This year’s election is shaping up to be a contest between free stuff and anger. The over reaction to neither one will solve our nation’s problems.

A 3rd grade teacher relates a telling story: a boy and a girl are finalists to be their class president. The boy gives an excellent speech and receives a raucous ovation when he finishes. The girl stands up and says, simply “If you will vote for me I’ll give you ice cream” and sits down. When asked how she will pay for the ice cream she says she doesn’t know. But the class doesn’t care; they just want their ice cream. She wins in a landslide. Well that’s how Obama won in 2012 and that’s how Clinton, and Sanders, are running today but their supporters don’t care. They just want their ice cream.

Trump’s promises (when you look under the hood) appear to be inconsistent with reality but his supporters don’t care because they are (justifiably) angry and they too want their ice cream. And their ice cream is to dump the current establishment. While the GOP seems to be impotent against the Dem’s relentless pull to the left, upon closer inspection, it’s clear that they are simply part of the establishment and therefore they must also go. Trump promises that he is the antidote. On the surface his promise to “make us great again” has a nice sound to it, but as you dig down it simply rings hollow.

Neither our desire for ice cream nor our over reaction to anger will right our sinking ship. That sucking sound you hear is the inevitability of an implosion nearing critical mass. Do your research and then go vote.

tq

tq, I really wish you were wrong, but I think you've hit the nail on its proverbial head. It doesn't matter who runs, it doesn't matter if there is even a thread of decency or morality in that individual, the fact that someone is absolutely clueless of what being the POTUS truly means is irrelevant, all that matters to too many is that someone say what they want to hear. Whether it is possible to do what is promised is absolutely irrelevant. What is best for this beloved nation is absolutely irrelevant. Until voters stand up and say they want someone strong, decent, relatively intelligent, with at least an inkling of what being President means and a willingness to do what is right regardless, we'll continue getting blowhards, liars, womanizers and clueless fools.

Red

Originally Posted by Guest

Well that’s how Obama won in 2012 and that’s how Clinton, and Sanders, are running today but their supporters don’t care.

Making Empty Promises

Check out The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises | PolitiFact

There are 27 pages of Obama promises. Some were kept, some were not and there were quite a bit of compromises along the way. I didn't look at all 27 pages but he sure did promise a quite a bit.

Tell me what you think?

Is there a meter for the others? What did they promise and what did they deliver.

Trump would not have one because he was a business man and as he has said you should expect that he acted in the best interest of his business. It sounds like a line from the Godfather, business, nothing personal.

Originally Posted by Guest

tq, I really wish you were wrong, but I think you've hit the nail on its proverbial head. It doesn't matter who runs, it doesn't matter if there is even a thread of decency or morality in that individual, the fact that someone is absolutely clueless of what being the POTUS truly means is irrelevant, all that matters to too many is that someone say what they want to hear. Whether it is possible to do what is promised is absolutely irrelevant. What is best for this beloved nation is absolutely irrelevant. Until voters stand up and say they want someone strong, decent, relatively intelligent, with at least an inkling of what being President means and a willingness to do what is right regardless, we'll continue getting blowhards, liars, womanizers and clueless fools.

Red

Nice thought. Too bad that will never happen. The presidency is a popularity contest. Whoever promises you the most gets your vote. Welcome to America.

I have become unusually cynical with most politicians but in particular with the present occupant of the WH and the leading candidate (to date) who is trying to replace him. The only thing that I believe when either one of them speaks is that they have opened their mouths and in all likelihood told another lie.

I have learned never to believe all that one says as something can be taken out of context. Being here instead of there makes it impossible to discern the complete truth.

While I have never seen a perfect candidate the only one remaining that I believe really has our country's interest at heart is Cruz.

tq

If Trump is elected President, the public would find out he is all bluster. Congress would not work with him. He could not unilaterally tear p trade agreements with foreign countries, he could not tell civil service employees they are fired, etc.

Same with Cruz. He could not repeal ACA with an executive order. It is the law of the land. Cruz could not do away with the IRS or EPA or Dept of Education - a President does not have that authority. Congress would never pass anything from Cruz.

Sanders could not get any of his campaign ideas through Congress. For the free college, that would be tied up in committees for his entire term. A higher minimum wage is in place right now and the wage will increase no matter who is President but not to $15.

