Has the GOP committed suicide?

[bajabuc]

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Republican president in a letter to his brother.

[Rightwinger]

Hardly. There aren't enough of them that will proclaim any of that needed trimming to get close to the gallows.

[peejman]

The situation was quite different for President Eisenhower. Times were good, the economy was booming after the war. Things like OSHA didn't exist. Not saying abolishing all those things is necessarily good idea, but Eisenhower's context was very different from today.

[1gewehr]

Catch-22. The country cannot afford to pay for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all of the other corporate and social welfare programs we now have. But, so may people get money from those sources that the voters will never allow them to be eliminated.

Somehow, there are a LOT of people in this country that believe that they have a right to other people's money. And make no mistake, the money that was taken from us in the name of social Security, Medicare, etc was not paid to the Feds for OUR care. It was a tax. Congress spent it. It's gone.

[Caster]

I wish someone would!

Doing away with ALL social programs and going to a flat rate tax for everyone would eliminate our debt problems in short order. Instead, they'd rather we [working class] work our butts off so that they [illegals, white trash and DON't Say that word!!!] can sit on their butt and get paid for NOT working. Cut off the $$ for the non working bums and let them die. If ever I cannot support myself that is just what I intend to do. GOD, I hate social security! Enjoy it old guys, I'm paying in so ya'll can draw out more than you ever paid in. Never see I dime of it. *Extends middle finger in a very unchristianlike gesture.*

[greenego]

I am afraid there is no way to end these programs. We can only hope we get them under control and stop expending them. We all know they are going to break us.

[Guest uofmeet]

I don't think nothing dramatic will every happen. The only thing politicians care about(weather it is a dem or repud) is getting re-elected and staying in power. That is all they will ever care about. Me, on the other hand, I would commit political suicide if I could get something drastic past that would turn us in the right direction. The problem is, most won't. They just want to get re-elected.

[Caster]

Green, you're probably right. But you know what. Social programs are not the problem. They are a symptom of the problem. The problem is the lack of unity and the outright apathetic laziness of the working american. All of ya'll and every bit as much ME. This crap only happens because people let it happen. There was a time when the words justice, liberty and the threat of revolution [violent if need be] went hand in hand and the idea of iron fist tactics wasn't evil.

*Gasp* Caster! You can't speak words of civil war here, Mods! Ban this guy before he brings down the wrath of our tyrannical socialist/communist hybrid ruling authority!!!!:panic:

FDR started a lot of this, they should rolled his crippled useless butt down a hill into oncoming traffic. BUT it wasn't his fault either, people wanted him. People voted him in.

Oh God I can't believe I would ever publicly quote Al Sharpton, but I saw him on tv after Obama was elected and someone screamed socialist, he replied something to the effect of ' America wants socialism, they voted for it.' Well, for once he was right.

We should all remember this: If you love your freedom thank a veteran. If you hate what the government has become, thank the voter next to you and for younger people, thank all the voters older than you too.

America is blaming the STD but not taking responsibility for sleeping with a whore.

[Caster]

I don't think nothing dramatic will every happen. The only thing politicians care about(weather it is a dem or repud) is getting re-elected and staying in power. That is all they will ever care about.

You're right there. All those who gain power are afraid to lose it. All of them. AND they will do ANYTHING to keep from losing it.

[bajabuc]

M<y bucks kept your Dad/Mom outta the poor house...now you can do me! There's gotta be a finger key here sommers

[Caster]

My bucks kept your Dad/Mom outta the poor house...now you can do me! There's gotta be a finger key here sommers

No they didn't. My folks aren't up for Socialism security yet. Growing up my parents both worked, together making around 75K. 80-90 hr weeks, work on holidays many a day. Of course my old man turned dirty hippy several years ago, so I don't what he is doing now [don't care]. Point is, I didn't sign up for this and forcing me to play along with this take from one to give to another is nothing more than theft and I'd like to see thieves swinging from a sturdy oak tree.

SS would be okay [not good, but ok] if they came to you and said, if you wanna play, we'll pay, but if you don't want to participate fine, don't ever ask us for anything. Personally I'd rather live in a box and poach game from the community park than be dependent on the SS system. I see people all the time, it's ALL THEY CAN DO to make it to the first week of the month, then they fill up with gas, buy a couple cartons of smokes and pay as many bills as they can. THEN they sit and wait for the next check to roll in. No thanks, Id rather play chicken with a locomotive.

Proponents of SS can slap heels and dress on the system and call it beautiful all they want, it's theft. It takes from me and I do not freely give it. THEFT. I don't want to play and I swear if I can ever convince my employer to put me on contract labor, I'll never pay it again. Taxes I'll pay, that makes sense. The rest can burn t the ground.

[1gewehr]

M<y bucks kept your Dad/Mom outta the poor house...now you can do me! There's gotta be a finger key here sommers

Nope. They planned ahead and saved for their own retirement. Just like my wife and I are doing.

