# Scenario: Liberals and the non-GOP Right **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 8, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827 "2012-01-08T15:36:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/21 "2012-01-09T02:18:40Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > What are Pat’s views on fiscal policy, monetary policy and textbook economics? I see he favors health care reform. > > Realistically, this sounds something like George Wallace-- a populist nutbag with a few lefty sympathies. Oh, yes, we lefties wholeheartedly supported George Wallace. We were right there behind him at the schoolroom doors. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/22 "2012-01-09T02:30:06Z")
Before I took the hypothetical coin flip I’d have to know his views on more social issues, especially gay rights and separation of church and state. Despite the fact that I am largely in agreement with Pat’s social views as revealed so far, those views tend to be held by pretty retrograde characters. If he wanted to ban all abortions, institute an America-wide Arizona style racial profiling, institute mandatory teaching of creationism, and amend the consitution to ban gay marriage, then I’d go for the coinflip despite any possible economic repercussions. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/23 "2012-01-09T03:25:48Z")
> [@Blode0322](#): > > The goal was to see if there is any common ground between the Democratic left and the alt-right. A lot of alt-rightists can’t stand the GOP and don’t particularly care for Ron Paul. > > There certainly was common ground between the New Left (circa late 1960s) and those rightists who were a little like Murray Rothbard. I was wondering if there were any coalition possibilities like that in the present day. There probably aren’t, but you never know. There aren’t. In the 1960s both parties had liberal, moderate, and conservative wings. That hasn’t been true for decades. We live in a world in which every single Democratic Senator has a voting record to the left of every single Republican Senator, and conversely every single Republican Senator has a voting record to the right of every single Democratic Senator. And it’s been like that for years. Nobody sentient enough to see this votes for individuals anymore. No possible Democrat is acceptable to Republicans and no possible Republican is acceptable to Democrats. Except for Ron Paul, the Republicans in the debates almost always take the identical position on every issue - and whenever they deviate slightly public reaction pushes them into conformance. There is no place for compromise. If any candidate tried it, he or she would be running against the Republican Party as a whole without making any inroads on Democrats who would rightly associate a Republican with Republicans. Political suicide. Talk of individuals taking positions on issues that would appeal across boundaries is political fantasy league stuff. It simply doesn’t exist in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/24 "2012-01-09T03:34:03Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Nobody sentient enough to see this votes for individuals anymore. And that’s how it **should** be. An official’s politics really are more important than his character. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/25 "2012-01-09T05:55:19Z")
I’m a progressive. I just can’t answer your question as stated. Economic issues are by far the most important to me, and you did not specify Pat’s approach on these issues. None of the liberal “pluses” you cited for Pat were deal makers, none of the “minuses” were deal makers. If he is in line with OWS thinking on economic reform, though, I would prefer Pat. I think Obama has been bought by Wall Street, a choice between him and Romney is a choice between carefully concealed truckling to the interests of Wall Street and open lapdoggery to the interests of Wall Street. If Pat were genuinely in favor of regulating the living shit out of Wall Street, his negatives would not be enough to keep me from voting for him. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2012, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/26 "2012-01-09T07:24:46Z")
I’d probably take Pat. I don’t agree with his views on several issues, but it would be better than Romney. Besides Pat sounds more progressive on economics and health care than Obama. And from the sound of the fictional character, he/she sounds like they’d be more willing to play hardball in politics than Obama. He/she/it sounds like an Ed Schultz progressive rather than a wimpy, apologetic one. If Joe Wilson yelled ‘you lie’ to Pat I doubt pat would change his own law to make Wilson stop yelling at him. Plus this is purely selfish, but I only have health insurance due to the affordable care act being passed (thank you Obama and democratic congress). If Romney is president I’m sure he will try to abolish that law, which means I lose my health insurance. But the SCOTUS may overturn it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/27 "2012-01-09T16:37:18Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Obama has disappointed me, but some of that (not quantifying here) is a direct result of Republican obstructionism. I believe Obama wants to do most of what he campaigned on in 2008. A lot of this is monday morning quarterbacking but he shouldn’t have spent so much political capital on Geithner and so little on Daschle if he was going to make health care his number one political fight in his first term. He shouldn’t have made health care his number one political fight in his first term. it should have been financial regulatory reform. He took too long to realize that Republicans were not (and were never going to be) negotiating with him in good faith. He shouldn’t have backed down on the tax cuts for the rich even if it meant that someone who had been out of a job for TWO FUCKING YEARS has to apply for welfare rather than collect an unemployment check. Instead the threw his base under the bus to appease Republicans that were never in fact going to be appeased. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/28 "2012-01-09T17:13:08Z")
Sounds like Pat has a lot of weird obsessions and mistaken ideas about how the U.S. interacts with the world. Pat has some vaguely-defined conformity with the liberal mindset on some issues, and a strongly-defined conformity with the alien moonbat mindset on others. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/29 "2012-01-09T17:14:52Z")
It’s not just about issues. I’m really not sure who I would pick, to be truthful (although if I’m being truthful, I’d also have to admit that I’m not a liberal Democrat). But I just wanted to point out that picking a candidate is about more than just the issues he or she stands behind. You have to consider their ability to lead and their ability to stand by their principles. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/30 "2012-01-09T19:44:29Z")
> [@Blode0322](#): > > Pat wants to use the [border fence](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_barrier) to stop illegal immigration. Pat’s supporters consider that unsurprising. I can’t tell you want Pat plans to replace it with since I don’t understand the question. Illegal immigration supplies something the US economy (as presently constituted) needs: cheap labor which helps hold down the prices of agricultural goods. Without it, the prices of many foods (particularly fruits and vegetables) would skyrocket, and we’d start importing them instead. So, you need to replace the illegal immigrant labor supply with something else; an expanded guest worker program, orange picking robots, or whatever. Otherwise the US agricultural sector mostly goes belly up, and the whole country becomes a biodiesel farm. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/31 "2012-01-09T19:50:16Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > It’s not just about issues. I’m really not sure who I would pick, to be truthful (although if I’m being truthful, I’d also have to admit that I’m not a liberal Democrat). But I just wanted to point out that picking a candidate is about more than just the issues he or she stands behind. You have to consider their ability to lead and their ability to stand by their principles. What, would you like to sit down and have a beer with him? Most politicians try to enact the policies they campaign on, it’s what got them into office after all. Going on any other basis makes you distinctly foolable. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/32 "2012-01-09T20:17:47Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > What, would you like to sit down and have a beer with him? Most politicians try to enact the policies they campaign on, it’s what got them into office after all. Going on any other basis makes you distinctly foolable. Funny you should say that when the GOP front-runner is famous for NOT standing by a distinct set of principles. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/33 "2012-01-10T06:25:44Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Funny you should say that when the GOP front-runner is famous for NOT standing by a distinct set of principles. Plus, he doesn’t drink beer. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827/34 "2012-01-10T13:15:19Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Plus, he doesn’t drink beer. But when he does, he drinks Miller, or Bud, or Coors, or Corona. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenario-liberals-and-the-non-gop-right/608827.md?page=1)