That title is meant as a joke, but nine times out of ten a man's politics can be predicted from the way in which he makes his living, so how do dentists tend to vote? Conventional wisdom says that "Republicans are for the rich," but are Dentists rich enough to fall in that category?
Once I'm rich I wont have to be a democrat anymore.
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Yes if you believe us Americans are getting dumber and follow that "if you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain" stereotype.
Some are small business owners, right? They are definitely "upper middle class" in my book.
But to be optimistic, I hope that dental school graduates aren't actually that ignorant and realize their true political views.
Some are small business owners, right? They are definitely "upper middle class" in my book.
But to be optimistic, I hope that dental school graduates aren't actually that ignorant and realize their true political views.
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Ehh..
I would assume that most dentists tend to bend towards (R) because dentists tend to be high income earners and small business owners. They most likely get annoyed by policies that piss their earnings away on gov programs that feed the entitled, and those who don't work, or picked low levels of employment through some series of choices or bad circumstances.
The calculation is simple. The more you're taxed the less money you will take home. The less money you take home the less you can save for retirement or provide for your family. In the end – that is all that matters to most. No government CAN or WILL provide for their citizens. Any notion / hope that a (D) may have about the gov creating social programs via taxation, and prividng for their citizens, is false. The government WILL NOT provide. The only hope you have is to save and invest on your own. Therefore, the smart dentist realizes that large government and costly programs are an impediment to their financial health and retirement goals.
This is just one dimension of the issue – a high wage earners perspective. In a later post I may explore why (D) are bad for small business, employees, and consumers too.
I would assume that most dentists tend to bend towards (R) because dentists tend to be high income earners and small business owners. They most likely get annoyed by policies that piss their earnings away on gov programs that feed the entitled, and those who don't work, or picked low levels of employment through some series of choices or bad circumstances.
The calculation is simple. The more you're taxed the less money you will take home. The less money you take home the less you can save for retirement or provide for your family. In the end – that is all that matters to most. No government CAN or WILL provide for their citizens. Any notion / hope that a (D) may have about the gov creating social programs via taxation, and prividng for their citizens, is false. The government WILL NOT provide. The only hope you have is to save and invest on your own. Therefore, the smart dentist realizes that large government and costly programs are an impediment to their financial health and retirement goals.
This is just one dimension of the issue – a high wage earners perspective. In a later post I may explore why (D) are bad for small business, employees, and consumers too.
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I don't know about "rich", but once you have 200K-400K in dental school debt and you want to start a practice and start earning money you should start thinking seriously about voting for less regulation, less government, and lower taxes.
Since most of us have been victim to attempted brainwashing by liberal arts college professors It's time to start looking beyond the wonderland that they live in and think about earning a living with your own two hands.
Since most of us have been victim to attempted brainwashing by liberal arts college professors It's time to start looking beyond the wonderland that they live in and think about earning a living with your own two hands.
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I think SDN needs to develop a "like" button
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I would imagine from a purely selfish perspective, the best way to vote would be whatever way protects the integrity of a dentist's license. It seems like allowing hygienists to practice solo, or allowing non-dentists to do bread-and-butter procedures would be far more damaging than adjusting the tax policies (assuming these aren't massive changes to tax policy). That's probably why dental lobbying efforts tend to support members from both parties in a piecemeal fashion; there isn't one party that has taken an official hard-line position on such issues. Well, except maybe Sen. Bernie Sanders - seeing as he is kinda his own party from a federal perspective.
Probably though, dentists tend to go republican because they are afraid of increased taxes. This might include income tax, business taxes, taxes on dividends, and taxes specific to dentistry or the healthcare industry in general (like the new 2.3% tax on dental supplies and, indirectly, certain lab work).
I was raised in a very liberal environment (a family of union workers, teachers, and government workers of various kinds). I then proceeded to receive an education at one of the midwest's more liberal universities. I've definitely lived in a bubble of sorts. I'm not sure how much becoming a dentist will change my views. It'll be interesting to see.
Probably though, dentists tend to go republican because they are afraid of increased taxes. This might include income tax, business taxes, taxes on dividends, and taxes specific to dentistry or the healthcare industry in general (like the new 2.3% tax on dental supplies and, indirectly, certain lab work).
