Tag: liberal

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Politics pope francis

Pope Denounces Rich Greed – Says Time to Share the Wealth

Republicans will not be happy hearing this papal message. Sarah Palin already wondered if his views were too liberal. What will they say now?

Pontiff’s first major publication calls on global leaders to guarantee work, education and healthcare

Pope Francis has attacked unfettered capitalism as “a new tyranny”, urging global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality in the first major work he has authored alone as pontiff.

The 84-page document, known as an apostolic exhortation, amounted to an official platform for his papacy, building on views he has aired in sermons and remarks since he became the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years in March.

In it, Francis went further than previous comments criticising the global economic system, attacking the “idolatry of money” and beseeching politicians to guarantee all citizens “dignified work, education and healthcare”.

He also called on rich people to share their wealth. “Just as the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills,” Francis wrote in the document issued on Tuesday.

“How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”

The pope said renewal of the church could not be put off and the Vatican and its entrenched hierarchy “also need to hear the call to pastoral conversion”.

“I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security,” he wrote

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Politics Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin Thinks the Pope is Too Liberal

Lol… See what I did there in the title? Sarah Palin thinks… lol!

It must be all that stuff the Pope does,  you know, like catering to the needs of the poor and teaching love and compassion for the less fortunate. He’s trying to put the focus of the Catholic Church back to community service and helping others.

Simple things, like giving up his pope-mobile for a less conspicuous, far less appealing 1984 ride, and washing and kissing the feet of prisoners… these things are a no no in the conservative world,  so therefore,  as per the Palin, the Pope must be a liberal!

In an interview on CNN’s “The Lead,” when host Jake Tapper , Palin shared the “thoughts” swirling around in her cabeza!

“Having read through media outlets, he’s had some statements that to me sounded kind of liberal, has taken me aback, has kind of surprised me. But there again unless I really dig deep into what his messaging is, and do my own homework, I’m not going to just trust what I hear in the media.”

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Politics

The Liberal Ascendancy

Yes, I know, it’s only been a week and already I’m full of prophecies and predictions about a liberal (say it with me: Lib-er-al) era that’s just beginning. Others have argued with me that it’s too soon or that the conservatives aren’t going away or that I live in good old liberal (say it again: Lib-er-al. Doesn’t it sound all smooth and creamy?) New Jersey and that I have no idea what’s happening in redder areas of the country.

Possibly true, and you might not lose money betting against me, but not only do I believe it to be true, there is some solid evidence to back it up. The conservative era is coming to a close and the implosion of the right wing is decidedly under way. Don’t get me wrong; the conservatives and the Republican Party can and will do a lot more damage to the country and to Barack Obama‘s second term (look what they’ve done to reproductive rights and collective bargaining), but their ability to set the agenda is pretty much over.

Consider:

The GOP gave in on taxes in the fiscal cliff negotiations, and then they postponed the debt ceiling fight for three months under the utterly mistaken belief that they will have the upper hand when it comes to negotiations over the debt. I have news for them: they’re going to lose again. The debt is actually slowing and the nation’s fiscal trajectory is towards recovery, more employment, higher housing prices and improved tax collection. Add in the fact that most Americans do not support the massive cuts that the Republicans are proposing and you have the recipe for disaster for the right’s agenda.

Opposition to all forms of gun control, an area where the GOP still has some strength, will take its toll on Republican popularity. I think we’ll get a background checks bill and perhaps a limit on ammunition, but there probably won’t be a national assault weapons ban. Still, the right is on the defensive about not wanting to do anything on guns, when it’s likely that some Republicans will vote for some limits.

We will get an immigration bill this year and the GOP will have to come along or face increasing political marginality. Even so, the Republicans might not get any political advantage from a bill that allows more children of illegals to obtain citizenship. Why? because many Hispanics are already liberals (a third time: Lib-er-als) who are in favor of the government programs that serve the nation and their communities. On this, the right wing is correct: voting like Democrats will not help the GOP. It will only help the president and the left. But they really have little political choice.

Opposition to Chuck Hagel will not block his nomination, and no evidence of Israel-bashing will be found. True, many on the left are uneasy with his anti-gay comments, but he’ll get enough votes to be confirmed.

Marriage equality will become legal in more states over the next few years, even if the Supreme Court rules against a national right, which I would say is a 50-50 proposition at this point. Remember that the Court will be ruling on economic and social rights, and not the moral correctness of whether all adults should be able to marry the person they love. The right wing is moving backwards on this issue. Even gay Republicans know that.

Storms have raised the possibility that maybe, just maybe, there’s something to this climate change thing that conservatives have been denying for years. Oil will rule the day for a while, but more severe weather will finally un-jam the logs and we can truly move towards energy independence based on fuels other than fossil.

There are many more issues, but I’ve made my point. The Democrats and President Obama have the wind of public opinion at their backs and as long as they both run a smart campaign to win support for specific legislation, we should see the first fruits of the liberal (in Texas, lib-ruhl) movement this year. We won’t get everything we want, but more progress will come in later administrations and Congresses. One more presidential election win will also result in some conservative Supreme Court justices retiring, and all it will take is one switch to get a liberal (one more time for FDR: Lib-er-al) majority.

Can you dig that? I knew that you could.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest

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Featured

He Was Very Conservative, and His Girlfriend was Liberal. He Felt He Had to kill her

A Florida man “obsessed with Fox News and the Republican party” felt that his girlfriend was too “liberal” — so he decided he had to kill her.

