Trump supporter admits writing anti-Trump graffiti at elementary school to try to frame liberals

[Suppressed]

If you are what passes for conservative in Philly, most there would be an off-the-charts leftist in flyover country. Not intended as an insult, just a calibration.

Yeah, being near Philly, one gets a much broader range of interactions and experiences.  It tends to broaden one's horizons.

I come from rural conservative roots, but I recognize that many people are "conservative" from a narrow viewpoint.  A broader conservative viewpoint can be helpful.  So I wouldn't just say that it's a calibration, but also a qualitative difference.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Cheering and instigating the idiots with matches and lighters to light it up,

Our President's twitter feed in a nutshell.

[AllThatJazzZ]

But not every Trump supporter is sweet, kind, gentle and peaceful.   

Wow! Understatement of the decade! As a conservative non-Trumper, it's been my experience that Trump supporters can and usually do become as vicious and vindictive as liberals I've gone head to head with for years. Oh, the names I've been called and the accusations I have endured from them! "Sweet, kind, gentle and peaceful" do NOT come to mind when I think of the typical Trump supporter.

[Smokin Joe]

Yeah, being near Philly, one gets a much broader range of interactions and experiences.  It tends to broaden one's horizons.

I come from rural conservative roots, but I recognize that many people are "conservative" from a narrow viewpoint.  A broader conservative viewpoint can be helpful.  So I wouldn't just say that it's a calibration, but also a qualitative difference.

I came from rural conservative roots, too, but grew up 50 miles from D.C.
It isn't that I haven't seen a lot of other cultural beliefs/practices, it's that I choose not to embrace them.
I can get along with most anyone but that doesn't mean I want to live that way or that I find it to be desirable to do so. All that means is I am less shocked than I would have been 50 years ago reading about the things I read about today. It doesn't mean I see them as 'right', have changed my standards, or embrace those different ideas. There is a difference between being desensitized by your surroundings and polluted by them.

[Cripplecreek]

I came from rural conservative roots, too, but grew up 50 miles from D.C.
It isn't that I haven't seen a lot of other cultural beliefs/practices, it's that I choose not to embrace them.
I can get along with most anyone but that doesn't mean I want to live that way or that I find it to be desirable to do so. All that means is I am less shocked than I would have been 50 years ago reading about the things I read about today. It doesn't mean I see them as 'right', have changed my standards, or embrace those different ideas. There is a difference between being desensitized by your surroundings and polluted by them.

Makes perfect sense to me. My family is mostly hard left these days but I still treat them like family. That doesn't mean you'll find me posting pics to facebook of myself at gay pride events with them or protesting to "raise the wage".

I encountered my cousin on the opposite side of the line when I went out to protest against Obamacare in 09 and then we had lunch at a restaurant nearby and never spoke of Obamacare.

[Jazzhead]

If you are what passes for conservative in Philly, most there would be an off-the-charts leftist in flyover country. Not intended as an insult, just a calibration.

Understood.  Here in Philly, the TEA party really never took hold among the local Republicans.   We tend to be conservative on tax, economic and military policy, less so on social issues (it's the social issues that get me labeled here as bearing the Mark of the Beast).  But unlike the TEA party, we see conservative values as an effective agent for policy reform.  We don't want to get rid of the ACA, but rather fix it so it does what it so cruelly promises to do but doesn't - make insurance Affordable.   

[Jazzhead]

Are you toward Paoli or Thorndale, @Jazzhead?

Paoli.   I ride the train every morning and evening, usually with my best friend who, like me, is a jazz fanatic.  We hold diametrically opposing views on politics, and tend to entertain fellow riders with our rather emphatic discussions.   We've had riders come up to us saying that we're a highlight of their trip, seeing as we're able to address such contentious issues without assaulting each other.   

[240B]

July 7, 2017


Today is the one week anniversary of this thread. I hope it keeps going for a year.


A topic this fundamentally important to the existence of mankind cannot be ignored.


I will try to post this stupid ass thread at least once a day for the next decade.


IT IS TOO IMPORTANT!!  We must keep this thread going. I'll do my part!

[goatprairie]

I just refuse to talk about politics with family and real life friends.

