Bill Maher says, I'm willing to drop guns and gay marriage...

[warlockjd]

If it means that we won't have nutjobs running the country.

On Larry King, and that's a paraphrase.

Thoughts?

I agree personally.

[rubbrband]

Gun control is BS anyways

[BluffTHIS!]

Being willing to drop them as a platform plank in order go get swing voters, and being willing to drop them totally as long term goals once having got elected are different things. They used that strategy as a bait, but the question is will they switch now that they control congress?

[warlockjd]

Personally, I think that implementing gun control, and allowing 2 humans to enjoy the rights of marriage regardless of sex are important, but avoiding thins such as bogus costly wars and increasing future taxes (rising deficit) are more important.

I wouldn't drop them totally, but they are on the list of possible concessions if the alternative is Republicans in power.

[BluffTHIS!]

warlock,

So basically you are saying, in line with the philosophy of Bill Clinton, that it is better to abandon any principles or constituents in order to get office or stay in office, even when it means hypocritical adoption of positions totally contrary to one's actual beliefs?

[ElliotR]

[ QUOTE ]
Being willing to drop them as a platform plank in order go get swing voters, and being willing to drop them totally as long term goals once having got elected are different things. They used that strategy as a bait, but the question is will they switch now that they control congress?

[/ QUOTE ]

Wait a second, here. "Long term goals"? Democrats?? Aren't you they guy who loves to say that the Democrats have no ideas or program except to say "NOT!" to Republican proposals?

Or have those talking points no longer operative?

[BluffTHIS!]

Elliot,

To the contrary. I believe that the democrats do have a hidden agenda on many issues. So maybe their reluctance to openly state same is part of the reason that they publicly can't offer sustantive policy alternatives to various policies of the administration. Also note that I have in the past used the modifying adjective "effective" prior to "policy alternatives". Pie in the sky that can't be had doesn't cut it.

[Analyst]

[ QUOTE ]
warlock,

So basically you are saying, in line with the philosophy of Bill Clinton, that it is better to abandon any principles or constituents in order to get office or stay in office, even when it means hypocritical adoption of positions totally contrary to one's actual beliefs?

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, c'mon. A decision to not pursue some comparatively low priority planks to ensure that you can enact major ones is not "abandoning any principles". To make it clearer, if I decide to not play poker one day in order to exercise, it does not mean I am against online poker.

Looks like your main position is prone, shooting at strawmen.

[morphball]

What exactly do people mean by gun control?

Banning guns? Making it harder for felons to get guns? Making people wait to pass a background check before getting a gun?

The gay marriage issue is simple. Marriage is a religious institution. But two-hundred years ago, no one ever dreamed that two men would want to be publically seen as a couple, so legislators saw no need to use a different word than "marriage." Now you just call any couple that wants to pay alimony when they break up a "civil union" and let the churches "marry" people. Problem solved. Any time the religious right wants family values, threaten to make church donations non-tax deductible, and they will promptly STFU.

Or you could just call gay couples "butt buddies"

[Vagos]

I don't get what Maher is saying. Is he saying he's willing to ban gay marriage and guns? Or he's willing to "drop them" as issues. If so, where the hell does he stand on gun control?

This guy is all over the map, I have no clue what he believes politically, I think he just says whatever will get him more book sales and TV ratings.