Police arrested David Kappheim, of Lake Park, on Saturday after the 60-year-old threatened a woman’s life because of her supposed political affiliation, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The report recounts several incidents in which Kappheim allegedly arrived “stark naked” at the home of his girlfriend’s friend, choked his girlfriend and told her that he would “kill her and burn her home,” thePalm Beach Post reports.

Kappheim explained to a sheriff’s deputy, “He was very conservative, and his girlfriend was liberal and he felt he was going to have kill her,” according to the arrest affidavit, according to WPTV.

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Mitt Romney Politics Rick Santorum

Once An Independent And Moderate, Mitt Romney Now Calls Himself A Conservative

Mitt Romney‘s back is up against the wall. His agility to win is being questioned by some of his most ardent supporters and conservatives are still looking for another candidate to carry their banner into the 2012 Presidential election.

They believed Donald Trump was going to be their poster-boy when he toyed with their emotions about running, but soon realized that Trump was just trying to boost viewership of his Apprentice television show. And they hauled their hopes and prayers on the back of Michelle Bachmann, but soon realized that she was too much of a right winged nut-job for their nut-job liking.

Rick Perry was their god and their savior, until he opened his mouth and tried to talk. He was packed up and shipped back to Texas just as fast as he was welcomed and urged into the nomination process. And then there was Herman Cain, who actually managed to carry the conservative mantle for about a month, but after everyone and their mother began accusing him of sexual misconduct, Cain too was shipped back to the pizza joint he crawled out of.

Newt Gingrich will be Newt Gingrich. Conservatives gave him a win in South Carolina then watched as Gingrich self-destruct. Unable to contain the euphoria of his win, Newt crowned himself the man, tooting his own horn, then losing miserably in Florida.

Throughout all this Mitt Romney fumbled, flipped and flopped his way through the debates. He even agreed in one debate that Newt Gingrich was more of a conservative than he was.

Then there was this little nugget when Romney admitted to being an independent.

I was an Independent through Reagan/Bush. I’m not trying to return to Reagan/Bush.

Throughout the years, Mitt Romney’s been an Independent, accused of being a moderate, he’s been “a businessman and not a politician,” and he’s even been accused of being a liberal because of his views of many social issues. But at no time in his business or political life has anyone ever accused Mr Romney of being a Conservative… until now. With the last three caucus and primary wins by the self-proclaimed Conservative Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney is now, suddenly, “severely conservative.”

“I fought against long odds in a deep blue state, but I was a severely conservative Republican governor,” Romney said, trying to convince the group at this week’s CPAC meeting.

“I did things conservatism is designed for – I started new businesses and turned around broken ones. And I am not ashamed to say that I was very successful at it. I know conservatism because I have lived conservatism.”

This guy really wants to be president, but pandering to a particular group telling them what you think they want to hear is not the pathway to the White House. Mitt Romney is still living in the old days where candidates spoke to certain groups without fear of their words going viral. He must somehow learn to pattern a message for the country, instead of the group he is talking to at that moment.

But sticking to one message that would appeal to the nation would require some level of honesty, and honesty is something flip floppers lack.

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Politics Ronald Reagan taxes

Yesterday’s Ronald Reagan Would Have Been A Blazin’ Liberal Today

You hear it all the time, Ronald Reagan would have done this and Ronald Reagan would have done that. And as you listen to today’s Republicans, you can’t help but wonder if they remember the same Reagan the rest of us do, the guy who actually raised taxes on the American people 11 times during his presidency.

Like the video below, where Ronald Reagan had the audacity to suggest that the rich should pay more in taxes. Statements like this would have been enough to cause today’s Republicans to round up the ‘posse,’ track down the ex president with hound dogs and nail him to a cross with a copy of Grover Norquist’s pledge glued to his forhead.

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Birthers Canada Donald Trump quotes Republican United States White House

Donald Trump: “I’m A Liberal On This One…!”

Back when all American presidents were automatically considered “American” because… they just were, and no one questioned whether birth certificates were authentic, Donald Trump made his first run for the White House. The year was 1999, and he ran as a Republican. After losing, The Donald saw a way to make some cash and wrote a book called, “The America We Deserve.” In it, The Trump took some very interesting positions. Here’s some of them;

  • “I really believe the Republicans are just too crazy, right?” he told Tim Russert onMeet the Press. “I mean, just what’s going on is just nuts.”
  • “We must have universal healthcare. I’m a conservative on most issues but a liberal on this one. We should not hear so many stories of families ruined by healthcare expenses.”
  • The goal of health care reform… should be a system that looks a lot like Canada. Doctors might be paid less than they are now, as is the case in Canada, but they would be able to treat more patients because of the reduction in their paperwork.
  • The Canadian plan also helps Canadians live longer and healthier than Americans.
  • We need, as a nation, to reexamine the single-payer plan, as many individual states are doing.
  • And on his criticism of George Bush and the Iraqi invasion, The Trump said, “He’d go into a country, attack Iraq, which had nothing to do with the World Trade Center, and just do it because he wanted to do it.”

Back then, those were the more popular positions to have so naturally, the opportunistic Donald took advantage. Today, however, he’s jumped on a different bandwagon that puts him in total opposition to his stance in ’99… one he considers fashionably popular – Birtherism.

Look out for Trump’s next book, coming in 2013!

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