I have this sneaking suspicion that Americans aren't used to having too much of a good thing...
Things like democracy and a functioning economy. When those things are necessary, they elect Democrats… When things get too good, and sharing the good stuff looks like it's on the horizon, that's when they elect Republicans.
It's a built in process to make sure that everyone aren't entitled to having nice things. How else do you explain that you can go to just about anywhere in America and see something like this:
Yet, drive ten minutes in any direction and see something like this?
Those of you living in the Midwest, especially, know what I'm talking about. This is the Republicans doing what they do best:
Today's GOP is wrong on just about EVERYTHING because that's what they've decided what their lot in life is. To turn utter ignorance and incompetence into some kind of patriotic virtue.
The problem is that Americans fall for that shit ALL of the time. "Yeah, it didn't work last time. But maybe that's because we didn't try hard enough." But none of that matters, because they'll elect Republicans and they will fail as they usually do, and then they'll have to bite the bullet and bring back the Democrats… Along with their love of women, minorities and unwillingness to kick ass in some Third World shit hole at the drop of a hat
Suffering is supposed to be some kind of American ideal, don't make things TOO easy. Never making things too easy is simply the American way, it sets us apart. Even if we have to fuck up ALL of the time and only do what's best as a last resort. Fucked up ideas are supposed to always have merit… I figure that developing critical thinking skills have alway been regarded as some kind of subversive plot in this country. Can't have any of that, anything is possible in America, they always tell us… Even when they're peddling utter bullshit.
So instead, we do things like build the greatest amount of privately own accumulated wealth even seen since the dawn of time, and then ensure that only the fewest of us get to benefit from it. That's the American Way and it's supposed to mark our greatness as a people. Billionaires and soon-to-be billionaires, that's what we are. But no point in doing something with all of that vast accumulated wealth to even fix our crumbling cities and road and levees, right? Let's put it to better use like building the largest and most bloated public and privately owned arsenal in the entire history of bloated public and privately owned arsenals. We're number one!
So,no point in putting the Republicans on shelf until they figure out how to behave. Why would you wanna do that?
Do you want to end up like Europe instead?
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Is not only expected but demanded by the Gods and if things ever start getting too easy, we need to start punishing ourselves again. I suspect that there is a strain of harsh Puritanism that runs through the psyche of our society? 
It makes me so angry to think what could have been done with that money instead. But public spending = socialism = bad, somehow. Except for an unnecessary war.
"Wants you to vote" cracks me up as well. Team GOP doesn't spend much effort on getting out the vote. They mostly try to stop people from voting.