I was raised in a very liberal environment (a family of union workers, teachers, and government workers of various kinds). I then proceeded to receive an education at one of the midwest's more liberal universities. I've definitely lived in a bubble of sorts. I'm not sure how much becoming a dentist will change my views. It'll be interesting to see.
I can name 2 reasons why many dentists end up politically conservative.
The first is that you get exposed to a lot of deadbeat people that place zero value on oral hygiene and our dental services. They want everything and they want it free. You start to see how this goes beyond dental care. This wears after awhile.
The second is that most dentists are small business owners or independent contractors. When you cross that path you get invariably annoyed with all the red tape and confiscatory taxes thrown at you. Your non-dentist friends have gov pensions and matching 401ks lined up, but you have to try and stash away whats left after taxes and make it grow. You become responsible for your own fate. This forges independence, and you come to see government as a barrier to prosperity rather than a means.
The first is that you get exposed to a lot of deadbeat people that place zero value on oral hygiene and our dental services. They want everything and they want it free. You start to see how this goes beyond dental care. This wears after awhile.
The second is that most dentists are small business owners or independent contractors. When you cross that path you get invariably annoyed with all the red tape and confiscatory taxes thrown at you. Your non-dentist friends have gov pensions and matching 401ks lined up, but you have to try and stash away whats left after taxes and make it grow. You become responsible for your own fate. This forges independence, and you come to see government as a barrier to prosperity rather than a means.
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Loving all the responses so far. There's a lot of people with good heads on their shoulders here. I grew up in a conservative household, but then went to a very liberal university. The stark contrast really set my views in place. The sense of entitlement growing in this country is really annoying. Give it to me, and give it to me free.
I only see me continuing to be fiscally conservative as I start my career in dentistry. I've said this in a lot of contexts, but it also applies here. In my opinion, the government is not the solution, it is the cause.
I only see me continuing to be fiscally conservative as I start my career in dentistry. I've said this in a lot of contexts, but it also applies here. In my opinion, the government is not the solution, it is the cause.
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Business owners write one big check for their taxes unlike smaller amounts being taken by monthly checks. If you look at that huge amount and remain a democrat, there is something wrong. With all the waste in the federal government, why be so willing to give them so much? I mean, I know the 1.2 million stimulus given to people for playing world of Warcraft was completely necessary, but maybe they could survive with just 1 million instead.
If everyone had to write one check for taxes rather than taking them out of monthly checks, there would be a lot more republicans. This is why so many small business owners are republicans.
If everyone had to write one check for taxes rather than taking them out of monthly checks, there would be a lot more republicans. This is why so many small business owners are republicans.
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9 of the 10 richest counties in American this past election voted for Obama. Just sayin'
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When you're loaded it's easy to be liberal. That's why you see most of Hollywood and super successful musicians spouting off their liberal beliefs to the nation. If I was swimming in a pool of 100 dollar bills, I think it would be easier for me to give some of them away, too. But when you're in the middle/upper-middle class working hard all week to earn your dollars to support your business and your family, it's a little harder to agree to the "I make more, I'll pay more" concept.
Just sayin'
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When you're loaded it's easy to be liberal. That's why you see most of Hollywood and super successful musicians spouting off their liberal beliefs to the nation. If I was swimming in a pool of 100 dollar bills, I think it would be easier for me to give some of them away, too. But when you're in the middle/upper-middle class working hard all week to earn your dollars to support your business and your family, it's a little harder to agree to the "I make more, I'll pay more" concept.
Just sayin'
Exactly. The reason so many uber rich are liberal is they feel bad for being so rich. Which is fine. If they want to pay more in taxes, they sure can. But don't force me to. If I were that rich, I would want to give a lot of it away too. But instead of giving it to the government to waste, I would give it to charities that I choose.
I googled that. First off it was 8/10. Second they are counties of the liberal elite in suburbs of NYC, DC and SF. These people have little in common with dentists. For example 2 of the counties are in VA. Obviously gonna be full of lawyers, lobbyists and feds that all benefit from big government.
I'll bet dentists and small business owners in those counties are still overwhelmingly conservative for the reasons I stated earlier. In fact I went to dental school in a very liberal city and the faculty was still very conservative, especially the private practice docs.
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I agree with just about everything said so far. Also, for me anyway, it's a matter of how the tax dollars are used. If the government wasn't 16 trillion dollars in debt and asking for a larger cut of my money to fund programs that will be dead by the time I can use them, I wouldn't tend to lean so conservatively.
