Three Reasons Why Republicans Are Wrong
If you think you may know why Republican reasoning is flawed, then pay attention because this should bring up some interesting new angles you probably never thought about. I’m not talking about policy differences, conservatism vs liberalism, or just plain illogical hatred. Here are some three solid reasons as to why their ideologies are wrong…
1. Reaganomics is too ideal to work
The whole concept of the trickle-down economy is brilliant. Put the money into the pockets of the corporations, and let their prosperity pull the rest of the population along. A corporation that does well expands further and hires more people, raises salaries, and, in general, improves the quality of life for everyone. People complain when stocks go down in Wall Street. Well, that’s because the corporations aren’t doing well during those times. Most everyone naturally wants these businesses to do well. Ideally, this is fantastic.
There’s a problem: it’s too slow. How long is it going to take before the poor finally get the benefits of this? And how can you insure that eventually everyone is benefited? Can the poor or the unemployed really wait a year or more before help arrives? Putting more money back into the pockets of corporations assumes they will take that money and actually hire more people or create more opportunities for the poor/middle class. This isn’t always the case, and, if it is, it does not happen overnight. I know when my father was unemployed, money was extremely tight. It took a year before my dad was able to actually find a job, and now my family is up to our necks in debt. Luckily we had enough of a reserve, but what about those who don’t? Not everyone is as fortunate, and some people need all the help they can get, and sooner rather than later.
2. America is NOT a Christian nation
America has a majority of its population as some sort of Christian (there’s way too many to keep track of these days). But it was not founded as a Christian nation. Thomas Jefferson was a deist, as were many other of the founding fathers. Jefferson was a strong proponent of the separation of church and state, and that’s why it is explicitly written in the Constitution. So, people should be able to worship whatever they want in America, correct?
How can people possibly argue against stem-cell research, or against gay marriage? With the separation of church and state it shouldn’t be possible. If I create an established religion where stem-cell research is part of our practice, then who can argue with that? What about a new religion that only marries gay couples? Just because your religion does not support those beliefs doesn’t mean you can tell others what they can and cannot do. It’s simply not your right. People need to keep their religion to themselves. I will say however that the marriage issue is an easy fix: stop legally calling it marriage and call it a civil union instead. Everyone, under law, should be, “civilly union-ed” and not “married”. Let churches make the marriages. What does this have to do with the Republican party? Traditionally these issues happen to coincide with the Republican party. This is not always the case, but for the most part the argument holds.
3. War is good for the economy, nation-building is not
No matter what anyone else says or how anyone else puts it, the Iraq War is over. It was over years ago. We are no longer fighting a war, we’re trying to keep the peace. What we’re doing in Iraq is nation-building. We’re trying to help Iraqi’s get up on their feet and take care of themselves. There is really no enemy in Iraq, just a bunch of insurgents trying to kick us out. At no point will any of our actions cause this “war” to end. What happens if we do capture Osama Bin Laden? Do you honestly believe terrorism in the Middle East will end once he’s captured? And if he dies… lord only knows what happens when the extremists consider him a martyr. There is no “win” condition. The only win we can accomplish is if Iraq builds itself as a stable country. And that’s not cheap. A real war bolsters the economy by kicking up production, but this occupation of Iraq is draining our resources and killing our men. To claim Iraq is working is mere speculation at best. Should we pull out? Yes. Are we going to feel terrible for the mess and future chaos that will ensue? Yes. Do the Iraqis want us out? Yes. Are we denying the troops victory? We had already won…
Let me know what you all think either by posting comments or emailing me at crowtche@juniorpolitics.com.
Update: If you’re looking for Three Reasons Why Democrats Are Wrong, well, there you go.
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Carnival of the Liberals LXXI - Talking Points Edition Said,
August 13, 2008 @ 9:04 am
[...] left, young man, and grow up with the country! Courtesy “JuniorPolitics,” a review of three things the Republicans get wrong: Reaganomics doesn’t work, America [...]