What you want is for the government to go steal from somebody else to pay for YOUR lack of planning. (finger key back atya.)

I'm all in favor of helping out the neighbors and giving a hand when it's needed. But getting the government to force somebody to do it is just legalized theft.

[bajabuc]

I'm old...I remember the poor farm in my home town. People who weren't eligible for SS because they didn't pay in. Taxes went up...they lost their farms because money didn't go as far as it did when they started saving. The buck is worth less than 2 cents in 1900 dollars.

[Caster]

The buck is worth less than 2 cents in 1900 dollars.

That much? Wow.

[gregintenn]

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Republican president in a letter to his brother.

Count me among the negligible and stupid. Socialism hasn't worked anywhere long term, and it is about to break the U.S. Don't count on the Republican party to do anything more than pay lip service to it, however.

[bajabuc]

If we don't learn from history (not politicaly correct history) we're doomed to make the same mistakes. If you're a PC history buff...I have this turd that needs to be picked up by the clean end.

[gregintenn]

M<y bucks kept your Dad/Mom outta the poor house...now you can do me! There's gotta be a finger key here sommers

So by your way of thinking, you can justify robbing my children because you were once robbed? Wow!

[Caster]

Robin Hood was a democrat!

[bajabuc]

I don't have to justify it, it's the law. There's a bunch of stupid laws...like Pot laws. But it is the law.

[gregintenn]

I don't have to justify it, it's the law. There's a bunch of stupid laws...like Pot laws. But it is the law.

The goal is to change the stupid laws. It sounded to me like you were defending it.

[BigK]

I'm for ending all forms of social welfare.

Let private charities handle it. That way voluntary donations can feed who the charity deems needy.

People will donate more, if the gov't isn't taking so much of their hard-earned income and somebody with a brain is saying "NO freebies" to the deadbeats.

[Caster]

BigK, that's right. I'd rather give two dollars as have one dollar taken from me. AND if it were to ever come to be, I will. Then I would atleast have some control over where my money is going. If a charity is supporting things you don't like, give to a different one. with more money peoples pockets, they'd spend more, and the economy would thrive.....once the parasites start thinning that is.

[bajabuc]

SS isn't a freebie...I paid...it was supposed to be set aside for MY future retirement. It's not my fault (well, maybe it is...I didn't protest the original law...but I wasn't born then...then again...I've been voting for the idiot sons of our captains of industry...who, by the way, believe that employees should die working, but not on the job.) government decided that some rich bast!!d needed it worse than me. You middle class people are seeing your middleness rapidly erroding away due to the GREED of the upper class, not the lazyness of the poor. This is America...we're not supposed to have class.

If you truly believe in America then you should understand that the Stock Market is a GAMBLE...like the Slots in Vegas. I don't get my money back if I lose it in the slots. Stock Market Gamblers shouldn't expect ot get a "bailout"

Edited June 2, 2011 by bajabuc

[Caster]

If you truly believe in America then you should understand that the Stock Market is a GAMBLE...like the Slots in Vegas. I don't get my money back if I lose it in the slots. Stock Market Gamblers shouldn't expect ot get a "bailout"

Well that's true but there's no law says I HAVE to go to Vegas and play. Why am I being forced to ante up for a gamble I don't want to take. That's my beef. I shouldn't have said do away with all social programs. I could care less if I wasn't being FORCED to participate.

[bajabuc]

People forget who Ike was:

thanks Wikipedia

A Republican, Eisenhower entered the 1952 presidential race to counter the non-interventionism of Sen. Robert A. Taft, and to crusade against "Communism, Korea and corruption". He won by a landslide, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson and ending two decades of the New Deal Coalition holding the White House. As President, Eisenhower concluded negotiations with China to end the Korean War. His New Look, a policy of nuclear deterrence, gave priority to inexpensive nuclear weapons while reducing the funding for the other military forces to keep pressure on the Soviet Union and reduce federal deficits at the same time. He began NASA to compete against the Soviet Union in the space race. His intervention during the Suez Crisis was later acknowledged by Eisenhower himself as his greatest foreign policy mistake. Near the end of his term, the Eisenhower Administration was embarrassed by the U-2 incident and was planning the Bay of Pigs invasion.

On the domestic front, he covertly helped remove Joseph McCarthy from power but otherwise left most political actions to his Vice President, Richard Nixon. He was a moderate conservative who continued the New Deal policies, and in fact enlarged the scope of Social Security, and signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Though passive on civil rights at first, he sent federal troops to enforce the Supreme Court's ruling to desegregate schools. He was the first term-limited president in accordance with the 22nd Amendment.

Eisenhower's two terms were mainly peaceful, and generally prosperous except for a sharp economic recession in 1958–59. Although public approval for his administration was comparatively low by the end of his term, his reputation improved over time and in recent surveys of historians, Eisenhower is often ranked as one of the top ten U.S. Presidents.