• pjwestin@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      You just argued that Obama wasn’t a conservative based entirely on the fact that he had a, “casual indifference,” towards gay rights, but sure, I’m the idiot.

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        9 months ago

        Yeah. That’s centrist, especially for 20 years ago. Republicans literally want to kill all gays. That’s conservative.

        • pjwestin@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          9 months ago

          OK, we’ll just set the hyperbole aside for a second, 'cause I really want an answer on this…why is gay rights your only barometer for what a conservative is? Like, if I want to lower taxes on the wealthy, cut social programs, increase military spending and ban abortion, but I don’t have any problem with gay people, does that mean I’m not a conservative?

          • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            9 months ago

            I just picked the first topic that came into my head. There’s really a thousand different examples where Democrats are good or neutral but Republicans are mustache twirling evil.

            • pjwestin@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              9 months ago

              OK, here’s the thing; the Republicans are generally mustache twirling bad guys, but the Democrats are rarely good or neutral, especially at the federal level. They have nice rhetoric, but they never live up to it. Clinton gutted welfare, expanded mass incarceration, and ended Glass-Steagall (which directly led to the 2008 housing market crash). Obama abandoned universal healthcare, reneged on his promise to bailout homeowners, and created the largest domestic spying program in human history. Again, even in the topic you came up with, Democrats did literally nothing to advance gay rights, it was the Supreme Court.

              It’s very tempting to boil politics down to a binary, good/evil choice, especially now that at least half of the Republican party is openly supporting facism, but you can’t just assume the Democrats are the good guys. If their voters don’t hold them accountable for their broken promises and inaction, the country will continue to slide into this right-wing hellscape we’re all facing.

              • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                arrow-down
                2
                ·
                9 months ago

                If the voters punish democrats for not immediately bringing utopia, it will ensure a slide into right wing fascism.

                • pjwestin@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  9 months ago

                  You should punish the Democrats when they act like conservatives. If you don’t, you don’t have ideals, you just like rooting for a team, and you might be happier following sports, not politics.

                  • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    arrow-down
                    2
                    ·
                    9 months ago

                    But you don’t understand the difference between “not being Leftist” and “being conservative”. There’s a big gulf between those two.