Oldbuddy Said,
October 21, 2008 @ 8:15 pm
Snow White was cross with the dwarfs one morning, but they left for the mine anyway. As noon approached she felt guilty and packed them a nice lunch to take down, but when she got close, she was stricken with a disastrous scene. The whole entrance to the mine was in rubble and gaseous smoke was pouring out, so she suspected the worst. Then she heard a tiny voice, “vote for obama, vote for obama” coming from the depths of the shaft. She dropped to her knees to thank the Lord, saying, “Oh Thank You God, at least Dopey is still alive”.
Alberto Said,
October 22, 2008 @ 11:58 am
I think I get it heh heh.
But uh, what does Obama have to do with anything?
Three Reasons Why Democrats Are Wrong | Youth Politics Said,
December 26, 2008 @ 10:55 pm
[...] in no way suggesting that I actually belong to a party by posting my previous entry, Three Reasons Why Republicans Are Wrong. Democrats have their flaws too, even though I do tend to lean [...]
David Said,
March 10, 2009 @ 12:08 am
I agree with you on all three points. a free market should have the same rules for everyone. We can’t tax a large portion of the population and give tax breaks to the few hoping they will flow it to the bottom. Iraq was a mistake from the start. We are fighting an Idea their, and you can’t beat an idea with a physical war. This war is good for the economy of anyone who has stock in Haliberton, KBR (same company), and any other company doing business there. For the rest of us, its a lose situation. All we did in iraq is put fuel on a fire.. I.E IRAN.
Alberto Said,
March 10, 2009 @ 6:16 am
Hi David welcome to the blog! I’m glad you see the logic in my arguments, there are those who don’t quite understand it at all.
Thanks much for commenting and letting your opinion be heard!
josh Said,
April 22, 2009 @ 9:28 pm
the republican era is finally over, their hypocrasy and lies fall on deaf ears. i am quite sure they will continue to whisper sweet words that the ears of the ignorant will hear, their party is run by people who manipulate simpletons and the overzealous while lining the pockets of VERY wealthy hypocrites with insane amounts of money–the war in iraq is a lie! a war against an idea can never be actually “won” in the literal sense. this has dragged on for the past decade! while the right wing slander machine prattles on about fascism and socialism, several states have legalized gay marriage. i am glad we have finally gotten some honest qualified people running this country for a change-let the cowboys stay in Texas where they belong and NOT in Washington
Alberto Said,
April 26, 2009 @ 3:37 am
Thanks much for commenting and welcome to my blog! I sure hope the people we have in office now are truly as honest as they appear to be.
Joey Said,
May 18, 2009 @ 8:58 am
First I would like to say that I am a “Republican”, not a typical one though, I basically lean to the right a little more than i do the left so I may agree with you on many subjects but also disagree. I think that you pesented a very well argument. However, Reaganomics are not too ideal to work. The trickle down process wouldnt take that long, as soon as they get that money, they will spend, the question is will they create new positions. They will if we make them. And no the poor and unemployed can’t wait any longer, they never can, however dont think that taxing everyone to death is “doing something” about it. All that does is make everyone stuggle with their finances and create more poor and unemployed. It doesnt make sense to pay money to get money. To all the companies that were irresponsible with their money and need a bail-out, especially in the case of AIG, let them learn their lesson. AIG needs a second bail-out, the government in this case should be able to legally limit their spending and make them use the money for raising salaries, creating new positions, etc. Not on various, frivilous expenditures like 2 week vacations and free spa days for employees. The fact of the matter is if a big corporation like AIG fell that would substantially lower our economy and we definitely dont need or want that.
I tottaly agree with you on number 2. There is no reason for those right-wing christian fundamentalists to decide what is right and wrong. thats basically trying to force us to believe in their rieligion and that is a violation of the constituition. I also agree with you on the solution, I think that gays would be happy as long as they have some kind of union equivalent to marriage.
Number 3 is iffy to me. Yes we should be helping Iraq because we have investments in their oil but that is also a reason I believe not to help them so much because it is a greedy cause.There are plenty of starving human beings in africa and south america, that need our help. Those are the nations we should be helping and we CAN make the government help if there was enough drive in americans today. Unfortunately, most Americans are just simply lazy and do not care about politics which I think is a sort of disgrace to human-kind alike. Anyways, back on track, if we help those certain nations, they will become our allies and become eternally greatful and eventually develop some kind of product that we can pay them for, which gives them money to import other products and contribute to the global economy. In the case of a war with say the newly established soviet union in russia all of those allies would quickly add up and we should and would defeat them. Not that I want that, thats the last thing I want. Maybe its not the kind of boost we need right now but in the long run I think it will work.
