BellaOnline Forums News and Politics Democratic Party Obama....a Socialist or Exemplifies Democracy?

Hey Lynn, I learned so much from you and hopefully will continue to do so. If I offended you in any way, I would like to apologize also.

[quote=Jilly

I am trying to be delicate here, as I post in the Rep forum from time to time. But when I do post there, i try to be respectful of where I am. I try not to rip into Republican viewpoints since it's just not the right place to do it. :-) [/quote]

If you will read my post again, you will see I was not commenting on any one particular political person, but all of them. I am always amazed at the starry-eyed adoration some people evince when talking about their favorite politician, it's my belief that at least 99% of them are venal, their own agenda comes way before "helping the people."

And, is this forum only for agreeing and yessing to all and sundry? NO freedom of speech?

This is a great question and I'm glad that you asked it, Jenasee. The answer is yes and no. BellaOnline Forums are designed to be a kind of haven for people who feel certain ways, or support different causes. Within this structure, you are free to speak on topic. For instance, here on the Dem Forum, if you voted Dem and are thrilled, or have trepidation on some issues and would like to share, that is great. If you voted Rep, but would like to understand more about why the Dem voters are happy, hoping to feel reassured, that is welcomed, too. But if you don't feel the love at all, there are other forums for you to share those feelings in.

Below is part of the BellaOnline Forum Guidelines, which are available in full, just below the Channel List on the left of your screen:

"The BellaOnline forum is provided free of charge to you by BellaOnline.com under these Terms of Service. If you visit the BellaOnline forums as a guest, these Terms of Service will govern your use of BellaOnline's forums. If you register as a member of the BellaOnline's forum community, these Terms of Service will govern your use of BellaOnline's forums. BY SIGNING ON TO THE BELLAONLINE FORUMS AS A GUEST AND/OR COMPLETING THE REGISTRATION PROCESS AND SELECTING THE "LOG IN" OPTION, YOU ARE INDICATING YOUR AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE AS SUCH TERMS MAY BE MODIFIED FROM TIME TO TIME...

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Thank you,
Shay

Thanks for the explanation of protocol here, silly me, I thought individual opinions were welcome, not just blatant back-pocket kissing, (and then only if it agrees with the moderator). Just one more example of what's wrong in good ole America.

Jenasee, these are not public forums. As signed members, people posting here agreed to BellaOnline's terms. It's more like coming into someone's home, in that sense, not speaking in a public park.

I am sorry you do not feel this is how you would like to conduct intercourse. We are here for mutual support. There are many other forums among the web that encourage debate. Neither is wrong or right. This is just a place for support and no one has to post here if they are not seeking such a haven.

Did anyone see the interview with the actual Socialist candidate for president who was insulted that Republicans were misrepresenting socialism by suggesting Barack Obama, an obvious capitalist, had any kind of commitment to socialism?

For business to prosper in the USA we need a healthy middle class, and the recent Republican administration being disastrous for the middle class is why we have the 'socialism' involved in banking etc, under the current Republican president. John McCain said that our economy was fundamentally sound and many of the policies that created so many difficulties for the middle class should be continued. He was not able to articulate the change he would bring to the economy as President, if he had better ideas than Barack Obama. And he is still a Senator with the power of his persuasion and status to work with President Bush to put whatever Republican ideas he had into effect while George W Bush is in office.

Good business decisions must be viable in the long term as well as economically advantageous in the short run. Look at the decisions made at Enron, where shareholders were left with nothing but executives made out like bandits. Shipping jobs overseas might increase profits for the short term, but if the communities in the USA who previously had those jobs collapse into poverty, that is bad for every other business there. And like a domino effect, when workers lose their jobs and can't fulfill their 'responsibilities' as consumers, there will be fewer customers even for the business that outsourced the jobs in the first place.

Barack Obama has consistently told us that we will all have to hold on, work hard, pray and work hard some more to get us back to where we were before 'trickle down' economics robbed us of our opportunities. Americans voted for him so that we and our children will have the chance to work hard and share in the American dream.

It is disrespectful to suggest those who have worked hard all their lives to find themselves without jobs as businesses fail, their retirement and investment savings diminished to nothing are expecting some kind of 'handout' from the government. They did everything they were supposed to do and more to provide a good life and security for their families, and for so many, it was all taken away by greedy millionaires who feel no responsibility or patriotism at all.

It's going to be a long and difficult job to get our communities back to where they deserve to be, and our democracy has given us a brilliant and compassionate leader who I believe will use all his talents and abilities to take us there.

He is the only reason for celebration I can find during these punishing economic times, and I do feel joy and gratefulness to God for the hope he represents.

Let us remember, George W. Bush is our president right now, and we do need to let him know we expect him to respond appropriately to the reality that both the Democratic and Republican candidate found his policies harmful to the American people. He needs to be a leader during the next few months and work with both parties for the best interests of the USA. And Republicans need to figure out how to focus on the issues at hand rather than poisoning the atmosphere in hopes they do better in the 2010 election using the same tactics that failed in the 2008 election. Democrats are not socialists and Republicans are not fascists. We are all Americans who want the best for our beautiful country and wonderful people.

IMHO

Pam W
SE of Seattle

It's more like coming into someone's home, in that sense, not speaking in a public park.

Hardly, the internet is open to the public. However, I am beginning to understand why the few posters who post here all sound alike. As I am against censorship of all kinds and levels, I will not waste any more time here.

The internet is open but the BellaOnline forum is a members-only arena. Please review the terms we all signed to post here that Shay thoughtfully provided.

These forums are here to encourage and support people. People come to a particular forum for discussion, support, and encouragement on that topic and to find like-minded people interested in that topic. We do allow debate as long as the issue is being debated and members are not bashing, putting down, or personally attacking anyone including other members, celebrities, politicians, etc.

All members have signed up to use the BellaOnline.com forums and have agreed to abide by our Terms Of Service. These include:

-Any off-topic post in a forum may be deleted by the moderator.
-Any non-supportive topic may be edited or deleted by a forum moderator.

BellaOnline.com is about a supportive, encouraging, and learning atmosphere. Flaming, trolling, phishing, spamming, bingoing, etc are absolutely not allowed. There are plenty of other forums on the internet that allow this behavior and you are free to use those forums for the above purposes as you wish.