I had a younger brother who died last year.  He was a hard liberal, and even in the last year of his life would bring up politics and argue with me.  He couldn't understand why everybody didn't love King Barack.  Obviously, I thought otherwise, and it was difficult to hold back my own feelings even knowing that my brother was terminally ill.  I had to forcibly end a few phone conversations on a "cheerful" note.  Many times libs just won't let you not discuss politics.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I had a younger brother who died last year.  He was a hard liberal, and even in the last year of his life would bring up politics and argue with me.  He couldn't understand why everybody didn't love King Barack.  Obviously, I thought otherwise, and it was difficult to hold back my own feelings even knowing that my brother was terminally ill.  I had to forcibly end a few phone conversations on a "cheerful" note.  Many times libs just won't let you not discuss politics.

I know several people like this on both sides of the aisle. I'm tired of it.

Sometimes I think that those who are obsessed with politics to this degree are in reality mentally ill and just in denial.

[Hondo69]

Stephen Marks, 32, wrote “Kill Trump,” “Left is the best,” "Bernie Sanders 2020" and “Death to Trump” on playground equipment at Hartford's Morley Elementary School last month, according to the Hartford Courant.

Dingus, he deserved to get caught.  No imagination whatsoever.

There are ways to make it appear as someone else's handiwork that aren't exactly rocket science.  Or, just do what the Liberals do and hire a character assassin like David Brock.  He'll just process your order through one of his 19 different tax-exempt shell corporations and then direct his minions to assassinate the victim on social media, CNN and the NY Times.  Standard operating procedure.

[240B]

Nothing to say. Just want this stupid thread to go to 'infinity and beyond!"

[Suppressed]

I came from rural conservative roots, too, but grew up 50 miles from D.C.
It isn't that I haven't seen a lot of other cultural beliefs/practices, it's that I choose not to embrace them.
I can get along with most anyone but that doesn't mean I want to live that way or that I find it to be desirable to do so.

Agreed.  I was commenting on some from sheltered backgrounds, not you.

A complement to that is the person who grew up entirely in liberal America and never was taught the benefits of a long-view, a conservative approach that considers consequences and higher-order effects. 

All that means is I am less shocked than I would have been 50 years ago reading about the things I read about today. It doesn't mean I see them as 'right', have changed my standards, or embrace those different ideas. There is a difference between being desensitized by your surroundings and polluted by them.

I partly embrace a broader view, despite remaining conservative.  For example, I now have a better understanding of why we can't just repeal the ACA without it having consequences.  While I tend to lean very heavily libertarian, I've been convinced that there might be something to the conservative idea of being a brother's keeper to a certain extent.  That is, there's some "common good" side to government. 

While I was intellectually aware of the Tragedy of the Commons, it's only more recently that I've realized that there's a huge blind spot toward it when looking at the Austrian School economically.  And the Free Market is far more cruel than most people want society to be.

Therefore, the questions are (a) who should pick up that burden of those who can't fend for themselves, and (b) how should it be implemented.  I think the burden should be spread to beyond just those who are Christian, but does society have any right to ask everyone to contribute to our fellow man?  And what's the best way to implement it?   Those are questions that multiple versions of conservatism can differ on, all while being conservative.

Yeah, this is far off the original topic, but it goes back to being willing to discuss with even those who might not have the same exact vision.



 

[Smokin Joe]

Understood.  Here in Philly, the TEA party really never took hold among the local Republicans.   We tend to be conservative on tax, economic and military policy, less so on social issues (it's the social issues that get me labeled here as bearing the Mark of the Beast).  But unlike the TEA party, we see conservative values as an effective agent for policy reform.  We don't want to get rid of the ACA, but rather fix it so it does what it so cruelly promises to do but doesn't - make insurance Affordable.   

Here, the entire justification for the TEA party was the Constitution. Period. If the Federal Government isn't explicitly given a duty to perform, the rest is up to the states and people. The ACA is not in any way an authorized or mandated duty of the Federal Government, like so much else it is doing. Want lower taxes? Less debt? Get the feds back on the reservation, doing what they are supposed to and only what they are supposed to. Most of the Republicans here were good with that. Here conservatives see policy which should not exist, and want to have it removed, lock, stock, and barrel.
The very existence of those regional differences in what is and isn't considered "conservative" only emphasize the reasoning behind the very limited duties of the Federal Government and the remainder of powers and duties being the premise of the several States or of the people.
In short, this should not even be a Federal matter. There is no Constitutional Authorization for the Federal involvement, and the products which were in existence were regulated at the State level and not interstate commerce.