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UNCLE!!!

Fast Eddie B

Philosopher
Fast Eddie B
Joined
Sep 27, 2010
Messages
8,415
Location
Lenoir City, TN/Mineral Bluff, GA
For my entire adult life I’ve been a “Registered Republican”.

Overall I think I’m socially liberal, or even libertarian, but fiscally conservative. In any case I’ve called myself a Republican, and generally voted Republican or abstained in the Presidential election as I did in 2008 and 2016.

But enough is enough! I’m done.

It’s been building for a long time, but this recent budget was the final straw. But I’ve been increasingly disgusted with Republicans at least since the 2016 Presidential Primary. The selection of Trump is a major, but hardly isolated cause of my disgust.

Today, I went so far as to call my local voting board to change my affiliation to Independent. Turns out Georgia does not register voters by party affiliation - you declare which primary ballot you want at the time of voting. I was probably thinking of my prior state of residence, Florida.

I’m not thrilled with the current state of the Democratic Party either. But I more and more often find myself on “their side” of issues. If there are more disgruntled Republicans like me out there, the Democrats can only benefit from the overall disillusionment of sensible Republicans at the sordid mess their party has become. Hopefully a viable third party can emerge from this chaos and offer more palatable options than we’ve been presented with recently.

Thanks for listening - I just needed to vent.
 
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Welcome to the club. Of course, it happened a good deal earlier for me.

My natural inclination was, and still is, what used to be called a "liberal Republican", or maybe "progressive Republican." Social (mostly) liberal, strongly fiscal conservative. Fiscal conservatism went out the window with Reagan. All decrying "tax-and-spend" Democrats, while running up massive deficits to give money back to those who needed it least. And around the same time, they brought the racist southern Democrats over en-masse. No fiscal conservatism, no social progressivism. Screw them.

As for libertarianism, the concept appeals to me. But every actual avowed libertarian I've ever come into contact with has been a loon.

ETA: There's no party registration in this state. We used to have wide-open primaries, in which you could vote for anyone in either party. The party bosses HATED that and filed suit. Then we had a sort of "pick-a-party" system. The voters hated that. Now it's open with candidates running for the two spots on the GE ballot. They are identified as "Prefers Republican Party". That can, and has, cause both GE candidates to be from the same party.
 
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The budget and how about today's Senate hearing with the top national security chiefs who are Trump's appointees?

Trump's admin is absolutely appalling but his inability to admit the Russians are tampering with our elections is truly putting the country at risk (among a few other things).
 
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Fast Eddie B said:
For my entire adult life I’ve been a “Registered Republican”.

Overall I think I’m socially liberal, or even libertarian, but fiscally conservative. In any case I’ve called myself a Republican, and generally voted Republican or abstained in the Presidential election as I did in 2008 and 2016.

But enough is enough! I’m done.

It’s been building for a long time, but this recent budget was the final straw. But I’ve been increasingly disgusted with Republicans at least since the 2016 Presidential Primary. The selection of Trump is a major, but hardly isolated cause of my disgust.

Today, I went so far as to call my local voting board to change my affiliation to Independent. Turns out Georgia does not register voters by party affiliation - you declare which primary ballot you want at the time of voting. I was probably thinking of my prior state of residence, Florida.

I’m not thrilled with the current state of the Democratic Party either. But I more and more often find myself on “their side” of issues. If there are more disgruntled Republicans like me out there, the Democrats can only benefit from the overall disillusionment of sensible Republicans at the sordid mess their party has become. Hopefully a viable third party can emerge from this chaos and offer more palatable options than we’ve been presented with recently.

Thanks for listening - I just needed to vent.
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I'm on your side, although I still have an amazing distaste for the Democratic Party--albeit much , MUCH less than I do for the Republican.
 
rwguinn said:
I'm on your side, although I still have an amazing distaste for the Democratic Party--albeit much , MUCH less than I do for the Republican.
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Pretty much my view. I don't like the Democrats a lot,but compared to the current GOP......
 