In general, it does amaze me how we're told to go get a great education when we're young and then often chastised when that education leads to wealth.
I'm still a dental student, but just being around dentists who have been in private practice and the types of things they deal with, they're definitely earning their money.
In general, it does amaze me how we're told to go get a great education when we're young and then often chastised when that education leads to wealth.
I'm still a dental student, but just being around dentists who have been in private practice and the types of things they deal with, they're definitely earning their money.
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When I volunteered out in Cumberland, MD near West Virginia for a dental outreach trip, I helped out two different groups. Outside, I was helping some social workers and local volunteers with ushering the hundreds of patients from the cold, morning fairgrounds to the cozy triage center indoors. Inside, I was assisting the dentists and oral surgeons. I talked with both groups about the role of government on dental healthcare/small business. Both groups were sympathetic but each had very different takes.
If you're making average to below average and are an employee, you're probably going to vote Democrat (Obama has been fairly corporate friendly for his first term). If you're making more than 94% of all Americans and are an employer, you're probably going to vote Republican. Everyone votes for their own interests' sake. I don't expect Americans will ever have a selfless, collectivist attitude and vote for whoever will benefit the majority of all U.S. citizens, whether they themselves actually benefit or not.
The one thing that we all benefit from, both rich and poor, is education.
If you're making average to below average and are an employee, you're probably going to vote Democrat (Obama has been fairly corporate friendly for his first term). If you're making more than 94% of all Americans and are an employer, you're probably going to vote Republican. Everyone votes for their own interests' sake. I don't expect Americans will ever have a selfless, collectivist attitude and vote for whoever will benefit the majority of all U.S. citizens, whether they themselves actually benefit or not.
The one thing that we all benefit from, both rich and poor, is education.
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Truth. It's a nice thought that would've been great if it worked. It's like a P/F school having underachieving students instead of having sifted for an intrinsically motivated, ambitious, type-A personality group of students. No one is rewarded for hard-work. It's nice in that it assumes that people work hard but not everyone would continue to work hard if they're generally underachievers to begin with. You're also giving up your ownership in making yourself better off or more distinguished than everyone else.
I think there are less and less hard boiled Americans who are willing to save face and not accept freebies. I don't know, maybe it's just the media focusing only on those who take advantage of this system.
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That is the basis of capitalism.
I think the Republican party would get a lot more votes if they focused more on fiscal issues and less on social ones (like abortion rights, stem cell research, prayer in school, gun ownership, etc.). Also, if recent Republican presidents had been more fiscally responsible than the neo-cons were, I think they wouldn't be perceived by so many of their detractors as hypocrites.
Basically, the Republican party needs to get back to its ideals. Why else is there now a Tea Party demanding things like free association and a very small federal government? Probably because they feel betrayed by the very party they grew up with.
this is the most appropriate and correct statement.
I sincerely believe that collectivism is one of the greatest evils in mankind. The fact that what others do should influence what you do is totally stupid and idiotic. I think it is really the reason many Asian countries (I have experience living in this area of the world), such as India have lagged far behind economically and socially despite having a very strong work ethic. I think if we could all just focus on ourselves, many good things would happen. Many of the evils of the past could be eradicated. First of all violence against women is the result of collectivism. The prevention of homosexuals from having their right to marry is collectivism. Materialism and excess spending is the result of collectivism. One could reasonably say that the economy collapsed because of large swaths of people taking out loans on fancy houses that they could not afford. Why'd they take out outrageous loans? Cause they wanted to 'keep up' with others and get a showy house. This is collectivism. If we abandon collectivism, both liberals and conservatives, moderate Dems and moderate Repubs would all be happy. We'd get people with good moral values, a sound working capitalistic economic system, etc. Individualism does not mean being selfish, contrary to common liberal/collectivist belief. Who here wouldn't want to be like Bill Gates or John D. Rockefeller and contribute large sums to charity and drastically improve thousands of people's lives. Bill Gates charity has done awesome things, like almost eradicate polio from the word completely. He is the true paradigm of individualism in my opinion.
Just my 2 cents.
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According to a recent WSJ poll a majority of Americans are in favor of keeping abortions legal.
Spot on.
I don't think Democratics would be very happy if their reason for existence was abandoned.
