The upcoming GOP debate (Page 2/2) theBDub AUG 23, 08:39 PM quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Was I more or less clear? This should all be read without me trying to be insulting or snarky. You’ve explained your reasoning well enough. My memory is a little different on these things, and I think you may be falling for some Recency Bias with respect to some of this, especially with regards to the polarization and when it started and by whom. But yeah, I understand your perspective. williegoat AUG 23, 11:30 PM I was most impressed by Scott, he was cool, calm and collected, level headed. Ramaswamy reminded me a little of Marco Rubio eight years ago, I like his ideas for the most part, but he doesn’t quite have the temperament. I was somewhat impressed by Burgum, but neither he nor Haley have what it takes. Pence is a phony, Christie was an ass and Hutchinson does not look well at all. DeSantis was just about what I expected, a politician. So, right now I wouldn’t mind seeing a Trump/Scott administration. cliffw AUG 24, 01:53 AM quote Originally posted by theBDub: RFK Jr. also believes some batshit things, though, from "normal" conspiracies like vaccines causing autism to more wild ones, like COVID-19 being designed to target White and Black folks. Perhaps I have never looked into causes. My Grandson has autism. From birth. Because he does, I have have had an awareness about the "gift". It was always explained to me as genetics. I have never heard of a life event causing it. Also, autism has not been well researched. In many ways, it is a gift. Good to hear from you again Brandon. I hope your Mom is doing well. cliffw AUG 24, 02:05 AM quote Originally posted by williegoat: I was most impressed by Scott, he was cool, calm and collected, level headed. Ramaswamy reminded me a little of Marco Rubio eight years ago, I like his ideas for the most part, but he doesn’t quite have the temperament. I was somewhat impressed by Burgum, but neither he nor Haley have what it takes. Pence is a phony, Christie was an ass and Hutchinson does not look well at all. DeSantis was just about what I expected, a politician. So, right now I wouldn’t mind seeing a Trump/Scott administration. I was surprised that Pence gave a good, statesman, representation. I expected less. Ramaswamy was interesting but he came off JV squad. No one is perfect. De Santis, I did like his thoughts but he seems to be in the minor leagues. Nothing wrong with that. I think he is cutting his teeth for 2028. Nicky Haley, a former Democrat, She did not dissuade my interest in her. I say again, that was not a debate. Answer a question in one minute, a 30 second response, is not debate. Also, when asked some questions, they was never answered because of bloviating. 82-T/A [At Work] AUG 24, 08:36 AM quote Originally posted by theBDub: You’ve explained your reasoning well enough. My memory is a little different on these things, and I think you may be falling for some Recency Bias with respect to some of this, especially with regards to the polarization and when it started and by whom. But yeah, I understand your perspective. I guess what I would have to say is... the politicization of things has always been around. Obviously Clinton cheating with an intern is a really bad thing... really because it was in the White House, and the Republicans really took advantage of it. I don't think it got REALLY bad until perhaps the last few years of George W. Bush... Bush was considered basically like Hitler, and that was used all the time (same as it's used now for Trump). Likewise, the Republicans have obviously been on Obama and Biden. But there's another issue here... I think what's led to the polarization more than anything, is the prevalence of social media and improved internet communications. Everyone has a voice now, and people have no qualms being assholes and / or making statements they'd never actually make in front of someone who's standing right in front of them. cliffw AUG 24, 10:03 AM quote Originally posted by cliffw: I was surprised that Pence gave a good, statesman, representation. I expected less. That would be true had I left out 'statesman'. He is very statesman, which I knew. fredtoast AUG 25, 11:22 AM quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: But there's another issue here... I think what's led to the polarization more than anything, is the prevalence of social media and improved internet communications. Everyone has a voice now, and people have no qualms being assholes and / or making statements they'd never actually make in front of someone who's standing right in front of them. This. People used to be ashamed to act stupid or cruel in front of the general public. But now, thanks to social media, they can always find a little group that agrees with them no matter how cruel or stupid their position is. As long as they can get positve feedback from others they will never re-consider their position. I used to believe that the "Flat Earth Society" was all just a joke people shared. But now I know that some people actually believe this. And this illustrates another big problem, Many people want to feel smarter than everyone else, but don't want to put in the work to get properly educated. So instead they believe an extreme position. By only agreeing with 1% of the population they think that makes them smarter than the other 99%.