It should be illegal to be a repuke

[leftofthedial]

Poll question: It should be illegal to be a repuke

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Are we living in Gernamy?

WOW!

You are aware your counterparts at that site that should not be named have polls as well... replace Repuke for Democrat

[leftofthedial]

3. looks like most DUers agree with you

[Jonathan50]

2. That way lies tyrrany.

I don't think it should be illegal to be a fascist, communist or anarchist either.

[leftofthedial]

6. what about membership in the Crips or Bloods or the Mafia

should it be illegal to belong to a crime organization?

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. It is ilegal to belong to a criminal organziation

and to associate with one once you are convicted of a crime as well...

[leftofthedial]

15. how many crimes do the repukes have to commit before

someone musters the will to prosecute?

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. The GOP is not a criminal organization

Though I could possibly make a case that RICO applies to SOME of their upper echelons, it is NOT a criminal organzation

[leftofthedial]

33. technically, you are correct

but perhaps only because no one has the guts to pursue indictments.

[Bronyraurus]

83. See: Patrick Fitzgerald

[Bronyraurus]

82. No it's not

I can call myself a Crip. What law have I broken?

[don954]

4. this poll shows one fundamental aspect of liberalism.

the fact that the disagree side is severely outpacing the agree side shows our idea of freedom is more important than our politics. Ive seen a similar poll on a freepers site asking if liberals should be jailed, and it was strongly supported, which only highlights our polar opposites. The sad fact is that with our philosophy of governance, we both can be happy and free, but under theirs, only their ideas are allowed "freedom...

[leftofthedial]

5. that is a fundamental difference

tolerance


but are there ever necessary limits to tolerance?

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Again look at post war germany for that lesson

they banned the Nazi party. Hell you can be jailed today for openly embracing Nazi philosophy in Germany.

It has not stopped a small minority from believing in Hitler and all he stood for.

[leftofthedial]

18. how many more do the repukes need to kill

before they are given the "Nazi" treatment?

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. The US will have to be occupied by foreign forces

and probably disapear from the map

That said, what you are advocating is one step removed from TYRANNY

[leftofthedial]

36. the American Revolution was tyrannical

if you were a loyalist. Or even just a farmer.

The French Revolution was tyrannical.

The Soviet Revolution was grotesquely tyrannical and sowed the seeds of the failure of the brief Soviet experiment with socialism.

I think flirtation with tyranny is part of any significant political change.

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. Look if we have a civil war in the US

that is the end of the US AS WE KNOW IT... and having seen a civil war close up... I'm not that hungry to see a second one close up.

Now if it comes down to that... I know what side of the barricades I happen to belong in, mostly because you will see whole sections harden to their majority position

If you think a violent revolution is the way to go though, you are naive... that should and always is the LAST CHOICE

[leftofthedial]

60. I don't think a violent revolution is the way to go.

I do think significant change is inevitable and soon. Proactive, massive change is essential if the species is to survive much longer, but either way, change is coming.

[nadinbrzezinski]

64. We are closer to that precipice every day of the way

[Bronyraurus]

93. No, it's part of every war

If that's what you want.

[manic expression]

121. The Soviet Revolution was great for the people

almost all aspects of Russian society improved. The Bolsheviks created progress and a better world.

By the way, the USSR, even with all of its faults at its end, was FAR AND AWAY better than the pig trough of capitalism which has replaced it.

[Thothmes]

126. Soviet Society

NKVD, Gulag,White Sea Canal,Kolyma, all wonderful Soviet institutions. Far and away better than
than the pig trough of capitalism. If I remember correctly, It was the Bolsheviks that re instituted capital punishment in the USSR. Of course Joseph Visarionovich (sic) and Yezov were shining light of Socialist leadership.

[manic expression]

127. Try looking closer

NKVD was necessary to combat counterrevolutionaries, the Siberian prison system was NOT started by the Bolsheviks and the system was later shut down by USSR (ignoring the fact that many who were sent there were hardly nice people), estimates vary for WSC deaths, etc....

And it is an established FACT that the USSR was FAR better for the people than capitalism.

You think the Bolsheviks started capital punishment in the USSR? That's laughable. At any rate, revolutions are not tea parties, they are wars, and capital punishment becomes necessary to suppress counterrevolutionaries and reactionaries.

Do you have an argument or are you just trying to perpetuate tired old delusional misconceptions?

[Bronyraurus]

85. You could've argued the same about Democrats

circa 1968. How many Vietnamese did "the Democrats kill?" What an asinine assertion.

