I want to get into it a bit.

[druidp]

GOP = non-lib or non-Dem posters on this board. Yes or no.

I'm not supportive of the GOP. Or the Democratic party. But I tend to think that, sans absolutely crazycakes / inflammatory / laugh-at-rape posts, I'd give an objective eye to someone posting their thoughts here and attempt legitimate and civil discussion, sprinkled with TIC commentary and sarcastic wit as appropriate.

I just wonder who else on this board feels and attempts the same. Discuss.

ETA: Do you feel this board is inviting/welcoming to a variety of opinions? Or not?

[heyjude]

I'm lost.

[IIOY]

Dude.

ETA: and you know I'm starting my own pro-bacon super PAC. Haters gonna hate!

[Deleted]

Aug 29, 2012 12:48:01 GMT -5 heyjude said:

I'm lost.

phew. I thought I was alone

[ttt]

GOP=people who actively identify as members of the Republican party and who actively support the platforms and actions of said party.

IMO at least.

[druidp]

Aug 29, 2012 12:48:38 GMT -5 @septimus said:

Aug 29, 2012 12:48:01 GMT -5 heyjude said:

I'm lost.

phew. I thought I was alone

Well, that answers my question.

[pixy0stix]

Aug 29, 2012 12:39:56 GMT -5 druidp said:

GOP = non-lib or non-Dem posters on this board. Yes or no.

I think it's easy for people to put other people into the category that all opposing voices are the GOP.

On the flip-side, though, if we (collective) say that the posters here are not representative of the GOP, there is collective eye-rolling and the much lamented, "Oh but of COURSE not the posters here, you're different."

I don't know what to do about the dynamic. There are people on both sides of the fence that like to light fires, and then douse them with gasoline. So your voices get heard, and the rest of the people on the board are lumped in with those with the loudest voices.

I'm saddened that we've seem to have lost a lot of the moderate republican voices here because they're constantly attacked for things, or lumped into the whole.

[Deleted]

I'm confused. Are you saying we don't really have any GOP posters here and if we did, how would they be received?

[emmybean]

Try full sentences.

[ttt]

OK I don't actually know where this is coming from. I'm just saying my definition of GOP.

[Deleted]

I'm so confused.

Although, the last paragraph of Pixy's makes sense. BUT think that happens because of the crazycakes in the GOP.

[wawa]

Maybe I need extra coffee today, but I'm honestly not clear on what you're asking.

[NitaX]

Aug 29, 2012 12:51:06 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

When I use the term GOP, I tend to me people IRL. I tend to use the term Cons to mean any nonliberal on the board.

This is me too.

[heyjude]

Are we defining the GOP? The GOP is the Republican Party and the people who make up the party. Is this controversial?

[druidp]

Aug 29, 2012 12:49:48 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I'm saddened that we've seem to have lost a lot of the moderate republican voices here because they're constantly attacked for things, or lumped into the whole.

I appreciate this sentiment, so thanks for posting and validating it a bit.

The dynamic here is, IMO, vastly different from what was on TN. The majority has consistently been with the liberal/Democratic slant, and it appears to me that dissenting voices are met with comments of "you're stupid" and the like.

Not exactly conducive to inviting a variety of opinions for debate. But if that's not what the board as a whole wants, there is that.

[gbck]

Aug 29, 2012 12:49:33 GMT -5 druidp said:

Aug 29, 2012 12:48:38 GMT -5 @septimus said:

phew. I thought I was alone

Well, that answers my question.

What?

No really, what?

Your question isn't clear. at all. When no-one gets what you're asking, it isn't a group reading comprehension problem. It means you need to start over and post something that makes sense.

[ttt]

i will say that I was kind of sad/upset/something that MrsDL got jumped on in my "abortion on demand" post yesterday. She was just trying to explain the other side (and even made it clear that she herself is pro-choice, I think) but people kind of took her to be the "pro-life spokesperson" of the thread and went off on her a bit.

So, I kind of understand what you mean here.

[Deleted]

Aug 29, 2012 12:54:23 GMT -5 druidp said:

Aug 29, 2012 12:49:48 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I'm saddened that we've seem to have lost a lot of the moderate republican voices here because they're constantly attacked for things, or lumped into the whole.

and it appears to me that dissenting voices are met with comments of "you're stupid" and the like.
.

Sort of like what you just did by quoting me?

[pixy0stix]

Aug 29, 2012 12:54:23 GMT -5 druidp said:

The dynamic here is, IMO, vastly different from what was on TN. The majority has consistently been with the liberal/Democratic slant, and it appears to me that dissenting voices are met with comments of "you're stupid" and the like.

I know. It's something I've been noticing happening, and I don't know why.

You, KA, etc. have been reduced to not voicing your opinions, but using gifs, etc. for one liners to rebuff what is being said to you.

Tef has become someone who gingerly walks the line without giving her full opinion. She started to be attacked in the thread last night, and she was completely mild mannered.

Caden and Y4M are only "respected" when it comes to the balancing the budget posts.

Once you start recognizing the patterns, it's hard to ignore. And again, I feel bad about that. Then again, I haven't been particularly above-board when it comes to jumping in with both feet when it gets snarky.

[druidp]

Aug 29, 2012 12:55:41 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

Are you asking if most of us don't want to at least give an objective glance and attempt at a response to any post we deem as by a GOPer before dispatching with the snark when you said that you would and THEN give snark?