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Most Americans (actually every one I've ever talked to) believe abortion should be legal under "certain conditions", like rape. The truth is that rape victim abortions account for a very small percentage of performed abortions, and under those circumstances it should be up-to the mother. However, these issues are always the topic that is blown out of proportion on MSNBC/CNN. Again, I've never talked to a conservative who believed under these types of situations we should prohibit the women to do as she sees fit.
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Easy folks. This topic had the potential from the beginning to get off topic, but let's not go in depth on abortions. To remind us of the OPs original question, I think the majority of dentists would tend to vote right.
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I'm not advocating one way or another as I tend to run right down the middle personally. Just my $0.02.
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I'm sorry I cannot resist saying this: Sandra Fluke is the worst. She is not a women's rights advocate. She is just someone who wants you to pay for her playtime. A condom right activist.
I am a little worried about the current flux of dental students and med students. They are all so liberal (especially with healthcare policy), even up to their 4th year and even the ones finishing residency. I do believe that if liberal brainwashing does persist, it reaches a point where it is irreversible.
Furthermore the field of dentistry is declining mainly due to liberal forces: the federal loan program needs to be severely cut or done away with because schools are taking advantage of the loans and starting up dental classes with like 200 students in them and flooding the market. Same thing with orho programs. Then the libs want to give rights to little dental therapists who can now do root canals in Minnesota. And once the libs get their hands on the field of dental insurance (and believe me the question is not if they will the question is when); then them big dental corporate chains will push for their fat cat contracts with the gov't as is the case with the hospital industry which will push private practice dentists to the curb.
Dentistry is facing an existential threat from the triumvirate of the for-profit educational lobby (DeVry, etc), the corporate dental lobby (backed by private equity on WALL ST), and the worse lobby of all the allied health profession lobby (ie, the nurses, PAs, and FNPs, and now the little therapists). All three of these will lobby the heck out of the Dems and libs which will destroy the field of dentistry. All of this will be done under the guise of "increasing access to care" and "lowering health care costs" and "cutting waste and building efficiency". The future of dentistry and the liberals role in helping ruin it, is a future so obvious to predict it is not even funny. But don't worry stupid dental students (and a lot of them are liberal) will go along and nod their heads.
I am a little worried about the current flux of dental students and med students. They are all so liberal (especially with healthcare policy), even up to their 4th year and even the ones finishing residency. I do believe that if liberal brainwashing does persist, it reaches a point where it is irreversible.
Furthermore the field of dentistry is declining mainly due to liberal forces: the federal loan program needs to be severely cut or done away with because schools are taking advantage of the loans and starting up dental classes with like 200 students in them and flooding the market. Same thing with orho programs. Then the libs want to give rights to little dental therapists who can now do root canals in Minnesota. And once the libs get their hands on the field of dental insurance (and believe me the question is not if they will the question is when); then them big dental corporate chains will push for their fat cat contracts with the gov't as is the case with the hospital industry which will push private practice dentists to the curb.
Dentistry is facing an existential threat from the triumvirate of the for-profit educational lobby (DeVry, etc), the corporate dental lobby (backed by private equity on WALL ST), and the worse lobby of all the allied health profession lobby (ie, the nurses, PAs, and FNPs, and now the little therapists). All three of these will lobby the heck out of the Dems and libs which will destroy the field of dentistry. All of this will be done under the guise of "increasing access to care" and "lowering health care costs" and "cutting waste and building efficiency". The future of dentistry and the liberals role in helping ruin it, is a future so obvious to predict it is not even funny. But don't worry stupid dental students (and a lot of them are liberal) will go along and nod their heads.
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I am a strong fan of the phrase "everything in moderation" as it holds true to my political and social values as well. If we can attempt to remove ourselves from our emotional ties to a situation, I think that this is where most would end up. The reason I mention this is that some here have said that people should look out for their own good in the market and go from there - I think this is trying to do surgery with an ax. Likewise, there are those that think everyone should be taken care of - I think this is bringing people together with superglue and sutures.
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You are painting with some awfully large brush strokes there man... careful with that
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He started it.
On another note...I do know that my family dentist is a left winger. He just hung up a sign outside his office "Accepting new patients".
I know.
