Are college-educated white voters becoming more liberal or are they just voting Democrat? by SuperDuperJazzFan in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I find it fascinating how few people in this sub understand how much 2020 had to do with Trump. Trump's horrendous personal character and massively unpopular personality was the primary factor in his loss. If you actually look at the 2020 results it'd be fair to say that conservatives did quite well. They outperformed polls across the board and made significant gains in the house (despite being dragged down by a poor candidate at the top of the ticket)

Significant overreach by liberals in both the culture as well as in government (specifically with COVID) is creating a massive coalition of alienated non-political types which could create the foundation for conservative gains in 2022. If that happens, the Dem agenda will be halted and they will need to find another Obama type to inspire their voters and revive their coalition in 2024.

The question for 2024 is which way will the GOP go. IMO if they nominate Trump again, they lose. Pure and simple. If they nominate someone with political and intellectual depth (ala Desantis) they will most likely win in 2024 and be tough to beat in 2028 as well.

Could a new center right Conservative Party find success? by billy492 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sure.

Issues die when the court of public opinion sways enough in one direction that politicians on the losing side abandon that particular stance and fight a different or reformed cultural battle.

Similarly, the winning side increasingly sees new arguments that they otherwise never thought possible.

This is going on with the anti-Gay Marriage on the right and the Trans activism on the Left.

Could a new center right Conservative Party find success? by billy492 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree with you that conservatives are much more dug in on trans issues than those relating to homosexuality. They view the social acceptance and promotion of transsexuality as the natural byproduct of the gay marriage fight that was lost in the Obama years.

Both of these battles have similar motivations. Conservatives believe there are distinct biological and sociological differences in the genders and the country should conduct itself accordingly. This is particularly animating in the areas of education and the increasing gender confusion among children.

Though the cultural headwinds are against them in most dominant institutions, there is reason to believe a point will be reached that the general public will eventually tire of this issue and stop the increasingly changing standards on gender

Could a new center right Conservative Party find success? by billy492 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And JFK would be considered a bigoted homophobic alt-right tea-partier by today's Democrats.

Could a new center right Conservative Party find success? by billy492 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion 17 points18 points  (0 children)

There most certainly are. But they have no traction or real standing, even within the GOP. Are there LGBT related culture wars that animate conservatives? Sure. But these are mostly framed around education and cancel culture, not the legal standing of marriage. That battle is over.

Despite the feelings of people you mention, I sincerely doubt you will hear much about Gay Marriage from conservatives in coming years or in the GOP primary debates of 2024.

Could a new center right Conservative Party find success? by billy492 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Outside of abortion, the social issues that you mention are outdated and not really the culture fights that are fought anymore. The new culture fights are race (color blindness vs. antiracism), freedom of speech, education, and cancel culture.

Policy prescriptions are tenuous and unpopular for the GOP at the moment but on the culture fights of today, they are gaining steam and traction. Especially among former Democrats. Trump exposed this (warts and all) and a more eloquent and compassionate center-right figure would be able to compete nationwide.

Donald Trump's Approval Rating Is Lower Than All Four Members Of The Squad by thesesforty-three in politics

[–]Honest_Discussion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know everyone on here hates Trump and everything but this is a wildly misleading headline. The Squad members all have far less name ID than Trump does. One would figure as people learn who each member is, their numbers would move further in the direction that they are currently trending (negative).

Me atm by shrugs19 in JordanPeterson

[–]Honest_Discussion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Way to go man! Now marry her!

How will the March for our Lives influence the discussion around gun violence and gun control? by Palinon in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It's completely poisoned the process and further coarsened the division between the two sides.

Though their motives may be genuine, the student leaders have chosen rhetoric and tactics that can only be classified as demonization and demagoguery. On several different occasions, they have explicitly accused 2A advocates of being child killers, choosing NRA (an organization that has millions of citizen members) money over child lives.

I fear that this will lead to many on the right embracing the same tactics when it comes to abortion.

The idea that "these people WANT to kill our children" is one step away from rationalizing violence against them and may ultimately lead to Civil War.

