# How Democrats Can Act Like Republicans (and vice-versa)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-democrats-can-act-like-republicans-and-vice-versa/854458>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [May 25, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-democrats-can-act-like-republicans-and-vice-versa/854458 "2020-05-25T18:27:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-democrats-can-act-like-republicans-and-vice-versa/854458/21 "2020-05-27T17:28:20Z")

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To a large extent, I think that it’s that each side assumes its president is doing it for the right motives. So if Obama pushes a $1 trillion spending bill, he must be doing it out of Blue motives. But if Trump does the exact same thing, he must be doing it for Red reasons. Etc.etc.

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**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-democrats-can-act-like-republicans-and-vice-versa/854458/22 "2020-05-27T18:01:07Z")

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> [@MortSahlFan](#):
>
> Obama supported TPP. So did Hillary. Then Bernie Sanders comes out against it, and then Trump comes out against it… Ralph Nader (remember him?) called it “NAFTA on Steroids”, and then suddenly Clinton said she was against it. C’mon… Just like with other trade deals - they’re going to help ownership, not the workers.

“Same - same.” Got it.

> [@Velocity](#):
>
> To a large extent, I think that it’s that each side assumes its president is doing it for the right motives. So if Obama pushes a $1 trillion spending bill, he must be doing it out of Blue motives. But if Trump does the exact same thing, he must be doing it for Red reasons. Etc.etc.

“Same - same.” Got it.

_ **It’s taking longer than we thought** _ indeed.

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**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-democrats-can-act-like-republicans-and-vice-versa/854458/23 "2020-05-27T19:05:37Z")

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> [@septimus](#):
>
> “Same - same.” Got it.  
> “Same - same.” Got it.
> 
> _ **It’s taking longer than we thought** _ indeed.

You proved my point.

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-democrats-can-act-like-republicans-and-vice-versa/854458/24 "2020-05-27T20:10:40Z")

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> [@Kearsen1](#):
>
> Get rid of the money that has completely wrapped and warped politics and all of those dreams can be achieved.

Getting big money out of politics is good, but if you replace it with small donors that could create its own issues.

Concepts like matching small donations, democracy vouchers, etc. combined with bans on spending large sums of money would in theory push some of the large spenders out of the ability to influence.

But it could also create incentives for politicians to do brazen things for publicity and be very ideological to shore up small donations. Nobody wants to spend their small donations on the local state senate race, but the federal politician who yells populist slogans will be drowned in small donations.

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