Proper Definition Leads to Proper Debate
By matersfish
@matersfish (6306)
United States
November 7, 2011 5:04pm CST
A Friday night headache put me on the sofa watching TV instead of working, the third day my head was killing me after a bout with some whiskey. So, with Comcast’s On Demand service not working (WTF!), I flipped around and caught some news and finally landed on Bill Maher.
Maher said something that I’ve been hearing for years and that I had heard from two people on MSNBC just an hour or two before flipping over to HBO. He said that Republicans constantly vote against their interests.
Okay. Even if you are not a Republican, maybe you can still see how insulting this is. Someone adamant they know your best interests but that you do not; wow, talk about condescending, elitist hogwash!
The implication from Maher and from these other pundits and politicians who make this claim is that you’re too stupid to be trusted to vote if you vote Republican. You have no clue what your interests are.
But they do.
Enough of that, though. This is nothing new. These smug schmoes have been dropping that line for decades.
My question—-my beef, I guess—-is simple: What do you think our interests are? (I’m not really a Republican, but like being called a racist if I’m anti-Obama, I’ll go ahead and wear the hat just to wear it.)
If you’re one of those people of the mind that anyone voting Republican votes against their best interests, please, by all means, define what that person’s interests are.
What do you think government should be doing for people that a stupid, know-nothing, foot-shooting Republican simply cannot see?
I realize Maher could never define this. Bigots seem to never have a legitimate reason for their bigotry. And whether it’s a crusade against worship, assuming all black people should think exactly the same, or painting any political ideology not his own as stupid, Maher has been barely hanging on to the wing tip for a decade.
I’d like to know from others, anyone who could explain. What are Republicans’ interests? What are my interests?
Universal healthcare? More government regulations? Government dictating fairness? A cap on earnings? More redistribution? More power over states? More funding for more positions in government? More money poured into a broken public school system? More debt? More measures to turn everyone into homeowners? More crony capitalism and weird venture socialism masked as economic-boosting stimulus? Increasingly lower standards for minorities in the workforce and in school? Further assistance for people who make poor choices?
Please, define what you think my interests are and tell me why I’m voting against them when I vote Republican over Democrat in 2012.
Just be clear and honest about what you know about what I want that I don’t know.
And then we can have a good discussion about how you can GFY. 
1 person likes this
2 responses
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
10 Nov 11
It is quite ridiculous. I mean, at least they could define what someone's interests are instead of just spouting out the nonsense. Not everyone's interests are the same. Some folks want to work and be left alone to live their lives. Big government is not in everyone's best interest, and I find it foolish that so many believe it is.
Thanks for the response.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
8 Nov 11
I don't appreciate anyone telling me how I should vote. I'm a registered R but only so I can vote in primaries. I'm neither, more of an Independent or Libertarian.
I notice that people like Maher who are always criticizing Rs seem to be filled with hatred and have superiority complexes. But how are they superior? They want to be totally dependent on a nanny government and that, to me, means they are incompetent and unable to run their own lives--or too lazy too. Nothing superior there, nothing dignified or even competent there. They despise Rs because they hate the idea of independence, of everyone taking care of themselves and neighbors helping neighbors instead of letting government do it.
Of course, I've heard the same said about Ds. That they keep voting for Ds even though promises are never kept.
It's a shame we even have to have parties. We should all be voting for the good of the country, not the good of the parties.
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
10 Nov 11
I have never met a progressive in my life who didn't look down on everyone else, even at other progressives. I think that I'm-the-center-of-the-universe stuff plays a big role in what makes people leave their parents' 500k homes to live in tents or insist that someone is not only stupid but evil for not wanting government to distribute money as it sees fit.
So there's definitely a sense of superiority with a schmuck like Maher.
To me, individuals who cling to those sorts of beliefs so tightly while rejecting all others aren't necessarily that confident in their beliefs. I think it just comes down to not wanting to be wrong; not wanting to take the hit and the imagined ridicule of having what you believe in unravel in front of you. And I think that's why we see so much vitriol and lying and spinning and attacking and ignoring anything that doesn't fit the narrative. Because as long as they insist they're right, that's one thing. But anything to say they're wrong, well, that's another thing entirely. And that's undoubtedly a big part of why none of the we-know-better-than-you crowd will actually tell people how or why they know better.
I definitely believe that these types of people want to be part of a revolution and key players in the implementation of a new system. But by that same token, they would never want to participate in it. They think they're somehow above the common person and would never have to stand in the bread line if they're the ones pointing out that people need bread.
The parties make me sick to my stomach, but one side definitely draws it out of me a lot more than the other.
Thanks for the response.
