WHAT MAKES PEOPLE VOTE REPUBLICAN?

[dalegg 143]

I like Obama's claim that he wants to invest in alternative energy technology and envisions such technology bringing jobs to this country while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

You know the truth is that I like that too. I'll tell you what- the world that Democrats ideolize is actually very much in line with the way I'd like to live.

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

Other than that, I can't see any point of voting Democrat. There is nothing, nada, zip they have to offer me.

[Dan J 277]

I like Obama's claim that he wants to invest in alternative energy technology and envisions such technology bringing jobs to this country while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

You know the truth is that I like that too. I'll tell you what- the world that Democrats ideolize is actually very much in line with the way I'd like to live.

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

Other than that, I can't see any point of voting Democrat. There is nothing, nada, zip they have to offer me.

Do you get anything out of voting republican?

[dalegg 143]

I like Obama's claim that he wants to invest in alternative energy technology and envisions such technology bringing jobs to this country while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

You know the truth is that I like that too. I'll tell you what- the world that Democrats ideolize is actually very much in line with the way I'd like to live.

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

Other than that, I can't see any point of voting Democrat. There is nothing, nada, zip they have to offer me.

Do you get anything out of voting republican?

My taxes have always gone down when Republicans are in office.

Edited September 13, 2008 by dalegg

[Dan J 277]

I like Obama's claim that he wants to invest in alternative energy technology and envisions such technology bringing jobs to this country while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

You know the truth is that I like that too. I'll tell you what- the world that Democrats ideolize is actually very much in line with the way I'd like to live.

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

Other than that, I can't see any point of voting Democrat. There is nothing, nada, zip they have to offer me.

Do you get anything out of voting republican?

My taxes have always gone down when Republicans are in office.

Is a tax cut worth it, if the economic cost of the tax cut is greater in the long term?

[IAMX 3,055]

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I'm quite the opposite. I've lived too much around a split family.

A mother's side who has no ambition, lives check to check, and makes a ton of social and financial mistakes. Mixed Democrat-Republican, where family from the south is mostly Republican, and also creates most of the drama.

A dad's side who everyone has a degree, they own businesses (hotels, restaurants, a golf course, salon, cafe, bookstore, and so on), they own houses, they rent them out, have a good family and they are quiet and keep to themselves bothering no one. They are likely mixed Democrat-Republican as well.

Quite honestly I've found a high ambition and work ethic the key to success, and on a California salary, I'm fine sitting at $75,000 - $100,000/yr either myself or household, at least knowing as long as I'm in charge of finances we'll be perfectly fine.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

This is where I'm different. I do this at work, but not at home. First reason is I'm pretty pissed off about how much we pay in CRV, but secondly is my town has several known people who dig in the dumpsters for recyclables and in a sense make their own profit that way. I personally think there's other ways of going about it that are a bit more.. sanitary, but they choose to do that instead, power to them.

I also don't buy very much, just food I eat, whereas my ex's family had every one of their cabinets and even a large cabinet in their garage entirely full of food they don't need. Quite a difference between having enough money to live without too much worries, and being excessively consuming. That.. was ridiculous.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

I'm the same way. I sometimes annoy the women I'm around because I'm so against turning on a heater or AC unless it's absolutely necessary. Especially the heater, because the smell of gas heating is god awful.

I don't think living a life away from excess has much to do with Christianity, but rationality. Consuming less allows others to have a portion as well, so in that sense it's a liberal viewpoint.

What bothers me is my conservative family likes to do weird ####### like leave the AC running all the time, or leave the TV on in their bedroom while they sleep (I'm very weary of having a TV in the bedroom to begin with, although it is useful for things like porn), basically waste a bunch of ####### and not care. Most are also smokers. Not good.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

There are reasonably priced cars like the Ford Escape Hybrid. A little bit out there is the Lexus RX hybrid. The problem I have with both is the lack of room in both (I think the Lexus RX400h being a 4-seater is a joke -- you get more people into a Prius) and they're a freaking SUV.

Being cost savvy isn't that tough, but one has to know what in some circumstances, you can't skimp. Cars are one of them, unfortunately. Unless you buy used, and that's not exactly a terrible investment, especially for the near future. I bought my 1995 Dodge Neon Sport for $2000. It had 80,000 original miles on it, and gets 35mpg (manual). Some friends of mine with two young kids found a 2002'ish Dodge Caravan for $5000, not the best mileage, but fits like 7. Point is, there are many cost-effective ways to get a vehicle that doesn't perpetuate the stupid nonsense today of having the car with the highest liter volume engine (5.0+), or highest horsepower, and just helps you get, more efficiently, from A to B, while possibly enjoying luxury like a decent stereo system (I don't mean Bose, which is a waste of money, like cheap Infinity's are fine).

