ironyisadeadscene wrote:
your going to see a much different, more moderate, GOP in 4 years. the social issues will be much less focused on, and theyll be more about fiscal conservationism. IMO.
same sex marriage, and abortion wont be pushed as much.
this should have been the case anyways. this is so many people want their state to secede. it's not fair for an entire country to be divided on issues that the government was never designed to regulate. all of these social issues that are a total waste of federal resources and an abuse of federal power should be designated to states in their entirety. marijuana, abortion, gay marriage, etc. everything. it does NOT belong at the federal level. it is dividing a country and creating hatred and mistrust and everything that spells anarchy between states and people based on goddamn lines on an electoral votes map.
it's not fair for anyone to have the middle 2/3s (land wise) of a country all believe one thing and the coasts believe the other. i understand that the popular vote and electoral are to ensure that it is a popular opinion. but with such polarized beliefs it is not healthy with this system.
few people would have issues with republicans if they were to abandon social issues. you would still have the original republican ideals that have since become libertarian - pertaining to defense and fiscal issues. you would still have democrats with their social programs.
the parties would still be different but they would NOT be as polarized. think of how many people (myself typically included) that are socially liberal but otherwise fairly conservative. i have to hate every candidate that ever has a chance to win the office.
i know people will be upset if states get to regulate social issues because then they still feel like someone else is in charge of their bodies, civil rights, whatever. here's the deal. you can choose what state to live in. i'm sick of hearing comparisons of gay marriage and right to choose to slavery. it's not the same, it will never be the same. when the north got rid of slavery....the slaves escaped or moved to the north. then when things cooled off, they went where they wanted to be. no, it's not fair to them. but it's not fair to the millions opposed in a region that people with completely different cultures want to change them. this is all a game of give and take...a marathon. all we see now is that everyone is sprinting to take. it's never going to work.
things won't change overnight. no one should be shoving their shit down the opposed throats. change takes time. if this power were granted to the state, i would imagine that a huge chunk of states would start allowing those things within their borders. then it's a bleeding effect.
I haven't studied europe, but i'm sure alex can comment since i know he's only reading political stuff anymore- but i highly, highly doubt that everyone in each respective country immediately all of these movements at once. it's also fair to point out that the size of our country and historic geographic distribution of wealth dictates that we'd have several very distinct cultures at once. those small european countries that everyone uses as a model are equivalent to getting mass, ny, nj, and ri on the same page. it's not that difficult.
Making a country work is not about polarity it's about working together. Not just the government. All special interest groups. Every. Single. One.
please, for the love of God, do not tell me I hate gays, that I don't get it because i'm an entitled heterosexual white man, or anything like that. it's bullshit.
Good post Pat. One thing I'd really like to point out in regards to social issues though is that "majority rule" was never intended to be the be-all, end-all of our political system. The Constitution was designed to have majority rule, but with minority rights protected. Laws can be declared unconstitutional. Thus the idea that we should "let the states decide" on issues (as much as I might like it in some cases, and conservatives might like it in others) doesn't really jive with the system we have. States would almost have to secede to get the scenario you're talking about.