Topic: Ted Cruz and forcing decisions on children

[Linde]

So does the left on their favorite divisive issues.  It's the sad reality that is politics.  If it comes from a politician you have to remember that anything they say is being said for their own benefit, not yours or anyone else's.

That is a pretty cynical outlook into the world.  i think some of these people mean what the say.  I always think about Jimmy Carter when I think about an honest politician!

[Phina]

That is a pretty cynical outlook into the world.  i think some of these people mean what the say.  I always think about Jimmy Carter when I think about an honest politician!

It's a sad state of affairs when you have to go back 40 years before you can come up with an example of an honest politician.

[Haley Conner]

Yes, basically every president since Carter has been inauthentic.

[Linde]

It's a sad state of affairs when you have to go back 40 years before you can come up with an example of an honest politician.

I think Clinton and Obama were Ok honest on the political side (as a European, I can care less what Clinton did with good o'l Monica).  I think Bush got a little better towards the end of his term?  And the older Bush was pretty OK, too.

[Lady Sarah]

This country is severely divided. We are merely another subject to argue about. I believe it will take quite some time before the US can come to terms with the political decisiveness.  It's so bad that Sean Spicer is about to win Dancing With The Stars without even learning how to dance just because his political supporters vote for him, many of them without ever watching the show.

As you can see, it's not so much about any particular transgender people. It's about the idea of transgender people existing. Before that, it was the notion of gay people existing. They think it is sick and disgusting and somehow against the will of God. They believe that if we somehow become normalized in society, they will be at a loss to find some other type of person to demonize and use as a political scapegoat.

[Colleen_definitely]

That is a pretty cynical outlook into the world.  i think some of these people mean what the say.

Yes it is.  I used to take them at their word but after a while I figured out that their word isn't good for much of anything.  Some of the 3rd party candidates are pretty close to being genuine but the rest are just pawns of their party or simply power hungry megalomaniacs and I don't trust them a bit.

We live in a society where people don't think critically (generally speaking).  Far too many people rely on the people on their TV to tell them what to think about events and such.  Add in the echo chamber effect of social media and it really shouldn't be a surprise that this nation is so divided.  Playing up the "us versus them" angle to levels approaching "they want to exterminate us" keeps people watching the news, which makes them money.  The same goes for political campaigns, that sort of thing gets them a TON of political donations.  There is no incentive for them to be civil on either side of the fence because we keep voting for them.

[Linde]

.  There is no incentive for them to be civil on either side of the fence because we keep voting for them.

I pretty much agree with you, a multiple party system without this notorious Electoral college would be a way better choice to have the system keep their own checks and balances.  But even the political world in Europe which has multiple party systems, seems to drift more and more towards extremists on either side.  I don't know what one could do about this, because what else than Democracy, which by its nature, is very vulnerable, is out there?  Monarchie did not work well, Dictatorships are not that great either, and Anarchy ran into it's own death in ancient Greece already.
What is left?  Being cynical does not help either!

[Devlyn]

  I know I'd appreciate it if the conversation would return to the topic at hand: Ted Cruz and the article
mentioned in the O/P. 

Thank you.

Devlyn