Sandy Clark, CGCS said: Mel, you are referring to a few individual idiots that happen to open their mouths and taint the conservatives. The entire democrat party has gone nuts over the past 20+ years. You never hear a conservative talking head saying that someone should take a dump in someones mouth or saying that we want democrats or old people to die. Your party has slipped so far off the edge it is laughable if it didn't make you want to cry. Everyone tries to mock the tea party as extreme nut cases but all they want is limited government that isn't spending out of control, judges that don't create law based on social justice and basically a government that follows the constitution. Obama's administration has been the most intrusive in history so I don't think you can very well compare it to anything the conservatives have done. And don't think for a moment that any conservative wants anything but a free and honest election. They only want to restrict those that have no right to vote as in non citizens or convicted felons. Personally, I would be much stricter. I think only people smart enough to vote should do so. A simple test that is non biased requiring you to know a couple of supreme court justices, possibly your sitting senators and congress representative the vp and pres and not much more. If you don't know those no matter your color, age, religion, sex etc. then you are too stupid to vote.
Sandy, I might not have heard some conservative talking head say those words, but I hear enough of them shout Socialist, Communist, Marxist, call for Revolution, Keep you hands off my guns, (which back in the 60's a than Gov. Reagan wanted to make hand guns very hard to obtain, and then after he had retired from office, backed the Brady Bill), Keep Govt. away from my Medicare and some of them use very disturbing language doing it. And those that are more moderate aren't doing enough to stop it.
As far as President Obama's administration being the most intrusive? Well a huge majority of his intrusive programs were started under President Bush, no conservatives were complaining then. Heck the left was against them before he became President, and they don't support them now. I am willing to look at each program on its merit.
I do think President Obama is moving a little more to the left in this second term, but when you see the programs he did introduce, like the ACA, that is built on an idea brought forward by conservatives. Look what he did for the banking industry, and business. He is more a centrist, why do you think he will take some heat from the left on some issues? It's just funny that conservatives don't champion ideas that the president took from them. They can't stand to see him succeed.
You think conservatives want free and honest elections? They sure aren't free, and it was a conservative court that opened up the money spout on elections. How many districts have been gerrymandered at the state level with typically conservative legislatures? They don't want honest and free, they want to win to move forward their agenda. Follow the money paying for that agenda, and what do those people get from it. That's not to say it doesn't happen on the democratic side either. I think they are both wrong to spend that kind of money, just think what that money could do to feed and educate the less fortunate.
As for a test to vote? OMG, what was our Revolution for? That is not how I see the Constitution that all men are created equal and should have an equal vote, (that includes the ladies as well). We already have the elite running the country because of their money. But that is your right to state your opinion. I do get disgusted with the voting apathy from both sides and we need to be doing a better job getting all people out to the polls, then it might be important to have stronger voter id laws.
Of course all of what I mentioned above is large broad discussions and not really looking as close at each issue as it should be.
Mel