By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Politics Discussion - How about those elections?

thranx on 09 November 2014
sc94597 said:
Signalstar said:
What irks me is that the Republicans did absolutely NOTHING the last few years but jam things up in the Senate and Congress including suing the president and their stupid gamble to de-fund Obamacare which led to a stupid government shutdown. Democrats should have absolutely blasted this point home ad nauseum but they put up zero fight.

It irks me that the Republicans were rewarded for causing the dysfunction all Americans claim to be fed up with in Washington. Congress's approval ratings were even more dire than Obama's yet the Republicans increased their gains in the House. 

The shutdown and "no" tactics was a long-term advantage to the Republicans, in my opinion. One needs to remember who they're *supposed* to appeal to: small government conservatives and some libertarians. In the eyes of these groups a dysfunctional government is better than an overeaching government, and if the Republicans can prevent Democrats from making an overeaching government even more possible, that is a bonus. I, personally, am a more extreme libertarian and my sentiment (along with other libertarians) when the government "shutdown" was "good, maybe people will realize how little difference there would be without government in the areas it shutdown. " We didn't get caught up in the media hysteria or hype. I'm sure the more right-winged of Republicans would've felt the same. It was only the moderate and established republicans that had a concern with it (Boehner vs. Tea Party, in example.) The only thing the Democrats could've done with this would be to rustle up their voter base to have higher turnout rates, but the people who turnout only during the presidential elections, honestly - don't care about politics in the grand scheme. Meanwhile the Republicans on the otherhand gained reputation with the far economic right with how it handled the perceiving overreaches by the centrists and leftists (economic.) The Republican party is becoming increasingly libertarian, and for that reason you are going to keep seeing a "no" answer to more power in centralized organizations. 


Sounds about right to me