But having worked in the healthcare sector for a long time, having talked to many private doctors, and having read up on the politics of medicine and healthcare for a very long time, I am strongly convinced that is the future for dentistry. I do not mind if someone disagrees with me, and I would actually like to debate the points.Been lied to all my life by liberals. Was an avid liberal as a result, truly believed in their pretty little lies. Got out in the real world. Learned how it really works. Socially and economically speaking liberals aka communists are wrong. Miles from the truth. Now I'm a conservative. Republicans obviously aren't, and democrats and their gimmedat supporters aren't either. Its telling that when you disagree slightly with a liberal on any topic they explode into a state of anger spouting insults. A true cult.
"Oh those poor poors, they're so poor someone should give them money so they can feeeel better". Get a job. Its that simple. No need to kill the middle class with taxes and line the pockets of the rich with said taxes. This is the goal of liberalism. To make everyone equal, to make everyone low class while they themselves live in excess above the rest. Liberalism for the gullible masses but not for them. This is what Nietzsche would call a slave religion.
Fortunately communism is unsustainable (check out the debt amongst other things, do your research if you're curious). Russia found out the hard way and now its our turn. Though technically since I'm an immigrant from the former USSR, this will be the second time I witness commies ruin a country.
Repubs are the lesser of 2 evils so I vote for them.
"Oh those poor poors, they're so poor someone should give them money so they can feeeel better". Get a job. Its that simple. No need to kill the middle class with taxes and line the pockets of the rich with said taxes. This is the goal of liberalism. To make everyone equal, to make everyone low class while they themselves live in excess above the rest. Liberalism for the gullible masses but not for them. This is what Nietzsche would call a slave religion.
Fortunately communism is unsustainable (check out the debt amongst other things, do your research if you're curious). Russia found out the hard way and now its our turn. Though technically since I'm an immigrant from the former USSR, this will be the second time I witness commies ruin a country.
Repubs are the lesser of 2 evils so I vote for them.
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How sure are you that you're venting in the right direction? The European social model is something Americans have decided they don't want. Republicans accuse the Democrats of attempting to copy the NHS or the Canadian system, and yet in both of those systems docs and dentists still hold the reins. There are no NPs or dental therapists threatening to usurp British or Canadian doctors / dentists so far as I know, and one has to wonder why. With all of the "cost cutting" measures the government is coming up with (which is in response to a bipartisan effort to reign in an out of control budget) it only makes sense that state legislatures would be happy to endorse practitioners who they think can do the same job for less. Who is pushing hardest to reign in federal spending? Who is pushing hardest for states' rights? Who is pushing hardest to allow for deregulation, free association, and contracts between consenting individuals (like patients and dental therapists who have been deemed acceptable by the state they practice in)?
You talk about the Democrats using this ruse to cut spending, but then the Democrats are simultaneously accused of increasing spending and demanding increased revenue. Wouldn't the Democrats then want doctors to earn more income which they can tax more heavily than they can a NP by that logic? Wouldn't the Democrats be most interested in a public health utopia where patients have access to the best and it's all paid for through increased tax revenue?
I think it's a bit myopic to say that the "libs" are destroying dentistry or healthcare. The fact is, there was a bipartisan effort to destroy healthcare in this country on many fronts over many decades. I would be happy to debate this point, but I hate to derail the thread any further. I think the blame lies with both parties and that it would take a huge amount of unbiased research to really understand the depth of corruption, nepotism, collusion, and downright theft that has occurred at all levels of our government to create a system as broken as the one we have right now. It's not as simple as to say "the libs are misguided idealists who are so out-of-touch with reality that they are leading us all over a cliff."
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We have a winning response!
My standard reply now when a patient says that "I must be a rich republican who needs to pay their fairshire in taxes....."
Is I tell them that based on last years total government spending, the average family would need to pay about 27k in federal income taxes to cover their "real share" of government spending. And that if they didn't pay 27k in federal income taxes last year that they are just a liability to the government. I then say that I DID pay my real share, and the real share for a few more families too last year, how about you? That usually shuts them up. Facts vs. emotion - facts win 100% of the time
If they then persist (and some do
) I then tell them that for every government subsidized patient(medicaid) that I treat, where I accept a reimbursement rate that is often just at, if not below my costs, that I have to charge those non government subsidized patients (private insurance/self pay) MORE to offset the loss I take for the government subsized patients. And now I also have posted a sign in my waiting room that fees had to be increased 2.3% because of the 2.3% medical devises tax (and most of what we use in the practice of denistry is considered a medical devise) that began on January 1st as a part of the Affordable Care Act. I rarely have a liberal patient "challenge" me to round 3! In all seriousness, if you do get a patient who wants to lambaste you for being a "rich dentist" if you can keep the discussion facts based, and not let emotion intervene on your part, that's a great skill that as a dentist you'll use very often when discussing treatment plans with patients (i.e. no matter how much Mrs. Jones with tooth #3 with a vertical root fracture through the furcation and a 10+mm pocket wants to save that tooth and gives you every sob story about why she does, the facts and reality are that it's a goner"
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Well put!
