What Is Your Main Grievance with Obama's Presidency?

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Any of those three cretins could do away with the social safety net, give more tax breaks to the rich while raising taxes on the rest of us, finish destroying labor rights, and continue to disenfranchise the poor, old, young, and minorities - that is, those who would more than likely vote Democrat - from the political system. And you like child labor laws, or the right to wear a condom? Say goodbye to both. Or do you think that those Republican thugs running for president would support gay rights, or for that matter, gay marriage? I'd rather take my chances with four more years with Obama.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

If that's truly the case, let me ask you something: What is Canada's national debt as a percentage of their GDP? That's the context I was speaking from when I said large scale Socialism is "untenable."

You want Obama the dictator?

Right, and giving employers a tax holiday from paying matching Social Security contributions isn't helping that along?



You do realize that Obama extended the Bush tax cuts, right? Incidentally, why don't we see a more concerted effort to clean up Wall Street since we're on a "soak the rich" crusade? Oh, right... Because many of the big players are major contributors to the Democrat party. How's Jon Corzine doing these days?




Have you ever been in a Union? I have. I was Chief Steward of my shift and an elected official of my Local, and let me tell you: Collective Bargaining Agreements are great, but your dues are mostly used to keep the Democrat political machine running, not to mention the fact that the upper echelons of Union management have a frightening lack of accountability to the "rank and file" members.



Both parties are doing an equally fine job of that. The only real difference is what "monied interests" they're beholden to.



If they weren't drinking the kool aid and taking everything the leftist pundits tell them as gospel, they'd feel differently and we'd see a lot more people like Bernie Sanders and Ralph Nader championing the poor and working class.

Incidentally, I also happen to be one of the "poor" and "downtrodden," and I'd vote for "none of the above" before I ever voted Democrat.



How's a life of indentured servitude through student debt working out for today's youth? Also, I've never worked for a Catholic affiliated NPO, but I do think Obama could've gone about the whole thing in a much less combative way. Heck, if funding insurance plans that cover contraceptives is so objectionable to the Catholic church, he could've at least proposed subsidizing the premiums just for that specific coverage, then everyone would be happy.




That's funny, because more and more states are affording same sex couples the legal benefits of marriage. You forget that the Tenth Amendment triumphs where the Federal Government does not.



Good luck with that.

An Article On Canadian Debt

I can't find anything perfectly clear cut on Americas, but what I am finding Americas debt-GDP percentage is about three times that.

Wikipedia - List of countries by public debt

United States (2010) - 94.36% public debt as a percentage of GDP
Source: IMF

Canada (2010) - 83.95% public debt as a percentage of GDP
Source: IMF

That's a difference of ~10%. Arguably "better," but nowhere near the "three times" claim.

I'd cite 2011 figures, but those are estimated. Not actual.

Do you seriously believe that?

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

With the new NDAA any president can be a dictator. So Newt, Romney, Santorum, and even Ron Paul could be telling troops to bust down your door.

I think everyone knows Obama allowed an extension of the Bush tax cuts under duress, as the Republicans had held the unemployed hostage by threatening to discontinue unemployment insurance.

As for contraceptives, I think Rick Santorum has made it clear he would allow states to outlaw birth control. I think plenty of red states would.

And it's not the Democrats who are disenfranchising anyone - that's been the sole occupation of the Republicans.

As for gay rights, especially gay marriage, Santorum, and I believe the other two three alarm idiots hoping to be president say gay marriage would be overturned federally, and Don't Ask, Don't Tell would be reinstated.

And while I have never been a union member, I was raised in a union household, and my Dad had been a union grievance man (shop steward). The fact of the matter is, my parents were able to own their house free and clear, and we were able to live a comfortable middle class life style. I could care less how much of union dues actually goes to the Democratic Party; we still got plenty of benefits from my Dad's union.

And say what you will about the Democrats not really caring about the poor and down and out. The fact remains, the Republicans have made no secret of their worship of the rich, and their contempt and hatred of the poorest of us.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Last edited by Kraichgauer on 09 Feb 2012, 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If more people saw what that particular section of the bill says, they'd feel differently about it considering that the President now has the power to circumvent the Fifth and Sixth Amendments when "national security" is involved, and all that's needed to legitimize it is a written certification being submitted to Congress. (In its infancy, the rider granted this power to the Secretary of Defense.)

