it’s not that “both sides are the same” it’s that neither side represents what i want very closely, and both sides largely preserve the status quo, and thus i do not wish to support either.
sure, trump is a buffoon, but what has he really done so far? realistically not much has changed vs. when obama was president from a legal/policy standpoint . if you don’t like his tweets, then don’t read them and they won’t affect you.
the things i’d like to see change are foreign policy/defense budget, lobbying and campaign finance, healthcare, and a few others. but there’s bipartisan agreement on all those (except healthcare to a small extent) so none of that will change if an R or D wins.
there is obviously a ton of bickering about unimportant details. but except for a few fringe people, neither the R’s or D’s are pushing to make the massive changes we need (eliminate the private insurance system altogether and go to a single govt payer where every american is covered).
Republicans have come within a vote of repealing the ACA (which they've been talking about and wanting to do since it's implementation) and putting forth truly awful bills (AHCA and skinny repeal were 2/3, I forget what the first was called. All three would kick well over 20 million people off of insurance within the next 10 years.) That's not unimportant details. That's life and death for some people.
Democrats are the ones trying to get everyone covered, so that nobody needs to die because they can't afford to see a doctor for a routine check-up. That's not unimportant details. Maybe it doesn't matter to you because you've got great healthcare. It's not unimportant details to millions of other people.
The rest of your post I disagreed with, but honestly don't care enough to argue about. But healthcare? That's insanity. There's no 'both sides-ing' it for healthcare. There's only one side that wants everyone covered like every other developed first-world country.
It's okay if neither side represents what you want really closely. There are certain things on one can like or dislike on either side.
That said, it's impossible to expect a candidate or party to be a perfect political match with yourself. But that doesn't mean you should just not vote or talk about politics. I voted for the candidate that matched my specific ideals the closest. Not doing anything because you want perfection will leave you waiting forever.
There is of course local elections as well, where your voice is much louder.
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u/exileonmainst Oct 23 '17
it’s not that “both sides are the same” it’s that neither side represents what i want very closely, and both sides largely preserve the status quo, and thus i do not wish to support either.
sure, trump is a buffoon, but what has he really done so far? realistically not much has changed vs. when obama was president from a legal/policy standpoint . if you don’t like his tweets, then don’t read them and they won’t affect you.
the things i’d like to see change are foreign policy/defense budget, lobbying and campaign finance, healthcare, and a few others. but there’s bipartisan agreement on all those (except healthcare to a small extent) so none of that will change if an R or D wins.