rtraverdavis
Well-known member
Until we demand campaign and election reforms, we’ll continue to get these absolute turds for candidates. The difference in choices this November feel like either a punch in the face or a punch in the crotch.
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Care to share any details about which reforms will fix this mess? I have read about many, but most cause as many problems as they solve.Until we demand campaign and election reforms, we’ll continue to get these absolute turds for candidates. The difference in choices this November feel like either a punch in the face or a punch in the crotch.
One man's turd is another man's punch bowl.Until we demand campaign and election reforms, we’ll continue to get these absolute turds for candidates. The difference in choices this November feel like either a punch in the face or a punch in the crotch.
Do term limits count?Care to share any details about which reforms will fix this mess? I have read about many, but most cause as many problems as they solve.
LOL I would visit the White House with pucky in hand just to irritate Randy LOLBe prepared for this on a massive scale if the electoral college is dissolved, as many who voted for Hillary have been calling for.
I'd love to have candidates that are so dead set about protecting the rights of Americans that it barely needs mentioned, strong on conservation and a champion of public lands. If we outlaw pucky at the White House, think we could get Randy to run?
Citizens United SCOTUS decision has pretty much locked us into the extremes fringes of the two-party system. Until that’s overturned, I don’t see much progress on election reform. People in the middle aren’t writing 7-8 figure checks to super PAC’s. People on the extremes (both sides) and those with a personal agenda to promote/protect are. And unfortunately, the candidate beneficiaries of all that money are then beholden to it.Until we demand campaign and election reforms, we’ll continue to get these absolute turds for candidates. The difference in choices this November feel like either a punch in the face or a punch in the crotch.
More stupid ideas from a national-level candidate that give evidence to explain why I will never belong to any party.
The entire gun control idea is a bailout of the highest degree. Nobody has been able to explain to me how tighter controls on guns and ammo will change poverty, education, economic opportunity, and other underlying generational causes of crime. All I can conclude is that promoting gun control ideas is a lot easier than the hard work ahead that would actually make a difference in poverty-driven crime. I'm interested in solving crime and the hard work it will take to truly make a long-term difference. It needs to be done without infringing on Constitutional Rights, in this case, 2A.
This is more simplistic feel-good lip service to supposedly solve difficult problems, none of which will be solved by infringing on the rights of gun owners. Never in my lifetime has a complex problem been solved by infringing on the rights of others.
I posted this on my Facebook page a couple years back, along with a pic of my great grandfather's US Naturalization Application. It explains why I distrust power-hungry political leaders, why I will never be peacefully disarmed, and why every Finn has distrust and suspicion of anything Russian or ideas about disarming the population. Only two generations separate me from a great grandfather who had to flee his country due to an overbearing Russian influence and the fact that the people were mostly unarmed/disarmed.
Some think I'm out on the lunatic fringe because of my absolutism on 1A and 2A. If that's the appearance it gives, I'll live with it.
Lobbyist / Campaign finance reform. Such a crappy deal all around. Lobbyist are the fundamental basis of representing the public. Another cliche though it's true - Slippery slope...Care to share any details about which reforms will fix this mess? I have read about many, but most cause as many problems as they solve.
Care to share any details about which reforms will fix this mess? I have read about many, but most cause as many problems as they solve.
This is exactly the Boss Party system Theodore Roosevelt fought publicly and in civil court. A great read for any interested:Unfortunately I can’t see serious election reform (as in getting rid of parties) ever happening. R’s and D’s both have all the power and they know it, which is why I also doubt we’ll see a serious moderate presidential candidate again that appeals to both sides of the aisle, such as Steve Bullock.
Big Fin’s remarks on two party politics being as staged as professional wrasslin’ are exactly right.
Seems like it would count as idea - but I am not convinced it is an effective one. From my experience, the lobbyists, power brokers, entrenched bureaucrats and agencies would love to see it. Our government is so large are complex that a turnstile of legislators will completely beholden to the establishment that actually knows what's going on. Plus, the way I read the constitution, we have 2 year term limits already, it's called congressional elections.Do term limits count?
