Oh Republicans...why do people keep voting for you?

[Slyfox696]

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would replace looming Pentagon spending cuts opposed by the GOP with a series of domestic program reductions opposed by congressional Democrats.

The bill passed in a strongly polarized 218-199 vote. No Democrats supported the measure.

While the legislation has no chance of clearing the Democratic-controlled Senate or surviving a certain presidential veto, it helps set the stage for a campaign showdown over fiscal priorities. It also offers a partial preview of what is shaping up to be a titanic year-end fight over deficit reduction measures set to take effect in 2013.

Specifically, the GOP plan would replace the bulk of a package of roughly $110 billion in defense and domestic cuts currently slated for next year. The Republican proposal would, among other things, cut Medicaid and food stamp spending, reduce spending for President Barack Obama's health care reform law, strip regulators of the ability to wind down failing financial firms, and end a White House program meant to help struggling homeowners.

Just in case you don't understand what you just read, Republicans, the party who has been screaming about spending for the past 3 and a half years, are wanting to spend MORE money on the military budget, effectively removing the spending CUTS (you know, like they've been crying about) on the military. In order to pay for more military spending, Republicans want to cut money that is designated for people to receive medical assistance, money that is designated to feed people, and money that is designated to help people have a home.

"But Slyfox", you might say, "we need to make sure our country is safe!" That's an interesting statement, to which I'll direct you to the following links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
http://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

The first link shows that the United States already spends more money on its military budget than the next FOURTEEN COUNTRIES COMBINED. The USA alone accounts for 41% of all military spending around the world. The only country which spends more money as a percentage of their GDP than the US is Saudia Arabia, and that is due in large part to the fact Saudi Arabia includes other measures as part of their military budget. The second link is the original source to the numbers in the first link. You can download the information in a spreadsheet.

So to recap:

1) Take away money from the poor, the hungry and the homeless, and spend it on a military budget that is already larger than the next fourteen countries combined.

2) Scream about out of control spending, and then spend more money in an area where our country clearly doesn't need it.


Seriously, why do people vote Republican? I don't understand.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Some people are stupid, that's why. I'm not a liberal, but at the same time, I don't know if I could ever actually vote Republican.

If you make less than $1 million per year, and you vote Republican, you're voting against yourself. It's odd.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

My daddy voted Republican, and his daddy voted Republican, so I vote Republican.

^ I know more people than I would care to who have that mentality. It frightens me a little to be honest.

It seems that Republicans will cut spending anywhere except the military/defense budgets, which they always want to put more money into.

 

[Uncle Sam]

My daddy voted Republican, and his daddy voted Republican, so I vote Republican.

^ I know more people than I would care to who have that mentality. It frightens me a little to be honest.

Tribalism isn't new, and it certainly isn't exceptional. Sadly.

 

[PlayTheGame]

But Slyfox, we need to make sure our country safe!

 

[Mighty NorCal]

but slyfox!! We need to keep our county safe!! There are all sorts of nations just running right out to have a war with America!! Look at how close iran puts its country next to our bases over there!!

 

[Remy LaCroix]

Gary gets it.

 

[SalvIsWin]

Politics on both sides are pushed far to the extreme, I think the average voter, Democrat or Republican probably has a lot more overlap than they would think. I think most people would agree that a person has to be responsible for their own actions. Where Republicans differ from Democrats is that I think Democrats feel that they need to speak up for the context whereas Republicans feel that's making excuses, so they push back in the other direction and they just wind up taking an extreme position.

If you think of a criminal case where a poor person steals from a store, the Republican point of view is going to be that the person should be punished for that. The Democrat point of view is going to be that there are reasons that person robbed the store, and then Republicans feel that the Democrats are making excuses and they double down.

The general Republican-esque notion of dialing back spending, cutting programs, and increasing personal accountability isn't inherently a bad one, I don't think any intelligent Democrat would say that any of those are. I think a real problem is that Republicans feel they have to go so far to the extreme in order to get what they want. Republicans want people to be accountable and responsible, and they cheer at a presidential debate at the idea of someone dying because they didn't have health insurance, that for them is like a victory for accountability - even though they're ignoring the fact that it's morbid.

Basically, I can understand why some people value some of the Republican principles, what I can't understand is how some people can value the way in which Republicans take things to the extreme in order to make their point.

 

[klunderbunker]

1. Yes, we need to keep our country safe and if it means letting half of the country starve or not be able to afford medical supplies to survive then so be it!

2. Jon Stewart talked about this and described it as one side of a double suicide pact changing their half to a murder pact.

 

[Slyfox696]

1. Yes, we need to keep our country safe and if it means letting half of the country starve or not be able to afford medical supplies to survive then so be it!

And as we all know, nothing says "safe" quite like imperialism.

 

[klunderbunker]

And as we all know, nothing says "safe" quite like imperialism.

Well of course. We have to protect ourselves from everyone else. I mean, there's NEVER been a white guy from America that blew up anything in this country.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

but slyfox!! We need to keep our county safe!! There are all sorts of nations just running right out to have a war with America!! Look at how close iran puts its country next to our bases over there!!

Someone said this on facebook and was being totally serious.

 

[Moon Knight]

I don't vote Republican anymore. I did in 2004 and 2008, but now I either vote Independent or Democrat like I did in 2000 when I voted for Gore, which I only did because my father did.

I don't agree with them on much, even now those idiots support deregulation which is hurting the economy and supports a massive war machine instead of investing into the countries infrastructure. The only thing I go with them on is Immigration, which I tend to be rather conservative about....Other than that, they can bite me.

 

[Moon Knight]

Well of course. We have to protect ourselves from everyone else. I mean, there's NEVER been a white guy from America that blew up anything in this country.

Except the entire economy.

But lets not make this racial, never helps.

 

[klunderbunker]

Except the entire economy.

But lets not make this racial, never helps.

If you could convince the GOP of that, our lives would be a lot easier.

 

[JGlass]

You know what this thread needs? More Davi. Here's hoping he makes his way in here and gives a needlessly defiant opposition to this.

I understand why we need to keep our defensive spending up, though. Did you see The Avengers yet? If we get attacked by aliens, we are FUCKED.

 

[klunderbunker]

I read an article where it said that damage would cost something like 900 billion dollars, but the insurance companies would get out of it because it was "an act of god."

 

[Gelgarin]

You know what this thread needs? More Davi. Here's hoping he makes his way in here and gives a needlessly defiant opposition to this.

Resurrect FTS.

 

[Slyfox696]

I'm surprised we haven't seen Davi yet, but maybe he's going to sit this one out. Maybe even he cannot defend this one. C'mon Davi, even you can't resist that bait ;-)

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Davi is pretty critical of Republicans as well. He is just more likely to piss on Democrats and leans more to the right.

I don't think he would approve of the Republican Congress' recent actions. Bailing on an agreement and possibly fucking up the economy further by ruining the perception of the fiscal future of the government.

If this keeps getting more press I am moving my 401k money in to a fixed income option for a while.

 

[Davi323]

Davi is pretty critical of Republicans as well. He is just more likely to piss on Democrats and leans more to the right.

When they do stupid ass shit just like the Democrats do, yep. But I have been staying out of this one. I don't really feel passionate about it either way. Saving my strength for the Supreme Court decision. Regardless of which way they rule, there is a massive shit storm coming.