Republicans or Democrats -- which group has the worst arguments?

[Skeptical Empiricist]

This is the only community I know to ask this question.  I'm presuming that voluntaryists like/dislike Republicans and Democrats equally.  Personally, I don't care for either party.  But lately I am getting the idea that one group is more "herd-like."  One group is more immune to reason and evidence.  One group defies the physical and mathematical laws.

 

If this has been covered elsewhere, please redirect me and feel free to delete my question.

 

Thanks.

[jpahmad]

Democrats are worse.  Much worse.

[LaughingMan]

Democrats are far worse. Republican philosophy is much more transparent and its full knowledge is much more available to all. Democrat philosophy is much less transparent and its full knowledge is only esoterically available to some. The reason is that although all banners under democracy are ultimately perverse, the average Democrat displays much more social and/or sexual perversion than the average Republican, and revealing the underlying philosophy of the Democratic Party would allow people to see the heart of that perversion. So, the average Democrat reaches the limits of readily-available knowledge by which he is able to make an argument much sooner than the average Republican.

[shirgall]

The worst argument either group makes is "I'm totally different than the other guy."

[Mister Mister]

One important thing to realize about the Democratic Party, is that people who are dependent on the government either through employment or welfare tend to vote overwhelmingly Democrat.  They also get a HUGE amount of money from Unions, most of whom collect mandatory dues from members who are required by law to be part of that union in order to do a certain kind of business.  Also public school and university teachers and the media are overwhelmingly Democrat.  So they don't really rely on "arguments" so much as bribe voters with stolen money, and propagandizing children.  Another point I would make is that as much as they pick on the Right, sometimes justly so, for being "anti-science", they are "anti-economics", which has far more destructive political consequences.

Republicans on the other hand, appeal more to the entrepreneurial classes, who are fooled into believing that taxes and regulations will be cut back.  They also play on religious delusions - so the churches do for them what the public schools do for the Democrats, although the State is not directly involved in churches in the same way.

Most people vote based on their own short-term self interest, and to serve their delusions about God or the Collective.  To find a real philosophical argument amongst all this pandering and self-serving is pretty rare.

[Snafui]

They are two sides of the same coin that are manipulated into arguing over issues without understanding the premises.

 

People are presented with views on how they should stand on an issue without any valid logic to back it up. They get angry when questioned about their views because they did not come to them personally and therefore don't understand them enough to make a coherent argument. This creates dependence on the party for their opionions which in turns leads to a blind obedience to vote by the letter next to the name on the ballot.

[DaviesMa]

If the question is being herd-like, I would say democrats are worse. (Bear in mind however I am from Britian so I have limited exposure to the US political system.)

 

Democrats appear to be the ones more apt to use character slurs such as racist, homophobe, poor hating, greedy, stupid, etc. from the coverage I see, (although this could be a selection bias on my part.) Once you hate someone, you cease to listen to their arguments and will often go against them even if they are right, just to spite them.

 

Republicans can be blind to particular issues however such as gay marriage and abortion due to their heavy religious base however and these positions become somewhat immovable.

 

I think the majority of FDRers would agree that the Republicans are the least worst party, especially with Hilary (otherwise know as Killary) Clinton appears to be the military industrial candidate this time around.

[jpahmad]

Democrats will destroy the family unit.  Once this happens, we're all finished.

[Alan C.]

Democrats have wreaked far more damage upon civilization. In terms of stultifying progress, they've likely put us decades behind.

[J. D. Stembal]

I'm going to diverge from the binary nature of the question and argue that the Libertarian Party has done the most damage to civilization despite having some of the best arguments. It is precisely because they have the best logical arguments that they are the most dangerous. Despite all reason and evidence, they believe in using the gun of the State, endorse the political process through voting, and hold religion to be a valid moral framework.

 

Through these three irrational conduits, the Libertarian Party has subverted many otherwise rational individuals to participate in the mass delusion of the State with everyone else.

 

Libertarianism is a con! How can it not be when it falls apart by its very premise, violating the non-aggression principle by existing?

[shirgall]

Not all libertarians are religious, but I grant you that the idea of making the mob go legit by joining it was quixotic at best.

[AccuTron]

...They get angry when questioned about their views because they did not come to them personally and therefore don't understand them enough to make a coherent argument. ...

This reminds me of something.  Recently, I think in these forums, I was introduced to Terror Management, which refers to the terror of being aware of one's mortality.  Cultures in part spring up to present an ongoing continuity, something that outlives ourselves, and thus humans can get very defensive about belief challenges.  I think that applies here.

Prior to hearing about T M, something similar came to mind.  We are brains, brains are animals, animals do what makes self survive.  This is usually a, pardon the pun, no-brainer, since any one salamander or chickadee is exactly a salamander or chickadee.  The human self is far more malleable, and thus any one mind state, to that brain, is The Self, and to be protected at all costs.  Rational thought is external clutter.