Then again, I've fruitlessly debated this point with Democrats who seem to agree with the Fox News crowd that the AUMF effectively makes the President Judge Dredd.

Indeed, and his compromise was not received well by those on the left. Don't you recall Bernie Sanders' filibuster of the Senate?



Just as the Tenth Amendment allows Washington to adopt Medical Marijuana laws and same sex marriage laws, New York to adopt same sex marriage laws, and Vermont to adopt same sex marriage laws and single payer health insurance, it also grants states the right to enact their own laws regarding contraceptives. If state laws disallow access to them, then those laws can be challenged in Federal courts until they reaches the Supreme Court.



Really? Locking everyone into a profit-driven system that's monopolized by the "one percent" through a mandate that does nothing to combat the out of control costs or out of pocket expenses of health care isn't disenfranchising people? Subsidizing corn ethanol production in a market dominated by the Monsanto Corporation isn't disenfranchising anyone? Pushing for sustainable energy policies with "enviornmentally friendly" mercury vapor CFLs and electric cars that rely on banks of enviornmentally unfriendly toxic metal batteries that are charged from energy sources like coal fired and nuclear power plants isn't disenfranchising anyone?

I've got news for you: The Democrats aren't your friends as much as you think they are.



If cases like the one for Proposition 8 make it all the way to the Supreme Court, I have no doubt in my mind that they'll be overturned by virtue of the fact that I have yet to see a convincing secular argument against gay marriage as is pertains to tax benefits and spousal legal powers.



So you don't believe that the members of a bargaining unit have the right to direct where their Union dues go? You don't believe that all the money that gets shovelled into the Washington D.C. furnace can't be put to better use like helping the rank and file workers get better pension plans and providing for things such as education and apprenticeships?

Incidentally, being a well-paid working class member of society does not make you "middle class." The Middle Class consists of white collar, college educated professionals and semi-professionals. "Middle class" nowadays is nothing more than an empty, meaningless political buzzword used to stir the gullible into a frenzy and distract them from the real problems within this country.



So how would you explain the sweeping Democrat support of the Gramm Leach Biley Act which opened the door to predatory lending targetted at minorities and those who would never be able to repay their mortgages? Barney Frank and other Democrats didn't seem to care because they made a mint from it.

Incidentally, the CEO of the MPAA who actively pushed for PIPA/SOPA is none other than former Senator Christopher Dodd, also a Democrat.

The CEO of MF Global who admitted to misappropriating investor funds was none other than Jon Corzine, also a Democrat.

Needless to say, the Republicans don't have a patent on worshipping mammon.

I found the article I linked in a quick google, I do appear to have been wrong. My bad.

However, that still has the Socialist country doing better than the Capitalist country

Agreed, though not by much.

Still, 83.95% is a pretty high debt to GDP ratio compared to other developed nations, especially when you take into consideration that Canada's population is just a little over a tenth of ours according to the CIA World Factbook.

This, of course, is assuming that the majority of Canada's government spending goes mostly towards social programs, not much unlike the United States where Medicare and Social Security comprise the two largest portions of our national budget.

The Democrats aren't perfect, but they certainly have a better record than the Republicans. It's not just corporate and government corruption, but rather the obscene worship of trickle down economics that the Republicans are responsible for that has hurt so many of us not in the 1%.

And for your information, being middle class is based on income, because my family, while I was growing up, had it made as a middle class family, despite being blue collar.

On top of that, I have yet to see a Republican in recent memory display the slightest concern for working class people, other than to attempt to divide them on racial grounds, or to pit private sector employees against their public sector counterparts in order to divide and conquer.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

I believe there are people like that, like there are people that wished Bush didn't leave office. I for one am not satisfied by either a crap sandwich or a douche bag.

10% is *not* a small amount. That isn't "not much", that's pretty big.

Population, yeah that's about right. mid-30 million range for us, 300+ million for you guys.

The majority of Canadian spending is social programs (education and such), however, we spend nothing remotely like the amount you do on military.