# The political tone is just getting worse and worse. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 18, 2013, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018 "2013-04-18T07:44:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/21 "2013-04-18T14:29:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > How dare he have a position on the issue! That’s not leadership! And he’s offered to make large cuts in programs he and his party and constituents strongly support. Just to clarify, he’s proposed cuts that his supporters oppose to programs that Democrats support. The Republican equivalent to this would be to propose closing more tax loopholes or proposing deeper cuts to defense, which Ryan’s budget doesn’t do. Ryan’s budget draws the line against any more revenues and also proposes more defense spending than current law allows. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/22 "2013-04-18T14:50:46Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Just to clarify, he’s proposed cuts that his supporters oppose to programs that Democrats support. Yes, sorry. That wording was unclear. Although I think your version is a little overly broad since some of his supporters are willing to make this concession. In any case Obama and some Congressional Democrats have offered to make cuts to programs they and their constituents support and there’s been some backlash, but the concept is going anywhere anyway - not as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations, not as part of the deficit ceiling Grand Bargain a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/23 "2013-04-18T14:54:32Z")
This is another one of those threads wherein the conservatives complain that the President hurt their feelings? Sure looks like one. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/24 "2013-04-18T15:00:22Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > You seem very **concerned** about Obama’s behavior > [@Lightnin](#): > > This is another one of those threads wherein the conservatives complain that the President hurt their feelings? Sure looks like one. Yep 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/25 "2013-04-18T15:11:43Z")
So Obama has the audacity to call someone a liar when he lies non-stop? Irony. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/26 "2013-04-18T15:17:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Some pretty strong words from our President. Shameful day, calling lobbyists liars. > … > I don’t know if the NRA lied or exaggerated. But the members of Congress aren’t stupid. They aren’t going to listen to any lobbyist that they don’t respect. I know that I wouldn’t respect someone’s position if it was based on lies. Flat out lying would poison the well for any lobby group. You cannot be serious? First, you say you don’t like Obama calling lobbyists liars and in the very next post you say I don’t know if they did or not lie. So, your problem is that he called them harsh words and you don’t really care about the essence of it – bottom line, you just don’t like POTUS using harsh words. You don’t really care if he’s right or wrong or if, looking at the bigger picture, he has a political right to say whatever the heck he pleases to say as elected President and as someone who is pursuing political fight. Secondly, aside from not having an opinion on the issue itself, you live in some la-la land where your perception of lobbyists – despite of myriad examples to contrary about revolving door dynamic that exists in Washington and unabashed corruption that exists – is so fantastically pure you won’t give a benefit of a doubt to someone who’s in middle of it. In effect, you put more value on lobbyists than elected officials. All of this, ironically, in the sub-forum “Elections”. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/27 "2013-04-18T15:37:55Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > So Obama has the audacity to call someone a liar when he lies non-stop? Irony. “Disagrees with me” is not the same as “liar”. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/28 "2013-04-18T15:48:39Z")
But, first: “But the members of Congress aren’t stupid. They aren’t going to listen to any lobbyist that they don’t respect” is just a whoosh, right? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/29 "2013-04-18T15:54:28Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The President stands above the mud slinging and dirtiness of politics. At least he should in public. The more I read this the more mind-boggling it is. The president is an elected official. He can’t stand above politics, least of all on political issues. There are situations in which the president is in effect speaking for the country, yes. A debate over legislation is not one of them. > [@](#): > > The President is one guy steering a ship with 100 Senators and 435 Congressman. I don’t think people in Congress would agree with this. I know Robert Byrd was supposedly once asked how many presidents he’d served under, and he said none- but he’d served _with_ eight. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Express regret that it didn’t pass and maybe reintroduce a new package on gun control later. Again, that already happened. This was the compromise that followed a previous gun control bill. The Republicans maybe getting ready to offer a third version that I assume Democrats aren’t going to support- or maybe that was just a smoke screen to make it easier for Republicans on the fence to filibuster. > [@](#): > > But the members of Congress aren’t stupid. They aren’t going to listen to any lobbyist that they don’t respect. I know that I wouldn’t respect someone’s position if it was based on lies. Flat out lying would poison the well for any lobby group. I’m not sure you have any idea how this works. The issue with the gun control bill is not “well, the NRA’s lobbyists obviously provided credible data on the bill.” The issue is that these Senators concluded it was in their interest politically to filibuster this bill. Remember, Congress and the President aren’t elected by the same groups of people. And Senators who felt they would lose votes or funding if they supported this bill - partly because the NRA opposed the bill and would have devoted its resources to making them pay - helped filibuster the thing to death. That’s what’s going on here, and that’s the basic deal with some of these issues in a broader way. Republicans feel it’s political suicide to compromise with Obama, partly because of their own rhetoric over the years. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/30 "2013-04-18T15:59:12Z")
Personally I hope the only language necessary after the midterms is Obama flipping Republicans the bird. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/31 "2013-04-18T16:32:45Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > This is another one of those threads wherein the conservatives complain that the President hurt their feelings? Sure looks like one. No, this is a, “Won’t _somebody_ think of the lobbyists?” thread. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/32 "2013-04-18T16:38:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The comments that Obama made today were just not appropriate for a Rose Garden speech. You can’t possibly be serious. He’s the leader of a political party who is pushing for specific legislation to be passed against determined and lying opposition. Yet for some reason, he’s supposed to be Mr. Nice Guy? If, upon hearing of the news of Thatcher’s death, he’d stood in the Rose Garden and announced “It’s about time,” I’d agree with you. In that situation, he’s speaking for the nation. As it is, he’s speaking for himself, as a leader and as a politician, and he’s right, and his comments were appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/33 "2013-04-18T16:42:15Z")
Awwww…poor widdle wiberals don’t wike it when they wose. Never a good thing to see the erstwhile leader of the free world acting like a toddler because he didn’t get his way. Funny, yes, but still not good. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/34 "2013-04-18T16:44:21Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Awwww…poor widdle wiberals don’t wike it when they wose. > > Never a good thing to see the erstwhile leader of the free world acting like a toddler because he didn’t get his way. Funny, yes, but still not good. Are you being deliberately ironic? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/35 "2013-04-18T16:44:36Z")
You’re the one using baby talk to describe politics, and then calling the President a toddler. Irony. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/36 "2013-04-18T16:49:55Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Never a good thing to see the erstwhile leader of the free world acting like a toddler because he didn’t get his way. Yes, I expect him to start a thread in ATMB shortly. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/37 "2013-04-18T16:50:11Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > You’re the one using baby talk to describe politics, and then calling the President a toddler. Irony. exactly. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/38 "2013-04-18T16:50:47Z")
Funny, I saw strength, determination, and a “calling it like it is” honesty that I found motivating and refreshing. The only one acting like a toddler here is you. (ETA: **Oakminster** , that is.) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/39 "2013-04-18T16:55:01Z")
I’m not throwing a temper tantrum. I’m celebrating the courageous senators who stood up to the gun grabbers and protected our freedom. Makes my day. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018/40 "2013-04-18T16:56:25Z")
Yes, courage, like turning all your "L"s into "W"s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-tone-is-just-getting-worse-and-worse/656018.md?page=3)