Wednesday, May 23, 2018

There's a Word for That

Hmm...an article at Vox from a "conservative who cares about climate change".  There's a word that describes that person: a Democrat. 

Democrats are the more liberal of the two parties, but there is a more relevant divide: Democrats are pro-fact and pro-reality.  Republicans are neither.  No matter what your opinion on the free market, abortion, even guns, so long as your opinion is based on reason, logic, facts, science and not bizarre fantasies about things that don't describe reality, there is one party that is a fit for you: the Democratic party.  You can look at pretty much any issue and find a wide range of nuanced opinions held by Democrats (lawmakers and voters alike) and a singularly crazy opinion held by Republicans.

Gun control: Democratic opinions range from "ban all guns" to "maybe we should have some very minor gun control laws, that won't do much, but may prevent at least a couple crazy people from getting weapons they could use to kill children".  Republican position: everyone should have a gun on them, probably prominently displayed, and possibly a high powered assault rifle, so they can be the hero in case a bad guy with a gun comes around!

Abortion: Democratic opinions range from "abortions for anyone, on demand, at anytime during pregnancy, and for any reason" to "abortion is wrong, but should remain legal, though making it more difficult is acceptable". Republican position: people who get abortions are murderers and people who kill abortion doctors [you know: actual murderers] are heroes, also women shouldn't be allowed to have sex whenever they want anyway, that should be for men to decide (their actual opinion range actually runs to far worse than that).

Global warming and what to do about it: Democratic opinions range from "ban drilling and fracking, and any new energy development that isn't at least carbon neutral" to "we can't stop this but should really try to slow it down and figure out how to deal with the coming crisis".  Republican position: global warming is a Chinese hoax.

Capitalism vs. Socialism: are you fucking kidding me?!?  Aside from Bernie Sanders (and maybe Elizabeth Warren, though I don't think I'd give you her) name one prominent Democrat that champions socialism over the free market.  Republican position: say "free markets" and "small business" a lot then give tax cuts to the richest people (individuals and corporations) in a fashion that distorts free markets and does nothing for small business. 

The fact is that the Democratic party has for a long time (and to the frustration of many liberals) welcomed all types of conservatives, and the Republican party for a long time and to an increasing degree has rejected all forms of reason/science/evidence/logic/facts, in favor of a tribal world view with the primary goal of winning elections so they can cut taxes of rich people. 

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