It's like this whole sequester BS right now. Literally all that needs to be done, because of legislation that THE PRESIDENT himself wanted (not the republican house as the media is trying to spin it) is cut 85 BILLION out of a 3.6 TRILLION dollar budget (that's essentially 1 penny out of every dollar spent - NOT a huge amount at all). And the press is totally complicent with the admistration BS where the administration talking points are that every social program immaginable will be cut/eliminated for fear sake
This is also from an adminstration that has gone on record saying that cutting out redundency, waste and fraud could save the government over 200 BILLION a year (far more than the Presidents sequester cuts call for).And if one does what they should and CRITICALLY look at what is being proposed, the sequester cuts essentially boil down to no actuall real dollar cuts, but just a decrease of a future propsed increase in spending (pure "Washington math" BS!!!)
EVERYONE needs to look critically at the information that is being put out there, and then cirtically make their own descison, independent of what the media is trying "sell" as the story. We are supposed to critically think about things in the profession of dentistry, and this is a key tennet of how we should also live our lives. And its a crucial part of the education process nowadays that isn't being taught
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i agree a lot with what you just said but the bolded part I think really highlights how washington reps blow so much steam. Remember the highly quoted 716$ billion dollars from medicare that will be saved from obamacare, over what? 15-20 years. It's such bull that congress and the media spout these numbers as instant savings. Even the smallest of cuts will accumulate to those astronomical amounts over decades.
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Interesting how the primary political convictions of the individuals in this thread are concerned more with the dentist and less with the patient. And some would rather scapegoat individuals rather than recognizing the policies and disparities which have created the situations in the first-place.
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I don't know. A lot of what they've been saying is that the people who complain about expensive dental care and lack of accessibility (not many want to accept medicaid/medicare) are the ones who voted for politicians who raised medical equipment costs, allowed the tuition hikes, and transferred the increase in expenditure (dental students are the consumers of loans and the dentists, as the middle-men, pass the costs of interest rates and higher taxes onto the consumer). These pressures don't absolutely dictate that we can't properly care for low-income patients but it makes it a lot harder to do so.
It's not that people are overly concerned with the well being of the "dentist". Rather, they're concerned with their individual situation - dentist or not. That is the difference between R and D. I favor the R because they tend to care more about an individuals rights rather than engineering a system where I must play a part (involuntary) in some bureaucrats dream society.
It wouldn't matter what profession - even a lower wage employee - I still think I would be better off with conservative/R policies than liberal/D policies.
It wouldn't matter what profession - even a lower wage employee - I still think I would be better off with conservative/R policies than liberal/D policies.
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That's not the idea I get from perspectives like this.
And yes, Medicare/Medicaid are a mess. But that's what happens when we have two dichotomies which produce compromises like Obamacare that try and split the ideologies of primary care as a fundamental human right and health care as a market-driven commodity. We can't have both. That, and the American hubris that we have nothing to learn from other post-industrial societies and their health care systems.
Further, we have to recognize that most of these economic policies are dictated by lobbyists and special interest groups, not true politics. Hence the reason we haven't closed capital gains loopholes, etc, despite the past three presidents promising to do so.
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2010
- Messages
- 159
- Reaction score
- 65
"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
-Mark Twain
"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress."
-Yep. Mark Twain again.
The U.S. Congress--both parties, across the spectrum from liberal to conservative--has done an astonishing amount of damage to the American people for upwards of thirty years. (There are thousands of examples, but have you seen our infrastructure lately??) In general they're greedy, self-involved, ruthless, heartless, behind the times, mean-spirited, ideological and blind to the pain of their fellow man. And they are not beautiful in their sins, if I may paraphrase H.P. Lovecraft.
