Federal spending, at 20% or less of the national GDP, and have a BALANCED budget amendment to the Constitution.
And the biggest spenders are Medicare, Social Security, and Defense. Which one are you going to cut, and who is going to vote for you after you propose doing so?
 

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How do you see it this way? Roe vs Wade was determined in the 70s and still stands. Abortion is a patient and doctor matter, but every single Republican candidate makes it a cornerstone of their campaign.

Trump, Pence, Bush, Carson, Cruz, Huckabee, Santorum, Walker, Fiorina, Perry, Jindal, Paul... Every Republican candidate was against abortion, either indirectly by de-funding organizations like PP, or challenging Roe vs Wade. A few of them even having had limited it in their own states as Governor.

Whose calling for expansion of abortion? The left is entirely on the defense.
They make it a cornerstone because the Christian Conservatives are a major element to the foundation of the Republican voting block, appeal to them and you gain their support, while picking up pro-life independents, and moderates who disagree with the Left's platform standpoint on this issue.

Our national debt needs to be the primary issue. Abortion won't matter if in 10-15 years from now, our national debt stands at $40-$50 trillion dollars. All the pro-life Supreme Court rulings in the world can't spare us the evil that will occur in the event of a financial meltdown by the United States and it's repercussions around the world.
I agree there needs to be something done about the economy and debt, but neither major party is willing to put forth workable solutions. Republican can tout cutting spending, caps on spending etc. all they want, but they also consistently push for tax cuts, and increased spending in other areas such as the military which will offset the benefits, ie. greatly reduced money coming in, with a marginal decrease in spending. Democrats push for closing loop holes in the tax code, to increase tax revenue but then look to redirect the money to social programs resulting in more spending, rendering it largely ineffective in combating the national debt.

The answer is probably somewhere in the middle of those two economic philosophies, moderation and compromise, two concepts our political climate has abandoned.
 

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And the biggest spenders are Medicare, Social Security, and Defense. Which one are you going to cut, and who is going to vote for you after you propose doing so?
**DING** **DING** DING we have a winner! Neither party really cares as long as they get your vote and they can stay in office.
 

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Dude the current candidate for vice president for the Republican ticket wants "Roe vs Wade in the ash pit of history."* Your spin is not going to work.

*Paraphrase
What's your point? Just because he is opposed to abortion doesn't mean its a "cornerstone" issue.

And the biggest spenders are Medicare, Social Security, and Defense. Which one are you going to cut, and who is going to vote for you after you propose doing so?
All of the above and more.

It's not about getting votes, it about doing what is morally right and fiscally responsible.

I agree there needs to be something done about the economy and debt, but neither major party is willing to put forth workable solutions. Republican can tout cutting spending, caps on spending etc. all they want, but they also consistently push for tax cuts, and increased spending in other areas such as the military which will offset the benefits, ie. greatly reduced money coming in, with a marginal decrease in spending. Democrats push for closing loop holes in the tax code, to increase tax revenue but then look to redirect the money to social programs resulting in more spending, rendering it largely ineffective in combating the national debt.

The answer is probably somewhere in the middle of those two economic philosophies, moderation and compromise, two concepts our political climate has abandoned.
Fair points, I do not deny that programs that Republicans like, i.e. the military & NASA, need deep cuts too. The spending cuts need to go all around in order to balance the budget, but welfare programs need to take the biggest hit.

However, there is a point I do take issue on. Reducing taxes will bring in more tax revenue by the increased incentive to work and bringing business back to the United States. It was a Democrat, John F. Kennedy, who said a rising tide lifts all boats and that tax cuts are the best way to do this when he proposed his national budget for 1963. Is it any wonder why corporations are moving their headquarters to countries where the corporate rate is 10%-15%, where by it's 30%+ here in the United States? Or why the ones that do 'stay' in the states wash all of their earnings through Bermuda and the Cayman Islands before flowing through their corporate legal structure to the USA? Our current system is not competitive. We're getting beat around the world in labor costs, regulatory costs and taxes. ObamaCare hurts any business with more than 49 employees. We have to even the playing field so American companies can compete and we can bring back middle class manufacturing jobs.