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

I think the harsh conditions were already met with the constant power outages, the harm that did to business especially in Silicon Valley. Reasons like this are why large companies and individual homes alike are going the way of solar (albeit larger companies to save money, homes to power themselves), but I have yet to see some major discounts toward solar that were offered toward a Prius. I kinda think state Democrats would rather keep us entirely reliant upon PG&E. Much like the pathetic franchising laws for AT&T and Verizon. The federal solution is way too backed up simply because there's too many damn political interests clogging the road to progress. I mean, their only solution was drill, drill, and drill more. The most retarded ####### I had seen in a while. Very little incentive to go out and buy BEV's or even FCV's, the latter of which only slightly reduces oil consumption in cars in regards to combustion, the former ridding of well over 90% car use of oil, if not all of it.

The problem is this country became the technological and economic powerhouse it had been because of investment into progress, technology, and swiftly moving into the future. However, politics and corporate collusion with government has only been stifling progress, trying too hard to bottle the consumer into promises of shoddy service under threat of not upgrading infrastructure (AT&T, Verizon, Comcast), but reasons like this are just one of many into why this country is going to very soon be looking up at China, Japan, and India, just to mention a few, in terms of economic powerhouses.

And the other problem I see is that in terms of dividing people and setting lines and boundaries, Republicans are very good at setting people against one another and dividing people by conflict, rather than actually settling things. It does a great job in terms of pushing political and moral interests, whereas society had been pretty united in progress. Things don't have to hit bottom before they get better, people just need to stop being so stupid.

[akdiver 3]

I've given up any hope of politicians supporting and defending the constitution. This being the case, I will vote for whomever I believe will keep my taxes lowest and/or reduce federal interference in the internal affairs of my state. That's really all I care about at this point. I don't care about health care, or social security, or national defense, or who is attacking who this week, drug use in baseball, the price of text messages, or any of this other #######. Bottom line for me: taxes as low as possible.

[britty 1]

I've given up any hope of politicians supporting and defending the constitution. This being the case, I will vote for whomever I believe will keep my taxes lowest and/or reduce federal interference in the internal affairs of my state. That's really all I care about at this point. I don't care about health care, or social security, or national defense, or who is attacking who this week, drug use in baseball, the price of text messages, or any of this other #######. Bottom line for me: taxes as low as possible.

Apart from the national defense, I'm pretty much with the diver. I don't want my taxes raised, I have really good healthcare so have no interest in a socialized system that won't work anyway (just look at the UK), and the price of gas is still very low compared with other countries so nothing to complain about there.

[symbiosis 0]

I like Obama's claim that he wants to invest in alternative energy technology and envisions such technology bringing jobs to this country while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

You know the truth is that I like that too. I'll tell you what- the world that Democrats ideolize is actually very much in line with the way I'd like to live.

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

Other than that, I can't see any point of voting Democrat. There is nothing, nada, zip they have to offer me.

So, the GOP is the party of cynics? I'm pretty cynical too but in a different way. I agree with nearly everything you're saying here, but I still hold out some hope for change -- and I don't mean that in a hairy fairy sense, but I mean a concrete shift.

If a statesman and a leader had been president for past eight years, we would have heard a soaring speech circa Sept. 12, 2001 about how we must commit ourselves, before the decade is out, of finding an alternative to dangerous and divisive sources of oil. This leader/statesman would have committed hundreds of billions to the cause -- a Manhattan Project/Moon Shot level program to seek energy independence. But no, instead we got a phoney baloney war over oil and family honor.

That's why I will NEVER vote GOP again (and I have in the past).

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I like Obama's claim that he wants to invest in alternative energy technology and envisions such technology bringing jobs to this country while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

You know the truth is that I like that too. I'll tell you what- the world that Democrats ideolize is actually very much in line with the way I'd like to live.

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

Other than that, I can't see any point of voting Democrat. There is nothing, nada, zip they have to offer me.

Do you get anything out of voting republican?

My taxes have always gone down when Republicans are in office.

I'm only lived in California for 3 years, but the way the Democrats run the state is fairly terrible. I happily voted for Arnie over that ####### they put forward in '06.

And yes, I think my state income taxes are way too high.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I like Obama's claim that he wants to invest in alternative energy technology and envisions such technology bringing jobs to this country while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

You know the truth is that I like that too. I'll tell you what- the world that Democrats ideolize is actually very much in line with the way I'd like to live.

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

Other than that, I can't see any point of voting Democrat. There is nothing, nada, zip they have to offer me.