[Bronyraurus]

84. Not here

The first amendment guarantees freedom of assembly and speech.

[FyurFly]

7. What a stupid poll n/t

[leftofthedial]

8. what an enlightened reply!

[Quantess]

92. Agreed. This is the stupidest poll I've seen on DU in a long time.

There was one poll, a few months ago, a really silly one, but the OP also admitted he had been drinking. This poll is actually insulting to Democrats, and insulting to democracy in general, in my opinion.

:thumbsdown:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

10. Of course not.

[Vidar]

12. Be anything you like. Just don't impose it on others.

[leftofthedial]

24. so you'd vote "yes"

since the repukes definitely impose their shit on the whole country?

[dkofos]

13. No, but they should have to wear an inverted star on their forhead

[leftofthedial]

16. a branded star?

or just written with a Sharpie?

[dkofos]

19. As long as it a permanent sharpie

[leftofthedial]

21. renewed weekly at the public head shaving ceremony?

[dkofos]

31. If that is what Briteny wants

[LeftishBrit]

14. It definitely shouldn't be illegal to be a Republican/ Tory/ etc.

One-party states are dangerous.

Perhaps it should be illegal for a British Labour Prime Minister to be a repuke, however.

[leftofthedial]

20. good point about the British PM

but making repukes illegal does not limit the formation of additional parties

if there were viable other parties that weren't criminal organizations, woule you vote "yes"?

[LeftishBrit]

75. Even so, denying people the right to belong to vote for/ belong to a conservative party...

is undemocratic - even if alternative centrist and leftist parties are available.

[Double T]

17. 'WE' must have someone and something to oppose..............

if it weren't for rethugs, DU probably would NOT be HERE!!

[leftofthedial]

37. I reject the notion

that one's principles are formed by one's enemies.

I think we could create a damned wonderful country with no repukes in it.

[Double T]

68. Sorry, Utopia does NOT and NEVER will exist.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. Absolutely not!

The very idea violates everything we liberals are supposed to stand for. To outlaw a political party, no matter how much you disagree with its positions, is to invite totalitarianism.

[leftofthedial]

23. what if the "political" party was really just a smokescreen

for organized crime?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. Then you prosecute the criminal acts.

Outlawing a party is essentially punishing ideas. Punish the deeds, not the ideas.

[leftofthedial]

39. so the moment that any repuke actually enacts one of their "mainstream conservative" ideas

like preemptive invasion

illegal occupation

no-bid sweetheart deals to cronies

destruction of the middle class and working class in order to enrich the super-wealthy

etc., etc., etc.

THEN we can outlaw the repukes?

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. Can we outlaw the democrats?

it is not the party AS A WHOLE that holds those ideas... it is the NEOCONS, and repeat after me, we also have them in our midst.

And yes, you prosecute them, in an ideal world

[leftofthedial]

47. one repuke voted against preemptive invasion

no repukes opposed the neocons until they began to fear for their own meal tickets.

I think membership in the Crips is a valid analogy for an organization, the repuke party, that has as a matter of policy and practice committed so many crimes. It is a pervasive conspiracy.

not every member of the Mafia is a hit man or street muscle.

[nadinbrzezinski]

49. Then we should ban the Democratic party too

sorry, if you cannot understand this... a political party is not banned, and the monent you walk down that road you enter a very dark place, and it is called a police state

[leftofthedial]

51. Given your knowledge of world history,

is there any political party you've ever heard of that it should be illegal to belong to?

If so, why?

[nadinbrzezinski]

55. After WW II

the Nazi party and the Nationalist in Japan, part of the surrender terms actually

Today, the Baath Party in Iraq

[leftofthedial]

61. so there are, theoretically, legitimate grounds for outlawing a political party

how many people do a political party (or the policies they enact) have to kill, make homeless, bankrupt, etc. before the threshhold is reached?

Or is it just a matter of losing a war?

[nadinbrzezinski]

62. Not in the United States

but if you want to keep that fantasy so be it

[leftofthedial]

66. I'm not "keeping" any fantasy.

I'm asking DUers if they really believe what passes for conservative thought these days should be allowed. The repuke agenda is killing people and destroying the planet. Is it really legal? If it is not, should it be?

One problem we face is that no one is holding the repukes accoutnable for even the things they do that clearly are illegal, much less pursuing the kind of change that could give our "civilization" a chance of survival for another few generations.

