Hot, Bad & Unpopular Takes

[Lechasseur]

I'm a European-style liberal conservative who doesn't like the EU and thinks that the US should pursue policies of fair trade along with free trade.

[Lechasseur]

Modern Art sucks and Baroque Gothic needs to be restored to its proper glory.

[Lechasseur]

- Mayonnaise on anything is nasty is the sauce that goes best with fries

[Lechasseur]

Abolish Congress and the President and replace them with a Parliament/Prime Minister system with fairly-drawn districts.

I feel like the only problem, especially in America, would be the formation of coalitions. Just imagine it...

But it would allow for more parties, which would be great.

Agreed. I'd support it

[Lechasseur]

I'm a liberal who despises Hollywood, and yes, I despised them before I found out that Kevin Spacey is a pedophilic rapist.

Hollywood's been terrible for at least about 10 years now, regarless of their politics or the shady stuff that goes on there. I haven't been to the movie theater in almost 2 years because there's nothing worthwhile to watch and I could see myself never going again.

Oh, and except for South Park I haven't watched TV in 4 years

[Lechasseur]

an orgy of mass consumerism

Isn't everything like that nowadays?

Yep

[Lechasseur]

- Germany/The Central Powers should've won World War I, the world would've been much better as a result

Honestly I have to agree with this one

[Lechasseur]

--HW got screwed over by Reagan's disastrous policies.

Agreed. Reagan was good on foreign policy but not so much on economic policy and HW suffered the consequences

[Lechasseur]

Here's some more:

- Late Night comics aren't even remotely funny

- I support Theresa May over Jeremy Corbyn

- Medicare for All is a terrible idea, just model Germany's system and we'll be fine.

- I don't like how cheating has been normalized nowadays. When I'm dating someone, I'm loyal to her and I (expect) she's loyal to me.

- Smoking weed is unhealthy

- We need to remove the Clintonite and Bernout cults of the Democratic Party and start fresh. Both are extremely toxic in their own ways. Both are self-absorbed, snotty groups who just make it easier for the Republicans to govern autocratically.

I agree with all of these points, especially the ones on Medicare and Cheating

[Lechasseur]

-Who wins most individual elections doesn't actually change the course of history that much--elections are more often symptoms of societal issues than causes.

This is very true

[Lechasseur]

Star Wars sucks

[Lechasseur]

Globalization is nothing but a force for evil driven by the elites.

Lol.
I'll add: Globalization is an inherent force for good that must continue indefinitely, and it benefits everyone.

Why need it be either absolutely?

Agreed, I think you need to find a common sense middle ground between the two, the problem is now the pendulum has swung too far towards globalization (and social progressivism) and that's why right wing populists and nationalists are picking up more and more momentum and are getting into power in some cases (like Austria).

[Lechasseur]

Pretty much every opinion I hold is unpopular, but here are just a few:

George W. Bush was a good president, at least in domestic policy.
Barack Obama was not an especially good president.
Most Pixar films aren't that good, and Finding Nemo was terrible.
Good billionaires exist.
Marijuana should remain illegal.
Roe v. Wade is one of the worst Supreme Court decisions of all time.
Parents should have the right to send their kids to whatever school they want, whether public, private, or charter.
Life begins at conception.
Vaccines do not cause autism.
Soft drinks, though unhealthy, are better for you than alcohol.
Alcohol is as dangerous as smoking or hard drugs.  Same goes for marijuana.
Hand-drawn, traditional animation is better than CG animation.
Chris Christie and John Kasich are two of the best governors in the country, and I will miss both of them when they're gone.
Trump was elected because of protectionism, not racism.
Most police officers do not target young black men simply because of race.
White people are not all evil.
The far left and the far right are both wrong.
Right-wing media is as bad for America as left-wing media.
All news is fake news.
Sanctuary cities are unconstitutional and illegal, and therefore should be defunded.
Abortion is not healthcare unless done as a legitimate medical necessity.
Fascism is not conservative or right-wing.
Not all Muslims are terrorists or support terrorism.
Will Ferrell is stupid and unfunny.