There's a whole range between our current way of doing things and your description above when it comes to energy conservation, but I was talking about something different - boosting our sagging economy by investing in alternative energy technology with the consequences being job growth as well as a reduction of dependency of foreign oil. McCain's promise isn't too far off from that same goal, it's just that both candidates have different ideas of going about doing that. If you look at McCain's economic plan, the main crux of it is continuing Bush's tax cuts for the rich. How is that helping our sagging economy right now? Not only that, when add all the things he wants to do, the 407B deficit will continue to grow under McCain. To be fair, it'll grow under either one, but according to economists, McCain's plans amount to a much higher deficit. And that deficit is one factor spinning us into a recession. The Republican Party since Reagan has never been concerned about deficit reduction and yet the economists have said over and over that reducing the deficit is one of the key components toward economic stability. Our economy is far worse than what most of us are feeling and we seriously need a President who is willing to abandon the current policies and adopt solid strategies for turning it around. McCain just isn't going to do that and has actually held firmly to the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration.

[dalegg 143]

I like Obama's claim that he wants to invest in alternative energy technology and envisions such technology bringing jobs to this country while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

You know the truth is that I like that too. I'll tell you what- the world that Democrats ideolize is actually very much in line with the way I'd like to live.

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

Other than that, I can't see any point of voting Democrat. There is nothing, nada, zip they have to offer me.

Do you get anything out of voting republican?

My taxes have always gone down when Republicans are in office.

Is a tax cut worth it, if the economic cost of the tax cut is greater in the long term?

That's only true if the spending continues, which I absolutely detest. One thing you guys are 100% correct on is that spending is out of control, and given that most of Bush's term he had a Republican congress, he has no excuse.

But the fact that we had a fiscally irresponsible Republican does not mean that the Republican philosiphy is wrong.

You guys continuously recall the Clinton era as being one of great success. Yeah, I agree, but do you not recall that he had a Republican congress? Does that mean nothing? That is the reason why more excessive spending didn't happen I believe. Checks and balances. If Obama was to win, he would have a Democratic Congress and I think there would be a rubber stamp.

The Democrat plan works only if you already have a thriving economy. What I'm hearing from the Democratic platform sounds like a lot more spending,

and then they are talking about middle class tax cuts. So, I'm supposed to believe the country is going to sustain all of its current obligations, plus a bunch more - and I'm talking about socialized health care- on the backs of the top 5% of wage earners, when we know they will actually be putting less money into the economy because they are hit with higher taxes? Excuse me for being a little skeptical.

John McCain is at least talking about controlling spending. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, and I will tell you what- if he increases the deficit with more non-sensical programs this really will be IT for me and the Republicans. And I'll give you one more- if Obama wins, has a democratic congress, launches all that BS he's talking about and the country actually is in better shape, then I will convert.

Edited September 13, 2008 by dalegg

[kaydee457 13]

I like Obama's claim that he wants to invest in alternative energy technology and envisions such technology bringing jobs to this country while helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

You know the truth is that I like that too. I'll tell you what- the world that Democrats ideolize is actually very much in line with the way I'd like to live.

I really do not have any desires to be independantly wealthy. I am happy just living in suburbia and eating leftovers for dinner. I am happy with my public school and I am skeptical about vouchers.

I take the time to separate my garbage to where the recyclables actually go in the blue garbage can and I only have to set out an actual garbage can once a month.

I ration water. I wouldn't dream of driving a gas guzzler and I like to walk to places if they are close enough. I shut off every light in the house. I haven't turned on my A/C since June, and I keep all my windows open to save energy and really the electric bill with the A/C doesn't break my budget, and I turn my thermostat down to 65 degrees at night in the winter when I go to sleep. I do these things because this is how I like to live- and being a Christian, I believe we are actually supposed to live basic lives, not live of excess. I believe if we all lived like this, everything would be golden.

So, why do I vote Republican? Because we don't all live like this. In fact, the vast majority of us don't live like this if we have a choice. It is simply a fantasy. I cannot get my own wife to get off the kick of buying a bigger car even though she complains about high gas prices, so how can I expect 200,000,000 other people to?

Energy independance and living on alternative fuels will take conservation and sacrifice in the short term- do you not agree?, and I do not believe people will accept those sacrifices if they don't think they have to. In order to truly change our direction with energy dependance we are going to have to go through an initial period of pretty harsh conditions, like perhaps 4 or 5 years- just long enough for the current President and his plan that people will see causing them hardship to be swayed by the promise of a return to the easy life and voted out. And it will happen, because people are not patient, and people do not like to be poor. So it is a pointless exercise.

Other than that, I can't see any point of voting Democrat. There is nothing, nada, zip they have to offer me.

