Is it possible to be a democrat and not be an idiot?

Flopping Aces ^ | 06-01-17 | DrJohn

[Starman417]

Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accord.  It was a good thing to do as all the burdens were to fall on the US:

1. Goodbye to ‘American Last.’ The Paris agreement was basically an attempt to halt climate change on the honor system. Its only legal requirements were for signatories to announce goals and report progress, with no international enforcement mechanism. As a result, it was likely that the United States and wealthy European nations would have adopted and implemented severe climate change rules while many of the world’s governments would avoid doing anything that would slow their own economies. The agreement basically made the U.S. economy and Europe’s strongest economies sacrificial lambs to the cause of climate change.
2. Industrial Carnage. The regulations necessary to implement the Paris agreement would have cost the U.S. industrial sector 1.1 million jobs, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. These job losses would center in cement, iron and steel, and petroleum refining. Industrial output would decline sharply.
3. Hollowing Out Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The industrial carnage would have been concentrated on four states, according to the Chamber of Commerce study. Michigan’s GDP would shrink by 0.8 percent and employment would contract by 74,000 jobs. Missouri’s GDP would shrink by 1 percent. Ohio’s GDP would contract 1.2 percent. Pennsylvania’s GDP would decline by 1.8 percent and the state would lose 140,000 jobs.
4. Smashing Small Businesses, Helping Big Business. Big businesses in America strongly backed the Paris climate deal. In fact, the backers of the climate deal reads like a “who’s who” of big American businesses: Apple, General Electric, Intel, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, General Mills, Walmart, DuPont, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson. These business giants can more easily cope with costly regulations than their smaller competitors and many would, in fact, find business opportunities from the changes required. But smaller businesses and traditional start-ups would likely be hurt by the increased costs of compliance and rising energy costs.
5. Making America Poorer Again.  A Heritage Foundation study found that the Paris agreement would have increased the electricity costs of an American family of four by between 13 percent and 20 percent annually. It forecast a loss of income of $20,000 by 2035. In other words, American families would be paying more while making less. 
6. Much Poorer. The overall effect of the agreement would have been to reduce U.S. GDP by over $2.5 trillion and eliminate 400,000 jobs by 2035, according to Heritage’s study. This would exacerbate problems with government funding and deficits, make Social Security solvency more challenging, and increase reliance on government’s spending to support households.

Additionally:

According to a study by The Heritage Foundation released in 2016, if the Obama Paris agreement were to be followed, “there would be 206,104 fewer manufacturing jobs between 2016 and 2040.” Heritage projects a loss of over $2.5 trillion in aggregate loss of gross domestic product by 2035.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute put out a similar report in May of 2017, which found that “the United States cannot comply with the Paris Agreement and pursue a pro-growth energy agenda.” The group concluded that the agreement’s “central goal is to make fossil fuels, America’s most plentiful and affordable ene

rgy source, more expensive across the board” and “would destroy U.S. manufacturing’s energy price edge.”

The accord is said to be toothless, but it does leave the US vulnerable. The US would suffer while China and India would plow on building up their consumption of oil and coal. The accord is in line with obama's desire to diminish the US' prominence and redistribute our wealth to the world.

Predictably, hysteria broke out among liberals.

Nicole Wallace called Trump "cynical and shallow."

John Kerry, who promised us Syria had given up all its chemical weapons, said Trump has "put America last."

Congressional democrats called it "cruel" and "indefensible."

Fareed Zakaria sputtered that Trump has "resigned as the leader of the free world."

Obama also whined about it.

But the Grand Prize goes to billionaire Tom Steyer, who made his fortune in oil and gas, called Donald Trump's action a "traitorous act of war." 

Aside from sucking at civics, Steyer is world class hypocrite.

[chesley]

People can be very smart, and make idiotic choices

That's OK as long as they are making the "idiotic choices" for themselves. They're not. They're making them for us.

[Ray76]

Shirley you jest.

[DoodleBob]

Yes. But the answer is nuanced.

Let's reverse the tables. Until Trump, it would be perfectly reasonable to assume most Republicans are idiots. Look at the pre-Trump "leaders" of the party: Ryan, McCain, Romney, Bohner, Michael Steele, Graham, etc. It was a cornucopia of dolts, yes-men, and appeasement monkeys.