I can agree with most of these points, especially:
-I think Bush actually did a decent job, except for his handling of Iraq
-Obama was terrible (with hindsight arguably even more so for Europe and the Middle East then for the US)
-Of course parents should be able to send their kids to the school of their choice. The Democrats' opposition to charter schools hurts disadvantaged youths
-I'd prefer that the media not be biased but if it's going to be biased anyway it may as well be a right-wing bias
-All news is propoganda, I don't follow it that much anymore as a result
-Of course sanctuary cities should be defunded
-Of course not all muslims are terrorists, you have to differentiate between the moderate westernized ones (many of my friends are moderate westernized muslims, and I have no problem with them immigrating to Western countries) and the fundamentalist and/or criminal ghetto ones (my muslim friends hate them and they should be banned from immigrating to western countries)

[Lechasseur]

Porn is gross. The only acceptable way to view nude people is clips of movies and TV shows with good production values and good actors/actresses

Absolutely. Porn is disgusting and should be banned.

[Lechasseur]

-I also in general find rooting against a team because they are your rival silly.  I actually tend to respect my rivals and generally root for them when it will not impact my actual team.  Now, in pro sports, that is more rare because of divisional standings, but if my team is not in the playoffs and a rival of my team is, I have no ill will to them.  I pick which teams I don't like completely independently of picking which teams I do like.

Agreed

[Lechasseur]

Democrats need to focus way more on economic issues than social issues in 2020.

I don't think that is particularly unpopular around here.

Except for that fact that campaigning on social issues has won them the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections, and the electoral vote in four of them.  (Trump was only the first Republican since Bush 1 to get over 300 EVs.)  Why would they give it up now, when it's worked so well for them thus far?  If anything, it's Republicans who need to drop the social issues, not Democrats.

I don't exactly agree with your conclusion: sure, Democrats have won 6 out of the last 7 popular votes in presidential elections but I think the focus on social issues has really hurt them down ballot and has prevented them from dominating the country politically. I'm no socialist (in Europe I support conservative parties all the time), but let's face it, the GOP's economic policies are ridiculous, social conservatism is the only thing that's saved the party. The GOP hasn't been reasonable on economics for at least 25 years now (the GOP's right wing basically turned on Bush Sr because he wanted to manage the deficit responsibly), if it weren't for the Democrats being so insistent on social issues, I suspect the GOP would have collapsed at least 10 years ago.

[Lechasseur]

Democrats need to focus way more on economic issues than social issues in 2020.

I don't think that is particularly unpopular around here.

Except for that fact that campaigning on social issues has won them the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections, and the electoral vote in four of them.  (Trump was only the first Republican since Bush 1 to get over 300 EVs.)  Why would they give it up now, when it's worked so well for them thus far?  If anything, it's Republicans who need to drop the social issues, not Democrats.

I don't exactly agree with your conclusion: sure, Democrats have won 6 out of the last 7 popular votes in presidential elections but I think the focus on social issues has really hurt them down ballot and has prevented them from dominating the country politically. I'm no socialist (in Europe I support conservative parties all the time), but let's face it, the GOP's economic policies are ridiculous, social conservatism is the only thing that's saved the party. The GOP hasn't been reasonable on economics for at least 25 years now (the GOP's right wing basically turned on Bush Sr because he wanted to manage the deficit responsibly), if it weren't for the Democrats being so insistent on social issues, I suspect the GOP would have collapsed at least 10 years ago.

Oh and on this, a lot of my European friends originally thought that the Democratic Party was the reasonable conservative party and the GOP were just for crazy people, but after I told them about the Democrats' SJWness and support of open borders (no one here would support the Democrats' open border policy), they now understand why people vote GOP.

[Lechasseur]

Democrats need to focus way more on economic issues than social issues in 2020.

I don't think that is particularly unpopular around here.

Except for that fact that campaigning on social issues has won them the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections, and the electoral vote in four of them.  (Trump was only the first Republican since Bush 1 to get over 300 EVs.)  Why would they give it up now, when it's worked so well for them thus far?  If anything, it's Republicans who need to drop the social issues, not Democrats.

I don't exactly agree with your conclusion: sure, Democrats have won 6 out of the last 7 popular votes in presidential elections but I think the focus on social issues has really hurt them down ballot and has prevented them from dominating the country politically. I'm no socialist (in Europe I support conservative parties all the time), but let's face it, the GOP's economic policies are ridiculous, social conservatism is the only thing that's saved the party. The GOP hasn't been reasonable on economics for at least 25 years now (the GOP's right wing basically turned on Bush Sr because he wanted to manage the deficit responsibly), if it weren't for the Democrats being so insistent on social issues, I suspect the GOP would have collapsed at least 10 years ago.

