# I Hate Being a Democrat **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 18, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968 "2014-11-18T16:48:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/61 "2014-11-21T03:27:51Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > Single payer is the way to go. Why can’t we do that? Why do you want to give credit to the ACA for things it didn’t do? ACA is not single payer, and I get tired of Democrats trying to buttress the ACA with the tired comparison. Only old people get single payer. The rest of us are stuck with the cold reality of the ACA and employer-provided health care. Those are our choices, so please stop trying to use single payer plans as some sort of salve for Obamacare. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/62 "2014-11-21T05:34:40Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Personally, while I agree that the democratic candidates should have demonstrated a titch more backbone, the killer for me, was the absolutely appalling turnout among young voters. Apparently 18-30 year olds are perfectly willing to sit on the couch and cheer when Jon Stewart tears into the latest republican idiocy but when it comes time for them to actually, you know, vote, suddenly they’re struck with ennui that the French can only dream of. There’s a sense of cynicism and fatality along with a tendency to check out the moment things get hard that I just don’t get. Has it occurred to you that taking the youth vote for granted might be why they don’t particularly want you in power? Youth employment is still the lowest its been in fifty years, they are deliberately being ripped off to subsidise health insurance for people who are earning more than they are, and Obama’s still a fucking embarrassment in matters of basic ethics like “Don’t actively protect CIA war criminals and jail the guy who went public about them repeatedly drowning prisoners.” If you want people to actually _want_ your candidates in power, they should aim higher than being slightly less shit than the Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![JesterX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JesterX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JesterX)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/63 "2014-11-21T05:49:42Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Has it occurred to you that taking the youth vote for granted might be why they don’t particularly want you in power? Youth employment is still the lowest its been in fifty years, they are deliberately being ripped off to subsidise health insurance for people who are earning more than they are, and Obama’s still a fucking embarrassment in matters of basic ethics like “Don’t actively protect CIA war criminals and jail the guy who went public about them repeatedly drowning prisoners.” > > If you want people to actually _want_ your candidates in power, they should aim higher than being slightly less shit than the Republicans. Uhm, has it occurred to YOU that the youth not voting probably more indicates they don’t care who’s in power rather than indicates they don’t want democrats? I’m always amazed at the absurd proportions conservatives contort facts to fit their questionable view of reality. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/64 "2014-11-21T06:32:29Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > Uhm, has it occurred to YOU that the youth not voting probably more indicates they don’t care who’s in power rather than indicates they don’t want democrats? _Why_ do they not care who’s in power, in your opinion? Do you, as **Inner Stickler** does, believe that it is some “appalling” failing on the part of young people that they failed to turn out in force to support one candidate or another? Or do you believe that it is the fault of the Democrats and the Republicans for both failing to give young people a _reason_ to want them in power? ---
**Author:** ![JesterX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JesterX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JesterX)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/65 "2014-11-21T07:18:58Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > _Why_ do they not care who’s in power, in your opinion? Do you, as **Inner Stickler** does, believe that it is some “appalling” failing on the part of young people that they failed to turn out in force to support one candidate or another? Or do you believe that it is the fault of the Democrats and the Republicans for both failing to give young people a _reason_ to want them in power? Either way, you can’t conclude that their not voting means they specifically don’t want either side or the other. If you don’t want one side, you vote for the other. When you don’t vote at all it means you just don’t care. I always tend to fault the voter for not voting. You’re not always going to get the choices you want. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t choose anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Stately\_Greek\_Automaton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Stately\_Greek\_Automaton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stately_Greek_Automaton)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/66 "2014-11-21T07:59:25Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > What i find most objectionable is the fact that if one chooses to live without insurance as I have for 20 years and more one has to pay a fine for it. Out of curiousity, what would happen if you were to have major medical issues costing tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars or more? Would you be able to pay it? Maybe you could, but I imagine many would pay some small portion and hope that the hospital forgave it or just ignored the debt. Now the hospital isn’t just going to eat those costs, they’ll account for them in what they charge everyone else, which will in turn affect prices for those who are insured in their premiums. If you’re costing me more money, I’d hope you’d be getting fined. