And in every way possible. As if I didn't have enough reasons. Face it, Republicans ruin this country. People can whine about Clinton all they want but if getting blown in office and lying about it [since Clinton is the only president since Nixon to lie about anything] is the worst anyone can come up with, I can consider it a successful presidency. Now look at Bush. Wars, national tragedies, my college tuition is skyrocketing, college loans charge more interest, national debt rising, something as harmless as internet poker being banned, etc. Hell, you can say internet poker screws lives but so does congress keeping the minimum wage the same but more than gladly raising the annual pay of all congressmen. Hell you can go to a casino and still lose every penny you have or buy 500 lottery tickets.

And cry about abortion if you want [its simply a wedge issue to begin with] but what have Republicans done to repeal it? NOTHING. Roe v Wade stands despite Republicans controlling every facet of our government. Face it, excluding a few Religious Right members, Republicans don't want to do shit about abortion. It is a wedge issue to keep their base rallied around them and repealing it would lose momentum that they can get from the regular voters.

Hopefully Democrats will take back the house this November and at least close the margin in the Senate because face it, Republicans used every ploy in the book to get this anti-gambling section of the bill into a bill on NATIONAL SECURITY to help support our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because there is no way this could pass as a stand-alone bill, they had to throw it into a bill that they could claim you were unpatriotic if you did not vote "aye". Why do Republicans care about the troops? More Republicans than Democrats were draft-dodgers who found every excuse in the book to skip the war they support up to and including Rush Limbaugh's ANAL CYSTS.

Anyways, not to rant anymore than I already have, this bill is a disgrace to America. Anyone who has read 1984 and Animal Farm already see the parallelisms. I admit Democrats are not perfect but I do believe they will do more for the country than the current Republicans would ever be able to do.

Like I said in the post, Democrats basically had to agree with it whether they wanted to or not. This is basically a Patriot Act, it would lead to political ruin if you voted against it because you would basically be saying "I don't want to help the troops" since the bill is based on helping the troops and national defense.

I agree with most of what u say. however i do not agree with this. "Hell, you can say internet poker screws lives but so does congress keeping the minimum wage the same but more than gladly raising the annual pay of all congressmen" Most economics believe that raising the minimum wage is not a good thing. It will decrease demand for non skilled workers, especially teenagers. Just a thought.

democrats are just as shady as republicans......just wait for them to get some power and pull some shit too. politicians are so damn shady it is unreal.

Yo Phil9......I have been a Republican all my life.......I am now a Democrat simply because of Bill Frist....Bill Frist has driven me OUT of the Republican party because Bill Frist is a religious fundamentalist imposing his narrow religious convictions on the entire American populace.......

BUT...you are SO wrong about 'raising the minimum' wage.......if the minimum wage is raised, EVERYTHING simply costs MORE money and minimum wage earners wind up WORSE off than they were before the raise......also.....every time the minimum wage is raised many small businesses lay workers off because they simply cannot afford to pay the higher wages and stay in business......

Why not raise the minimum wage to $1,000,000 per year for everybody ? Then everyone would be a millionaire and there would be no poverty or hunger in America......

Also...what the HELL does raising the minimum wage have to do with the online gambling issues we are all talking about here..........

Democrats like you always drag in minimum wage and global warming and abortion into EVERY discussion about anything............focus........one issue at a time please.........

democrats are just as shady as republicans......

<span>I agree. Isn't the govenor of Washington a democrat? Either side will scew us over if they are in control.

</span>

I really, really, REALLY dislike the Democrat party.

That is all.

well let me explain something. being liberal on social issues is right. being liberal on economic issues is wrong.generally the people that are considered the dumbest people in the us are populists who are liberal on economic issues and conservative on social issues. one day you will realize that being liberal on fiscal isseus is dumb. raising minimum wage is retarted. all you will do is increase unemployment. think about it. the state with the highest minimum wage, (7.75) is also the state with the highest unemplyment (oregon) one dollar lower minimum wage means one more worker

(I tried to quote from the previous post about "most economics (sic) agree that raising the minimum wage is a bad thing." but it didn't work.)

Actually, that is simply not true. Most economists do NOT agree that raising the minimum wage is a bad thing. In fact, if you look at the states that have voluntarily raised the minimum wage above the Federal minimum wage, you will see that their economies improve dramatically. This "raising the minimum wage is a bad thing" is a classic Republican talking point that has been pushed by the likes of bullshit artist John Stossel and has been pretty thoroughly debunked.

Underdog

Another Proud Democrat

Again, this is simply not true. States where the minimum wage has been voluntarily raised above the Federal Minimum Wage see dramatic increases in their economies. Everyone does better. Jobs are NOT lost. It might be counterintuitive, but the numbers back it up in state after state. This idea is a Republican talking point, and like most of those, is not based on facts in any way.

Underdog

Proud Democrat.

This is the biggest and the most effective lie of all: "Democrat are just as shady as Republicans." It is pure genius that the Republicans are able to fuck things up so profoundly and yet convince a large portion of the population that the Democrats are just as bad, without any evidence at all. They convince everyone that government can't solve problems, then they get elected and do a horrible job, which reinforces their point that government can't solve problems.

Underdog

Whatsup with people assuming people who hate Democrats are in love with the Republican party.

Republican Party is a fucking joke as well.

It's just if I had to choose only one option, conservative fiscally or liberal socially, I choose conservative fiscally.

because there is no realistic other option. In theory though I agree with you. If I were being sold, Republicans have much better closing lines.

Customer:Are you against guns?
Republicans:absolutely not and we will fight for your rights.
Dems: I think we are against the Republicans on this one but let us get back to you.

Customer:What about abortion?
Republicans:against it and we will do everything we can to make it illegal.
Dems: I am pretty certain we are for choices.

Customer:What about the flag?
Republicans:if someone burns it they will go to jail if it is up to me
Dems: man, hard to be for someone burning the flag but I guess we have to be.

Only in abortion do the Democrats get to set the agenda and that single issue has made the Republican party what it is today. A bunch of Christian nutbags, but if you are Christian they might get you because the bible tells me that Jesus is the answer. Once again they are firm in their stance. Like em or hate em, their message is better than ours for a lot of people. Most people voting democrat right now are just voting against Republicans and not voting for Democrats.

PS: the founding fathers of the US -- republicans in the "traditional 18th century sense" -- are rolling over in their GRAVES.

Hmmmm, not really. Jefferson and Madison were die-hard Liberal while Hamilton, Adams and somewhat Jefferson were members of the Federalist party which was for the most part Conservative. Of course, the modern day Democrat Party stems from the Democratic-Republican Party of Jefferson/Madison.

Democrats are just wonderful. They are the reason some states are having such a hard time passing tougher laws against child molesters. I may not be happy with the republican party at the moment, but it will not be switching me to the democrat party.