General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Party Loyalty [View all]I find the DU debates on if "there's no difference between the parties" versus "there are huge differences between the parties" interesting. They tend to reflect the issues that you raise here. Too often, both sides tend to ignore that both positions are valid, which may sound "impossible" at first -- from a subjective viewpoint.
In recent weeks, the anti-Hillary folks often point out that Senator Clinton voted to give Bush & Cheney the authority to invade Iraq. The pro-Hillary folks point out that almost all Democrats did so. Both, of course, are right. The anti-Hillary folks -- who include the majority of the "there's no significant difference" people -- score well on this.
When it comes to social issues, the differences between the parties is stark. The republican "leadership" in Washington includes a high concentration of anti-science folks. Their misguided views on religion prevent them from accepting the absolute truth that we face environmental crises -- today -- that require significant changes in our daily lives, if we are to have a real future to hand down to our children and grandchildren. In fact, probably half the republicans in DC could not pass a public high school science class. Hence, the republican war on public education.
So long as the majority of Congress works for the same corporations, rather than for the public, this curious dynamic will continue. It is a most dangerous game.