A look back at why we're such a divided country

[Desperado]

In my 20+ years in politics I've never seen the country this divided. It didn't get this way overnight, something had to cause it.

In my opinion, NOTHING any president has done has been as divisive to the country as when Obama forced Obamacare down our throats along partisan lines. That drove a wedge between the two parties and republicans said if we ever get back control we will NOT cooperate or negotiate with liberals. And they stuck to their word.

Even the Gulf War was bi partisan with many democrats voting yes.

Nothing Clinton or Reagan did was along party lines like that.

Neither Bush did anything partisan like that.

It was Obama and Obama only. After Obama, republicans didn't care what democrats thought. Why? Because democrats already showed they didn't care about half the nation when they shoved Obamacare down their throats.

So I would have to lay the blame of division in this country solely on the lap of the democrats and Obama.

Again. Here we go. This is almost at the root of why 73 million of you lemmings voted for Trump and are so desperately vocal for him to stay around when he's been nothing but an incompetent disaster. Make America White Again. The day Obama was elected, you right wingers collectively lost your shit. Blacks come out and vote for him in droves and are key to putting the first person of color in the Oval Office and for the first time, you see a direct threat to the power you righties consider to be your birthright. Then spend the next eight years literally making up scandals to try and take him down. Trump becomes just the result of your bigotry (although I lay a large share of that blame on Bernie Bros and Comey ). Finally, you have a kindred spirit who will not only restore the racial hierarchy in this country, but will also put all those "other" people you don't like in their place. And he makes it OK for you to voice that bigotry out loud. So Trump loses and once again, people of color are key in showing him the door, and immediately you cry fraud and seek to disenfranchise millions of these people in select states in select counties....gee, where have I seen this playbook run before?

So you single out Obama, who will be remembered as a good President with some foreign policy blunders. All the while ignoring the hatred and bile that's slowly risen on your side of the aisle for the last three decades. We get it. You didn't like the black guy in the Oval Office and the fact that we will have a black VP is killing you. Deal with it.

Hey asswipe neither Obama or Harris are black.. at best they are Mulattos

 

[Gdjjr]

Republican candidate for President in 2008

And?

 

[rightwinger]

The individual mandate. It was a feature of both the Heritage Foundation proposal of the 1990's, and RomneyCare in Massachusetts in 2004.

screw the Heritage Foundation

they write a stupid little white paper that no one read and that obligates me to go along with obamacare?

dont make me laugh

Heritage Foundation proposed an alternative to Hillarycare in the 1990s. It was endorsed by Republicans at the time.

Democrats used much of the recommendations in adopting Obamacare

 

[2aguy]

Obama actually tried working with Republicans on healthcare reform but Republicans decided they would not work with him no matter what.

Just a little bit of history that Republicans like to forget.

No, he didn't......that is a lie.

 

[DBA]

We get it. You didn't like the black guy in the Oval Office and the fact that we will have a black VP is killing you. Deal with it.

It is not the color of their skin or their gender. Most Republicans aren’t like Democrats In that way. Democrats put race and gender above all. Pragmatism is far down the list of their concerns. Kamala Harris is left-wing lunatic much like Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders. I don’t like any of them and it has nothing to do with race or gender. I like Candace Owens, but not because she is a black female, but because I agree with her political stances.

It is hard for most Democrats to understand this mentality because they are ingrained with the idea that systematic racism and sexism is the predominate reason for all failures of women and minitorities. In their minds, there is no way that a person like me could possibly put gender and race completely aside when making a decision because they themselves can’t do so.

 

[rightwinger]

The end of bipartisanship can be traced to Republicans who held a meeting on the night of the inauguration to agree to support NONE of the Obama legislative initiatives.
That included Stimulus, bailing out the auto companies, healthcare

All this after Democrats had offered bipartisan support to Bush

 

[2aguy]

It's says something when the richest, hardest working by far nation in the world cannot make good healthcare both affordable and good for every last, even homeless citizen. Something ominous in fact.

They could....if we get government out of the way and allowed competition back into the healthcare system....the same way cellphones, and LED televisions became better, more sophisticated and cheaper.....

If the government was in charge of Cell Phones and LED televisions, only the rich would have them and they would suck....

 

[PoliticalChic]

Started in 1983 when Ted Kennedy offered control of the democrat Party to the KGB to defeat Reagan.

After the collapse of the USSR, the KGB had to sell their ownership to the CCP for pennies on the dollar

I'm gonna see your "Kennedy offered control of the democrat Party to the KGB".....

...and raise you with....


Roosevelt: "I would rather lose New Zealand, Australia or anything else than have the Russian front collapse."
Robert Dallek, "Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945," p. 338.


