# ONE Thing Liberals and Conservatives Always Agree On **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 28, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431 "2017-04-28T12:26:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/1 "2017-04-28T12:26:27Z")
“Our problem is, we’re just too nice. We’re too moderate, reasonable and rational, so we let the other side (which has no principles whatsoever) steamroller us. Our side always loses and those guys always screw us over because we just aren’t mean enough. THEY play hardball, but we just roll over and play dead. We’ll never get anywhere until we’re as vicious and Machiavellian as they are.” YES, both sides believe this with all their hearts. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/2 "2017-04-28T13:26:06Z")
And so do Independents. Even more so. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/3 "2017-04-28T13:34:00Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > “Our problem is, we’re just too nice. We’re too moderate, reasonable and rational, so we let the other side (which has no principles whatsoever) steamroller us. Our side always loses and those guys always screw us over because we just aren’t mean enough. THEY play hardball, but we just roll over and play dead. We’ll never get anywhere until we’re as vicious and Machiavellian as they are.” > > YES, both sides believe this with all their hearts. I don’t agree with any of that stuff. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2017, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/4 "2017-04-28T14:38:03Z")
I think Democratic \*politicians \*are generally more willing to compromise than Republican politicians, but many Democratic \*voters \*- especially Millennials - are often every bit as unyielding in their stance as GOPers in, say, rural Alabama. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/5 "2017-04-28T14:40:36Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > “Our problem is, we’re just too nice. We’re too moderate, reasonable and rational, so we let the other side (which has no principles whatsoever) steamroller us. Our side always loses and those guys always screw us over because we just aren’t mean enough. THEY play hardball, but we just roll over and play dead. We’ll never get anywhere until we’re as vicious and Machiavellian as they are.” > > YES, both sides believe this with all their hearts. Closely related to this is - “Compromise with the opposing side is bad for America.” ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/6 "2017-04-28T15:34:09Z")
OP, that’s definitely the biggest shared rationalization. It’s funny how people all across the spectrum use so many similar talking points. Sometimes when you flip from a left wing to a right wing blog it’s written from the same script, just with different key words. Here’s some others: The media is biased against us. The other side used to be reasonable in the past, but now they’re crazy. The establishment is full of corrupt RINOs/DINOs. The other side only wins because of oligarch money (Soros/Kochs). The other side doesn’t really believe in (issue). They’re just using it as a distraction. History is on our side. Eventually the people will wake up, use some common sense, and rally to us. The other side is conspiring to grab dictatorial power. The other side keeps doing X. How can anyone vote for them? Is the other side stupid, or evil? Why not both? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/7 "2017-04-28T15:41:50Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > YES, both sides believe this with all their hearts. Or, the ones you hear about do, because they’re the ones who are shouting the loudest. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/8 "2017-04-28T17:41:01Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Closely related to this is - “Compromise with the opposing side is bad for America.” It was suggested in an editorial that compromise is considered to be bad because many of our Congressmen are lawyers, who are not concerned with right and wrong, but with winning their case. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/9 "2017-04-29T03:10:12Z")
I think astorian is right, and I think that usually those that think their party is too nice are usually wrong. Usually they are just less competent at being evil. The Republicans could stand to be a little nicer these days. It would actually do wonders for their image. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/10 "2017-04-29T03:28:27Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > YES, both sides believe this with all their hearts. Honestly, this observation is not reflective of the folks I know from both sides. Maybe I just hang around reasonable people. I mean, I’m a liberal, and I certainly don’t believe that. I might hear that sentiment on the far fringes of both sides, but not in the mainstream. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/11 "2017-04-29T13:49:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Honestly, this observation is not reflective of the folks I know from both sides. Maybe I just hang around reasonable people. I mean, I’m a liberal, and I certainly don’t believe that. I might hear that sentiment on the far fringes of both sides, but not in the mainstream. Really, you’ve never heard some variant of the following: Democrats act like it’s a gentlemen’s debate club while the Republicans lie and smear them and the Democrats just sit there and take it, whether it’s Kerry being swift boated or racist conspiracy theories about Obama. They need to find a spine and fight fire with fire. The Republicans have their own version, usually about allowing the corrupt media to paint them as racist misogynists who hate the poor, or about how the leadership is a bunch of wimps bowing to PC pressure. About the only other rationalization that’s in the running for most common is blaming the electorate for being stupid. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/12 "2017-04-29T14:24:11Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Really, you’ve never heard some variant of the following: > > Democrats act like it’s a gentlemen’s debate club while the Republicans lie and smear them and the Democrats just sit there and take it, whether it’s Kerry being swift boated or racist conspiracy theories about Obama. They need to find a spine and fight fire with fire. Not among my mainstream Democrat friends, no. Not the fight fire with fire part. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/13 "2017-04-29T14:34:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Not among my mainstream Democrat friends, no. Not the fight fire with fire part. I should add, not so much among my Republican friends, either, being purposefully Machiavellian and things of that nature as described by the OP. Once again, on the fringes, sure. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/14 "2017-04-29T18:06:42Z")
