Rise Above and Reach Across That Aisle

cincybearcat

hedonist wrote:

12 and 18-year (potential) terms seems excessive to me.

Maybe. But it's less than half of what we end up with now. My reasoning for the house potentially having more years is that they are elected at a more local level, closer to the constituents. As for Senate, you need some experience (just like any job) to get better at what you do. I guess maybe 2 4-year terms might be better.

Really I just want less elections and I want to know that they won;t be there forever...and that they know that going in.

cincybearcat

Cosmo wrote:

...
The problem is... the Lobbyists have no term limits. That means, the only continuity of the legislative process is the Lobbys.

Well, that is a great point. How about we shoot all lobbyists every 6 years?

Cosmo

cincybearcat wrote:

Cosmo wrote:

...
The problem is... the Lobbyists have no term limits. That means, the only continuity of the legislative process is the Lobbys.

Well, that is a great point. How about we shoot all lobbyists every 6 years?

...
Works for me.

Jeanwah

Well, looky here. A thread about unity and rising above turns into a political discussion. :fp:

Why am I not surprised?

cincybearcat

Jeanwah wrote:

Well, looky here. A thread about unity and rising above turns into a political discussion. :fp:

Why am I not surprised?

AS someone told me last night...it;s the political forum. :fp:

And term limits would help the problem about reaching across aisles...no?

Jeanwah

cincybearcat wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

Well, looky here. A thread about unity and rising above turns into a political discussion. :fp:

Why am I not surprised?

AS someone told me last night...it;s the political forum. :fp:

And term limits would help the problem about reaching across aisles...no?

It's a unity thread in a political forum which quickly stopped being about unity.

cincybearcat

Jeanwah wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

Well, looky here. A thread about unity and rising above turns into a political discussion. :fp:

Why am I not surprised?

AS someone told me last night...it;s the political forum. :fp:

And term limits would help the problem about reaching across aisles...no?

It's a unity thread in a political forum which quickly stopped being about unity.

Shall I pm you my post and receive prior approval before submitting them in the future?

Your facepalm just screamed unity to me.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

Jeanwah wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

Well, looky here. A thread about unity and rising above turns into a political discussion. :fp:

Why am I not surprised?

AS someone told me last night...it;s the political forum. :fp:

And term limits would help the problem about reaching across aisles...no?

It's a unity thread in a political forum which quickly stopped being about unity.

I disagree. you don't arrive at unity just by saying "ok, let's be cool with each other". it needs to be discussed, as it is being here.

Jeanwah

Ya know, the sarcasm of you guys is hardly "joining hands for the good of everyone". Go on, you may continue to argue about unity. :roll:

Cosmo

Here's a thought...
Romney said he has a plan... people here have stated, he has a plan to make America better.
So, how about he reveal his plan, now that the election is over? I mean, he doesn't HAVE to be the President to reveal his plan, right? So... tell us what the plan is and we can discuss it and talk about putting the parts that will actually 'make America better' in play.
For example... let us know HOW we can put 12 million Americans back to work without raising taxes. To me, it sounds like a GREAT idea. I don't know how to put 12 million Americans to work without government contracts being involved... but, i'd definately be open to hearing how we can accomplish that.
...
Anyone think that's a good plan?

cincybearcat

Jeanwah wrote:

Ya know, the sarcasm of you guys is hardly "joining hands for the good of everyone". Go on, you may continue to argue about unity. :roll:

You are the only one arguing here.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

cincybearcat wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

Ya know, the sarcasm of you guys is hardly "joining hands for the good of everyone". Go on, you may continue to argue about unity. :roll:

You are the only one arguing here.

no kidding. I thought we were having a good discussion.

dancepartner

Hmm.. musta' got lost. Looking for the unity thread. Where did it go?

hedonist

dancepartner wrote:

Hmm.. musta' got lost. Looking for the unity thread. Where did it go?

It's here and while I sense some vitriol all around (though I'm not quite sure why, on either "side"; gotta face what's what, grow the fuck up and move the fuck on), I'm embracing the HFD approach.

Jeanwah

dancepartner wrote:

Hmm.. musta' got lost. Looking for the unity thread. Where did it go?

Welcome to the train, dancepartner.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

Jeanwah wrote:

dancepartner wrote:

Hmm.. musta' got lost. Looking for the unity thread. Where did it go?

Welcome to the train, dancepartner.

I looked through every single post in this thread. you are the one who derailed it with your negativity. everyone else was civil and having a nice discussion.

we are talking about POLITICAL unity, which is what this thread is about, and many great points have been made. keep to topic or feel free to roam.

pandora

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

Ok, I know the defeat and the victory are both still very fresh in everyone's minds, but going forward, we need to be able to join hands for the good of everyone.

How can we blame our politicians, who are just regular men and women, for not reaching across the aisle, if WE, regular men and women, won't even do it?