Clay Said,
June 3, 2009 @ 11:17 pm
wow dude. you are so full of crap. we ARE a christian nation. where do you think most of our basic rights came from. and lets look at our currency and our pledge. in GOD we trust and one nation under GOD. dont be so dumb. and im a repub, and your just retarded
Alberto Said,
August 19, 2009 @ 8:47 am
No, our basic rights do NOT come from any religion whatsoever. God exists in Judaism as well as Islam, so don’t go saying that everything is Christian, because it certainly is not.
Alberto Said,
August 19, 2009 @ 8:56 am
Yes, very good points and certainly one of the more intelligent arguments. I wish there were a way to try Reaganomics as compared to other models in a controlled setting to see which one actually works, but there’s absolutely no way to do so because it depends on people. In any case, you have very valid points and thank you for sharing.
Scott Said,
November 14, 2009 @ 11:37 am
Poster Joey is full of poo on the Reaganomics issue. The entire reason we are in the mess we are in presently is because of Reaganomics. When you let the greedy people take over they are going to do whatever it takes to fill their pockets irrespective of whether they are creating jobs or not. Capitalists in this country are focused on ridiculously large short term profits to the detriment of the long term health of the nation as a whole. You are right to view Reaganomics are looking good in an idealistic way, just as communism looks good on paper but in practice it doesn’t work. What really happens under Reaganomics is that you get more and more of the wealth concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. History shows that the Republicans will typically make a mess of the country and then it takes a great Democrat–like FDR during the Great Depression–to pull the country together and bail us out. When this happens, you have all of the Republicans whining about how that person is a communist, a nazi or a fascist because they are all just bitter at having been wrong and in complete denial over the mess they’ve created.
Scott Said,
November 14, 2009 @ 11:48 am
Clay is also full of poo: Just because our money says “one nation under God” doesn’t necessarily mean a Christian God. A lot of the Founding Fathers were also Masons. You should look up what Masons believe and it’s not that Christianity has any sort of primacy. The country was founded on religious freedom, NOT on the primacy of the Christian religion.
matt Said,
December 5, 2009 @ 6:14 pm
Spot on Scott, Reaganomics is a joke. Trickle down economics doesn’t work; not because it takes too long or is too ideal, but because flys in the face of conventional economic wisdom. Look at the amazing prosperity America enjoyed after WWII; it was because of the increases in minimum wage during the 40′s. American workers were able to afford the goods and services they were working to create. Look at the unprecedented economic growth in the late 90′s due to the internet boom hiring people straight out of college and giving them a paycheck; basically giving money to those who previously didn’t have much. Demand side economic stimulation simple as that. Putting money into the hands of the many not the few, creating a larger middle class not stretching the gap between rich and poor. Look at the Bush tax cuts for a counter example; 2 years later we are in a recession. This would have happened in the 80′s with Reagan’s tax cut of 1983 but growth in asian markets offset it for about 4 years and… boom come 1989 another recession.
Phill Said,
January 6, 2010 @ 8:22 pm
@ Scott and Matt
All democrats agree on one thing. Big business owners are greedy. This assumption is far from correct. Yes, some business owners are greed, but not the majority. And seriously? The trickle down doesn’t work fast enough? What a joke. “Lets get the poor their UNDESERVED money faster so they can go blow it on their addictions.”
Scott Said,
January 10, 2010 @ 2:44 pm
Oh, I see, so all us poor folks are addicts…hmmmmmm We are talking about the middle class not necessarily the poor. All of the old Republican rhetoric about poor welfare cheats is a load of crap because there is no such thing as welfare, Clinton (Republican light) got rid of welfare. Also, not all Democrats agree that big businesses are greedy, since many of them are owned part and parcel by the wealthy (as are the Republicans). Now we just have welfare for the rich in for form of bailouts (in the Reagan era for the S&Ls etc etc ad nauseum). We are not talking about the “majority” of business owners, since that majority is decidedly middle class and have no political influence other than kissing the asses of the Republicans. This country will continue to go down the toilet until the middle and lower class realizes their interests are not aligned with the super rich who control well more than their share of the wealth and resources and who get all of the benefits of living in this society without giving anything back. We need a progressive tax structure. People who support the Republicans should just stop pretending they want anything to do with making society as a whole (or the world for that matter) and just come out and admit that their ideology is “fuck you, I’ve got mine, I don’t give a shit about anyone but myself”.
