A political party descends rapidly into moral insanity

[phantom power]

That aside, though, here's the shocking bit, straight from the Pew Poll's analysis itself:

Just 40% of Republicans agree that “It is the responsibility of the government to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves,” down 18 points since 2007. In three surveys during the George W. Bush administration, no fewer than half of Republicans said the government had a responsibility to care for those unable to care for themselves. In 1987, during the Ronald Reagan’s second term, 62% expressed this view.

In just five years, the percentage of Republicans who say the government should take care of people who can't take care of themselves has dwindled by 18 percentage points. That's no minor shift. That is a political party in the throes of a descent into moral madness.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/political-party-descends-rapidly-into.html

[kimbutgar]

1. All courtesy of Fox and right wing agenda led by their leader Rush

The repugs have lost their humanity and are not real patriotic Americans it seems they lost the "we the people" part in their ideology.

[kardonb]

16. courtesy

So much of their christian values . Nothing but sham piety .

[Kalidurga]

2. Well I suspected that Republicans all went insane around the same time.

I no longer have any conservative friends. I can't believe the crap they spew and it has been fairly recent. As recently as 2008 I could find common ground with Republicans and Conservatives, now they are barely recognizable as human. I never thought I would feel like a person's party defines them. And in the past I have voted for Republicans, back in the day when you could vote for the person not the party. Now, party affiliation is like short hand for what kind of person you are. I don't want to be associated with the "let him die crowd" or the "hold the aspirin between your legs crowd" or the crowd that wants to make sure not even first responders are entitled to the benefits they earned. This is really sad to me, really really sad. I was always the kind of person that could find common ground with just about anyone.

[Surya Gayatri]

7. Well said, Kali, and it's even sadder when the crazies

are your own kin.

I've had to cut off practically all contact with my immediate family until after the election. It's that bad.

[patrice]

3. Someone was telling me yesterday that we should just TAKE Iraq's & Afghanistan's land, make it ours.

Last edited Fri Jul 6, 2012, 12:24 PM - Edit history (1)

I had to explain to him that we pretty much "lost" both of those, or it was at best a stalemate, and even if we had "won" it would be morally wrong to take a people's country from them. He went on then to describe some of the social evils of America.

[phantom power]

4. "kick their ass and take their gas"

I think this attitude goes back at least to the original 1970s Iran/oil crisis.

[coalition_unwilling]

6. Technical note: I think you mean 'stalemate' (in the sense of a draw) and

not 'checkmate' (where one opponent wins a chess match outright).

You could completely confound him by telling him we won Pyrrhic victories.

[patrice]

8. Oh! of course I do. Thanks for the catch!

[JDPriestly]

24. When we speak out, we free others to speak for themselves.

[patrice]

25. It was a polite enough exchange. I'm not sure I changed his mind much, but I wasn't really trying to

I just wanted to self-identify as a Liberal and make a few sane noises about "values".

[KurtNYC]

5. could it be that as the party dwindles, the ones most likely to continue to self-ID as Republicans

are also those who claim to favor the every man for himself version of civilization?

Only 15 to 25% of Americans identify themselves as Republican and the number continues to drop.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/parsing-the-polls/21-percent.html

21% Republican
35% Dem
38% independent

[patrice]

9. That, and they are hanging around with America's fascist version of Libertarianism and, I know there

are at least a few varieties of Anarchists, but they're all mixing with one another, hoping to split some margins I guess, or at least convince others not to vote. My opinion, yes, but I do get out and about a bit around here.

[OnyxCollie]

12. Outdated data.

Record-High 40% of Americans Identify as Independents in '11
http://www.gallup.com/poll/151943/Record-High-Americans-Identify-Independents.aspx

PRINCETON, NJ -- The percentage of Americans identifying as political independents increased in 2011, as is common in a non-election year, although the 40% who did so is the highest Gallup has measured, by one percentage point. More Americans continue to identify as Democrats than as Republicans, 31% to 27%.

[coalition_unwilling]

10. I first encountered this mentality personally while working

Last edited Sat Jul 7, 2012, 03:14 AM - Edit history (1)

for a right-wing vendor of PoS (Point-of-Sale) software in Westwood, CA. The Controller told me that the people who were left to await rescue following Katrina in New Orleans deserved what happened, because they were too stupid to heed the warnings to leave and there were, after all, all those school buses parked there they could have used. All this said with a hateful, spiteful smirk on her face, as she sought my assent to what she was saying.

No matter that I then pointed out that the drivers of school buses had already left ahead of the storm and that many of those who remained behind were too poor to be able to afford to displace themselves or their families.

I walked out on that job without giving notice shortly thereafter (for different but connected reasons) but the memory of that hateful, spiteful person will stay with me for the rest of my days.

[HillWilliam]

15. I went a couple of rounds with my old boss on this very subject

but I remembered that he and I were both school bus drivers in high school. I asked him "how many kids did you haul? Fifty or sixty like me? Right? How long did it take to get 60 kids ten miles to school? A couple of hours, right. Now you're going to tell me you can get a quarter million people AND their baggage a couple hundred miles away to safety in 24 hour hours with 200 buses? GMAFB."

