Posts in "Democratic Party"

By Gerald Clift at 11:01AM

Jul 19, 2011

Dems and GOP have opposite debt ceiling positions than they had in 2006

In 2006, all of the Democratic Senators voted AGAINST raising the debt ceiling and all but two of the Republican Senators voted FOR raising the debt ceiling.

It's absolutely hilarious and also ridiculously sad how unprincipled our Senators are (with the exception of a few freshman Senators that have been offering solutions instead of politics).

You can look at the roll call vote here.

You can look at the summary of the bill here.

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By Zak Slayback at 11:23AM

Mar 22, 2011

Some in Congress: What about the Constitution?

Article I, Section 8, Clause 11: Congress shall have Power... To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; [War Powers Clause]

Some Representatives in Congress are seriously questioning the constitutionality Obama's actions regarding Libya. I must doff my hat particularly to the Democrats who are standing up to their party leader and standing on principle. One House Democrat noted:

Almost everybody who spoke was opposed to any unilateral actions or decisions being made by the president, and most of us expressed our constitutional concerns. There should be a resolution and there should be a debate so members of Congress can decide whether or not we enter in whatever this action is being called.

Another Democrat notes:

Whose side are we on? This appears to be more of a civil war than some kind of a revolution. Who are protecting? Are we with the people that are supposedly opposed to [Qadhafi]? You think they have a lot of people with him? If he is deposed, who will we be dealing with? There are a lot of questions here from members.

Democrats Change Their Arguments

Continuing the recent trend of candidates keeping their distance from President Obama and his unfavorable approval ratings, Politico reports that many Democrats are also keeping their distance from his arguments. Instead of arguing that the Health Care Reform bill will lower the deficit, White House allies are turning to promises of changing and "fixing" the already passed legislation.

Sound like a change of heart? No, not really. It's purely a strategic move in light of the 58% disapproval rate for the bill:

"Straightforward ‘policy’ defenses fail to [move] voters’ opinions about the law," says one slide. "Women in particular are concerned that health care law will mean less provider availability — scarcity an issue."
...the fiscal and economic arguments that were the White House's first and most aggressive sales pitch have essentially failed. ...
The presentation advises, instead, sales pitches that play on personal narratives and promises to change the legislation.
"People can be moved from initial skepticism and support for repeal of the law to favorable feelings and resisting repeal," it says. "Use personal stories — coupled with clear, simple descriptions of how the law benefits people at the individual level — to convey critical benefits of reform."

Read the rest of the article here.

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By Nicholas Davies at 6:53AM

Jul 16, 2010

Charlie Brown Takes the Bait

Charlie Brown

I got the idea to do this drawing while reading a column by Thomas Sowell. However, I wouldn’t give many Republicans as much credit as Sowell did. Some of them are just as happy to run up deficit spending to help their special interest as Democrats are.

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By Adam Fowler at 7:39PM

Jun 14, 2010

Another Link Between Economic Knowledge and Political Beliefs

At this point, readers may be familiar with a recently reported study finding that liberals and progressives were less economically "enlightened" than their conservative and libertarian counterparts. Now, another study conducted by the New York Federal Reserve found more interesting results connecting economic knowledge to political beliefs.

It seems, according to the study, that taking classes in economics also correlates with party affiliation. It found, among other things, the following:

... those who took more economics classes or who majored in economics or business were more likely to be members of the Republican party and less likely to join the Democratic party. Those findings hold even after controlling for the higher salary, higher equity in real estate holdings, and earning a graduate degree.

One question to ask would be if the political beliefs were pre-existant to the choice of classes. That might indicate that political beliefs influence choice in majors.

It would also be interesting to see a study looking at the party affiliation of political science majors. I'd imagine the results would be rather different.

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By Matthew Malkus at 6:07AM

Apr 29, 2010

The Left Protects Civil Rights (Except When They Don't)

In the two-party charade that is American politics, our choices are limited. You're either for the wars that exist, or you're for the wars that exist plus a couple that don't yet. You're either for an increase in spending domestically, or an increase in spending abroad. You either want the Fed to increase the debt, or you want the Fed to monetize it. However, even in the few instances where the media and the party leadership tilt the fun house mirror to make the two sides look different, the truth is that they differ in execution – in which rights to usurp – rather than fundamental philosophy.

A shining example of a major party with phony principles is the “defense” of civil rights in America by the Democrats. You see, the Democrats want to protect civil rights. Countless party leaders have spoken out in outrage over the discrimination against minority groups. The Democrats of today support the right of marriage for all people, regardless of their sexuality. They want equal pay and equal opportunity for people of all backgrounds when it comes to employment or housing. In fact, according to their website: “Democrats will fight to end discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and disability in every corner of our country, because that's the America we believe in.” Few Americans would argue with the underlying principle: equal opportunity for all, and discrimination against none.

Healthcare Fail

Not only is Obama's flaunted healthcare overhaul completely unconstitutional, irresponsible, and extraordinarily wasteful, but now even Democrats won't rally to the cause. Obama is having to meet one on one with various members of his own party to pass this behemoth legislation. Leads one to wonder what will happen if it ever actually gets passed...

Also interesting is this list, released by the Republican House whip, of quotes from no less than 42 House Democrats who say for a variety of reasons that they cannot support the healthcare plan.

Whither the Peace Movement?

As Young Americans for Liberty readers well know, the peace movement which was so active during the Bush years seems to have all but disappeared in the wake of Obama's election. Of course, I would argue that if blood has been unjustly shed it hardly matters which political party is responsible, and the peace movement ought to be just as strong today as it ever was.
Read more here

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