Oh and on this, a lot of my European friends originally thought that the Democratic Party was the reasonable conservative party and the GOP were just for crazy people, but after I told them about the Democrats' SJWness and support of open borders (no one here would support the Democrats' open border policy), they now understand why people vote GOP.

Frankly Macron is more reasonable than the current Democratic Party (he may be a liberal but he's not an Obama/Hillary/Trudeau type SJW) (and the Democratic Party are probably more extreme on social issues than the PS, at least most certainly more than En Marche who at least have some moderate positions) and then Le Pen is no conservative, she just goes however her advisors tell her to go, which made her hated by both the right and the left, and thus she got destroyed (for exemple my best friend voted Macron, but he would have voted Le Pen had it not been for her policy on the Euro which would have destroyed the French economy.

[Lechasseur]

Democrats need to focus way more on economic issues than social issues in 2020.

I don't think that is particularly unpopular around here.

Except for that fact that campaigning on social issues has won them the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections, and the electoral vote in four of them.  (Trump was only the first Republican since Bush 1 to get over 300 EVs.)  Why would they give it up now, when it's worked so well for them thus far?  If anything, it's Republicans who need to drop the social issues, not Democrats.

I don't exactly agree with your conclusion: sure, Democrats have won 6 out of the last 7 popular votes in presidential elections but I think the focus on social issues has really hurt them down ballot and has prevented them from dominating the country politically. I'm no socialist (in Europe I support conservative parties all the time), but let's face it, the GOP's economic policies are ridiculous, social conservatism is the only thing that's saved the party. The GOP hasn't been reasonable on economics for at least 25 years now (the GOP's right wing basically turned on Bush Sr because he wanted to manage the deficit responsibly), if it weren't for the Democrats being so insistent on social issues, I suspect the GOP would have collapsed at least 10 years ago.

Oh and on this, a lot of my European friends originally thought that the Democratic Party was the reasonable conservative party and the GOP were just for crazy people, but after I told them about the Democrats' SJWness and support of open borders (no one here would support the Democrats' open border policy), they now understand why people vote GOP.

Frankly Macron is more reasonable than the current Democratic Party (he may be a liberal but he's not an Obama/Hillary/Trudeau type SJW) (and the Democratic Party are probably more extreme on social issues than the PS, at least most certainly more than En Marche who at least have some moderate positions) and then Le Pen is no conservative, she just goes however her advisors tell her to go, which made her hated by both the right and the left, and thus she got destroyed (for exemple my best friend voted Macron, but he would have voted Le Pen had it not been for her policy on the Euro which would have destroyed the French economy.

Plus Macron is fine with deporting illegals, which is not the case for the Democratic Party

[Lechasseur]

-Mayonnaise is the most revolting condiment in existence

Amen.  If the Dutch really do dip their fries in it, they are disgusting.

Fries with Mayonnaise are good

[Lechasseur]

If Manchin wins the primary WV-sen is safe D. If Swearengin wins it's likely R.

While I agree that Manchin likely wins reelection as long as he wins the Democratic primary, rating the race as Safe D with him is probably a bit too confident. I absolutely agree though that if he loses the primary the seat most likely flips to the GOP.

[Lechasseur]

No good English language music has been released since ca. 2009.

[Lechasseur]

Fleetwood Mac is really overrated.

Fleetwood Mac is great, one of the best bands ever

[Lechasseur]

Opposing abortion does not make a person 'pro life.'

Yes, and being for higher taxes on the wealthy isn't "liberal" in the European sense.  People use the label you give them.

Correct. "Liberal" in Europe means fiscally conservative. What is called "Liberalism" in the US would be closer to Social Democracy in Europe (although they aren't quite the same). The liberal parties in Europe are generally fiscally conservative and socially liberal (in Germany and the Low Countries, liberalism is one of the three historic political traditions along with Christian Democracy which is economically centrist (they've moved to the right on that In Germany and Flanders though) and socially conservative, and the Socialists who are left wing across the board).

[Lechasseur]

I don't like watching TV or movies for the most part