DU dissention a good sign.

[Jakes Progress]

As quoted elsewhere here on DU, Krugman has this to say about the republican party.

Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn’t feel right to make fun of crazy people. Better, perhaps, to focus on the real policy debates, which are all among Democrats.

As the republicans become more batshit crazy, they are becoming more irrelevant. So all the furor over policy on DU would seem to be a good sign. As Krugman says, any debate that has any reason about anything serious is taking place within the only party that seems capable of dealing with the real world - the Democratic Party.

So bring on the debate. If not here - where?

[pleah]

1. K&R

[SecularMotion]

2. Debate is always good

Its the trolls on this site that inject irrelevant republican talking points into every debate that cause the "furor" on DU.

[Jakes Progress]

5. Yep.

Trolls and single issue drones.

[DrDan]

8. are you suggesting that the republicans never have a valid thought or position?

[SecularMotion]

9. There is a big difference between republican talking points and valid thoughts or positions.

Talking points are propaganda by nature and add nothing to honest discussion.

[DrDan]

13. I certainly agree with that - just curious as to who would be deciding which was which

[SecularMotion]

19. The DU community decides

If you are consistently receiving negative reactions to your comments and find yourself involved in heated discussions, you're probably just spouting right wing talking points.

If you're honest and present well-reasoned views, there are many members here who will engage in intelligent discussion and debate.

[ColbertWatcher]

25. NO IT'S NOT!!!!1! n/t

[mmonk]

3. Lack of dissention indicates weakness of mind.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. also helps flush out our policies and hopefully

prevent the same kind of arrogance and stupidity that afflicts a party that controls everything for too long.

As much as I dislike Evan Bayh, his complaints and obstruction may actually serve a higher purpose, making sure that when we have a national health package completed, it may be better for America than if there was no "control" or obstruction or hard negotiations.

[patrice]

6. Debate educates many and builds REAL leaders at multiple levels.

[progressoid]

7. Yep. k/r.

[Canuckistanian]

10. The problem with marching in lockstep

Is that if you're going in the wrong direction, you're ALL going there together.

See "Republican Party" for a good example.

[Common Sense Party]

11. dissention

Not in dictionary

Change to:

dissension

"Check Spelling" is a wonderful feature, by the way.

[Jakes Progress]

18. I could agree

with Jackson ("It's a damn small mind that can only think of one way to spell a word."), but the truth is I changed the word from Dissent to the silly superfluous noun form and didn't change the spelling. I'm not as concerned about the typo as I am deciding to use the wimpy noun form of a word that is already a perfectly good noun. It is a failing that requires remedy (as opposed to remediation).

Stronger and more exact: DU Dissent is a Good Sign

But alas, too late to edit. Those who have eaten and shot can leave now.

[Common Sense Party]

22. It's definitely one of the odd words of the extremely quirky English

language. I wasn't trying to take away from your message of the OP, with which I agree.

I just know that having a typo in the subject line diminishes the punch of the thread just a smidgen.

[Renew Deal]

12. Debate is one thing. But is there a debate that criminals are bad & Obama can get any dog he wants?

I think there are people here that are "batshit crazy" too. People that defend criminals and criminality are nuts. And I don't think defending criminality is either reasonable or debatable. People here that criticize Obama's dog choice are not honest debaters. They are cooks with an agenda.

[DCKit]

16. There are also those who defend LEO's after every death of an unarmed suspect.

The point is, in FReeper world, you can only have the opinion of the majority, else they kick your ass out and you have to move to one of the even more marginal web sites. Before you know it, you're talking to people about guns, pipe bombs and shit and the ATF and Secret Service are watching you.

Dissent is healthy. People who can't/won't debate or argue are mentally defective. People who hate you for having a different opinion are a danger to society.

[tomp]

21. wait just a minute.

obama is defending criminality by defending bush in court (op's to the contrary notwithstanding). is he batshit crazy, too? (you don't want my answer to that question.)

i agree with you that there are crazy people here, too, but who they are is in the eye of the beholder.

[Renew Deal]

23. Obama isn't defending anyone.

His justice department is doing their JOB. They are the governments legal department.

[tomp]

26. is that why the doj is not actually prosecuting bush/cheney?

...because they have the mandate to defend the government in all cases? that would seem to be the logical extension of your argument, that the government can never bring charges against government officials, because they would then have to defend the same officials against their own prosecution.

the contradiction is glaring and cannot easily be resolved. i would fall on the side of: the government must prosecute wrongdoing wherever it finds it, and never has any obligation to defend perpetrators, whether in or out of government.

[tomp]

27. is that why the doj is not actually prosecuting bush/cheney?

...because they have the mandate to defend the government in all cases? that would seem to be the logical extension of your argument, that the government can never bring charges against government officials, because they would then have to defend the same officials against their own prosecution.

the contradiction is glaring and cannot easily be resolved. i would fall on the side of: the government must prosecute wrongdoing wherever it finds it, and never has any obligation to defend perpetrators, whether in or out of government.

[derby378]

14. Debate usually means that we still seek a more perfect union

And it also means that our brain cells are still functioning properly enough to postulate that there's a better way to achieve that goal.

So I'm all for some honest, intelligent debate over where we go from here as a nation.

[redqueen]

15. Debate is great.

"Jingobama" is BS.

Maybe some people here really do have a problem with honest criticism. I've heard people claim that there are some here saying we shouldn't have any criticism at all, but I've never seen any examples.

I have seen far too many examples of childish, mindless nonsense though. That's what I think most people are sick of.

Not actual, reasoned debate.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

17. Dissention about the bailouts had the positive qualities you mention. This has not.

Rather, it's a bunch of lunatics and/or trolls making asses out of themselves. Different thing.

[Laelth]

20. We are doing our civic duty when we debate.

Lively discussion is healthy in a democracy and on DU.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Hydra]

24. Happy 20th rec

If we aren't dissenting when something is wrong, we're not doing our job as citizens...although I feel more like a non-person than a citizen most days.