AMEN !!!

Everybody whether LGBT or other have the same equal rights to marry somebody of the opposite sex.

I agree Thomas along with the fact that those are all state issues.

Citizen Swamp-not sure if Romney will be the answer? Ask any of the companies he hollowed out and left for dead while at Bain Capital. As for the other aspects of your post, the Obama stimulus is the only thing that kept this country from economic collapse. I could refer you to countless economists that have discussed this at great length, but you apparently know better. Finally, not sure what you mean an "pseudo environmentalists" and energy policy, but this seems like a jab at the overwhelming global consensus about ongoing global warming. If so, enjoy your extremely hot future.

Dylan, you obviously know nothing of how venture capitalism works. Obamas stimulus did nothing except raise the debt.

D,
You're straying from the talking points. It is now referred to as "climate change".
You aere also pretty far gone on the effects of the stimulus, it didn't work.

CS

Ah, venture capitalism! I thought Obama was president of an entity called the United States of America, not pushing to make a quick buck off of an Internet startup circa 1995. While you can fault my knowledge of venture capitalism, I'm pretty sure the macroeconomic soundness of Keyensian economics (upon which the stimulus is based) is well established among all but the most aggressively ill-informed. The fact that you see the US economy as a get-rich scheme for the Rentier class says it all about your mindset.

Wow Dylan, you are touting Keyensian economics? This has proven to be a failure over and over again.

John, please see my comment above about the unpopularity of Keynes among the ill-informed. In short, you are badly mistaken, as any credible student of 20th century economics can explain. If you liked the United States in the 20th century, then you can thank Keynes, labor unions, and strict federal regulation of banks. On the other hand, if our current Republican-created morass is working out for you, by all means vote for Mitt!

Link me up to the proof that keyensian economics works. You cant because there isn't any. Labor unions? Are you kidding me? Oh and I do just fine no matter who is in charge.

Dylan - don't be a dick with you monotonically talk - at least you didn't veer into complex numbers, I'll give you that, although it would have been a lot more amusing. It's not so much the break points, but the idea. We can all vote on the breakpoints. Sheesh.

"overwhelming global consensus about ongoing global warming?" I don't think so.

Flatter tax system with three tiers paying rates at 13, 17, and 23%? Where did you come up with these numbers Bob? How about 19, 29, 37? Shall I list three other randomly chosen, monotonically increasing prime numbers? Better yet, should we open the arbitrary-tax-system-that-will-never-work game up to irrational numbers (e.g. pi, or sqrt(2)) too? It's certainly attracted an irrational proponent in Bob; the numbers might as well follow.

Dylan, what is your suggestion to fix the broken tax system?

John,
Well, Dylan needs to refer to his talking points. Answer, "tax the rich".
CS

To John, why is the tax system broken? Is the argument that it is too complicated, or that it has failed to generate adequate revenue? If it is the first point, I'm not convinced that it's too complicated. If it is the later, then why not return to Clinton-era rates? Or, just for starters, letting the Bush tax cuts expire.

To Citizen Swamp, paying taxes isn't a talking point unless you're talking about catastrophically defunding the democratic government of the United States of America, which I would argue is treason-ish. I pay my taxes like everyone else (excepting, of course those "job creators" with offshore tax shelters). Like Oliver Wendell Holmes, I pay gladly taxes because, with them, I buy civilization. I like my public schools, parks, libraries, firefighters, and police officers. What is your objection to these taxpayer-funded services?

A tax system that has too many laws, exemptions, deductions etc. One that allows almost 50% of the country to pay no federal income tax. Talk about not paying your fair share.

You realize if you let the Bush tax cuts expire everyones taxes go up, right? You also realize that will do nothing to effect the debt/deficit? We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

Dylan - are you a MA resident? If so, what state income tax rate do you pay?

Keep Health Care rationing for all!

Maybe you can share the inexorable link to the rest of the Patch readers. Or even the Attorney General beacuse Congressman Tierney has not been accused by the Authorities.

In your dreams

It's going to start in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
CS

Klassy,

Perhaps the Congressman is still typing :)

There were so many questions and we all now know how long it takes the Congressman to provide well thought out answers.

Please don't be concerned. I'm confident Representative Tierney will get back to the Patch well before the Live Chat with Mr. Tisei.

Funny how bigger govt groups want to run every aspect of your life.

That is an old myth and one the liberal press has exploited. Give me one example of how small government conservatives/libertarians want to be involved with anyone's personal life. Don't confuse the small but vocal minority of christian fundamentals with a desire for small and limited government. Most advocates for small gov (such as myself) think the gov has no business regulating abortion, marriage or the use of certain drugs.

If you're concerned about this, then lobby China for a crackdown on the practice. Can you find one confirmed example of this ever occurring in the United States? Of course not-it's just another strawman argument from the forced birth crowd.

Dylan, why do I care what Chinas abortion policy is. We live in the USA. Can you confirm it hasn't happened in the US? No, didn't think so. When they find the gay gene are you going to be ok with selective abortions then?