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The GOP is the worst thing ever. Except for Communism. The Left's implicit support of communism, along with their support of any policy that might advance communism, is the only thing keeping me from switching sides. That and all the leftist douchebags I've met on this board.
 
theprestige said:
The GOP is the worst thing ever. Except for Communism. The Left's implicit support of communism, along with their support of any policy that might advance communism, is the only thing keeping me from switching sides. That and all the leftist douchebags I've met on this board.
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theprestige said:
And this is why I've largely given up on having serious policy discussions around here. How are we supposed to exchange ideas with you in a respectful way, if this is what you believe about me?
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There you go.
 
theprestige said:
Do you believe we would be better off in a communist society?
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Where have I ever mentioned or desired being in a communist society?

I was commenting on how you're upset you are on the 'left' here attributing things to you, and 'your side', and here you are doing it to the left.

'And this is why I've largely given up on having serious policy discussions around here. How are we supposed to exchange ideas with you in a respectful way, if this is what you believe about me? '
 
Are there any communist societies? I know some claim to be, but the big one is China and they have a lot of billionaires for a purportedly communist country.
 
What "communist" ideas are supported on any Democratic platform?

I wonder if we've been POE'd by Prestige, who appears to be giving us a great example of what's wrong with today's Republican party.
 
Fast Eddie B said:
For my entire adult life I’ve been a “Registered Republican”.

Overall I think I’m socially liberal, or even libertarian, but fiscally conservative. In any case I’ve called myself a Republican, and generally voted Republican or abstained in the Presidential election as I did in 2008 and 2016.

But enough is enough! I’m done.

It’s been building for a long time, but this recent budget was the final straw. But I’ve been increasingly disgusted with Republicans at least since the 2016 Presidential Primary. The selection of Trump is a major, but hardly isolated cause of my disgust.

Today, I went so far as to call my local voting board to change my affiliation to Independent. Turns out Georgia does not register voters by party affiliation - you declare which primary ballot you want at the time of voting. I was probably thinking of my prior state of residence, Florida.

I’m not thrilled with the current state of the Democratic Party either. But I more and more often find myself on “their side” of issues. If there are more disgruntled Republicans like me out there, the Democrats can only benefit from the overall disillusionment of sensible Republicans at the sordid mess their party has become. Hopefully a viable third party can emerge from this chaos and offer more palatable options than we’ve been presented with recently.

Thanks for listening - I just needed to vent.
Click to expand...


So, you're finally catching on to what the rest of the world already knew in November 2016... that Americans voted as their supreme leader, an utterly clueless, misogynistic, lying buffoon who has to be the most unqualified person to be a head of state since Henry the Sixth ascended to the throne of England in 1422 at the age of 8 months, and the worst President of the USA since Tricky Dicky.
 
thaiboxerken said:
What "communist" ideas are supported on any Democratic platform?

I wonder if we've been POE'd by Prestige, who appears to be giving us a great example of what's wrong with today's Republican party.
Click to expand...

Letting brown people live next door?

We are using the GOP definition of 'communist', right?
 
smartcooky said:
So, you're finally catching on to what the rest of the world already knew in November 2016... that Americans voted as their supreme leader, an utterly clueless, misogynistic, lying buffoon who has to be the most unqualified person to be a head of state since Henry the Sixth ascended to the throne of England in 1422 at the age of 8 months, and the worst President of the USA since Tricky Dicky.
Click to expand...

I don't think that's a fair assessment at all. Fast Eddie B has been a staunch and in my view very earnest critic of Trump and Trump's support inside the GOP the entire time. He's not been afraid to call out the GOP for it's failings.

Honestly for as disappointed as I've been in many Republicans and their supporters recently, I am sad that reasonable conservatives don't have a party really, not anymore. It doesn't do good things for either party, nor for the country to have one party to force out all the people who are reasonable and won't pretend they aren't.
 
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