(09-25-2015 09:49 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(09-25-2015 03:33 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  IMO, the biggest reason nobody has proposed Bismarck is because it actually reduces the power of government to a purely regulatory role and eliminates them from influence over the finances.

Which is exactly why I think republicans should be FOR it.

TRUE Republicans, yes... But not what most of these people are. The thing that disappointed me the most about McCain in the 2000 election is that he joined with Obama in promising everything to everyone... but promised a little less than Obama, at least in terms of social programs because he's 'conservative'... Now of course that wasn't his only uphill battle... but it disappointed me. It showed that 'promising free stuff' got votes from the middle and right as much as anything else. Of course, Bush did it too... but that was a signal to me of a decisive change in the party.

I think that's really the problem. Democrats talk about the Republican party in disarray, and to some degree it is.

We have actual fiscal conservatives on the right, and then we have fiscal liberals who may or may not be social conservatives. Like Democrats, they are fiscally liberal... but they have a vastly different set of priorities than the Democrats. They want control, power and spending just as much.

I'm looking for the actual liberals to step up and join the true Republicans. Those who believe in the freedom of the individual... in the freedom of unpopular opinions. I want those who would burn a flag in protest to join in with those who would burn the Quran in protest. I wouldn't personally do either of those things... but I support the right of the people to do so... peacefully and assuming they own the items and do it in a safe and appropriate place.

What we NEED is a multi-party system where coalitions must be formed. Although most politicians in our current system agree on spending more, they disagree a lot on 'where'.... so although individual compromises may have winners and losers, in aggregate, everyone spends more.... because that is the only thing 60% of them agree on.