[nadinbrzezinski]

78. And I am telling you that

you start banning believes you are no better than them and IDEAS cannot be banned.

THe Nazi party is gone in Germany but Nazis aer not gone, in fact they are very much alive and well... and April 20th is always an interesting day in Germany.

The Rabid nationalism of Tojo Japan was banned, but it is not gone, in fact it is making a comeback... as well as racial superiority by the Japanese people. Granted it is a minority, but the IDEAS are still there

I bet the Ba'ath patty ideology is very much alive and kicking right now in Iraq

You fight ideas with ideas, not jail sentences or banishments. That is what Authoritarians do, whether they are fascists (from the right) or Stalisnist (from the left)

So wake up, smell the coffee and join the rest of us in reality

And as to how you just describe them, that is exactly what they say about you. So should we ban all parties?

[Bronyraurus]

87. Again, being a member of the Crips

Is NOT illegal.

[Bronyraurus]

86. No, you punish the individuals who break the law

Again, see: Patrick Fitzgerald. He isn't prosecuting the Republican Party, is he?

[Xenotime]

79. Just make sure their party is poorly represented.

[Selatius]

25. Outlawing a political party won't erase hate and greed.

You're better off simply using the light of day to expose those driven by hate and greed. Also, if you outlaw a party of the right, what stops the right from outlawing a party of the left when the right gains control?

[leftofthedial]

26. this is not a political thread

it is a crime thread

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. No it is a political thread

and you are telling us that the GOP, all of the GOP, from the guy who registered yesterday, to the President of the US, is a criminal organziation

The site that should not be mentioned uses the exact same words about the Democrats regularly.

So who'se right?

I mean moral equivalencies and all... one of the two has to be right...

[leftofthedial]

32. I'm not telling

I'm asking

Although my opinion is that in order to still call yourself a "republican," you either have to be a criminal or mentally incompetent.

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. And I am telling you that this broad brush will get you in trouble

for starters there are many types of republicans.

The current bunch are Neo cons... they are imperial pigs and they have their conterparts in the Democracti party, so if we are going to go to that extreme
we will have to get rid of BOTH parties.

Paleo Cons hate neo cons with a passion, social conservatives are at odds and I could go on... broad brushing is not helpful

[leftofthedial]

40. why and how does it get one in trouble

and why is broad brushing not helpful, especially when it paints an abhorrent world view?

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. Because your world view is not quite correct

and you are missing nuances

In your world view, if you could, and we had a revolution, you'd line every member of the GOP and shoot them

Granted, the leadership of the party needs impeachment, prosecution et al... but I am sorry if I am not willing to extend that broad brush to the 18 year old who just joined because his dad was s Republican because his grand dad was a Republican.

That kind of thinking leads to problems across the society, especially when the other side is using the exact same words about you

Those of us who again have had some experience with actual civil war, (and happen to have a college degree in history as well) realize that if what you are doing is pervasive and the other side is engaged in the same thing... sooner or later not only do you stop talking, but bullets start flying.

Personally, though I know we are going to go down that precipice, this thread is just one more proof... am not relishing that. And if you are, you are rather naive, I fear.

[leftofthedial]

50. I said "illegal"

not a capital offense

some criminals get a fine, some get probation, some get jail time, some get "lined up and shot."

I don't think the planet can survive another 50 years of conservative political ideas.

[Selatius]

53. To answer your question: No.

It's a political issue in as much as getting rid of a party won't necessarily get rid of the people who ran the party, and it won't get rid of the ideas that animated that party.

[leftofthedial]

54. should those people and ideas be illegal?

[Selatius]

57. Some people should be removed from power, but outlawing ideas isn't possible.

Those people guilty of crimes under existing law should be indicted so that they can stand trial. Prosecute them under existing law. Those ideas themselves? You can't outlaw ideas because it's not possible. Political parties are built on ideas.

As a result, people like Dick Cheney will go to jail not because he's a Republican or because he believes in the idea of profit ahead of human life but because he broke the law. Those who are simply guilty of being Republican and believing in putting profit ahead of human life, while misguided, shouldn't go to jail or be fined or be stripped of power if they haven't broken any law.

[leftofthedial]

59. I guess the nut of this is

at what point does putting profit ahead of human life become illegal?

versus

at what point *should* putting profit ahead of human life become illegal?



I agree that anyone should be free to believe that putting profit ahead of human life is a good idea. But when they try to actually do it, they should be stopped and punished.

