Either scenario sound idyllic? Well why wait?
The Sarah Palins, Newt Gingriches, and Mitt Romneys of the world are never going to convince liberals that their individualistic way of thinking is correct (because by all measurable standards it isn't). And I'm certainly not ever going to be able to convince conservatives that "public" is not a bad word or that they consistently vote against their own best interests (even though it's true).
So why do we insist on staying married? For the kids? Because we're sure not doing our descendants any favors with all of this fighting.
Isn't it time for an amicable separation?
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dave Nalle
It's always nice to be reminded how consistently arrogance goes hand in hand with ignorance. If you know a subject it's much harder to dismiss and disdain it, and since you clearly know almost nothing about the actual beliefs of the political right you can feel secure in your arrogant misrepresentations.
And BTW, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin are hardly the kind of idealistic conservatives you are trying to stereotype. Romney is a moderate. Palin is a populist with some socialist leanings. Gingrich is basically a slightly more conservative moderate. They would probably prefer to be in your socialist paradise. They certainly wouldn't want to be in the anarchist utopia you envision as the alternative.
Dave
2 - zingzing
"Palin is a populist with some socialist leanings."
if that's true, who isn't a socialist at this point? if you believe in a city pool, you're a socialist, it seems.
tell us why palin is a socialist. it might be interesting.
3 - Jordan Richardson
The socialist net Dave casts gets wider by the minute, doesn't it?
4 - Arch Consewrvative
I'm conservative yet not religious at all.
Thanks for stereotyping me Meggan [Edited]!
5 - Is it Easter Yet?
And I am more conservative than Arch Conservative in some ways and less conservative than Arch Conservative in some ways and more religious (read: I am more God-oriented, though not necessarily more moral) than Arch Conservative.
Human beings are a fascinating bunch, oh Mustachioed One, and it's far more enlightening and productive to find similarities rather than differences. That's how you discover "common ground," the land upon which you resolve differences, or learn to turn them into mutual assets.
I, similar to liberals, love latte, but usually go with "Americano with room" because then I can use the Cafe's cream and sugar at the condiment stand for free instead of paying for it. Whether this is admiral conservative thriftiness or capitalist pig stinginess, is a matter of debate. Love of latte is "common ground" where we can work out that question. There's also a good pun there somewhere.
6 - Mark Saleski
It's always nice to be reminded how consistently arrogance goes hand in hand with ignorance.
...stated without a hint of irony. awesome.
7 - troll
...the moustache has the right idea but clearly from the comments the division needs to be into quarters or eighths
8 - Taquito
I love how having a decent, humane standard of living without power-hungry murderers at the helm is considered an "anarchist utopia" by the first commenter, and not in what sounds like a positive way, either. Then he goes on to categorize fools like Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.
Just another reason to wince at what goes on in the USA: people who cannot literally function without some neat title or category painted on top of everything and everyone.
9 - Boeke
Frankly, I think we should have kicked the confederate out of the union 150 years ago when we had a chance. We could have done away with forcing states to go slave even when they didn't want to, we would have strengthened the real union and eventually the southern states would have begged to get back in as free states. And we wouldn't have this horrible legacy of the confederacy, which was ignoble slavery.
10 - Dave Nalle
if that's true, who isn't a socialist at this point? if you believe in a city pool, you're a socialist, it seems.
Socialism has become the default in our society. Reversing that trend is going to be a big job.
tell us why palin is a socialist. it might be interesting.
I suppose she's a socialist by default, but as governor of Alaska she actively expanded several major subsidy programs and social welfare programs. They're mostly special programs which are unique to Alaska, but she did nothing to try to reduce the scope and cost of these programs.
But look, most Republicans have become socialists as well. What do you think Pat Buchanan or these other anti-immigration dunces are? They want to use the power of government to counter the natural forces of the labor market for the "greater good" of the society. Same thing for the fanatics who want to use government to legislate morality. Socialism.
Dave
11 - Meggan's Moustache
Oh, the irony!
@Dave: If you know a subject, it's much harder to dismiss and disdain it, and since you clearly know almost nothing about socialism, you can feel secure in your arrogant misrepresentations. :)
12 - Cannonshop
#11 I'd suspect, Meggan, that Mr. Nalle knows more about socialists, than you know about capitalists, Libertarians, right-leaning fiscal conservatives, or small-government people.