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/67 "2014-11-21T15:56:47Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Why do you want to give credit to the ACA for things it didn’t do? ACA is not single payer, and I get tired of Democrats trying to buttress the ACA with the tired comparison. Only old people get single payer. The rest of us are stuck with the cold reality of the ACA and employer-provided health care. Those are our choices, so please stop trying to use single payer plans as some sort of salve for Obamacare. So you would be in favour of a comprehensive, no-one left behind, single payer socialized healthcare program a la Canada, for example? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/68 "2014-11-21T20:41:35Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Isn’t this the same sentiment pretty much all the democratic-affiliated posters on this board have expressed? Not that I’m disagreeing, I’m just not sure what this thread is bringing to the table that the last 40 post-mortems haven’t. > > Personally, while I agree that the democratic candidates should have demonstrated a titch more backbone, the killer for me, was the absolutely appalling turnout among young voters. Apparently 18-30 year olds are perfectly willing to sit on the couch and cheer when Jon Stewart tears into the latest republican idiocy but when it comes time for them to actually, you know, vote, suddenly they’re struck with ennui that the French can only dream of. There’s a sense of cynicism and fatality along with a tendency to check out the moment things get hard that I just don’t get. The young are progressives, the Democratic Congressional leadership is mostly centrist, which is to say, Republican lite. The Washington Democrats gave the young no REASON to go the ballot box – so they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/69 "2014-11-23T04:21:09Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > Either way, you can’t conclude that their not voting means they specifically don’t want either side or the other. If you don’t want one side, you vote for the other. When you don’t vote at all it means you just don’t care. > > I always tend to fault the voter for not voting. You’re not always going to get the choices you want. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t choose anyway. What the hell? How can you say I have to vote for “the” other when you also say I’m not going to get what I want? Again, it seems Democrats have this insurmountable obstacle to understanding the fact that young people don’t give a shit if Democrats or Republicans are in power. They’re equally screwed either way. Somehow this gets continually bent into “Deep down, they really want Democrats.” No. No we don’t. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > So you would be in favour of a comprehensive, no-one left behind, single payer socialized healthcare program a la Canada, for example? Me, personally? Or me-the-generic-young-American? Probably yes to both. Personally, I’d like it limited to the things that could happen to anyone, like broken limbs or leukemia. Type II diabetes, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/70 "2014-11-23T14:06:46Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Me, personally? Or me-the-generic-young-American? Probably yes to both. Personally, I’d like it limited to the things that could happen to anyone, like broken limbs or leukemia. Type II diabetes, not so much. Thanks for responding and I’m inclined to agree with you. The ACA is a cluster and it enriches healthcare insurance companies while only nominally bending them to it’s will by preventing them from discrimination based on “prior existing condition”. But it’s a better cluster than the alternative prior to the ACA. So I’ll have to choke it down like some bad tasting medicine because ultimately it’s good for me (and you, despite your protests to the contrary). I wish US politicians had a spine and quit felating big business interest to the exclusion of all others. I wish Democrats would stand up for liberal principals. I wish a third party would emerge and stand for more socially responsible principles. I wish a lot of things that just don’t seem very likely in this political climate. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/71 "2014-11-26T19:57:14Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > No. I don’t. > > What is indisputable is that a majority of people answer polls in a way to indicate displeasure. There are many reasons people have for answering polls the way they do. I sincerely doubt most people who once voted for Obama now have any serious beef with him. He’s done, or tried to do, what he said he would do. I’m a bit disappointed with him at times myself, but it doesn’t make me overall “unhappy” with him. Bush had a 25% approval rate at one point in 2008. Do you think people were unhappy with him, or was it just the way they answered the polls? ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968/72 "2014-11-27T09:57:34Z")
Interesting how conservatives tell the poor to start a business or go back to school to gain skills as if it’s so easy to pull yourself up by your bootstraps just with effort-yet in this very thread we are told that if there are environmental regulations, people wont have access to jobs, or can’t just magically go into business for themselves…hrmmm… if people can always just retrain and start businesses, might as well protect our environment while we are at it? Seems like conservatives only believe in the magical free market if it includes poisoning the earth for some strange reason. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-a-democrat/704968.md?page=3)