You didn't really read my post. What I said was that during a critical ELECTION, I don't see the point in criticizing my guy.
Oh yes, I read it. First you said criticism during the election strengthened the Republicans. Then you said any criticism had no effect and was futile. Rather than try to untangle that contradiction, I responded to the more general statement.
Of course, like most people, I'll bitch to my friends about things I don't like. But I really don't think it does much. You can believe it does, if you want to- but for the most part it's the folks who have the money who get the action.
Why waste time making assumptions about what I believe? By your own logic, any display, either against or in support is equally futile. Or do 'hoorays' somehow resonate more loudly? If you're saying any opinions by the disenfranchised posters don't matter, I wouldn't disagree. Arguing on a chat room thread with a couple dozen regular posters probably won't amount to much if anything. For all my rants about Bush/Cheney, they rammed through a heinous agenda and still managed to term out. If I thought my posts on SI could drive an odious politician from office, I'd type all day. I post here b/c, there are some very informed people discussing politics free of the extreme (typically right wing) bias on SI. At its best, this thread takes a more circumspect approach.
And we don't live in a democracy. We live in an oligarchy- of the rich, for the rich, and by the rich. All the rest of us are just along for the ride.
You got and will get no argument from me. Next time you can be the choir and I'll be the preacher.
I'd just prefer the guide on my ride to be a democrat- because they are WAY less repellent to me than republicans, but all politicians are fairly annoying, being in the pockets of the lobbyists, and all.
Here is the nut of the issue, IMO. The Democratic party of today ain't, as they say, your mother's Democratic party and to support them w/o question is, in my opinion, foolish. After a decade with two long, grueling wars and myriad incursions weakening the civil liberty protections of typical citizens, we have an administration that is continuing or strengthening many of the worst practices of the prior administration e.g. NDAA and its suspension of due process, the granting of immunity to the telecom companies that complied in illegal eavesdropping, vastly expanded drone wars with zero public accountability, the imminent granting by the FAA to allow thousands of drones into US air space, twice the number of prosecutions of whistle blowers than have happened since the Act was adopted not to mention zero prosecutions of bank officials involved in the financial crisis, etc., etc.
These aren't hysterical complaints about Obama's illegitimate birth records or association with questionable persons when he was in college. They're policies enacted by his administration. A person can say, "Yes, those are troublesome, but Republicans would have done worse." Maybe, but in all seriousness, I'd like to know if there is anything the Democrats could do to make you withdraw your support for them?
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