Hi John,
No one is arguing for selective abortion here-as I pointed out, it is a popular new strawman brought out by anti-choice activists and I am refuting its relevance to the US. Speaking of relevance, your comment about the "gay gene" is oddly off-topic. My point is there is no evidence for sex-selective abortions ever having been performed in the US. China is relevant in this discussion because there is evidence of this occurring there. By the way, the practice I'm engaging in here is called fact-based argument. I find that when you do this, conservative ideology looses a lot of its appeal.

There is no evidence against it either. My point is just as relevant as yours.

http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%270E%2C*PLC8%22%40%20%20%0A

Your post are hilarious. You forgot to mention that Dubya already scuttled the ship and collected the insurance. Obama is trying to salvage the vessel. Now you want to bring in the vulture capitalist, like he has any vision at all. The funniest part is the fact that neither side likes Mitt. So I guess you are going to hold your nose and throw him your support. I find a big part of the problem is Boehner and the do nothing Congress... No wonder their approval rating is 5 percent.

You are another individual who does not understand what Socialism is. Socialism has nothing to do with big government. The right wing propagandarists have indoctrinated their followers in to believing that Socialism is like Communism or Totalitarianism. You are showing your lack of education and blind following of that un-American Fox News.

James & TJB,
Blindly following the DNC talking points.
CS

Citizen Swamp, what a thoughtful and enlightening comeback! Let's play a game, shall we? Can you name the political party of the US president that won World War II, enacted Social Security, ended the Great Depression, and oversaw the rise to global preeminence of American manufacturing? Right you are, the Democratic Party. Am I too blindly following DNC talking points, or do I just know one iota of recent American history? Your team is at the helm whenever this country takes a nosedive, and requires the patient work of liberal Democrats to undo the massive damage that always follows recent Republican administrations. Speaking of which, how's George W. Bush doing these days?

Dylan, who was at the helm when the tech bubble burst?

D,
Only difference was that back in the 40's Valerie Jarrett wasn't developing the talking points!
CS

Citizen Swamp and John, I have enjoyed our little discussion here. As for the tech bubble, did that threaten to destroy the global economy via a cascading collapse of poorly regulated banks? No; so let's keep this an approximately apples-to-apples comparison. The last time the global economy faced a similarly catastrophic event was in the events leading up to the Great Depression. In this case, a Republican president (Hoover) allowed poorly regulated financial entities to leverage projected future value into present profit. This was called speculating on the margin and looks a whole lot like what poorly regulated banks engaged in with the housing market under George W. Bush. This really isn't complicated-every time we try it the conservative way, millions of people end of poor, homeless, or dead.

Dylan, again you show your ignorance. When were banks deregulated? More specifically, under whos admin was glass stengal repealed?

John, Glass-Steagall was repealed under Clinton. While we're quizzing each other, who was the primer mover behind this repeal? Phil Gramm (R-Texas), with assists from Jim Leach (R) and Thomas Billey (R). Beat up on Clinton all you want for this one, but conservatives own this repeal, and all of the lower profiles ones that followed. Describing my brief summary of American conservatism's greatest failures (it's a long list, so I have to be selective) "ignorant" is a bit rich coming from someone who still believes this nonsense after its unbroken record of miserable failure. Again, this isn't complicated-when you do what conservatives want, the result is widespread suffering. Wish it away all you'd like, but the entire 20th century won't fit down the memory hole.

Dylan, are you serious? First you are blaming whoever the president is for any down turn in the economy. Now you want to blame congress when it doesn't fit your narrative. Or you want to argue the downturn wasn't going to blow up the world. I must admit, you are good at the spin but anyone who takes the time to research the info knows that is all it is. SPIN.

You are right that Obama followed in Bush’s footsteps and did not bring radical change. But your solution is to go further to the right and the right is what created this mess.

Please go to school and learn that money represents debt in this country not wealth. Money is borrowed into existence. To generate wealth we need a positive balance of trade. Printing more money does not produce more wealth. Passing money around in a circle within this country does not produce wealth. If a corporation imports a product for a dollar and sells it inside America for two dollars they do not produce wealth. They make the country a dollar poorer not richer.

Liberals hate wealth and the rich, huh? Curious then how the stock market tends to increase under Democratic administrations and decrease under Republican ones. It's not that liberals hate wealth, they just think that most Americans should have some. Contrast this with the conservative position in favor of radical redistribution of wealth toward the wealthiest 1% of Americans. As for reversing the policies of the last century, sound great! It's not like America became a global hegemon of unrivaled power or wealth during that period or anything. As for that you can thank FDR and the New Deal, which laid the foundation of American strength and prosperity before being attacked by radical conservatives. What a legacy you all have made for yourselves!

Thomas, please explain how the right created this mess. Bring facts, not talking points.

Militant homosexuals really?

Anne - no sane person cares.

Please Fran, the government tries to control as much as they can and they are not for the people, they are for themeselves.

I don't think it comes down to picking a side. I like public libraries for instance. And I also don't have any problem whatsoever with corporate (or other private) profits. Now what?