[nadinbrzezinski]

63. The nut is once you take that step

YOUR ideas will be banned to, and you will be persecuted.

[cali]

70. What bullshit

Really, I find your beliefs every bit as scary as there's. In fact, you're not much different.

[Bronyraurus]

88. If you really believe that

then either you live under a rock or you are mentally incompetent yourself. Do you mean to tell me that you have no friends or family members who are Republicans, and whom you respect?

I have plenty, probably a good 30% or my friends are Republicans, some of them very conservative. They aren't criminals, and it's almost more fun to talk politics with them than it is with my Democrat friends, because it's fun to disagree.

Obviously you don't know the pleasure of rational political debate if you want to outlaw 1/2 of the country.

[name not needed]

113. Wrong again.

It's a fascism thread.

[mentalsolstice]

35. Illegal? No. Immoral? Yes. n/t

[Cleita]

41. Today the GOP operatives are committing treason. This alone

makes them illegal. Conservatives should not be illegal, but when a faction within the party gains power and commits treasonous acts against the Constitution, particularly since they took an oath to uphold it, then they are by definition outside the law. Other than that to espouse a cranky political theory should not be illegal until the actions of those believers have committed crimes and treason against the Constitution. This is why BushCo and any of his enablers should be brought to justice. The GOP should be calling them on the carpet to explain themselves as well. If they don't and they haven't up until now, I consider them treasonous.

[nadinbrzezinski]

46. Yes we need to prosecute tha traitors in their midst

by the way, a new conservative party may be forming because many in the GOP are not calling them to the carpet

But even Buchannan has, and these days he correctly refers to all the party does as a function of Empire... so I fear until we divest of empire... and no nation has willingly divested of empire

[Forkboy]

42. Try this:It should be illegal to be a Democrat

because once you go down that path that's what will happen.You're either for the rights of everyone or you're not for them at all.

Though I can appreciate the sentiment :)

[MazeRat7]

45. Illegal ??? Well maybe in China, or Sudan, or Cuba, or N. Korea, or Iran....

They seem to have that whole "our way or the gallows" thing down pretty well don't you think ?

MZr7

[BlooInBloo]

48. By god you see stupid shit on DU sometimes.

[leftofthedial]

52. ain't that the truth.

[Beelzebud]

56. The real question: Capitol Punishment, or Guantanamo for them?

:evilgrin:

[demrabble]

58. Not To BE A Repuke....Just To VOTE

It should not be illegal to be a repuke.

However, VOTING for a repuke should be strictly illegal.

People who vote repuke are quite obviously disturbed.

Moreover, they are CRIMINALLY disturbed.

And, by voting for a repuke, they are taking action to do serious harm to our country.

[nadinbrzezinski]

65. Amazinjg replace repuke with Liberal or Democrat

and the same post, with the same words you just used appeared in the site that should not be mentioned I bet within the last week

[leftofthedial]

105. replacing words in statements changes their meanings

[donheld]

67. People should just be smarter than that.

[madokie]

69. Ahh but for post title's this one gets the prize

:rofl:

[Sammy Pepys]

71. Remind me who the fascists are again? n/t

....

[cgrindley]

72. That's one of the dumbest things I've ever read

That sort of idiocy is astonishing.

[AngryAmish]

73. we have to stamp them out once and for all

Any step is justified.

[MilesColtrane]

74. Passing a law that makes a particular political party illegal would be....

anti-American and unconstitutional.

You just can't criminalize political thought and speech. It goes against everything this country was founded on.

You can, however, indict, prosecute, convict, and lock up murderers, thieves, and other criminal conspirators

[BL611]

76. It speaks very poorly of DU

that 15% of people would vote for something this outrageous. If FreeRepublic had a poll saying should the Democratic Party be illegal, you would see it as incontrovertible evidence of its fascist nature.
I would hope that a moderator deletes this thread, as it is absolutely offensive enough to warrant deletion.

Really a shame and warranted of all the criticism it gets and more...

[Quantess]

97. You're absolutely correct.

I'm suspicious of this thread. I bet half of the people who voted "agree" are trolls.

[Buzz Clik]

77. Another nuisance poll.

Let's see... where's the Hide Thread link...

Ah yes.

[AngryOldDem]

80. This poll is offered with tongue firmly in cheek, right?

Otherwise, suggesting that any political view/party/affiliation should be illegal comes a little bit too close to totalitarianism for my taste.

[nadinbrzezinski]

81. No it is not, read the discusion

I have been engaged in wih the OP for the last two days.

