The GOP is not relevant anymore why are we even bothering with them?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

some people are treating the GOP although it is relevant. It has been rejected by the majority of the people. Why are we even discussing or negotiating with them. Can't Obama just veto and be done with it.

[Iggy]

1. uhhh, because the white minority HAS ALL THE MONEY??

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. remember

that white minority aren't all Repugs

[MrSlayer]

3. This is a grammatical nightmare.

What the hell does your first sentence even mean?

I think you should try again.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. I did

It's late

[IDoMath]

4. Because the pendulum will swing back

Rulers who disregard and disrespect the minority do not last long. Or have you learned nothing from watching the Republicans?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

9. we have to bury them

[Webster Green]

15. Not any more.

This GOP seems to want to call the shots irregardless of their losses at the polls.

Something has changed in our congress. All the GOP does is obstruct government from functioning properly.

NOTHING should be conceded to them.

Fuck 'em!

[bluedigger]

5. Because ignoring 47% of the American electorate has been proven to be unwise?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Not to mention one house of Congress

That may change in two years, but for now, we have to deal with them

[sandyshoes17]

7. The MSM makes them revelant

Just like they made Romney. They keep up the pretense, they are making us believe that that is what people want, it's BS.

[99th_Monkey]

8. HOR

[Rosa Luxemburg]

10. 201/234

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

11. They were trounced....

The Repugs were trounced, this time around, but they are still there. They still have all of their behind-the-scenes power, all of their wealth, their media voices, their think tanks, and their whole infrastructure. They still want to break everything so they can exploit the resulting mess. If we really want to be able to improve the country for everyone, we can't afford to ignore them. They also retain enough political power even after this election that we'll need to be able to work with them on many things. They control too much on the level of various state governments. Whether due to gerrymandering or not, they have the House majority. We also have a two party system in which it is increasingly difficult for a third party to compete with, much less replace, one of the existing monolithic parties. In such a situation, the party at current disadvantage is likely to be ascendant at some point in the future. We need to take them seriously because they are still a threat.

On the other hand, I am an acknowledged pessimist and a terrible worrywart. I hope we can continue to win and we can accomplish actual beneficial change. I hope the other side actually is irrelevant and that they will have no choice but to draw back from their extremist positions. But I, at least, am not yet convinced that we can afford to declare victory and relax.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

13. but we are giving them the stage for no reason

and of course they are going to try to get back and we need to bury them while we can..

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

18. Yes, we should press our advantage.

We should do what we can, while we can, but we shouldn't get so caught up in the recent victories that we think they can never again have the power they'll need to do more serious damage. They'll keep trying because some of them are ideologues and some of them will always work to serve the selfish ends of those who keep throwing money at their causes. Sometimes they will win. We need to be ready to work with that scenario, just as we now need to work with our recent electoral gains.

All of the "hooray for our side" declarations while declaring the opposition permanently impotent worry me, see. But, as I say... big time worrywart, me.

[NoOneMan]

12. Are politics even relevant anymore?

With the world burning, the politics of the 20th century mean less and less

[xxxsdesdexxx]

16. I ask the OP this?

What exactly is Obama going to veto? The GOP is relevant because, as of this moment, they have a majority in the House of Representatives and because they can filibuster in the Senate. Obama cannot think something up and have it become the law of the land. He can advocate that they create and pass legislation in the House of Representatives and the Senate, but he cannot force them to do anything if they don't want to. For your information, legislation must pass both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, before it goes to President Obama. Also, even though very unlikely, Obama could veto a piece of legislation that passes both chambers of Congress and then both chambers of Congress could send it back with 2/3 majority and override his veto -- like I said highly unlikely due to the make-up of Congress, but definitely possible.

[Kablooie]

17. They still have the power to filibuster everything.

Perhaps that will change, we'll see, but for now they still have that power.

[NYC Liberal]

19. They are quite relevant. They have a majority in the House.

And anything that Obama would veto wouldn't get through the Senate anyway.

[Tx4obama]

20. Um... hello... The GOP has control of The House.

In order to get a bill to the President's desk it has to be first passed by The Senate AND The House.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

21. They also control the MSM

More accurately, the MSM and GOP are linked together at the hip. The Repugs remain in the news because it is useful for the mega-corporations for them to be there; to make it seem as if they are the dominant party with all the ideas.

To that extent the MSM will ignore all the GOP mistakes and illogical arguments, and lie about whatever President Obama and the Dems say.

[treestar]

31. +1

How can anyone even question this?

[Cosmocat]

22. I would simply be happy if the media didn't feel compelled

to totally kiss their asses.

That would be a start.

[pnwmom]

23. Because all budgets have to originate in the House, which they control. And any other legislation

we propose has to be passed by the House, too.

It's not just enough to veto stuff. We have to enact legislation as well.

[Filibuster Harry]

24. Of course they are still relevant. They control the house and the senate is not filibuster proof.

They can obstruct all they want. If they continue to do this it is up to us americans to make sure the dems regain the house and have a filibuster proof senate in 2014.

Scenario: Rs obstruct and hurt the economy the next 2 years. Election results : Dems control house and senate (filibuster proof) . Two full years (barring any unforeseen events) of passing legislature and turning this economy around just in time for the 2016 presidential election. And big chance of a democratic president again!!!

[Arkana]

25. Because we thought this in 2008 and the result was 2010?

We need to keep shining a big ol' spotlight on the most distasteful elements of the right's agenda rather than ignoring it and hoping it'll go away.

[geckosfeet]

26. Majority in congress? That has to count for something anyway.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

27. 8 years ago a certain

Karl Rove believed the same thing about the Democratic Party.

[Proud Public Servant]

28. Veto and be done? Is that a joke?

You get how government works, right? We actually have to pass laws, which required us to work with the GOP-controlled house. If all we do is veto their bills and never pass any of our own, what we end up with is huge tax increases on everybody, huge cuts in social spending, the expiration of unemployment relief, and no new government spending. You get that, right?

You also get that, far from being irrelevant, the GOP actually stands an excellent chance of taking control of the Senate in 2014, right?

And you further get that the "irrelevant" party completely controls 27 statehouses -- you know, those pesky legislative bodies that have to do everything from implement Obamacare to draw up the borders of Congressional districts -- right?

You get all that, right? So now, what was your question again?

[yeswecanandwedid]

29. 60,630,038 people did not agree with us this past election...

That's still a metric shit-ton.

[wandy]

30. Keep in mind that 47% voted for Romney......

A good percentage of them knowing full well he wasn't the right man for the job.
A good percentage knowing the type of self serving vulture he was.
A good percentage of them admiring that 'quality' in their leader.
We must face the fact that their are no longer Republicans. They have morphed into some frothing at the mouth cross between the wannabe power mad and the easily led races crazed Teabager.
Teaspublicans exist. We ignore their relevance at our own danger.
Sadly they are our countrymen.