I'd further suspect, given the tone of your article, that any of the above that you MIGHT know, are probably relatives of the sort you avoid, but can't avoid knowing...because they're family members. (albeit likely distant.)
Just a suspicion, mind...
13 - Dan(Miller)
Just one question, but a biggie: Which side gets the flying unicorns?
Dan(Miller)
14 - Meggan's Moustache
@cannonshop: nope
@dan(miller): fact: flying unicorns love liberals. it must be our rainbow flags that draw them in. seriously, it's like moths to a flame.
15 - Jordan Richardson
I suppose she's a socialist by default
Huh???
16 - Clavos
By damn, I insist on the right to vote against my own best interests, and as soon as I find out what my own best interests are, will do so -- early and often.
17 - zingzing
dave: "Socialism has become the default in our society. Reversing that trend is going to be a big job."
if that's what you believe, have fun working that brick wall, sir. if it wastes your time, i guess that's ok with me.
18 - S.T..M
It doesn't matter who you vote for.
Either way, you always end up with a government.
19 - Cannonshop
#14 Oh, so you don't (in real life) know any...including relatives. at least, any that will actually admit to it, it must be interesting to live in such a sterilized, ideologically pure environment, or to be so isolated your only friends happen to share your politics.
As a Liberal, you should endeavour to meet real-life people whose views are different-it gives you a scale by which to evaluate your own views, and some perspective on what constitutes an accurate critique of the other side, versus the canned talking points you only get from watching the telly.
20 - Dan(Miller)
Clav, you apparently are concerned (understandably) that you haven't figured out what your own best interests are: as soon as I find out what my own best interests are. . . "
Not to worry. When it is time for you to know, a flying unicorn will visit and tell you. Quite simple, really.
Dan(Miller)
21 - roger nowosielski
@1
I don't see the reason for the vitriol, Dave. Obviously, the subject article verges on being a satire.
22 - Glenn Contrarian
Meggan -
I agree wholeheartedly - let the red states go their own way! I strongly support the segregationist movement in Texas. Let them find out the hard way what happens to the people when the oligarchs hold all the power, when they learn that without proper regulation, the rules of the marketplace are what the oligarchs determine them to be....
But you know, there's only one problem. Once the red states secede and make their own nation, it would - as many third-world countries do - devolve into a dictatorship...and in this case it would be a nuclear-armed dictatorship. And they would look at the much more prosperous blue states and accuse us of stealing all that they hold dear...
...especially since through most of our history, blue states generally pay out more in federal tax dollars than they receive, and red states generally receive more federal tax dollars than they pay out. Then the red states will stop getting billions of blue-state money that they're getting now...and we can all guess what happens then.
So let's try something different! Let's pass a law stating that the federal government must spend an amount in each state equivalent to the amount in federal taxes paid out by that state! Of course this is completely unworkable...but I'd love to see what happens when the red states stop getting so much more money than they pay out, and how much they'd whine, moan, and complain.
23 - Glenn Contrarian
Arch -
I'm conservative yet not religious at all.
Yet you, like all the other secular conservatives, will vote for the politicians who would enshrine creationism (if not completely refuse to teach evolution) in our schools and utterly destroy the separation of church and state.
24 - handyguy
Meggan writes pretty dreadful articles, but they always draw a colorful bunch of comments. Fun stuff.
I enjoyed Dave calling Newt Gingrich a 'moderate' even more than I enjoyed his explanation for why Palin is a 'socialist.'
Actually, they are both the same thing: opportunists. True of most politicians, of course, but lately Palin and Gingrich have been borrowing just about exclusively from the far right, both socially and fiscally. Her [bare and brief] record as governor and his [long long ago] record as speaker are irrelevant to their current political masks.
Anyhow, 'socialist' and 'moderate' are just more comical absurdity coming from the most rigid tunnel-vision propagandist writing on this site, who shares with us the wacky worldview he sees from inside a warped kaleidoscope.
25 - roger nowosielski
"Her [bare and brief] record as governor and his [long long ago] record as speaker are irrelevant to their current political masks."
An astute observation. Now, your assignment for today, should you chose to accept it, is to find parallels across the political divide.