Brad Said,
February 1, 2010 @ 9:52 pm
I Agree completely with you. Main problem with republicans are that they don’t want to help. When they see a homeless bum in there head they think “I see your struggling to get by well I do have a very large sum of money i could help you rent an apartment and get you a starting job to get back on your feet but why the fuck should i give my money to you. You aren’t smart enough to keep a job you can’t maintain a home and you are probably very bad with money.” Now you can argue all you want with that’s wrong Republicans aren’t like that, but just because you call snow vanilla cake frosty doesn’t make it true. My point is no mater how much you argue with me or anyone in the country you will always come back to this and know that it is true.
Jake Said,
February 1, 2010 @ 10:11 pm
Don’t forget Bill Clinton had alot to do with this time gap i know but before he left office he passed a law which gave imports a tax break but taxed exports heavily. So it wasn’t all George Bushes fault but he majorly Fucked the pooch on what he did with our left over money. Saddam Hussein’s and Osama Bin Laden’s goal were to bring America’s trade and economy down and to be honest they have succeed in doing that for fucks sake our unemployment rate is lower that it’s been for like 50 years. It’s just You need to Bring the rich down a little and the poor up a bit you can’t have to extremes of Poor and Rich you need to lessen the gap between them I’m not saying bring rich down to middle class and poor to middle class but we need some stability in this country where almost everyone is employed and people can spend money. The Republicans need to understand that they don’t move the world they need to understand that there’s people who have families and are in thousands of dollars in debt and they need help. Now I don’t hate republicans but I just want them to understand that they can make money and help the less fortunate. Like Brad said even if the money trickles down only like 10% will make it to the bottom 10% of 100billion spread over what Millions of people wont be enough for Health care, Debt, or food. I just want the country to be equal not two extremes like we have now.
matt Said,
February 4, 2010 @ 1:10 am
Phil
I would not call any one person greedy. However, big business is designed to make as much money as a business can, we can agree on this. Yes? So by definition big business is greedy. If you disagree with this point then please present some facts instead of opinions. The problem with Reaganomics is it allows the rich (big business) to get richer through deregulation, which was a hallmark of the Reagan administration. Look at skyrocketing CEO pay for any truth to this statement. When one person makes 20 million, this is bad for the economy which simply cannot thrive through a handful of uber rich to over consume to keep it afloat. A healthy economy needs a vibrant and economically stable middle class, which is exactly what the republicans fight against by preaching trickle down economics through serving up tax breaks for the richest americans and abolishing regulations which attempt to styme big business from abusing their sizable purses.
kim Said,
February 18, 2010 @ 1:48 am
In response to what Clay said , he shouldn’ be calling himself a Christian in one breath and calling someone dumb in the next . If you say , thou fool , in christianity you are in danger of hellfire . read it in the bible you’re preaching to everyone about . what a hypocrite .
Scott Curry Said,
February 27, 2010 @ 1:43 pm
Trickle down economics are a lie. The idea that businesses and multinational corporations can be self regulating and ultimately the will of the people is done through “the market” is also a lie. Competition is a good thing, but competition can take many forms, competition simply to create more millionaires while simultaneously (and NECESSARILY) creating a larger underclass is not good for society and not good for the world as a whole. Republicans want to live in a time of log cabins where everyone owned their 5 acres of land and where everyone worked for themselves. However, first of all, this never existed, society has always already been based on exploitation and inequality and injustice. You’re either on the side of what is just and moral or you are on the side that justifies all of in the name of a necessary evil called “The Market”. People are essentially good, but power corrupts, if it’s the government or if it’s corporate power…the need for a competitive advantage or the need to win the next election blinds people as to what is right and good for society as a whole. We don’t live in a vacuum, we don’t live our isolated on our own 5 acres, our lives are interdependent and what affect one of us affects all of us. We have had a government that puts global military superiority over taking care of its own infrastructure and its own citizens, yet very few question the very largest part of our budget. How we have treated others over the past 50+ years is coming back to bite us in the ass. As Einstein once said: “The ghostlike character of this development lies in its apparently compulsory trend. Every step appears as the unavoidable consequence of the preceding one. In the end, there beckons more and more clearly general annihilation.”