I dream of this

kindness understanding acceptance

pandora

Cosmo wrote:

Here's a thought...
Romney said he has a plan... people here have stated, he has a plan to make America better.
So, how about he reveal his plan, now that the election is over? I mean, he doesn't HAVE to be the President to reveal his plan, right? So... tell us what the plan is and we can discuss it and talk about putting the parts that will actually 'make America better' in play.
For example... let us know HOW we can put 12 million Americans back to work without raising taxes. To me, it sounds like a GREAT idea. I don't know how to put 12 million Americans to work without government contracts being involved... but, i'd definately be open to hearing how we can accomplish that.
...
Anyone think that's a good plan?

I have read and been listening to the plan...
it has been there for all who are motivated to learn. If one was already biased
they had no interest obviously.


Governor Romney’s economic plan will completely change the direction of economic policy.
Itwill emphasize the long-term changes that will increase GDP
and job creation, both goingforward and now. It will put growth and recovery first.

The Romney plan has three overarching objectives: to restore confidence in America’s economicfuture, to make America once again a place to invest and grow, and to provide opportunities for Americans to compete and succeed. These objectives are all about unlocking the potential for innovation, investment, and initiative in America’s dynamic economy.The Romney plan will achieve these objectives with four main economic pillars:

Stop Runaway Federal Spending And Debt.

Reduce federal spending as a share of GDP to 20 percent – its pre-crisis average – by 2016.
In so doing, reduce policy uncertainty over the need for future tax increases.


Reform The Nation’s Tax Code To Increase Growth And Job Creation.
Reduce individual marginal income tax rates across-the-board by 20 percent, while keeping current low tax rates on dividends and capital gains. Reduce the corporateincome tax rate – the highest in the world – to 25 percent.


Broaden the tax base to ensure that tax reform is revenue-neutral.

Reform Entitlement Programs To Ensure Their Viability.

Gradually reduce growth in Social Security and Medicare benefits for more affluentseniors. Give more choice in Medicare to improve value in health care spending.

Block grant the Medicaid program to states, enabling experimentation to better fit localsituations.

Make Growth And Cost-Benefit Analysis Important Features Of Regulation.

Remove regulatory impediments to energy production and innovation that raise costs toconsumers and limit job creation.


Repeal and replace the Dodd-Frank Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable CareAct. The Romney alternatives will emphasize better financial regulation and market-oriented, patient-centered health care reform.

Jeanwah

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

dancepartner wrote:

Hmm.. musta' got lost. Looking for the unity thread. Where did it go?

Welcome to the train, dancepartner.

I looked through every single post in this thread. you are the one who derailed it with your negativity. everyone else was civil and having a nice discussion.

we are talking about POLITICAL unity, which is what this thread is about, and many great points have been made. keep to topic or feel free to roam.

MY negativity! And derailing is continuing to talk politics when YOUR op is about bridging what separates
us and "reaching across the aisle". Make up your mind!!

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

Ok, I know the defeat and the victory are both still very fresh in everyone's minds, but going forward, we need to be able to join hands for the good of everyone.

How can we blame our politicians, who are just regular men and women, for not reaching across the aisle, if WE, regular men and women, won't even do it?

Prince Of Dorkness

Kat wrote:

We have computers that could knock out a map of squares and rectangles with equal numbers of people in a heartbeat.

the problem with that is about 80-fold.

First... there are more people who live within a 1-mile radius of my house than the entire state of Alaska.

There are more people in my county (being LA County) than the combined populations of Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, Washington DC and Wyoming.

And you can't just have "squares." You need to group areas that have common needs together. So for instance.. grouping areas that are common income. Take West Hollywood... There's one area that's mostly english-speaking, younger and urban with a lot of nightlife and business aimed at a population that would support it.

Then there's a different area that's mostly Russian Jewish immigrants who don't generally speak English and have not only different values but very different needs... in the "barrel of the gun" (that's the Russian Jewish neighborhood), the people are concerned with things like parking, residential zoning (things like multi-family dwellings), noise pollution, accessibility for disabled seniors, pubic shcools and health codes.

In the more "young urban" area, they're concerned with zoning to encourage a robust nightlife... so more night clubs, bars, restaurants and the public space that supports that (ie wide sidewalks and easily walkable streets). They want to bring more high-end retail businesses in... the older Russian Jewish people don't do a lot of shopping at Macy's and Nordstrom... but the younger, single gay population in "the trigger" do.

The people who live in "the butt" or "the handle" are rich... VERY rich. And they want totally different things from their representatives than either of the other areas.

And West Hollywood... it's only 2 square miles. It's a tiny city. That's a lot of diversity and it requires different people representing the different needs of the people.

(btw ... "barrel of the gun," the "butt" and the "trigger" all sound like parts of a gun... they are. West Hollywood is shaped like a revolver. Go figure.)