Atleast the Republicans give lip service to moving toward some solutions to reducing the debt, if not calling for an outright balanced budget. The Democrats paint any attempt to reel in spending as "throwing grandma over the cliff" or "tax cuts for the rich" or some other greed-implied insult.


 

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What's your point? Just because he is opposed to abortion doesn't mean its a "cornerstone" issue.



All of the above and more.

It's not about getting votes, it about doing what is morally right and fiscally responsible.



Fair points, I do not deny that programs that Republicans like, i.e. the military & NASA, need deep cuts too. The spending cuts need to go all around in order to balance the budget, but welfare programs need to take the biggest hit.

However, there is a point I do take issue on. Reducing taxes will bring in more tax revenue by the increased incentive to work and bringing business back to the United States. It was a Democrat, John F. Kennedy, who said a rising tide lifts all boats and that tax cuts are the best way to do this when he proposed his national budget for 1963. Is it any wonder why corporations are moving their headquarters to countries where the corporate rate is 10%-15%, where by it's 30%+ here in the United States? Or why the ones that do 'stay' in the states wash all of their earnings through Bermuda and the Cayman Islands before flowing through their corporate legal structure to the USA? Our current system is not competitive. We're getting beat around the world in labor costs, regulatory costs and taxes. ObamaCare hurts any business with more than 49 employees. We have to even the playing field so American companies can compete and we can bring back middle class manufacturing jobs.

Atleast the Republicans give lip service to moving toward some solutions to reducing the debt, if not calling for an outright balanced budget. The Democrats paint any attempt to reel in spending as "throwing grandma over the cliff" or "tax cuts for the rich" or some other greed-implied insult.
I'm not saying reducing tax rates can't help, but but not with our current tax code, this is what I ment to allude to with the "in middle" though that may have been done poorly. Personally I'd rather we scrap the current tax code entirely and replace it with a 15% Federal Sales tax, and a 15% tax on income earned overseas that applies to everyone, regardless of if you are a business, or a private individual.

Also I do agree that many of the welfare programs need to be re-invented in some manner, even if this meant instead of a decrease in spending on them, they were more like the Depression Era programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps. or Tennessee Valley Authority where those capable would work on Federal and State projects in exchange for benefits, call it hands on career training if you want but it would give these individuals new opportunities, while providing a service in exchange for benefits they are accepting.

As for competitiveness, we're middle of the pack in the industrialized world for Corporate Taxation rates and to be quite frank, lower tax rates, or exploitable labor did not force any business out of the US. No one told the CEO or Owner of any business they had to get out..... wait that's not 100% true, Mega-Retailers like Wal-Mart have told businesses to outsource or they would stop buying and distributing their goods ... What has though is we are using an economic model that obligates the Board of Directors for a Corporation to maximize profits for share holders. Companies that intentionally don't take advantage can be sued by their shareholders if they feel not doing so is negatively impacting profitability and through that dividends (Read up on Dodge Bros. v Ford or eBay v Craigslist). Compound it with a well, seriously screwed up concept of how money works and our situation no matter what is done will take decades to fix. As for the concept of money, most if asked will say they value "Wages" High for individuals or Low for Businesses, for reasons stated previously, but the value of money is not in how much you have or earn, but entirely in how much you can purchase with what you have. High wages are only beneficial if the purchasing power of a fixed unit of currency either remains static or decreases. If the purchasing power decreases then the value of your money also decreases.
 

Garen

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Also I do agree that many of the welfare programs need to be re-invented in some manner, even if this meant instead of a decrease in spending on them, they were more like the Depression Era programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps. or Tennessee Valley Authority where those capable would work on Federal and State projects in exchange for benefits, call it hands on career training if you want but it would give these individuals new opportunities, while providing a service in exchange for benefits they are accepting.
How? If they're required to work then you pay them minimum wage along with minimum benefits: workman's comp, insurance, holidays, oops we just doubled the cost of welfare.
 

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How? If they're required to work then you pay them minimum wage along with minimum benefits: workman's comp, insurance, holidays, oops we just doubled the cost of welfare.
You're also rebuilding or renovating parks, roads, bridges, dams, finding clerks receptionists and typists for federal and state office buildings, all for a greatly reduced cost.
 