There's a whole range between our current way of doing things and your description above when it comes to energy conservation, but I was talking about something different - boosting our sagging economy by investing in alternative energy technology with the consequences being job growth as well as a reduction of dependency of foreign oil. McCain's promise isn't too far off from that same goal, it's just that both candidates have different ideas of going about doing that. If you look at McCain's economic plan, the main crux of it is continuing Bush's tax cuts for the rich. How is that helping our sagging economy right now? Not only that, when add all the things he wants to do, the 407B deficit will continue to grow under McCain. To be fair, it'll grow under either one, but according to economists, McCain's plans amount to a much higher deficit. And that deficit is one factor spinning us into a recession. The Republican Party since Reagan has never been concerned about deficit reduction and yet the economists have said over and over that reducing the deficit is one of the key components toward economic stability. Our economy is far worse than what most of us are feeling and we seriously need a President who is willing to abandon the current policies and adopt solid strategies for turning it around. McCain just isn't going to do that and has actually held firmly to the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration.

Same old tired argument. When will you starry-eyed "greenies" understand that these technologies can't in any way be competitive with oil? These technologies aren't anywhere near maturation to compete with existing fuels. You'll rarely see any statistics on efficiencies or the cost/recovery of investment over time vs. using existing fuels. Solar panel use is heavily subsidized in states like California with the cost of the subsidy borne by the state taxpayer, and still the systems make no economic sense. It takes years to recover the initial capital costs of purchase and installation.

Greenies ignore the cost of manufacturing these items, both in dollars, as well as the environmental costs that are simply displaced from the exhaust pipe of your car to the smokestack of factory.

Listening to some of these groups, and reading some of their propositions makes it sound like we can simply plant crops of solar panels, or lithium batteries in the Midwestern cornfields and use the "free" energy they produce. Nary does anyone address the cost of disposing all these devices at the end of their life cycle. What to do with millions of pounds of Lithium batteries per year going to salvage yards? Solar panels, same problem.

It's simply naive to believe that any of these technologies are going to do anything to alleviate the use of oil in this country in the short term, or even in the long term.

The most viable hope for reducing dependence on oil, in a practical manner, without relying on "pie in the sky" technologies is to develop more Nuclear Power to replace Oil, coal burning plants.

The most viable fuel for cars in the short term is LPG, and then Hydrogen.

The Nancy Pelosi’s and other delusional democrats want to place all our resources into developing technologies that may never pan out.

Plain dumb. That’s why I vote REPUBLICAN.

[dalegg 143]

And the other problem I see is that in terms of dividing people and setting lines and boundaries, Republicans are very good at setting people against one another and dividing people by conflict, rather than actually settling things. It does a great job in terms of pushing political and moral interests, whereas society had been pretty united in progress. Things don't have to hit bottom before they get better, people just need to stop being so stupid.

And this is another thing I don't like about Democrats. Okay, you're not a Democrat, but still, the hypocracy. I hear and read statements like this all the time as if Democrats don't do this. Dividing people? #######, did you watch the Democratic primaries?

[pushbrk 12,092]

Political parties aside, I think there are generally pretty simple reasons why people follow one political philosophy or another and all the reasons have to do with what we value.

1. Government control or individual freedom

2. Government managed welfare or self sufficiency, work and private sector charity

3. Income and wealth redistribution by government or free enterprise

4. Traditional view or right, wrong and accountability or make up your own value system (morality or otherwise)

5. Big Corporations are evil or big corporations provide jobs and prosperity for the masses

6. Profit is bad or get a government job and let the people employed by free enterprise pay your wages or profit and productive work are good and wish more people would join you instead of expecting to be paid from the fruits of your hard work.

7. Agenda first or country first

You will find a small minority of government workers voting for Republicans and a small minority of non-union private sector workers voting for Democrats.

Ain't it great to live in a free country. Let's keep it that way.

[IAMX 3,055]

And the other problem I see is that in terms of dividing people and setting lines and boundaries, Republicans are very good at setting people against one another and dividing people by conflict, rather than actually settling things. It does a great job in terms of pushing political and moral interests, whereas society had been pretty united in progress. Things don't have to hit bottom before they get better, people just need to stop being so stupid.

And this is another thing I don't like about Democrats. Okay, you're not a Democrat, but still, the hypocracy. I hear and read statements like this all the time as if Democrats don't do this. Dividing people? #######, did you watch the Democratic primaries?

Democrats are indeed trying to take from the Rove-style tactics in dividing people by moral principles, which is unfortunate.

However, what I find funny about religious conservative intervention is -- they don't want public funds used for abortions, however, I don't see them complaining regarding churches getting public funds. So if we're going to erase public funding for abortions, lets erase entirely all government funds relating to churches or religion in any fashion. Lets see how well they do solely on private sector charity. Lets see how well the Boy Scouts does without their religious and sexual bias getting public funding and public discounts to use public land for a minimal fee ($1?). For this sort of fairness that I'm seeing pushed, we may as well be fair about it.