A tiger can't change it's stripes

[trish]

..l I feel obligated to vote because of the econmomic down turn

Me too, the difference is that I'm well aware that trickle down theory is absolutely wrongheaded. Moreover implementing austerity at this time will make the economy worse...just as the housing market is showing sins of recovery too. Keynesian economics is the standard theory. It's well understood; it worked in the past, it will work now and real economists know why it works. I'm economically conservative; I'm sticking to the tried and true standard practice. That trickle down stuff is not conservative...it's new fangled, false, was tried twice and failed twice. It's a major reason behind how we got into the present fix.

[Prospero]

Erika.... I do find it remarkable that even though you know you are voting against your own interests you say it is impossible to change... why would that be? Why if you see the truth of a situation (as you suggest you do) do you not vote for what you see as in your interests rather than the way you always voted?

[buttslinger]

If you live in Rural America,
You can go outside and shoot your gun in the air all day for a year and never hit anything.
The only person who needs an abortion is the town slut.
You have no need to lock your doors because you know everybody in town.

NONE of these things has anything to do with the Republican Party.

There is a reason you won't see George W Bush at the Republican National Convention- His Policies destroyed the Economy of the entire Western World.

[buttslinger]

If Dwight David Eisenhower had been President from 2000-2008, there would have been no Delay, Abramoff, or Cheney. No Afghanjstan, Iraq, Bin Laden would have been deaded by 11-11. There would not have been a "heck of a job" done by Brownie.
Eisenhower left office SPECIFICALLY warning about Businessmen taking over the Government. And that's exactly what has happened. Maybe they'll be a coup. ha ha.

[Prospero]

Maybe they'll be a coup. ha ha.

Aren't the puppets of the Koch brothers trying to engineer that coup?

[broncofan]

Erika,
what is it you find attractive about Republicans' economic policy? I hear a lot of people say they're liberal socially and conservative fiscally, but it's not nearly as specific a description as they think. If fiscal conservatives seek a balanced budget there are two ways to accomplish that. The most popular among conservatives is by cutting social programs. This makes the old social liberal/ fiscal conservative dichotomy almost irreconcilable.

[Erika1487]

but isn't the whole philosophy behind modern conservatism that if we all seek to satisfy our own self interests everything will modulate toward one happy equilibrium? (Not that I'm buying it; I tend to think we have to have each other's backs_which is a different philosophy.)

Many of my friends that work within the party (now a days are pages and personal assitaints) are gay and in the closet. They feel the same way I do and sacrifice self intrest for the better good. I am not saying everyone can or should make such sacrifices, but there is a small stubbron group of us that are in conservative poltics that have.

[Erika1487]

Erika.... I do find it remarkable that even though you know you are voting against your own interests you say it is impossible to change... why would that be? Why if you see the truth of a situation (as you suggest you do) do you not vote for what you see as in your interests rather than the way you always voted?

Sacrifice over self....
I would rather try to keep our economic intrests afloat, than agrue over whats happing on the party deck as the whole ship goes down.

[Erika1487]

Erika,
what is it you find attractive about Republicans' economic policy? I hear a lot of people say they're liberal socially and conservative fiscally, but it's not nearly as specific a description as they think. If fiscal conservatives seek a balanced budget there are two ways to accomplish that. The most popular among conservatives is by cutting social programs. This makes the old social liberal/ fiscal conservative dichotomy almost irreconcilable.

People are in need of JOBS NOW! Most republicans I know are willing to do ANYTHING to make that happen, including bending epa and tax regulations to encourage businesses to spend and create jobs. Most democarts won't make that kind of judgement call. Unless its for a union shop.

[BluegrassCat]

... to encourage businesses to spend and create jobs.

Although I disagree that the EPA or the tax rate is in any significant way responsible for the unemployment crisis, we seem to agree on the premise that our current problem is one of demand which spending would alleviate, which btw, is the Krugman diagnosis. And to second Trish, this is the conservative point of view - a traditional textbook response to an economic downturn rather than a wild never-proven theory. You really have to have a deep disdain for language to call trickle-down theory conservative.