And no, he cannot see how this poll is exactly what I expect at FR... or any fascist site, but... here's the rub ther are left authoritarian personalities. Stalin was one, and we both know how that party ended

[ToeBot]

89. No, I don't believe in legislating morality or, as is the case here,...

legislating against immorality.

[Raskolnik]

90. It should be illegal to post this stupid a poll without any irony. n/t

[cgrindley]

91. Same percentages as the homophobia/racism poll

interesting... but why?

[slackmaster]

95. Protest votes

:D

[nadinbrzezinski]

96. I assume some vote yes for the irony of it

but some do such because they believe in thigns like this... those folks scare me

;-)

[PVnRT]

94. A kick for flamebait!

n/t

[Madspirit]

98. a. and b.

a.) This isn't a totalitarian regime quite yet and we don't have laws to forbid people from joining other Hate Groups....and...

b.) It's always more dangerous to drive a group underground. It's best to be able to keep an eye on them.

Lee

[leftofthedial]

101. two good, rational points

[woo me with science]

99. Are you in the tenth grade?

Because you obviously haven't taken a US government class yet, or read the Constitution.

[leftofthedial]

104. you juniors are so mean

[woo me with science]

108. LOL!

You're still scarily wrong, but I like you better now. :rofl:

[MonkeyFunk]

100. No

but stupid flamebait polls should be outlawed.

[Madspirit]

102. I don't think

I don't think this was a flamebait poll. I think the OP is misguided but that doesn't make it a flamebait poll.
Lee

[MonkeyFunk]

107. misguided?

to even consider outlawing a political party is so anti-American, so anti-democratic, so anti-intelligence that it beggars belief. That's not misguided - that's stupid.

[Madspirit]

109. Not if

Some countries do outlaw Hate Groups. Some very fine countries, like Canada and I think the OP's point was that the Republican Party is a hate group.
Lee

[MonkeyFunk]

110. that's nonsense

outlawing a political party in the US.

Who gives a rat's ass what other countries do? They're wrong!

Pure, unadulterated idiocy.

[Madspirit]

111. ...and that's your opinion

I didn't agree with the OP but I like Canada and their laws. You also cannot teach Hate to children in Canada.

You sure seem angry for someone all about free speech. You do realize that applies to the OP also, right?
Lee

[MonkeyFunk]

112. I don't encourage

his arrest, or taking away his right to spout his stupid nonsense.

That's the difference - I believe the answer to offensive speech is MORE speech. So I get to call bullshit on flamebait like this.

I didn't alert on this thread - I think the OP has every right to present idiotic arguments.

[leftofthedial]

119. yo, monkeyfunk

since when is posting a poll advocating a position?

did you read any other posts before you started flinging feces all over your cage?

[Cabcere]

103. Illegal? No. Immoral? Well... (n/t)

[leomcgarrysghost]

106. Can't have day without night

[MonkeyFunk]

114. Thanks for posting this....

now we know about 13% of DUers are fascist nutjobs.

[Madspirit]

115. Waaaaaaaaaaay too seriously

I think you're taking it way too seriously. I doubt anyone here would really think it's OK to outlaw this kind of freedom regardless of how they answered the poll. I just don't think they took it as seriously as you evidently do, since a poll isn't really going to restrict anyone's freedom.
Lee

[MonkeyFunk]

116. Forgive me...

there's a lounge for ridiculous nonsense.

Advocating fascist repression just doesn't tickle my funnybone.

[Marie26]

125. I disagree

IMO the poll is about right. Authoritarians aren't only on the conservative side.

[Kelly Rupert]

117. So 13% of DUers are idiots, whether they're

trolling idiots or fascist idiots.

Good to know.

[0rganism]

118. "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Republican Party?"

No thanks, I think I'll pass on that shit, thank you very much.

[nadinbrzezinski]

124. True story

When we became US Citiznes the first qusetion on the questionaire was

are you know or have you ever been a member of the Commnuist Party

Are you now or have you ever been a member of the NAZI party

Those questions still remaain from what I understand

[Hosnon]

120. 13% agree? What the hell...? Where am I?

I'm going to assume for the sake of my sanity that the 13% represents our troll population.

[pinto]

122. Nah. Some say it ought to be illegal to be me, but thankfully we have a Constitution.

:think:

[lumberjack_jeff]

123. Outlaw Republic-ism and only criminals will be Republics.

On second thought, I guess I'm making your point for you.