Yup!
'Russia Uber Alles'

What nation did Roosevelt represent, again?

 

[2aguy]

We get it. You didn't like the black guy in the Oval Office and the fact that we will have a black VP is killing you. Deal with it.

It is not the color of their skin or their gender. Most Republicans aren’t like Democrats In that way. Democrats put race and gender above all. Pragmatism is far down the list of their concerns. Kamala Harris is left-wing lunatic much like Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders. I don’t like any of them and it has nothing to do with race or gender. I like Candace Owens, but not because she is a black female, but because I agree with her political stances.

It is hard for most Democrats to understand this mentality because they are ingrained with the idea that systematic racism and sexism is the predominate reason for all failures of women and minitorities. In their minds, there is no way that a person like me could possibly put gender and race completely aside when making a decision because they themselves can’t do so.

Let's focus more on the idea

It is hard for most Democrats to understand this mentality because they are ingrained with the idea that systematic racism and sexism is the predominate reason for all failures of women and minitorities.

The leadership of the democrat party uses racism and misogyny as weapons and shields....they have been using racism since the founding of the party and they have simply refined their tool into an even better weapon....

 

[dblack]

In my 20+ years in politics I've never seen the country this divided. It didn't get this way overnight, something had to cause it.

In my opinion, NOTHING any president has done has been as divisive to the country as when Obama forced Obamacare down our throats along partisan lines. That drove a wedge between the two parties and republicans said if we ever get back control we will NOT cooperate or negotiate with liberals. And they stuck to their word.

Even the Gulf War was bi partisan with many democrats voting yes.

Nothing Clinton or Reagan did was along party lines like that.

Neither Bush did anything partisan like that.

It was Obama and Obama only. After Obama, republicans didn't care what democrats thought. Why? Because democrats already showed they didn't care about half the nation when they shoved Obamacare down their throats.

So I would have to lay the blame of division in this country solely on the lap of the democrats and Obama.

In my view, his divisiveness started early with "Elections have consequences". That kind of 'in-your-face' partisanship laid the groundwork for Trump. Hopefully Biden will learn from that mistake.

"Partisan politics has consequences".

 

[rightwinger]

It's says something when the richest, hardest working by far nation in the world cannot make good healthcare both affordable and good for every last, even homeless citizen. Something ominous in fact.

They could....if we get government out of the way and allowed competition back into the healthcare system....the same way cellphones, and LED televisions became better, more sophisticated and cheaper.....

If the government was in charge of Cell Phones and LED televisions, only the rich would have them and they would suck....

There has ALWAYS been competition in the healthcare system.
Among doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, health insurers

 

[dblack]

It's says something when the richest, hardest working by far nation in the world cannot make good healthcare both affordable and good for every last, even homeless citizen. Something ominous in fact.

They could....if we get government out of the way and allowed competition back into the healthcare system....the same way cellphones, and LED televisions became better, more sophisticated and cheaper.....

If the government was in charge of Cell Phones and LED televisions, only the rich would have them and they would suck....

There has ALWAYS been competition in the healthcare system.
Among doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, health insurers

But mostly among lobbyists.

 

[2aguy]

It's says something when the richest, hardest working by far nation in the world cannot make good healthcare both affordable and good for every last, even homeless citizen. Something ominous in fact.

They could....if we get government out of the way and allowed competition back into the healthcare system....the same way cellphones, and LED televisions became better, more sophisticated and cheaper.....

If the government was in charge of Cell Phones and LED televisions, only the rich would have them and they would suck....

There has ALWAYS been competition in the healthcare system.
Among doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, health insurers

Wrong......there is less competition in the healthcare system than anywhere else except eduction at the elementary and high school level.....and education at that level sucks just as bad as healthcare competition does....

 

[JoeB131]

screw the Heritage Foundation

they write a stupid little white paper that no one read and that obligates me to go along with obamacare?

dont make me laugh

I agree, the Heritage Foundation was probably just blowing smoke.

I doubt they thought anyone would take that seriously.

So let's review, shall we. In 1993, Hillary developed what was called "HillaryCare". The way she went about it was wrong, she really didn't engage congress, including Democrats who had been working on the issue for years. But the concept was sound. You'd create a program for people who can't get health coverage because their employers don't offer it, but they aren't poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. It would be paid partially be a tax on businesses that don't offer health care.

This horrified the right, which pretends it cares about small business. The Heritage Foundation made it's proposal, which kind of languished until Mitt Romney as Governor of Massachusetts implemented it.

Now, after he did, Republicans PRAISED the idea. They thought it was a model for the nation. Mitt Romney was a serious contender for the nomination in 2008 until all the Evangelicals remembered he was a Mormon.