Joe Said,
March 26, 2010 @ 10:28 pm
I think that big companies like insurance is only supported by some republicans (and maybe democrats) because they are in the back pockets and get money from it and if the companies go out of business like big insurance is kind of with the health care bill then they lose there money income and since some people are very greedy that is the last thing they want (greed doesn’t make sense to me after a certain point theres nothing worth buying anymore) I don’t know completely but thats what I think
Joe Said,
March 26, 2010 @ 10:28 pm
O And I know my comment was kind of random and off topic I just wanted to say it
Kevin Said,
June 9, 2010 @ 1:57 pm
Nice points, and I echo the sentiment above that Reagonomics doesn’t work not only because of the reasons you discussed, but because unchecked capitalism perpetuates an escalation of greed and most people are only out for themselves – Reagonomics is the most likely direct cause of the economic crisis we are in now. The average CEO cannot be trusted to properly redistribute some of their own ridiculous salaries to their buisness and its employees, which is goofy because it’s common sense they are harming the nation’s health in failing to do so.
Clay, you should check your facts before you post the next inflammatory, gramatically poor pro-jaysus response. There was always a very clear separation of church and state in the US government. Most references to God you see in things like the pledge and currency were added during the 19th and 20th centuries by ignorant fundamentalists who grew tired of the secular bent the US government had always had. John Adams, the 2nd US president, stated himself that the US government was not founded on Christianity, but on general humanitarian goodness.
Lil Said,
June 25, 2010 @ 5:13 pm
I find some of these comments appalling. First of all, this is NOT a Christian nation…sorry. I am a Jew and an American, and take pride in both (although if this crap continues I’m not sure how long I’ll have pride and faith in the latter). Secondly, why is everything about money? Maybe it is childish to ask this, but our first focus should be helping everybody in this country get up to a certain monitory level before feeding more money to the already-rich. What I always say is that if you are buying your third Mercedes and someone cannot afford their third meal, there is something wrong. Not just with you politically, but morally. Because politics is rooted in morals, and what are today’s Republican’s but greedy, selfish bastards with low morals? This is what needs to be fixed: the morals of this country. We need to learn that everything isn’t about money and sometimes you need to sacrifice for others. Thats why the ‘we earned it, so we should be able to keep it’ excuse doesn’t work. It may ease your conscience, but it won’t ease the pain of someone who needs that money more than you do. The only reason I have hope for the future is that this rant was coming from ideas I have talked about with my friends, and ideas that we all agree on. So it gives me hope to think that maybe 14-year olds somewhere else also talk about the ill fate of our country, and how to fix it.
qier Said,
June 28, 2010 @ 11:04 am
Clay, the one nation under God thing on your coins only appeared during the middle of the Communist scare sometime around 1956 and constitutionally America is not, basically because the Founding Fathers recognised that a potentially theocratic nation had many inherent dangers, like entrenched systemic extremism on social, moral and civil issues.
Alex K Said,
August 3, 2010 @ 2:08 am
Good post. And some of the comments were a good read as well.
Reverend Spotter Said,
August 11, 2010 @ 6:53 pm
1. Statistics point to the exact opposite of your contention that Reaganomics is too ideal. It brought forth the longest period of peace time economic growth in our nations history. This in sharp contrast to the Carter years where a tax the rich policy caused us serious economic problems. Some may claim to look at the Clinton years, but Clinton went along with a republican congressional tax cut strategy that made him look good.
2.You might have a fair argument if we are talking about whether we are currently a Christian nation. Those of you on the left always point out Jefferson, but there were far many others that can be quoted showing that this nation was founded on the principles of the bible and it’s God. One can go back even further to the Mayflower compact where they dedicated this land and the future establishment of it to God. We were in fact founded as a Christian nation, although one may question whether we are one now.
3. I am not sure what you are talking about with this point. War is not a Republican idea and a rehash of Iraq is irrelevant at this point.