Clinton has the best chance of compromising with Congress on issues that will benefit the most people. It will be a lot of backsctratching but that is how to get programs through the legislative process.

In short, there is no free ice cream for everyone. You may end up with a small bowl of ice cream and will have to pay for it.

While I like Cruz because he does NOT compromise, I recognize that there could be some problems with getting some of his agenda passed but our country has moved left for decades now because the GOP (they say in order to "get along") has compromised time and again. We are closer to destruction that we have ever been. If we want to actually make our country strong again, we must, as a nation, move back to the right.

We did not become the greatest country that ever existed due to government programs but instead because of capitalism. While capitalism may not be perfect if you want to raise all ships then you need an economic engine and that is NOT more government programs. The government takes from the producers. We have become a nation of haves and have nots. The current administration has worked very successfully at dividing us in exactly that way. Those of us who produce are greedy because we want to keep that which we worked for. The greedy ones are the ones who want to take from us and then holler for even more.

Originally Posted by Guest

I have become unusually cynical with most politicians but in particular with the present occupant of the WH and the leading candidate (to date) who is trying to replace him. The only thing that I believe when either one of them speaks is that they have opened their mouths and in all likelihood told another lie.

I have learned never to believe all that one says as something can be taken out of context. Being here instead of there makes it impossible to discern the complete truth.

While I have never seen a perfect candidate the only one remaining that I believe really has our country's interest at heart is Cruz.

tq

God doesn't like repubs, if he did he wouldn't have given you repubs the bunch of losers you have running for President. Hillary will win. that is who he wants.

Can these "guest" posts be edited by the OP?

Originally Posted by Guest

Those of us who produce are greedy because we want to keep that which we worked for. The greedy ones are the ones who want to take from us and then holler for even more.

Are you in the top 1% or the bottom 90% who own just as much? Where did the middle class go?

Originally Posted by Guest

God doesn't like repubs, if he did he wouldn't have given you repubs the bunch of losers you have running for President. Hillary will win. that is who he wants.

I will be so bold as you say that you are simply wrong -- God loves all and I don't think He allows Himself to become involved with the idiocy that we humans tend to relegate ourselves to. Look at the Israelis in the "Bible" times and the Romans as of comparatively lately. He allowed mankind to destroy itself and that's what He's doing right now.

We're the idiots and we're destroying ourselves from within.

Hillary is not only an un-indicted criminal, she is also simply another socialist. Socialism has *never* worked long term because it can't. Eventually it will cave in on itself. That's happening right before our eyes. The last 7 years has seen the greatest change in a country's direction, I believe, in recent centuries. We've gone from the best to heading towards just another 3rd world country and at a record pace. And if you can't see it then you are simply ignoring the obvious.

The sad thing is that those of you who crave more socialism will be just as damaged and hurt as those of us on the right who are trying to stop this train.

tq

Originally Posted by Guest

Are you in the top 1% or the bottom 90% who own just as much? Where did the middle class go?

Obama and the socialist cabal have destroyed the middle class. If you want to see a resurgence of those in the middle then you need a capitalistic economy. There is nothing at all complicated about that.

Originally Posted by Guest

God doesn't like repubs, if he did he wouldn't have given you repubs the bunch of losers you have running for President. Hillary will win. that is who he wants.

At some point even alcoholics sober up!

Originally Posted by Guest

Obama and the socialist cabal have destroyed the middle class. If you want to see a resurgence of those in the middle then you need a capitalistic economy. There is nothing at all complicated about that.

It's not complicated? It's easy to fix? How would you fix it?

Originally Posted by Guest

It's not complicated? It's easy to fix? How would you fix it?

I’d reduce the size of government, balance the budget, eliminate some of the departments that Cruz is proposing, get rid of the new policies, like Dodd-Frank, that are costing the consumers millions upon millions of dollars each year instead of helping. Make the needed changes to Social Security and Medicare in order to make them viable once again.
Government’s primary function is to protect its people not to pick winners and losers in the business world, of which they are a consummate failure. Government has gotten so bloated that it is no longer capable of being run efficiently. Efficacy is needed and there is none. Government needs to get back to what it was originally intended to do.

Power needs to be returned to the people. 535 people in Washington cannot compete with the genius of 315 million people.

I didn’t say it would be easy, I said it wasn’t complicated.

tq