Draugnar hates women and Arabs, this shouldn't surprise anyone.

Well let's see, that "laid-back" foreign policy of Carter ended decades of major Arab-Israeli wars for 30+ years and permanently secured the existence of Israel. I'd say that's better than anything your belligerent heroes did. Kennedy almost blew the planet up.

Nice of you no not address any of the points I made, Putin33. And as for your recent claim that progressive just naturally win elections in America, I beg to differ. Look at the result of the 2010 election, where Democrats got their worst defeat in decades in the House. Look at how in the last thirty years we've had only ten with a Democratic president. Look at how Bill Clinton was the first Democrat reelected since FDR. Look at how many more people self identify as conservatives rather than as liberals. You're diluting yourself if you think left-wing ideology will jsut win on the collective hope of all your campus commie friends. Every election is a response to the time since the last election, and right now people are unhappy with Obama. So unhappy he's actually vulnerable, which I wouldn't have really beleived six months ago. It's incrediably arrogant to think that just because he checks off the progressive boxes you like that means he'll automatically win.

I don't think he'll win just because he is fairly progressive, he'll win because the Republicans put up very very weak candidates. I was simply pointing out that being a liberal doesn't mean automatic loss. 2010 occurred because of low turnout and lots of hitherto never seen before out of state money. There's no way Russ Feingold would have lost without Citizens United. He was outspent 4 to 1, most of the money coming from out of state. I notice you neglect to point that in the most of this century we've had Democratic majorities in Congress. In fact Republicans love to bitch about how before 1994 the Dems ruled the Congress for 40 years.

People are unhappy with the economy but even unhappier with how the Republicans have tried to sabotage it for political gain. Nobody was pleased with how the GOP behaved during the debt ceiling debacle. Nobody was pleased with Paul Ryan's Medicare plan. As soon as Republicans propose actual ideas people run away in terror. That's why an arch conservative seat in NY went to a Democrat before the Weiner scandal. The tea party has a 10% approval rating but speaks for the GOP. America may be conservative than most countries but that doesn't mean it is jumping for joy about what direction your party has turned.

People are just as upset with Democrats. The anger is against politicians in general, not one party or the other. This is a bad time to be an incumbent since people don't like the things that have been going on for many years now, and since Obama is the sitting president and the fount of unpopular and ineffective polices like the stimulus and Obamacare he's vulnerable. That's hardly a radical opinion to hold. As for weak GOP candidates, I doubt you'd think any Republican would be a strong candidate, so wrapped up in blind partisanship you are.

The larger point is, the Republicans got cocky after 2010 and overplayed their hand across the board. You're right that every election tends to be a reaction from the election before. 2012 will be a reaction against the terrible policies the GOP have impleneted at the state level and gridlock they've been responsible for since they got back into power in the House.

Right of course, and there's no field of Republicans you wouldn't believe is reasonable and popular, because you're so very non-partisan. Incidentally, Obama's healthcare is popular when people actually are asked about what it does, that's how non-partisan you are. Also, economists widely credit the stimulus with having prevented a depression, as compared to the do-nothing or tax cut approach of your buddies in the GOP. Once again though, you're not blindly partisan or anything.

"Carter's laid-back foreign policy that didn't rescure the Iranian-held hostages..."

Reagan's people had cut a deal with Iran to keep the hostages beyond the presidential election to ensure that President Carter's negotiations with Iran failed and that he lost to Reagan. I would have thought that by now this was common knowledge. It's where the term 'october suprise' comes from.

Actually, I only think Romney or Perry have any shot at becoming president and I find only them and Ron Paul even tolerable to listen to. We'll see who's right next year, Putin33. I look forward to your apology.

Noam Chomsky: 2012 GOP Candidates Views are “Off the International Spectrum of Sane Behavior”


http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/9/13/noam_chomsky
(link is for invictus)

Do you really think Invictus is going to read an article by Noam Chomsky? He'll take one look at the name and dismiss it all as left wing nonsense.

well its a video, maybe he could suffer through it, but yeah I doubt it. I meant more that I was providing the link so I wouldnt have to hear him whine about citing, not in that I actually expected him to.... you know, absorb any of the infiormation there

Chomsky is right, GOP candidats are from outer space in international context. The fact that he used AGW as an example shows that he probably keeps them company there, though.

Of course, Nancy Pelosi is too librul for 'Merica, but Cowboy Jim (Rick) Perry who says Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and threatened to beat up the "traitorous" fed reserve chairman is mainstream!

@Putin: 2000 was the first election I was eligible to vote in, and I voted for Bush twice. I sat out 2008. 2012 may be the first time I vote for a Democrat for president, for pretty much exactly the reasons you gave there.

You voted for Bush twice in 2000! I know there were irregularities this year but that's ridiculous!

Gah, that should say "that year" not "this year".

AGW?

sorry I'm having issues with my video player so cant just check myself.

AGW -> anthropomorphic global warming

*Anthropogenic

Global warming with human-like characteristics?

DURR HURR Eden sucks at life

yes anthropoGENIC

Jeez sorry. I was just kidding around. No need to be so sensitive.

lol, not sensitive, I'm making fun of myself for stupid mistake and emphasizing the corrected part so there's no confusion

This Mideast demagoguery is driving me nuts.

Oh heh. I thought you were yelling at me. = / Sorry.

Haha, no problem. :P

I always thought agw made sense. am I missing something?

Unless you have a historically strong Green movement around, you just pay lip service to the whole idea, proclaim some ambitious goals and call it a day. That's a standard practice for European politicians. I doubt those from BRIC do even this. GOP candidates just go a step further because it can score them proper conservative credentials. From all the issues that are actually viewed wildly differently across the world, Chomsky chose the one that is not. That's why he belongs to the outer space as well.