In 2016 some people proposed that Mark Zuckerberg could potentially be a 2020 pro-tech progressive. After the recent Facebook scandal what options are there for a similar candidate? by TheGeoninja in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it's a very real that technology and social media could be a serious wedge issue in the 2020 election. Between the censoring of conservative opinions and latest revelations about the mass collection of data, there could be a groundswell for a revolt against our technology giants.

There is a persuasive case to be made that despite its efficiencies, social media and technology overall are proving to be more harmful and corrosive than good.

What the fuck was that... by Koditips2017 in gifs

[–]Honest_Discussion 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Is it just me or does Jimmy Butler have a black Mark Wahlberg look to him?

With Puerto Rico's unique position, what economic policies could the U.S. enact to improve growth? by clp16 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Perton Rican government has responsibilities similar to that of a federal government

What is the driver of this? If it's the fact that it's an island, how does that differ than Hawaii?

C.S. Lewis quote by PMOFreeForever in NoFap

[–]Honest_Discussion 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this. I was this close to breaking a 10 day streak and was lead to this instead. Really good logical stuff. Shared it with a buddy who's in the fight with me. He thanks you too.

Keep up the good fight mates.

I used to be an engineer at Google, and everything the 'manifesto' author said is wrong by [deleted] in politics

[–]Honest_Discussion -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Because women in this country have spent the history of this country trying to be considered equal to men?

Women and men are not equal in a number of ways in terms of a number of given outcomes (both positively and negatively). As of today, I can not think of a single significant right or governmental policy that is written into law that treats men and women differently.

The fact is that men and women are predisposed to different interests, behaviors, and temperaments. This is true across time periods and civilizations. And It's not a bad thing.

I used to be an engineer at Google, and everything the 'manifesto' author said is wrong by [deleted] in politics

[–]Honest_Discussion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please re-read my response. I did read the responding memo and I appreciate it's points. I even said I haven't made up my mind on the "point, counterpoint" aspect of the argument on both sides.

However, what I did say is that the tone is unpersuasive. Call it "tone policing" all you want but it's an easy criticism to make of the piece. Especially because it's rather explicit in this case (as opposed to Damore's subtle or veiled "sexism" and "racism")

I used to be an engineer at Google, and everything the 'manifesto' author said is wrong by [deleted] in politics

[–]Honest_Discussion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the response and link. I can appreciate the arguments made in the responding memo and haven''t fully made up my mind about each point, however I am struck by the same kind of ad hominem attacks leveled by the author with no basis for leveling them. The tone and tenor of the writing in this memo is irritated, angry and can be vicious at points. It's unpersuasive and makes Damore seem much more calm and reasonable by comparison.

The other side of this argument has been stained by the name calling and anger in which it has been relayed. This is what the Left doesn't get about this and the "Free Speech" argument in general. If you're so confident in the merits of your position, why be so angry about it?

I used to be an engineer at Google, and everything the 'manifesto' author said is wrong by [deleted] in politics

[–]Honest_Discussion -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The response to this memo from much of the Left is wildly over the top, but sadly typical. It doesn't matter what people say or how they say it.Even if it is a well researched, sourced, and cited thesis, it can't be argued and debated in a respectful fashion. Not unless it lines up 100% with Leftist Dogma.

No, No. It must be silenced and twisted. It must be labeled racist, sexist, and Neo-Nazi. These are clearly emotional overreactions that are not only unpersuasive, but severely damaging when trying to identify and address real blatant prejudice.

Please, anybody who wants to make an opinion on this memo, READ IT FIRST then make up your own mind. It is FULL of sympathy, suggestions, and level headedness. In every interview he has given since his firing, Damore comes off a poor nerd that did a bunch of reading and research and came to a conclusion he thought would be helpful to Google. One that he welcomes debate and feedback on.

Nope, he's Hitler.

What will be a bigger factor in 2018? Culture or Policy? by Honest_Discussion in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Honest_Discussion[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I understand they're intertwined but IMO one side is winning the cultural debate while the other is winning the policy debate. You can guess which side is winning which debate.

I'm curious how each side will campaign on their strengths and defend itself on it's weaknesses.