Kevin, if you're speaking of civil rights legislation, Republicans did not try to pound Johnson for it.

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Never heard of the Southern Strategy?  And note I said Democrats, not Johnson.

And Victor - I agree with you - there are a lot of laws designed to keep the peasants in their place. I'm not on the same page with you on the HealthCare, but I like where you're coming from.

I like the cut of your jib, sir!

But I can not, in my heart of hearts, believe that now. Not in light of what's happened in the last year. Republicans should be ashamed of the actions of their party and the most vocal representitives.

I get that some Republicans are just people with a different philosophy - (top down vs bottom up) but this infantile behavior needs to stop, and if not, I suggest the children need to be spanked.

It's like I said in the Avatar thread; we need less reaching across the isle - we just keep getting our hands bit and slapped. We need more Malcolm X. We need to shake the house to the foundations and get the vermin out.

You think the point of a car insurance law is to make sure the poor stay poor?

I'm as critical of the "capitalist system" as the next guy (if the next guy is a marxist) but that's just ridiculous.  Car insurance is about respecting the fact that if you crash into another guy and it's your fault, he shouldn't have to pay for it.

Imagine if your mother had basic car insurance (which only covers other people whne you're at fault) and some guy without crashed into your mother's car and totalled it, simply by an unavoidable accident, though he is still found to be at fault. Her basic insurance wouldn't cover her car, and if he didn't have car insurance because he was dirt poor, he certainly wouldn't be able to pay her out of pocket.

Would you then go "It's okay. He was dirt poor. It's excusable. So what if both he and my mom lose their jobs without their cars. He was just victimized by a corrupt system that was trying to keep us all poor."

Car laws are about eliminating risks. Like it or not, uninsured drivers pose a very real financial risk to other drivers, especially drivers who are so poor they can barely afford car insurance. One bad day and they're jobless and their families homeless because people like your mom don't buy car insurance.

I protect you from undue harm if I'm at fault, you protect me from undue harm if you're at fault. A basic rule of common decency, translated into a very specific law.   

Yes. it may be costly to buy that insurance and assume a financial responsibility that in it's limited legally required form only covers somebody else if you make a mistake.  But if you can't or won't assume that responsibility, you have no business being on the road.  It's about respect for the fact that driving is incredibly dangerous.

A good system.

I do, however, also believe that there is an effort to keep the poor poor in our nation. In many ways it's a lucky side effect of existing programs, but it exsists nonetheless.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/vandal_att acks_on_dem_offices_nationwide.php?ref=fpb