Yes, pretty much.

I have loved this board for years now because I enjoy the debate. I like to talk about real life issues and controversies.

But damn if it doesn't seem like the tone of much of the dialogue turns into a "you suck for thinking that way and go DIAF accordingly." Which takes it out of the realm of civil discourse where anyone could possibly learn anything.

I want to keep loving this board, but I guess I wanted clarification if that's still a possibility. I have no intent of being a martyr - I certainly won't be if I don't engage here anymore, and I can participate in other forums. And I can handle shocking or mean comments, or I wouldn't be able to hack real life.

[heyjude]

Um, well, we have a prominent con on here telling another poster to just "bootstrap" it in response to her tale of medical woe. I disagree that only the left can get nasty here.

[heightsyankee]

Aug 29, 2012 12:52:25 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Aug 29, 2012 12:51:06 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

When I use the term GOP, I tend to me people IRL. I tend to use the term Cons to mean any nonliberal on the board.

This is me too.

Yes to this.

I'm pretty far left and have been dumped on a couple of times here and on TN. It's politics on a national message board.

I think a big part of the issue right now is we're 99% women on here and feeling really defensive with the current conservative platform. It's even making conservative women skittish. I think the "you're stupid" kind of reaction comes from the fact that a Libs right now are dumbfounded that a woman could go along with the current platform. I'm not saying this kind of intolerance is right or productive, but here and IRL this is a lot of what I feel I am seeing.

[wawa]

Aug 29, 2012 12:56:36 GMT -5 ttt said:

i will say that I was kind of sad/upset/something that MrsDL got jumped on in my "abortion on demand" post yesterday. She was just trying to explain the other side (and even made it clear that she herself is pro-choice, I think) but people kind of took her to be the "pro-life spokesperson" of the thread and went off on her a bit.

So, I kind of understand what you mean here.

yeah, I wish the board could collectively take a step back from immediately going on the offensive.

There's many times I kinda want to just yell, "DUDE! Same team!" Yes, some of our regs have a different thought process or moral judgement on some things - but for the most part we all agree that gay people are not the devil, Obama is not a muslim socialist and escalade driving welfare queens are not having abortions every other month while eating food stamp lobster. From there things start to diverge, but I think we loose track of the fact that for the most part nobody here sucks that badly and we're all pretty smart rational people even if we end up voting differently.

ETA: there are obvious exceptions. I'd like it if they stayed exceptions more often.

[druidp]

Aug 29, 2012 12:57:26 GMT -5 @septimus said:

Aug 29, 2012 12:54:23 GMT -5 druidp said:

and it appears to me that dissenting voices are met with comments of "you're stupid" and the like.
.

Sort of like what you just did by quoting me?

LOL, now see, this is funny: I was referring generally to a post where someone posted something like that replying to the "no vagina, no opinion" post. I didn't even go back to see who it was, just that a derivative of the word "stupid" was used toward that person.

But hey, own it if you want. I still see no need for it.

[heyjude]

And Sis is certainly not the only prominent poster here with right leaning abrasive tendencies.

We do this every year. This martyr parade.

It's a numbers game. We simply need more Rs.

[heightsyankee]

...and to piggyback on Wawa, no matter what I say on here, I am always touting the intelligence of both sides on this board to my IRL friends.

[druidp]

Aug 29, 2012 12:55:05 GMT -5 gbck said:

Aug 29, 2012 12:49:33 GMT -5 druidp said:

Well, that answers my question.

What?

No really, what?

Your question isn't clear. at all. When no-one gets what you're asking, it isn't a group reading comprehension problem. It means you need to start over and post something that makes sense.

And I did, see the ETA above. I need to go grab lunch, and I cried at work while talking about my job satisfaction, so I admit my OP may have been confusing - though some people caught the crux of it. But it has been clarified accordingly.

[caden]

Aug 29, 2012 12:58:00 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 29, 2012 12:54:23 GMT -5 druidp said:

The dynamic here is, IMO, vastly different from what was on TN. The majority has consistently been with the liberal/Democratic slant, and it appears to me that dissenting voices are met with comments of "you're stupid" and the like.

I know. It's something I've been noticing happening, and I don't know why.

You, KA, etc. have been reduced to not voicing your opinions, but using gifs, etc. for one liners to rebuff what is being said to you.

Tef has become someone who gingerly walks the line without giving her full opinion. She started to be attacked in the thread last night, and she was completely mild mannered.

Caden and Y4M are only "respected" when it comes to the balancing the budget posts.

Once you start recognizing the patterns, it's hard to ignore. And again, I feel bad about that. Then again, I haven't been particularly above-board when it comes to jumping in with both feet when it gets snarky.

You don't even know how happy it makes me to see that someone on the other side gets it.

I can't even remember the last time I debated a non-economic issue here, since even when I posted about Paul Ryan it was, in my mind, budget-related. I want to know how many other Conservatives on this board skip over almost all the thread titles and mostly just post in non-political ones.

[dev22]

I am also confuzzled, so I will answer what I think you are asking.

To me, GOP means people that identify as Republican and who are active supporters/members of the Republican party.

Cons are people that fall to the right of the political spectrum, no matter if they support the GOP or not.

I use GOP more when talking about the party as a whole, their platforms, candidates ect. I try to use Cons when talking about people on the board or IRL, but I know I have screwed up before.

[heyjude]

Affirmative action for Cons on CEP!