Exactly. A TR type of president is what we need and I’m afraid that someone like him would never be elected today.This is exactly the Boss Party system Theodore Roosevelt fought publicly and in civil court. A gret read for any interested:
'Theodore Roosevelt For The Defense' Makes A Libel Case Into Gripping Reading
Gifted writers Dan Abrams and David Fisher, who previously brought us Lincoln's Last Trial, are clearly fascinated by how Teddy Roosevelt's court case played out — bringing an enthusiasm to readers.www.npr.org
Citizens United is only 10 years old - we were entrenched long before then. All it says is that companies and unions have free speech rights. And spending on election related speech by Soros, Bezos, Trump, Gates, Beto, Romney etc spending has nothing to do with Citizen's United - the 7-8 figure checks were not the issue, the issue was if companies or labor unions could do the same things the rich guys already could. Reversal of CU would have almost zero effect on our broken political system, but along with gun control is a very reliable fund raising topic for one party - so it will be continually flogged for that purpose.Citizens United SCOTUS decision has pretty much locked us into the extremes fringes of the two-party system. Until that’s overturned, I don’t see much progress on election reform. People in the middle aren’t writing 7-8 figure checks to super PAC’s. People on the extremes (both sides) and those with a personal agenda to promote/protect are. And unfortunately, the candidate beneficiaries of all that money are then beholden to it.
Strange how recent immigrants seem to appreciate and respect America more than many of those who were born and raised in our spoiled society. I hear their stories quite often. It's too bad more people don't know or care about how their families ended up here like you do. If people knew about the struggles of their journeys and why they came in the first place maybe they wouldn't be so willing to give up the rights that we are so fortunate to have in America. Freedom is not guaranteed and it is being attacked everyday one straw at a time.More stupid ideas from a national-level candidate that give evidence to explain why I will never belong to any party.
The entire gun control idea is a bailout of the highest degree. Nobody has been able to explain to me how tighter controls on guns and ammo will change poverty, education, economic opportunity, and other underlying generational causes of crime. All I can conclude is that promoting gun control ideas is a lot easier than the hard work ahead that would actually make a difference in poverty-driven crime. I'm interested in solving crime and the hard work it will take to truly make a long-term difference. It needs to be done without infringing on Constitutional Rights, in this case, 2A.
This is more simplistic feel-good lip service to supposedly solve difficult problems, none of which will be solved by infringing on the rights of gun owners. Never in my lifetime has a complex problem been solved by infringing on the rights of others.
I posted this on my Facebook page a couple years back, along with a pic of my great grandfather's US Naturalization Application. It explains why I distrust power-hungry political leaders, why I will never be peacefully disarmed, and why every Finn has distrust and suspicion of anything Russian or ideas about disarming the population. Only two generations separate me from a great grandfather who had to flee his country due to an overbearing Russian influence and the fact that the people were mostly unarmed/disarmed.
Some think I'm out on the lunatic fringe because of my absolutism on 1A and 2A. If that's the appearance it gives, I'll live with it.
I normally post on my personal page about once a month, so I guess tonight I'll give two months of posts. Earlier, I posted facts about Russian aggression in this world, making no mention of any political parties; merely a factual timeline of Russian attacks over the last century. The response was surprising in many ways.I attached this pic for a reason; to show why I distrust/dislike all that Russia is and all it ever will be; supported by facts of my other post. To also explain why I will never be disarmed, never.This pic is the Naturalization application of my great-grandfather, Matias Puolivali. He was 26 years old when he was forced to leave Finland, a country he dearly loved, fearing conscription in the Russian Army or the eventual Russification of Finland. He came to America, worked as a miner in the iron mines of northern Minnesota, and per his oldest daughter's account (my grandmother), went to his grave feeling the United States and its Constitution were the greatest idea in the history of mankind, warts and all.My grandmother was the keeper of the family history. Her advice at a young age was to never trust the Russian government; a fact proven by history, time and again. Another fact she told me was that her father vowed he would never again be a disarmed man. Being disarmed, he and many of his fellow Finns were given no choice but to flee or become subjects of the Russians. He chose America, and for that I will always be grateful.And that is why I view Russia as I do, why I will never be disarmed, and why I donate to causes that advocate for all Constitutional rights, not just the rights I find most comforting. Some of my friends may struggle to understand that notion, especially conflicted that I can be avid in supporting both the 1st and 2nd Amendment Rights; rights often considered sole political turf of one side or the other.I am the third generation carrying the lessons of my great-grandfather, but his lessons give me the same feeling he expressed, America is a great place. Thanks to our Constitution, I will never be disarmed, or at least not peacefully disarmed. I can exercise all my freedoms of speech, religion, protest, assembly, and more. I have rights my ancestors would have died for, literally.So, if you wonder the origins of my distrust of Russia, why I'm confused when some are apologists for Russia with the given historical facts, and why I will never surrender my right to keep and bear arms, this story is why. From his lessons I am a party-agnostic with no use for hyper-partisans on either side of a game played by insiders who too often treat these inalienable rights as merely a ball to kick back and forth in the game they call politics.I am forever grateful to my Grandmother. For her love, counsel, and the life lessons she effectively taught. Sisu!
My only issue for the most obvious reason.Not my only issue, but a issue that weighs heavily.