[quote=briansd1]
Republicans and Democrats are not the same. That’s where the false equivalence is.[/quote]
Brian: Let’s test your assertion, shall we? We were discussing civil liberties, right? So, if we compare Obama (Democrat) to Bush (Republican), we should marked differences in both word and deed, correct?
That would then mean that, on policies and programs, Obama would be doing things vastly differently than Bush did. Taking it one step further, Obama had virtual Democratic control of both houses of Congress and the Executive, right up till the 2010 midterms, meaning Republican opposition to Obama’s promised rollbacks on Gitmo, Patriots I and II, etc would have been a non-issue since Democrats were in control. Moreover, Obama had already (according to pri) indicated his position through the use of Executive Order (on closure of Gitmo) and through various speeches on the importance of following through with his campaign promises.
Which leaves us where? You know the answer to that question, don’t you, Brian? The FACT is that the Dems and GOP are virtually indistinguishable from one another and Obama is a Democrat in name only, not in deed. The Dems in Congress were falling all over themselves to line up to vote for the Iraq War (admittedly, with the exception of Obama). Look at the voting records of Dems versus Repubs on the various programs and policies of the so-called “War on Terror” and show me the difference. There isn’t one. Both sides are corporatist now and both rely on staggering sums of money to get elected. You think either party is “of the people”?
Don’t use a term like “false equivalence” unless you truly understand what it means and can demonstrably prove your case.