Are A2k'rs really party members?

Um, because bickering is the point?





I dunno -- I'm not particularly well-aligned with any of the parties that seek to represent me -- save perhaps for Dennis Kucinich (though his positions on trade are stronger than my own), whose own party would probably like to disown him.



But mainly the first thing.

I hope bickering is not the point.

Please tell me it is not the point.

TF

If it's not, then what is? An exchange of ideas? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

No, TF. Bickering is NOT the point, or shouldn't be. I have voted Republican; Democrat; Independent but it all has to do with how we envision the country and now the world.

But on the boards, L, by and large, the regular hitters, the won't-give-an-inch back-and-forth -- you think it's not about the bickering?

It's the fight or flight syndrome, Patio. <smile>

On BBB's Copycat thread, I predicted that the London bombing was a diversion and I do believe that I was right, because the very next day the Patriot Act was extended for another year, but once a person has his say on a particular subject, there's no sense carrying coals, etc.

I rarely visit the political forum unless I have something to say that I feel rather strongly about. I subscribe to Voltaire's way of thinking, I guess.

Ah, so.

Missed your "or shouldn't be" in the previous post. Changes the thing entirely.

I find the A2K politics boards almost as frustrating as, well, politics...

Well, Patio. Florida is a rather frustrating state when it comes to politics, but then ain't they all!

Heh!

I'm actually reasonably happy with WI on that front. (Given the alternatives...)

Bickering IS part of the fun. Plus, I don't think it's so much about party lines as the fact that Bush is a guy that people either hate or love. If you'll notice, most of the most vicious and vile battles have, at their core, something to do with George W. Bush.

Good point Kicky.

I just think if we stopped the party lining crap - which we don't believe in - we can actually get something done.

TF

Truthfully, a little back and forth is fun, if it's good natured-- Sometimes it is.

I sincerely wish we could lose the uglier aspects of "debate". I've actually traced to the genesis of some of the worst arguments (especially if I was a participant) to see how it got so bad. I can jab hard at an issue and bear no animosity to the person I'm speaking with 90% of the time-- maybe some people can't. All I know is once someone leaves the issue and starts making personal comments to me, I am reliably possessed by an invidious demon. Just ask Set.

<kidding>

<....sorta>

I do think it would be Utopia around here, if we could share information and opinions without the polarization. But, when one starts--everybody circles their wagons. We really all lose that way.

Nice thread, think.

See a great example on the thread cyclops started....Rough Going for the Republicans.

I couldn't leave that there without what I consider a dose of reality.

<golf commentator voice over>

Let's see what happens....

The single most obvious characteristic of the party attachments is when a poster states in one form or another that they don't folow party lines and are only interested in the actual facts. This is a dead givaway that they are NOT interested in just the facts but are devout party line followers.

Bashing Lash is no fun, she just laughs and joins the party.

That made me laugh.

We argue for or against a political party (or it's platform) because we agree with one more than the other. As a liberal (I suppose that's as apt a label as any), I frequently find myself betrayed by the Dems, but I still find them vastly preferable to the Reps. It's inaccurate and more than a little insulting that so many here are extremely quick to accuse someone of simply "toeing the party line." People are going to argue for or against ideas based on whether or not they agree with them; if I argue in favor of something that the Democratic party also favors, it's because I've decided, based on my knowledge and values, that it's better than the alternative, not because I'm loyal to the Democrats. Unless presented with irrefutable evidence to the contrary, I'll continue to operate under the assumption that my conservative compatriots argue for or against things for the same reason.

Besides, debating is fun, and if the topic is hot--all the better. :wink:

Dys - That is interesting. If I make that statement I tend to mean it - but I can see the trend you are speaking of.

TF

You may very well mean it and I applaud you for that, on the other hand when I see a poster start off with "I'm not a partly line thinker" I am pretty sure (based on experience) they are exactly what they say they are not. When presented with facts which might not agree with their stated position they will immediately decry said facts as being "biased" this phenomona ocurs on both sides of the political spectrum pretty much equally as I see it. The more forcefully they proclain non-partisanship you can rest assured the more partisan they are.

BBB
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