We all know Democrats. Many of them are decent people, and probably empathize with conservative/rational thought...they don't like ISIS, they don't like guttural entertainment, and probably have a shotgun or two in their home. They may have had parents who were Dems and haven't changed registration. They probably despise one or two conservative policies (taxes, regulation, abortion) and that keeps them pulling "D" (no jokes).

But... they don't like where their party leadership is taking them and like Republicans in 2012, they feel there isn't much that can be done except for not give money to the DNC.

The time is now to strike, to win back these Americans who aren't part of the 12-16% vocal left that give money to Pacifica radio. But calling them idiots isn't a good start....

[Rum Tum Tugger]

Yes.

There are two types of Democrats: (1) idiots and (2) crooks.

Democrat politicians are crooks who recognize that they can take advantage of the idiots.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Cal Senator Steve Glazer has a 24% ACU rating.

Cal Assemblyman Rudy Salas has a 28% ACU rating.

Nothing to write home about, but it implies they are capable of occasionally voting the right way.

[EasySt]

The actual title of the article is:

“Is it possible to be a democrat and not be an a$$hole?”

Although this is an intirely different question, many of the same answers will still apply.

[VanDeKoik]

” Tom Steyer, who made his fortune in oil and gas, called Donald Trump’s action a “traitorous act of war.” “

Some of these leftist f**%%ers had better start watch their mouths because their anger issues seem to command their words more than their brain.

[AllAmericanGirl44]

bkmk

[clamper1797]

In todays age ... if you are a leftist you are either a total imbecile ... a whitey hating freeloader ... an America hating traitor ... or a wanna be despot elitist or some combination of these.

[ssaftler]

Cal Senator Steve Glazer has a 24% ACU rating.

Steve Glazer, who is my State Senator, has continuously tweaked Governor Moonbeam and the Union thugs that own the State Government in Sacramento, lock, stock and barrel.

He was forced to resign the chairmanship of the committee he headed (what it was is neither important or relevant) a month or so ago. His crime? He refused to vote for an increase in gasoline tax (aka the 2017 Moonbeam Slush Fund) because he wanted a rider on the bill that would make it illegal for BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) unions to strike. Sort of like unions at all the other public transportation systems state-wide currently have in place.

I imagine that he will be targeted by the left and the unions in 2020, when he is up for re-election. Until then, we might just have a Democrat in Sacramento that listens to ALL of his constituents, not just the ones waiving mega-bucks at them.

[Bishop_Malachi]

I love your Sam Adams quote, but if we sat down at social clubs with Leftists, they would argue that a lack of Leftist paternalism at the Federal (and now Global) level will result in grievous abuses of both people (and the planet) at the local/state level.

To rephrase it, Right-wing tyrannies would develop at the state/local level if Leftist tyranny were not a counter-weight to it at the national and global level. This is the essence of how all my Leftist colleagues think.

[mulligan]

Difficult if not impossible.

[mjp]

is it possible to be a democrat and not be an idiot

some dims spew irrational emotionalism intentionally just as a way to gain power in their neck of the woods

[Bonemaker]

Just wander around the “inner city” sometime and the question will be answered.

[Gen.Blather]

“Not after the 1970s. That was the last hurrah for sanity in the dem party.”

The Democrats of the early 1970’s would be middle of the road Republicans today. The political center is drifting left due to the Overton Window.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window

[samtheman]

interesting

[Liberty Valance]

[Redwood71]

Certainly, look at Bill Clinton. He uses drugs, he rapes women, he has traveled at taxpayer expense to play hundreds of rounds of golf with the course deserted for his use, he has supplied himself with security for the rest of his life that the taxpayer is paying for where he wishes to live, and makes millions telling people how to live their lives, and he’s nothing more than a dishonest idiot that did what he was told by people like George Soros under the guise of Saul Alynski leading to his just as idiotic and dishonest wife to being a senator and living where she wants with the same financial situation and opportunities not caring for or about anyone but themselves, and not really about each other. They are idiots, but other idiots are supporting them.

rwood

[kvanbrunt2]

I registered as a Democrat so I could vote against Hitlery in the primary.>>>> very funny. i have done that mostly in the past as i live in philly. This year however i registered republican so i could vote for trump. i enjoy voting for the democrat nutcases here.

[Grimmy]

Nope.

A requirement for democratism is leftism. The requirement for leftism is an inability to relate cause to effect over time.