There seems to be this notion, like prosecutors in criminal cases as I mentioned in an earlier thread, where the Republicans are considered the bad guys in debates and political affairs. Some people from Europe say that where they live, Democrats are considered the good guys while Republicans are viewed as the evil force.
I’ve also heard numerous stories of huge liberal bias taking place in college campuses. Some students with conservative leanings have spoken up about being asked to leave a class by a professor because they identified as a conservative, or things like five to ten people in a political science class dropping on the floor laughing because the professor mentioned “Mitt Romney”.
There is a similar notion in the UK. A nickname for the Tory Party (the Conservative Party) is ‘The Nasty Party’.
My view is that it stems from the idea that conservative politics is pro-big business and the wealthy elite, is anti-welfare, and morally judgemental on personal matters.
There might be some truth to that, although, “The facts have a well-known liberal bias,” declared Rob Corddry way back in 2004. Some colleges could do better in promoting a free exchange of ideas, but in general, I don’t think we’re in any danger of widespread liberal brain washing in higher education.
I am skeptical.
To address you main point, Republicans have brought it on themselves. They were not content to simply be a party of conservative ideas that had, in their view, better policy solutions to our country’s challenges. Instead they want to whip everyone into a frenzy by declaring Obama is the “worst president in US history,” and lie about the state of the economy, the strength of our military, and a million other things. Some are willing to shut down the operation of the U.S. Government to achieve a (minor) policy objective. They are in reality, the “bad guys” of our current political system. Take a look a John Kasich, a man I disagree with on practically every issue. In the current election cycle, he refused to demagogue the issues or pretend we’re in some fake national crisis. He promoted his ideas and proposals, and was largely ignored by the voters. The Republican voters instead preferred a buffoon named Trump, and this Cruz character, whose vision for the future should scare the shit out of all of us.
I’ve heard stories of Evil Debaters who, having no leg to stand on, try to Guilt people into voting their way. Granted, I’m sure that there is no one like that reading This post… :rolleyes:
I’ve heard there are WMDs in Iraq. I’ve heard that the FBI was sure MLK was a Traitor. I’ve heard that Drumpf is an Honest Businessman and Worthy of the Presidency.
They’re the bad guys because you, and people you talk politics with, are social progressives.
The Republicans have been the socially conservative party for the last 50 years. If you think that the changes our society is going through are generally in a positive direction, then the Republicans are going to be on the wrong side of history on most of those changes.
Racial equality, gender equality, women’s rights, gay rights, transgender rights, income inequality, etc. On all of those issues, the Republicans are coming down on the side of the old social order. And as the people who most strongly champion that old social order die off, they abandon whatever old wedge issue used to be effective and find a new one.
It’s why ten years ago, mainstream Republican candidates took strong stances against gay marriage, but now that the fight is effectively over, they don’t really want to talk about it. They’ve found a new wedge issue in transgender bathroom use.
If you’re slightly more progressive than the average person, then you’re going to be opposed to every wedge issue, so Republicans are always on the side of oppressing some minority group.
Note that if you were a social conservative, perhaps a religious fundamentalist, you would probably not see the Republicans as the bad guys. You’d see them as noble moral crusaders taking a stand against an increasingly degenerate and sinful culture. Sure, they might abandon some hopeless causes every once in a while, but they do their best to slow the onslaught of societal failure.
Because the Republicans like to say “no” to many liberal positions/priorities. Many liberals don’t like that and consider any disagreement with their platform as “evil.”
There is a saying that goes something like “A young person who isn’t liberal has no heart, an old person who isn’t conservative has no brain.”
Republican positions:
Clean air and water=evil.
Healthcare for everyone=evil.
Equality for everyone=evil.
Decent wages even for the least skilled=evil.
Social safety nets=evil.
Safe workplace conditions=evil.
Unadulterated foods and drugs=evil.
To be fair the EPA was signed into existence by Richard Nixon, a well-known Republican.
Forty years on, rank and file Republican voters and/or their congressmen want to abolish the EPA (Cite). Someone in my online social group who lives in a Conservative part of the country and keeps posting anti-Liberal propaganda said to me last week, ‘The EPA is shit!’ Clearly these people believe that the EPA is ‘evil’. Since the EPA is concerned with keeping our air and water clean (among other things), and the EPA is ‘evil’, ‘Clean air and water=evil’ by the Transitive Property of Equality.
You only have to look around here: the Republicans are the bad guys because they’re the political opponents. It’s as simple as that. They’re just as idiotic, evil, mendacious, corrupt, etc (contd p.97) as the Democrats, but each side gets a pass from their respective supporters.
Seen by whom as “the bad guys”? The opposition? The Democrat collective? The liberal media? Hillary worshippers?
Is there a party of Groupthink-types on college campuses who object to the free speech of others? You can’t talk to people on our campus because we don’t like your politics. But those other people, they agree with us so we’ll let them speak.
Who are the bad guys? The ones who have a different opinion, or the ones who won’t let people speak their minds?