Yes, the Crazy of the GOP in 2008. Huckabee and Romney having a debate about whether or not Jesus and Satan are brothers.

Well, along comes the 2009 health care debate. The Senate came up with a version that looked a lot like RomneyCare, the house came up with a version that had a public option and a medicare buy in for people over 55. If we had a normally functioning democracy, these things would have been worked out in reconciliation, but then Ted Kennedy died and got replaced with a mutant. Because Obama was too much of a chickenshit to employ the nuclear option to stop a filibuster, the House accepted the Senate version and we got stuck with a flawed RomneyCare writ large

Of course, when Romney became the GOP nominee, he pretended he had nothing to do with RomneyCare. And the Evangelicals pretended they didn't hate Mormons any more because OH MY GOD, THERE'S A NEGRO IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!!! Romney could have been sacrificing virgins to C'Thulhu and the Christian Right would have still supported him.

 

[colfax_m]

It was not bipartisan because Republicans walked away. Blame Obama all you want but reality is that Republicans made it that way.

Maybe, just maybe, having to pass it before reading it might have had an effect-

That said- it was coming, it's here, and Republicans have not done anything to hinder it- rhetoric doesn't count.
The only real difference between the opposing sides of the Duopoly Party is a public display and partisan consumption- and that applies to every issue, substantive or not. Then, there is the man who wears a black dress, in public, pretending to be an omnipotent, who says a fine is a tax- I don't recall seeing that authority granted in the rules for the pretentious- can someone cite it for me so I can better understand the divide- just asking for clarification.
The same destination at a different rate of descent is still the same destination- tweaking a *policy* to make it more amenable (by either or D or R) is still policy already in place and that is all the feckless (on both sides) do-

Congress critters are, by and large, lawyers and have staffs filled with lawyers (interns) and as all should know, lawyers pay others to teach them to lie, legally-

There's really no need to look back- just look around. The results are where we are.

It was read, debated, modified extensively over 8 months of negotiations in Congress. There were no surprises for anyone who paid any attention at all to the bill.

 

[colfax_m]

The idea that people didn’t know this was coming is ignorance.

We knew something was coming

but since of obama shoved the final product down our throats the onus of a divided country is entirely on him

Republicans can’t refuse offers to work together then complain that Democrats aren’t working together.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

 

[Auld Phart]

It is Republicans who demonize John McCain.....because Trump told them to

Oh bullshit- McCain was a PITA for decades you ignoramus.

Republican candidate for President in 2008

Republican candidate for President in 2008

How did that work out?

 

[colfax_m]

Obama's idea of "working" with Republicans was getting them to agree to what he wanted, and little else.

That’s simply untrue, just more revisionist history, the types of which is actually dividing the nation

I'll play. Name one republican idea in the Obamacare bill.

You can't so you won't.

Individual mandate.

 

[Wyatt earp]

Obama actually tried working with Republicans on healthcare reform but Republicans decided they would not work with him no matter what.

Just a little bit of history that Republicans like to forget.

Yes Republicans were not down at all for gov't healthcare. That's all Obama wanted. And saying Obama "worked" with them is a joke. Saying "take this or we'll shove it down your throats" is not exactly "working with" a party.

That's like saying Obama wanted to work with Republicans putting guys in dresses in the little girls bathrooms

Or working with them on refunding the cops

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

We get it. You didn't like the black guy in the Oval Office and the fact that we will have a black VP is killing you. Deal with it.

It is not the color of their skin or their gender. Most Republicans aren’t like Democrats In that way. Democrats put race and gender above all. Pragmatism is far down the list of their concerns. Kamala Harris is left-wing lunatic much like Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders. I don’t like any of them and it has nothing to do with race or gender. I like Candace Owens, but not because she is a black female, but because I agree with her political stances.

It is hard for most Democrats to understand this mentality because they are ingrained with the idea that systematic racism and sexism is the predominate reason for all failures of women and minitorities. In their minds, there is no way that a person like me could possibly put gender and race completely aside when making a decision because they themselves can’t do so.

Well, sorry, beg to differ. The reason you like people like Candace Owens or let's say Clarence Thomas for example is because not only do they share your viewpoint (given), they visually fit what you consider a person of color should look like and comport themselves as. Cleanly cut hair, nice clothing, maybe a wedding ring, well spoken (in your view anyway). Obama represented the first ray of hope for people who've been disenfranchised their entire lives. And what did the right wing do? Lose its shit. Trump made all of his own problems. 70% of Obama's issues..were manufactured. Again, he wasn't perfect. Won't be remembered as great. Just good.