If you want examples you can Google/Youtube “weak Democrats” or “spineless Democrats” and get pages of the stuff. One of the more recent examples was [in a Bill Maher interview (@11:43).](https://youtu.be/y54vlkxmv_4?t=11m43s) > [@](#): > > Q: Democrats seem to take the high road so much. > > A: Yeah, fuck that. When they go low, you go lower. They need some bastards there. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_White\_Dope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/22d042/32.png) [@Great\_White\_Dope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_White_Dope)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/15 "2017-04-30T00:22:01Z")
Nonpartisan research shows conclusively that liberals are _far less tolerant_ of opposing views than are conservatives. Liberal women are especially toxic. [InfoWars, sourcing a PPRI poll](https://www.infowars.com/new-study-confirms-liberals-are-far-more-intolerant-of-other-peoples-opinions/), shows: > [@](#): > > A survey by [PRRI](http://www.prri.org/research/poll-post-election-holiday-war-christmas/) found that, “Political liberals are far more likely than conservatives to say they removed someone from their social media circle due to what they shared online.” > > Nearly a quarter (24%) of Democrats say they blocked, unfriended or unfollowed someone after the presidential election, compared to just 9% of Republicans and 9% of Independents who were triggered to do the same. > > Almost three in ten (30%) of Democratic women removed someone from their social network because of their political opinion. [TruthRevolt, sourcing a Pew Search poll](http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/pew-white-educated-liberals-most-intolerant-population-2016), shows similar intolerant attitudes from the left regarding the 2016 election: > [@](#): > > new Pew Research poll has confirmed what many of us already knew: white liberals are some of the most intolerant people on the planet. > > ``` > The polling outfit’s [latest research](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/01/its-harder-for-clinton-supporters-to-respect-trump-backers-than-vice-versa/) indicates that 58% of Hillary Clinton backers say they have a “hard time” respecting someone who supports Donald Trump for president, with 40% having “no trouble” with the idea. It’s worse among highly educated people, at 66%, and even more so if they’re white, 68%. Minority supporters of Clinton are far more tolerant of their Trump counterparts. > As for Trump voters, “there is little difference in these views between men and women or by education level,” Pew states. “About four-in-ten Trump supporters in each of these groups say they have a hard time respecting someone who supports Clinton.” > > ``` Curiously, research also shows liberals to be more mentally ill than conservatives. This time we head to the hilarious [Louder With Crowder, sourcing ResearchGate](https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/study-leftists-mentally-ill/): > [@](#): > > It has also been suggested that conservatism should be associated with high levels of anxiety, a major component of the personality trait Neuroticism. Intriguingly, the empirical link between ideology and Neuroticism suggests the relationship is actually between certain facets of liberalism and Neuroticism. > > (edit) > > _Below, we see the rates of bipolar depression among our political cohorts. Again, we see elevations in the Very Liberals and Liberals, especially the females. Out of the 50 Very Conservative females that responded to our survey, none reported bipolar depression._ There’s also ample research which shows that liberals are more dishonest, less charitable, and less scientifically-literate, but I’ll save those facts for another day. If liberalism could be summed up in one word, that one word would be _garbage._ ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/16 "2017-04-30T03:54:20Z")
Why is the “N” in “neuroticism” capitalized? Is that according to the _Mar-a-Largo Book of Style_? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/17 "2017-04-30T03:54:49Z")
What is garbage is your post. Making conclusions on mental health based on self reported surveys is laughable. Same for the supposed scientific literacy of conservatives, those online quizzes are so pathetically simple that only dumb conservatives have the wherewithal to take them so naturally they score high. And since there is a high correlation between mental illnesses such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc and age and additionally conservatives skew heavily toward the elderly, if anything the correlation is between conservativism and mental illness. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/18 "2017-04-30T14:35:09Z")
> [@Great\_White\_Dope](#): > > There’s also ample research which shows that liberals are more dishonest, less charitable, and less scientifically-literate, but I’ll save those facts for another day. I wouldn’t tarry. You should make much of time, remember? Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Like the man said: _The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men (an’ ither leegendar craiturs) Gang aft agley_ ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/19 "2017-04-30T14:51:51Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > If you want examples you can Google/Youtube “weak Democrats” or “spineless Democrats” and get pages of the stuff. One of the more recent examples was [in a Bill Maher interview (@11:43).](https://youtu.be/y54vlkxmv_4?t=11m43s) I am not doubting there are people who say that. I am saying that in my personal experience it is not a common sentiment among my friends and family (“the folks that I know” in my initial post) that I hear that Democrats need to be more Machiavellian and viscious. Or from Republicans, for that matter. So I certainly do not by any stretch of the imagination agree with the OP that this is something both sides agree on. I myself don’t think the Democrats need to be more vicious and Machiavellian. I would think most Americans, regardless of political stripe, would agree to the opposite: that dirty, vicious politics is undesirable in their own party. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431/20 "2017-04-30T16:13:56Z")
Tell me, who are these people who want a liberal equivalent of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth? I don’t know anyone on the left who wants something like that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thing-liberals-and-conservatives-always-agree-on/785431.md?page=2)