This is a gaming forum. Most people here are born and bred fanboys. That extends to politics. You won't have an objective conversation.

Transhumanism. We can all hook our brains up to the internet and become human-robot hybrids in the year 2039.

(And you said this wouldn't be a productive discussion.)

I’m inclined to agree that proper debate is almost impossible as it will quickly devolve into identity politics.

Major media outlets have largely moved away from neutral journalism and push a noticeably left wing narrative. In my opinion, it means the silencing of conservative opinions or worse, lumping conservatives with alt-right groups to immediately discredit and shame people into silence. Look no further then college campuses to see this effect.

I believe your ideas and merit of your logic should always take precedence over virtue signalling and identify politics

Well if Republicans actually stood up for something besides the rich that prop them up then maybe there would be some good news stories to provide to the public.  About the only thing they stand for are campaign donors and anti abortion.   You can throw fiscal conservative out the window.

Maybe you conservatives should vote more for Libertarians than vote for a party that is a shell of it's former self.  There hasn't been a good Republican since Theodore Roosevelt.

I’d argue they stand for the working class and above, because they wouldn’t be in power if they only supported the rich and generally support a solid economy where as Democrats support green initiatives that ultimately hurt the economy. And plenty democratic nominees receive donations from billionaires and corporations with their own interests. 

Republicans are by no means perfect, but I see them as a lesser evil then an increasingly extremist far left Democratic Party. And like the thread is about, republicans welcome open discourse where as Democrats silence it. 

Yes I always somehow knew that not supporting min wage increase with inflation was somehow looking out for low wage workers.  Or the needless Iraq war that only caused death and chaos.  That was better than spending money here on infrastructure.  Or the tax cuts that went to the rich and they are supposed to trickle down on us while powering that amazing 2.1 growth.  Or that we shouldn't have access to healthcare unless we work our ass off for shit plans that carry a high deductible if you ever dare try to use it. Or the promotion of heavy sentencing for minor drug offenses to fuel the private prison industry. Or the willingness to cut social programs while pumping even more money into military never asking for proper audits or assuming there is no waste going on in the military.

Those are all good examples of looking out for the middle and lower classes.

See this is the problem with political discourse. I just listed the Republican agenda that has been in place for decades and there is no response that can make sense. Anyone that thinks Republicans care about middle and lower class has to reevaluate their lives.

It's tough. I've had family members and acquaintances who spout neocon and neolib talking points because the mainstream media spouts that stuff constantly. And the sharing of Facebook articles and views that are lies without spending a few seconds to fact check is crazy.

And the whole fascist and communist duality in our discourse is laughable at best, very damaging at worst. Donald Trump is not a fascist. Bernie Sander is not a communist. He's not even firmly a socialist. To me, we need to start using the term "imperialist" more. There are plenty of imperialists in Washington. Could that hurt discourse? Potentially, but it's far more accurate than worrying about fascism.