so.... anyone voting for Mit Romney?

[DHB]

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-a ... eate-a-job

Government doesn't really create jobs-- at least not on the scale that is needed-- without going back to the WPA. No politician will admit it because A) everyone will be fooled into thinking they don't care about 'Murrica and B) it's a career death sentence to talk about expanding the government payroll at a time when "small government" is a fad.

[tbwilsonky]

it is all laughable. the world is NEVER, I repeat NEVER so extreme. but it makes for great sound bites. apparently none of you have any idea how three branches of govt work in tandem or the role of checks and balances. it will not matter much at all which party takes the white house, so get the sand out of your panties and take a deep breath.

of course. the circus owners remain the same no matter which clowns are on stage. for the most part, i think Romney is probably a pretty level-headed fellow. most people point to his wishy-washy stance on key issues as a problem, but I just see a standard political player riding particular sentiments as they suit him. in other words, Romney is no conservative zealot.

ryan, and other christian conservatives, actually scare me. am i about to close my satanic church to avoid retribution? of course not. but I do know fascism when i see it.

that fuckin' guy is a a fascist.

[pigsteak]

you do realize fascism rejects conservatism?

[Howie Feltersnatch]

Voting for Gary Johnson defiantly

[pigsteak]

yeah Obama would never lie about creating 4.5 million job since taking office. just a little homework would show this to be a bald face lie (or political spin if you must)...wake up kool aid drinkers. I am not anti-Obama, but for gawd's sake these blind ideologies are infuriating....

[tbwilsonky]

you do realize fascism rejects conservatism?

no need to be snarky, i guess. take my education in/on political philosophy and social theory for what it's worth (about $8.00 an hour), but i can assure you fascism does not necessarily reject conservatism. why? because fascism isn't a solid political ideology. it is - in the most simple terms - closure.

rather than viewing the social as an always-already splintering fluid multiplicity which needs space to proliferate, fascist thought would seek to channelize or (re)order the multiplicity towards specific ends (for our immediate ends, these could be liberal or conservative); it denies difference rather than accepts it. rigid, totalizing, closed. these are far more helpful markers to help one think through fascism than the historical (and ironically, a bit totalizing) blurb offered on wikipedia.

and just for the sake of being totally clear: conservatism is also a very complicated concept. it means different things in different times, different places, and in different contexts. it is a very fuzzy referent.

therefore, to say something like 'fascism rejects conservatism' shows a very superficial understanding of both the concepts in play and language more broadly.

[tpowell]

Discussing politics is a lot like discussing religion; Everyone has their opinion, and that's super cool. Other than that, intelligent and practical arguments are few and very, very far between.

[pigsteak]

thank you mr. wilson..more along the lines of what i expected from you.....so now the million dollar question...since you said you can "clearly" see Ryan is a fascist, can you educate the masses on a few of your insights on why he is such and not just a neo con? tia....

[clif]

it's the Debt freaks who are on the kool aid, blind loyalty to defense/war love, time you ate that crap

[tbwilsonky]

thank you mr. wilson..more along the lines of what i expected from you.....so now the million dollar question...since you said you can "clearly" see Ryan is a fascist, can you educate the masses on a few of your insights on why he is such and not just a neo con? tia....

to be honest, modern political ideologies are more akin to advertising strategies that manipulate an ever-shortening news cycle than they are any cogent set of ideas. but if I tried to tease out the thought in the GOP i would highlight two key movements:

Christo-Fascist (moral conservatism): the modern world is broken. economies are in shambles. mass murderers lurk in the suburbs. we are on the brink. why? the secular vision has failed to provide an adequate moral blueprint for society at large. add this generous equivocation with a healthy dose of American exceptionalism and you have the logical grounds for theocratic takeover of American institutions.

Fiscal Conservatives: most GOP faithful I talk to (or, rather, those who will talk to me) place themselves in this category. freedom loving, bootstrappers, these folks are willing to turn a blind eye to the incoherent moral babble of their party affiliates to quite literally save a buck. they often have some decent talking points though. government isn't very good with money (mostly because infrastructure isn't a business). giving YOUR money to someone else sucks (it does, but YOUR money is produced under conditions that exceed your practices). entitlement is out of control (it really is. there are some loathsome pieces of shit out there who are very skilled at raping the system).

the position of the fiscal people makes sense in some ways. sure, not giving a shit ("it's none of my business") about civil rights because you want to keep your money is fucking gross, but they have some serious concerns that beg serious consideration. the Christians, on the other hand, just plain scare me. i could give two shits if you think Frodo really dropped the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, but when you start making public policy based off of it... i get a bit worried. plus, Christianity is, by nature, fascistic. all practice (past, present, and future) is codified, judged, and organized under the rubric of an ancient multi-author text. all of it. the bible isn't being amended, you know? it's done. God spoketh and that is a wrap. finally, Christianity is Universalizing. if you aren't out there trying to save people from the pit, then you aren't doing your job. and this job doesn't end until everyone is under one big tent. now i realize not all Christians are "out to get me". but the ones who aren't... are - according to Christian mandates - simply doing it wrong.

but i digress. why is Paul Ryan a fascist? because he is a practicing Christian. why does he scare me more than most? because he is running for the VP. finally, the way the Christian movement (vis-a-via people like Paul Ryan) has wed itself with an anti-state, hyper-capitalist, Nationalist (let's not forget this) party is more than a bit unnerving given the deteriorating state of the global economy.

crisis is a breeding ground for radical change, and i don't trust a politicized Christian to make choices i'm comfortable with. i, for one, would MUCH rather have the standard laissez-faire capitalist douchebag.

t