With state and local governments, your mileage may vary. But many are not much better.
If we were to build our reaction to their undeclared war on us on scientific principles, which guide us in our dentistry, we might conclude that it's more important to shake them up by voting out the incumbents than by voting for one party or the other. But then, both parties embrace the clever strategy of relentlessly pushing on a small number of hot-button emotional issues that maintain the loyalty of the masses.
The only thing--only thing--that a politician fears is losing an election. They don't fear us, or the laws of the land, or the censure of their colleagues, or anything else.
It is difficult to vote against a number of one's views and values, though for me personally, as for many of you, neither the R's nor the D's ideally capture my values, so either way it's tough. We would do well however to remember that the only power we have over them is our vote, and if enough of us voted enough of them into the oblivion they deserve, then as a body they would behave better towards us going forward.
-Mark Twain
"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress."
-Yep. Mark Twain again.
The U.S. Congress--both parties, across the spectrum from liberal to conservative--has done an astonishing amount of damage to the American people for upwards of thirty years. (There are thousands of examples, but have you seen our infrastructure lately??) In general they're greedy, self-involved, ruthless, heartless, behind the times, mean-spirited, ideological and blind to the pain of their fellow man. And they are not beautiful in their sins, if I may paraphrase H.P. Lovecraft.
With state and local governments, your mileage may vary. But many are not much better.
If we were to build our reaction to their undeclared war on us on scientific principles, which guide us in our dentistry, we might conclude that it's more important to shake them up by voting out the incumbents than by voting for one party or the other. But then, both parties embrace the clever strategy of relentlessly pushing on a small number of hot-button emotional issues that maintain the loyalty of the masses.
The only thing--only thing--that a politician fears is losing an election. They don't fear us, or the laws of the land, or the censure of their colleagues, or anything else.
It is difficult to vote against a number of one's views and values, though for me personally, as for many of you, neither the R's nor the D's ideally capture my values, so either way it's tough. We would do well however to remember that the only power we have over them is our vote, and if enough of us voted enough of them into the oblivion they deserve, then as a body they would behave better towards us going forward.
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For all these cons here, please answer me this. As individuals aspiring to become dentists, we all must think scientifically, logically, and critically. Will everyone blowing up this thread honestly go vote to stop funding planned parenthood, ban and over-regulate contraceptives, abolish a woman's right to choose, prevent same sex couples from having the same opportunities as heterosexual couples, and keep dangerous guns in the hands of the wrong people? ......just to lower your income taxes?
Of course, the Reps will always focus on these things just as much, if not more, than the financial ideological differences between parties...
Absolutely!
Some of the issues you stated I agree with some I don't. Economy is number one issue to me. BTW much of what you listed is laughable. On one hand you want to limit gun rights and force people to pay for PP; but, then on the other hand you want to open up marriage rights and keep abortion rights open. So we're all supposed to live life according to Nixon? lol. Get over yourself and vote for an R that embraces libertarian policies and stop wanting to police society and thought you liberal.
Some of the issues you stated I agree with some I don't. Economy is number one issue to me. BTW much of what you listed is laughable. On one hand you want to limit gun rights and force people to pay for PP; but, then on the other hand you want to open up marriage rights and keep abortion rights open. So we're all supposed to live life according to Nixon? lol. Get over yourself and vote for an R that embraces libertarian policies and stop wanting to police society and thought you liberal.
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Damn, someone is salty that Obama won the election.
I agree. It's the social policies of the right which stops me from supporting them.
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- Joined
- Sep 17, 2012
- Messages
- 76
- Reaction score
- 9
Most of the stuff you mention are just red herrings to divert the public's attention from the real problem. "Bullsh-t baffles brains." And since most people are allergic to thinking they just roll with it all.
Income tax in the US is nothing compared to what they have in Europe and Canada, both are very socialist. But at the rate its going we'll soon be right up there with them. This is one of the major issues, not the only one.
Read something other than what your liberal professors recommend you to read and stop taking the words of your puppet politicians as absolute truth.
Its strange you hippys aka liberals wanted the government to get out of your lives and have more individual freedom back in the 70s but now you want government to control every aspect of your lives.
Correction: Before anyone else pegs me as a conservative you should know I'm not. I lean more towards conservatism but I'm hardly one of them.
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