Quote Originally Posted by texaspackerbacker
And do you really think people favor bringing Guantanamo terrorists into OUR justice system, or to ruling out harsh interrogation--or real torture, for that matter, if the lives of Americans are on the line? I say again, just let Obama or Hillary try to sell that to people.
There is a significant group of Americans who are fiercely opposed to torture in any form...and not all of them are Dems. There are many conservatives who value life and morality that are opposed to both the death penalty and torture.

And on the war, as far as we have progressed toward a successful conclusion, do you really think the stupid timetable to withdraw--with all its implications for defeat and bad consequences--is something that is going to win votes for Obama or Hillary?
Maybe, maybe not. My point was that the "stay the course" crowd is a small minority...just as the "cut and run" crowd is also a small minority. The majority of Americans are somewhere in the middle...the country is very weary of the war, and want to see some kind of exit strategy that puts the burden on the Iraqis to get it together.

What you said about higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations rings true--unfortunately. That is a tribute to the class warfare crap pushed for so long by the Dem/libs. Corporation tax is paid by customers, and fair taxing--cutting at the same rate across the board does more to stimulate the economy, since reducing the higher levels allows for more trickling down, which translates to more economic stimulation. Unfortunately, that truth is drowned out by the left's ranting about sticking it to the rich.
I would agree with you to an extent...I was merely pointing out that the GOP no longer holds the great advantage in the realm of taxation and low spending. Personally, I feel corporate taxes should be LOWERED...but tariffs and charges on imported goods should be heavily increased. Companies should be encouraged to PRODUCE and SELL here if they want to be part of our economy...not operating primarily overseas. Lowering the corporate tax rate and increasing tariffs on imports would be a way to accomplish that.

Your idea of a third party probably won't happen--it just ain't the American system. If the idea has any chance, though, you would have to combine the populism you are talking about with a healthy pro-American perspective--get away from this Ron Paul anti-war/anti-interventionist foreign policy idiocy.
A populist party would need to focus on core domestic issues that matter to mainstream Americans. The Dems are going to alienate a bunch of people in this campaign year due to a system that ignored the votes of people in MI and FL and the entire stupidity of the "superdelegate" system. The GOP clearly also is fractured between the haves and have nots.

A third party that doesn't listen to the special interests from both extremes would be a major hit IMO...but it will take an individual who can raise a lot of cash to challenge the two major parties.