Like my daddy always said, it all comes down to riffmatick.

[Stuckinthebush]

11. Ayn Rand and Objectivism

The GOP tips its hat to the word "christianity" but not to the philosophy. The philosophy that has become entrenched in the GOP is Objectivism. The pursuit of individual happiness is all that matters. That means that I don't have to worry about you because I am only concerned about me. If you die because of stupidity, or natural disasters, or dumb luck - well - tough crap. It is not my responsibility to make sure you are well and happy. It is yours. If you can't do that then it sucks for you.

The problem with this philosophy, of course, is that as social animals we are dependent on one another. Many adherents of this philosophy conveniently ignore how they got to where they are in the first place. They also ignore the fact that, one day, they will likely be invalids who need the assistance of others.

It is a twisted philosophy for a twisted party.

[Diclotican]

18. Stuckinthebush

Stuckinthebush

Ayn Rand and "objectivism" poisoned the conservative base to its core.. I remember the 1990s, when Objectism was one of the favorites on my school mostly for the conservatives who was rather loud about the smart ideas around Objectism.. And tried their best to convince me - on the other side of the spectrum - I was a Socialist then - even though as age comes it have been tempered a lot, I'm still reorganize myself as a solid social-democrat - left leaning as few. But it was interesting to have the discussions about it all then - and I learned a lot about ideology - and where I wanted to stand in many issues...

Diclotican

[Stuckinthebush]

23. Poisoned

Good word.

I think that the core difference between the two parties is the role of government in the lives of citizens. Objectivism is poisonous.

[EnviroBat]

13. The GOP

G reedy
O ligarchical
P ricks

[elleng]

14. MUST be because

'Am I my brother's keeper' is in the OLD Testament, I guess, so they don't give much thought to it. Or they have done, and have decided to tell their God, 'I am NOT my brother's keeper,' clearly contrary to President Obama's POSITIVE declaration.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/02/barack-obama-i-am-my-brothers-keeper-except-brother-george/

[Diclotican]

17. phantom power

phantom power

A warning from the past - when enough people believe that people on disability, or who are disabled for one reason or another - should be killed off - they Will be killed off... Many germans before world war two believed, that if they "cut off" bad flesh, aka disabled people, the healthy "flesh" should prosper - and the resources go to people who was able minded...

I do loathe to show the ghost of the past - but the past is not that many decades away.. jut 70-80 year behind us, it was a whole government who decided that people on disability was more worth dead than alive...

Diclotican

[phantom power]

19. 80 years - 3 or 4 generations - that's about how long it takes to forget

and then repeat.

[Diclotican]

21. phantom power

phantom power

True - I fear things can really go bad, if just enough pepole decide to get rid of "bad genes"... As a person on disability I know how some I know really is talking about, between the lines, that people on disability should just take a pill and die.... They do not say it outright - as they would be picked down faster than a hunter are shooting down a goose.. But they do think it - and if you really listen to what they put forward... It is rather nasty... The ideology is the same - but they have been more clever in hiding it out, and don't talk so mutch about it.. But after 80 year, they can put it forward again - as the ones who had the knowledge about what it all will end in, is dying out...

I de-friended a person on face book the other day because he got rather vocal about some things - and I Kind of kick back with a reply he was not "amused" about... He is a simple hypocrite and a person who is less than gratefully about how much I have helped him over the years.. SPECIALLY when he had the Children's protective service after them, because it was reported - with some truth, that they was not treated well - and that they might have to take the two children into fostercare... I worked many hours, looking at the law books, to help hem fight it, and I pointed them in the right direction - and they was able to keep the children.. But got i some of a thanks for it?.. Nope... Rather the opposite, and he have been treating me, rather unfriendly the last couple of mounts.. Last day I got enough - and de friend him - and I guess it Will be the end of it all...

And he is also rather on the political Right - almost - but not yet a neo-nazi.. But he have a past in neo-nazi groups - and share many of the same ideas even after breaking with it.. i Will name him a border-nazi in many ways.. And he have more than once, put in front that I should just go out working - even though he very well know why I'm on disability... And the fact is, that he for the last decade have been living of public founds... And only now, the last year have been working - as the unemployment office more or less treated to cut off further found, if he was not willing to get a job - they even helped he getting one - and after 8 mounts he got "sick leave".. And have been off work ever since... But he IS able to work - he just shoose not to, and claim that he is sick...

Diclotican

[deutsey]

20. Compassionate conservativism

[Dirty Socialist]

22. That Term Is So 2007...

N/t

[deutsey]

26. Actually, it's so 2000

Bush and Turdblossom coined it.

[Skittles]

28. like fiscal conservatism

it does not exist

[Skraxx]

27. "Promote the general welfare..."

Must just be a throwaway line. The founders need some filler.