Garen

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You're also rebuilding or renovating parks, roads, bridges, dams, finding clerks receptionists and typists for federal and state office buildings, all for a greatly reduced cost.
This is a race to the bottom and you are screwing with two fronts. The poor who are suddenly paid less for equal work and, the previous labor force that was working at market rates. If the government can suddenly create jobs out of tin air for all the welfare recipients, then do so, without requiring a second class work force.
 

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This is a race to the bottom and you are screwing with two fronts. The poor who are suddenly paid less for equal work and, the previous labor force that was working at market rates. If the government can suddenly create jobs out of tin air for all the welfare recipients, then do so, without requiring a second class work force.
Well the problem I was thinking about is the massive amount of failing infrastructure in the US atm, I was thinking of a kill two birds with one stone approach, but I get what you're saying. I also was thinking that the people unwilling to engage in the manual labor many of these would require, would quickly seek and find alternative employment that would remove them from the system as well.

The biggest issue though is the outside of something like I suggested, there is no reasonable means for the Government to create jobs beyond mandatory conscription in some type of civil service (which I'm actually personally in favor of if it was a requirement to be able to vote or hold office) be it military, FEMA, Peacecorps, postal worker etc...

Let's face it, while people were worried about Bernie Sanders Socalistic views, I'm more in favor of a few more Timocratic elements being introduced into Government.

OK Since I'm sure most will be Googling "Timocracy" I go by the first definition found HERE **

As part of that personally I oppose the following:

Birth Right Citizenship for anyone. I don't care if your ancestors crossed on the Bering Land Bridge, everyone should be required to preform some type of civic service period before having a say in or the ability to influence Government. No exceptions for Religion, or any other reason.

Political Parties. They act in self interest, the moment you see "Loyality Cards" for candidates there is a problem, as their loyalty is now pledged to a party ideology and not the well being of the people they are to represent. When elected, especially to Federal positions you are not only representing Republicans, or Democrats, you are representative of everyone in your district, or home State.
 

Garen

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Well the problem I was thinking about is the massive amount of failing infrastructure in the US atm, I was thinking of a kill two birds with one stone approach, but I get what you're saying. I also was thinking that the people unwilling to engage in the manual labor many of these would require, would quickly seek and find alternative employment that would remove them from the system as well.

The biggest issue though is the outside of something like I suggested, there is no reasonable means for the Government to create jobs beyond mandatory conscription in some type of civil service (which I'm actually personally in favor of if it was a requirement to be able to vote or hold office) be it military, FEMA, Peacecorps, postal worker etc...

Let's face it, while people were worried about Bernie Sanders Socalistic views, I'm more in favor of a few more Timocratic elements being introduced into Government.

OK Since I'm sure most will be Googling "Timocracy" I go by the first definition found HERE **

As part of that personally I oppose the following:

Birth Right Citizenship for anyone. I don't care if your ancestors crossed on the Bering Land Bridge, everyone should be required to preform some type of civic service period before having a say in or the ability to influence Government. No exceptions for Religion, or any other reason.

Political Parties. They act in self interest, the moment you see "Loyality Cards" for candidates there is a problem, as their loyalty is now pledged to a party ideology and not the well being of the people they are to represent. When elected, especially to Federal positions you are not only representing Republicans, or Democrats, you are representative of everyone in your district, or home State.
Your ideas are unconstitutional. You forget the government is of the people, it derives its powers from the people. For the government to hold the people to some test is alien to this form of government.
 

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Your ideas are unconstitutional. You forget the government is of the people, it derives its powers from the people. For the government to hold the people to some test is alien to this form of government.
They are, I didn't say I expect things to change that way, just that it's the way I personally feel. Though, there was a reason a method was placed in the Constitution to amend it, some day far in the future, something like that may actually be constitutional.

You can Personally feel and believe anything you wish, doing something about it is an entirely different matter. I'm grown up enough to accept that there are things that I can't change no matter how much I'd like to, I can also accept others don't or won't hold entirely to the same views I have, and you know what, that's OK.
 

