re: I’m changing my party affiliation to Independent

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we’re about as benevolent a unilateral world power has ever been.

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If the USA wanted to militarily conquer the world we could.

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Agree with DS.

But the response is ... silly. We could not control a couple of Mideast shitholes. But we can control the entire world?

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But the response is ... silly. We could not control a couple of Mideast shitholes. But we can control the entire world?

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Control =/= conquer. We could certainly "conquer" any place in the world, but you're right, we cant even control Afghanistan, a 3rd world sparsely populated country full of farmers.

THE TRUMP PARTY!

run junior, eric then barron

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We could not control a couple of Mideast shitholes.

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Correct, because we played the game with self-imposed handicaps that simply could not be overcome.

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But we can control the entire worl

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The United States has (certainly had) the capacity to easily control the entire world in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War. Yes, easily.

Why we did not (do not) do so is beyond me. If the country is naturally democratic, then bolster/support that. Then buy their loyalty with money (AND BRUTALLY ENFORCE THAT).

If it isn't naturally democratic, then pick your best option at strongman, back him (if only behind the scenes) and do your best to keep the human rights at least at minimal levels. If he gets too far from mean, replace him.

Doing anything else just gives that nation to another camp. The wrong camp.

Just because we went about it all wrong, doesn't mean we didn't/don't have the capacity to do it.

This is confusing. I’d cross party lines in a local election but never again on a federal level (ObamaCare planted that seed and Kav Sealed the deal). I don’t want us to be socialist as a country, globalist or governed by blackmail. There are some Republicans in the globalist category but there’s not a Democrat in Congress or in the Federal bureaucracy that isn’t some combination of all 3.

I commend you for at least understanding the criticism of the D Party. Your thoughts based on the US “treatment” of foreigners is a little mystifying.

I may be selfish but I DGAF about how the “rest of the world” perceives the US. There’s not a government model that has ever worked better than ours. There’s not an economy more significant than ours. And there’s no country that has ever been a greater force for good in the world than ours. There’s criticism from a foreigner that would ever change my vote. Basically ever.

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Significant police reform must and will happen, but it has gone way way way beyond that at this point.

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I doubt it happens but if it does it will only happen as a result of some violence and damage unfortunately. It is a shame but sometimes that is what it takes. I am not condoning it but history teaches us that drastic change often only occurs when the situation becomes intolerable. I am a middle aged white man so I am in no position to claim I know what it is like to be black in the US. But I do know that we need police and therefore we need to provide them with the tools and support they need to do their job...and their job should not include shooting fleeing suspects or kneeling on a handcuffed man's neck for several minutes for being suspected of passing a counterfeit bill.....it just isn't worth it....the fix is far more damaging than the crime.

You know what no one is talking about is the damage done to police...who are humans also...when this happens. It can be life changing and not in a good way. Killing someone is not normal....even soldiers suffer some guilt from it, often crippling guilt, even if it is a them or me situation. Cops are not immune to this simply because they are cops...and they certainly aren't immune to suffering mental anguish when one of their co-workers does something stupid and they can't tell anyone because the only support they have is from their co-workers. It is a fricked up situation any way you slice it....its sad for the dead person, its sad for the cop unless they are truly an animal, its sad for society....we need cops, period. We should provide them the support they need....then when one does something stupid we can be outraged but as is we are partially culpable.

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I’m actually open to hearing the other side for the first time in I don’t know how long and this is what I have to work with.

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I am not affiliated to any party. I feel like Bernie has given the Independents a bad name, and the Republicans are mainly RINOs that won't stand up for the things that got them elected. Democrats are now literally insane with TDS.

I always lean right/conservative, but loathe neocons. I am a capitalist economically, and a Christian socially. Although I am a Christian and stand by my values, I cannot tell other people what to do. I will never agree with gay marriage, but there are a bunch of gay people I know and think very highly of to give you an example of my previous statement.

As someone who can tolerate people who differ in opinions than me, the intolerant left has no room for me.

My TL;DR point is not all conservatives are old white men who hate everything. Conservatives have a much better dialogue on differences than liberals, regardless what the media will tell you. Old Neocons are ruining the GOP though. Looking at you Romney.

And for those of you smart enough to doubt DS sincerity about finally waking up and seeing the light, check out his mental gymnastics concerning the Seattle Auto Zone:

It' Just a Block Party, Ya'll!!!

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Draconian Sanctions

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Congrats?

You've been a part of the problem for a long time. It's nice that you apparently have the ability to see what's going on.

But, you didn't see the attempt to set up a sitting president. You didn't recognize the actions to abuse the system to spy on the president and his staff. You didn't see the CLEAR bias that exists in today's media aligned with the Democratic party and the propaganda that is put forth daily. You didn't see the CLEAR leftist agenda and propaganda being pushed from within our education system. You didn't see republicans being labeled as racists for not being a democrat. You didn't see the falsehood in equating MAGA to racism.

This has been self evident for a long time. I have no faith in your ability to see things rationally. Because of that, you are closer to a menace to society than someone that can help get us back to a good place.

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You need to get a grip dude. You’re seriously going to vote for Donald J Trump because your feeling a little emotional right now?

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Lol, you seem to be the one who needs to get a grip. Only fools would vote for democrats especially for president.