Three Pillars of Leftdom

[Martinus]

They are right. In fact I think that if Western conservative parties dropped (where applicable) their silly opposition to gay marriage and women's reproductive rights, I think majority of voters would support them, especially in the current geopolitical climate. Leave homos and sluts alone, and go after towelheads and Russkies instead, I say.

That might make them more palatable to homo 1%ers, but they'd probably lose votes doing that, as the Religious Right start losing their faith in Wall Street.

But where will the RR go? And I think they are losing more than just gay voters with their anti gay rhetoric.

[garbon]

Fuck the religious right.

[Eddie Teach]

But where will the RR go? And I think they are losing more than just gay voters with their anti gay rhetoric.

Stay at home or vote 3rd party. Why stay with a party that won't even pay lip service to the issues you care about?

I kinda agree with you on the gay marriage bit- it's a losing issue, just not a huge one. However, you lumped it in with abortion, which seems to help Republicans a lot. A large chunk of the population supports them because of that issue, while many/most pro-choice moderates recognize how little chance there is of overturning Roe at this point and feel free to vote Republican depending on the other issues.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

But where will the RR go? And I think they are losing more than just gay voters with their anti gay rhetoric.

Stay at home or vote 3rd party.

would be glorious: no more political clout for the RR.

[Eddie Teach]

But would not result in Republican majorities.

[Martinus]

I later thought the same thing, Peter (on the abortion vs gay marriage approach differences). Where do you think contraception and sex ed falls in this? The issue is there to stay or will republicans eventually give it up?

[Eddie Teach]

Which particular issues with contraception and sex ed? Allowing employers and insurance providers not to cover contraception is consistent with their general laissez-faire approach to health care. As for sex ed, that tends to be decided by local school boards, so it'll continue to produce occasional journalistic horror stories from both sides for a while. Not really an issue as far as Presidential and Congressional elections though.

[CountDeMoney]

So are they still clamoring for a new Prohibition?

No, because it was unworkable, not because it was wrong.

I still don't get how Prohibition can be described as "progressive" when nativism, rural ultra-conservative areas, sectarianism (vs Catholics and Jews), xenophobia, and even anti-German sentiment played such a part in enabling its enforcement. Not to mention fundie Protties behind it.

That's because you're a douchebag European eggplant that isn't expected to understand a society of which you have no grasp, mainly because of wild hand gestures won't let you.

As for domestic violence, it's has been known for quite a while that dry islamic societies have no domestic violence 

Stupid statement.

It's a factor in domestic violence, yes but educating, fighting against alcoholism was already known back then as Christian moderation or whatever else.

Another stupid statement.  And yes, it was the Temperance movements that were the primary driver for it.

As for unemployment and poverty, workers in breweries, wine yards and bars disagreed I believe.

Congratulations, you scored the stupid statement hat trick.  Now go get hit by a car.

[Norgy]

The Left (at least here in Sweden) is based on three pillars. They are the foundations on which the lofty edifice of Socialism/Communism/Feminism/Environmentalism has been built. They are as follows.

Ignorance Of The Issues. The Lefty is clueless. He doesn't understand, at all, how things work. Science, technology, business, history, economy etc etc are all mysteries to him.

Someone Else Should Pay. Regardless of what's being considered, with the Lefty it is ALWAYS about how someone else should pay. The idea that you pay for stuff you yourself want hasn't crossed his mind.

What I Don't Like Should Be Banned. When the Lefty doesn't like something his response is that it should be banned. He cannot grasp the concept of people doing thing differently, let alone see any value in it.

Apaling.

Same goes for the right, most of the time. Or anyone, really. People discuss, but have no clue. I have met far more clueless right-wingers than leftists. Then again, only right-wingers murder children in Norway.
Probably true. Although, once you get the Progress Party in government, pretty much everyone pays for their tax cuts for the rich.
The "I am offended, thus it should be banned" notion seems to be evenly distributed to me, at least.

So all in all, you are right and as most on the right, wrong.

[DGuller]

As for unemployment and poverty, workers in breweries, wine yards and bars disagreed I believe.

This stupid argument always annoyed me, much like it's contemporary argument in favor of legalized gambling.  A job is not a universal good.  If a job is created by promoting a socially damaging vice, then the sum total contribution of that job to the economy is negative.  If you let a gambling addict easily piss away money in a casino, then he might be helping his blackjack dealer keep a job, but he'll be taking the job away from somebody who used to provide services to him for the money that he's now pissing away in a casino.

[Ideologue]

Death camps help the local economy!

[grumbler]

Prohibition, in my mind, is like American gun control: a great idea in theory, a horror story in practice.  Ditto most abortion restraints.  Neither the Left nor the Right have a monopoly on imposing their moral values on the center, and both have appalling examples of what happens when their ideals get executed wholesale. 

The proper mix of opportunity and justice is hard to find, but it is worth pursuing.  It becomes hard when the Left and Right get so polarized that they'd rather see their own values compromised than the other side's advanced.

[Norgy]

Death camps help the local economy!

They're called life transformation centres now.

[grumbler]

Death camps help the local economy!

They're called life transformation centres now.

Well-played!

[Razgovory]

I'm skeptical of some of the facts concerning Prohibition.  Like that it created the mob.  I was under the impression that the mob existed before Prohibition and existed after it.