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Your ideas are unconstitutional. You forget the government is of the people, it derives its powers from the people. For the government to hold the people to some test is alien to this form of government.
There is only ONE candidate that is for The People and his name is Donald Trump. Your candidate doesn't even honor the flag she wishes to represent, the DNC didn't even fly a flag till it became viral. He may be flawed, maybe even very flawed and unpolished. Your talking about constitutional THIS and that but your candidate wants to tear it apart. A culture that wants to brainwash and mold the youths mind to line up with their ass backwards agenda. This country needs a revolution to remind our sweet government to whom this country actually belongs to, and it doesn't involve the wallets of the Soros' and Rothschild's of the world....that's for sure.


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Garen

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I do not have a candidate. Maybe call meal team six to take over another bird sanctuary.
 

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There is only ONE candidate that is for The People and his name is Donald Trump. Your candidate doesn't even honor the flag she wishes to represent, the DNC didn't even fly a flag till it became viral. He may be flawed, maybe even very flawed and unpolished. Your talking about constitutional THIS and that but your candidate wants to tear it apart. A culture that wants to brainwash and mold the youths mind to line up with their ass backwards agenda. This country needs a revolution to remind our sweet government to whom this country actually belongs to, and it doesn't involve the wallets of the Soros' and Rothschild's of the world....that's for sure.
Hmm there have been quite a few Presidents who have exceeded their Constitutional Mandates, or completely threw it out the window now that you think about it....

Andrew Jackson - Forced relocation of Native Americans even after the Supreme Court told him he didn't have the authority to do so. Breaching the laws under Article III Section 2 by denying the Supreme Courts Mandate to, "The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;" The court ruled the treaty Jackson was using as justificaiton was invalid, he ignored them.
Abraham Lincoln - Suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus, meaning you could be arrested and imprisoned without trial. Nullifying the 4th Amendment protections.
Woodrow Wilson - 1918's Sedition Act forbade the use of "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces or that caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt. Effectively nullifying 1st Amendment Rights
Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Executive Order 9066 opened the doors for and allowed the deportation of US Citizens of Japanese, Italian, and German decent, it also authorized the Internment Camps of WWII, where US Citizens were imprisoned without trial, not a fun experience just ask George Takei he spent part of his childhood in one. Another 4th Amendment Violation.

Oh yea! Before anyone points out that 3 of the 4 mentioned here were Democrats, I want to point out that at the time the Democrats were the Conservative party in America, this remained true until the Nixon Era.

Some fun facts about the US:
The first 7 Presidents were not "Natural Born Citizens" neither was the 9th, a special provision in the qualifications for President were included to circumvent the requirement that a President be a natural born citizen, it only applied to those born British Citizens as Colonists allowing them to serve.

The US Secret Service is ran by the Department of the Treasury, their primary mandate is to track down counterfeiters. So ya, the President has likely at times been guarded by Accountants.

The Office of Strategic Services, eventually evolved into the CIA, they designed the modern hand grenade's spherical design, the thought was "Any American boy can throw a baseball", Julia Child was a high level researcher for the OSS during WWII.
 

BeaIank

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I keep saying, Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is the proper basis for a system of government.
 

old gypsy

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On a wryly amusing note, posted by someone on YouTube today...

~ The NSA is the only part of the government you can be sure will listen to you. ~
 

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One rule for State Department employees... but a different rule for Hillary?

 
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cazador

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Your local legal terrorist checking in! Or am I a clinger, or a deplorable..eh I can't keep up anymore! #Trump16


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old gypsy

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Your local legal terrorist checking in! Or am I a clinger, or a deplorable..eh I can't keep up anymore! #Trump16


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I'm a deplorable... :)

I'm not as good at research as I'd like to be; but this site - https://wikileaks.org/ - is amazing... wish I'd tapped into it long ago.
 
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cazador

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I'm a deplorable... :)

I'm not as good at research as I'd like to be; but this site - WikiLeaks - is amazing... wish I'd tapped into it long ago.
Funny how Assange was the left's hero when he was releasing bush stuff..now he's a terrorist. lol irony..


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