You could always get down on your knees and beg a moderator to fix the first one and blank out the next two.
NNNNaaaaaaaaa…
They’d never help anyway:)
There is one reason why the Republicans have seemed so vindictive for the last 8 years - because the President is a Democrat. The Republicans have been on the defensive for 8 years.
The same thing happened when Reagan was in power, and if you don’t think Democrats were vindictive then, you have a faulty memory. There were riots against Reagan. He was portrayed as a war-loving murderer who was going to destroy the world. I can remember rock videos that portrayed Reagan as an evil dictator (“Frankie Goes to Hollywood” had a couple of those, if I recall correctly).
I don’t think Hatred is too strong a term for what many Liberals felt about Reagan.
If Bush is elected, the same thing will happen again. Al Franken will probably lead the charge. (I like Al, but he wears his hatred for Republicans on his sleeve).
Ask your self this question, of all the great movements designed to give power to people who were traditionally at the margins, which of these did conservatives support. The labor/union movement, no. The women’s movement, no. The civil rights movement, no. The gay rights movement, no. Remember last year when a small group of Wiccans at Ft. Hood were practicing their religion? The right wing had an absolute fit. Conservatives tried to restrict the army from supporting the Wiccan beliefs as they do any other mainstream religion because they are the “evil” pagans.
I think the hatred against Clinton (BTW I did not vote for him either time) borders on the pathological. Remember at the start of his administration when Jesse Helms made the statement “if Clinton comes to N. Carolina he better bring along a body guard.” A conservative U.S. senator threatened the president’s life and it was laughed off. Conservative radio host John Statmiller WWCR stated “when the true conservatives come to power Clinton and the rest of the liberals, WILL BE HANGING FROM THE LAMP POSTS.” I have never heard the equivalent from liberal commentators, maybe I have missed it.
I just saw Franken on Craig Kilborn’s show. I don’t think I have ever seen a more smug, spiteful, and shrill person in my life. His superior attitude just enraged me. I wanted to reach through the TV and wring his sport coat with jeans wearing neck.
I don’t know if I am proving the OP here but the way some liberals on TV portray conservatives as cold-hearted bigots with sticks up their butts just gets me fuming.
lol…Now you know how the other side feels when Rush charactarizes liberals, and he’s on the air every day for three hours.
And liberals watch Rush because…?
As someone who listens to Rush on occasion (it’s either that or sports talk radio), what I find most repulsive about the show and its callers is the demonization of anyone left of center (conservatives are decent and thoughtful, while anyone with opposing opinions is oppressive, self-promoting and vile). Just recently I tuned in to Ed Koch’s radio show in NYC, and found the exact counterpart to Rush’s callers - irrational foaming-at-the-mouth paranoids from the left of the spectrum (to give Ed credit, he shoots down the crazies).
There seem to be more hate-spouters on the right-wing fringe than on the left, at least in part a product of frustration over the mainstream media’s perpetual left-of-center bias (even though much of this bias reflects my own opinions, I’d have to be deaf not to recognize it).
A Google search on the derogatory term “archconservative” turned up 922 hits. “Archliberal” garnered 56. I wonder what the breakout would be if you targeted only mass media stories for the past few years?
I listen every day at lunch for about twenty minutes, just to find out what the “other side” thinks. That’s also partly why I hang about here in GD all the time.
I understand and agree with this reason. Interestingly, though, in this election the mainstream media, if not leaning far right, have definitely supported the candidate on the right. I wonder if this sudden reverse will continue, and if so, if the vitriol will reverse, as well.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to listen to someone on the other side who actually thinks? I think you guys like Rush because it helps convince you that Republicans are bad people, or at least stupid. When listening to his show, I’m sure it’s not hard to feel superior. For the same effect, I like to read the Letters to the Editor page in the Boston Globe.
So, are you suggesting I find a more reasonable conservative radio program while I do my lunchtime driving? I would welcome some suggestions. The only other talk radio I can get is either sports or religious programming, neither of which appeals to me. For conservative opinions by people who actually think, I come here. (There are certainly knee-jerk partisans on both sides here as well though.)
I realize that Rush is not representative of the whole of conservatism, but he certainly is representative of part of it. Conservatives can’t disavow him any more than liberals can disavow Rosie O’Donnel. (Maybe we could set up some sort of exchange program? :D)
Yes, it certainly is easy to feel superior when confronted by the illogic and blatant partisanship spewed forth by Limbaugh. However, there are occasions when I find myself in agreement with him, in principle if not to the same degree. It’s not all bad.
waterj2 wrote:
While it might be comforting for some intelligent conservatives to think that Rush Limbaugh is out of the Republican mainstream, the fact is that most Republicans I meet seem to take their cues from the big windbag. One need only observe the many references to “algore” on these very message boards to perceive the breadth of his influence.
When I am around my Republican friends, an otherwise intelligent group, they never fail to parrot the Party Line as delivered by Limbaugh, usually to the point of using Limbaugh’s phrasings and epithets. Poor misguided souls…
I wasn’t saying that Rush’s ideas are outside mainstream conservatism. Just that he, personally, is hateful and stupid in comparison to most rational conservatives. He may be a decent source for conservative opinions, but his level of invective is not, in my opinion, widely shared.
Yeah, from time to time, we all get personal about it. I’ve occasionally said hateful comments about liberals. I really don’t hate them, but it’s certainly possible to catch me railing against them. In my experience, conservatives are no more likely to actually believe that stuff than liberals. I seriously doubt that your conservative friends really have more hatred than their liberal counterparts, just that in your experience, they have been more personal about it.
I apologize for responding so flippantly above without also including a more relevant reply to the OP. I now have some time to rectify this deficiency.
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The correct answer, suggested by the phrasing of the question, is that Democrats are saintly, loving, tolerant and kind to little animals while Republicans are demonic, intolerant creatures who kick dogs and push the elderly down flights of stairs when no-one’s looking. More properly, the question is (though unasked by the OP) why does jumblemind percieve that this is the case (a more reasonable way to ask the question, IMO)?
As I am somewhat to the right of center in some of my political views, I felt some irritation that the OP’s basic question is biased, and disappointed that none of the Great Minds here seemed to notice, except in passing. Anyone who demonizes their opposition is guilty of slander. Slandering your opponents does not advance your cause, and only seeks to injure another’s reputation in a way that is unrelated to your bone of contention. It is unfair, immoral, and unethical. Had the OP asked “Why do Democrats hate children (evidenced by their support for abortion rights) while Republicans love children (evidenced by their opposition for abortion)?”, many people would have immediately raised the BS flag and would have asked for some clarification as to the nature of the question (at the very least).
Had this same question appeared in the Pit, I would have taken no offense (after all, that’s what the pit is for), however, Great Debates is (or so I believe) for the civil, if somewhat heated discussion of topics where the opinions are quite polarized.
To more squarely address the OP*:
Why do the angry, frustrated people seem to be Republicans more often than Democrats?
When I was younger, it was the liberals who were often characterized as “wrong-headed”, by conservatives. The Republican and Democratic parties were not as polarized as they seem to be today, and there were liberals and conservatives in both parties. Often, some liberals felt their voice would not be heard unless they took extreme measures to gain the attention of the media. Although relatively few actually used these tactics, they were percieved as representative of the liberal mindset. I suspect your perception that Republicans are hateful while Democrats are tolerant, stems from similar causes. I disagree with your basic premise, but understand how you may have arrived at the conclusion you have drawn.
~~Baloo
His perception totally is because hes a democrat. Had he been center or a republican he wouldent have even considered this. Its because its alot eaiser to ignore insults that are on your side but not ones against you.