your top post was spot on. these guys don't seem to understand that it's not that anyone who has a conservative viewpoint is hate filled, but that the GOP/right wing has been hijacked by those who are hatemongers and that they control the right agenda. and very few of the GOP leadership bothers to distance themselves from this crowd, their invective filled hate speak and their bullying of everyone who thinks differently from them.

again. i stress that this is not everyone who considers themselves conservative, just the current reigning regime. and that is in evidence nowhere better than in the fray. people that consider calling people bots and socialists (without apparently understanding the term) thoughtful dialogue are seriously lacking in the intelligence and common sense department. i wish intelligent conversation would return to the political spectrum but the undereducated masses are being manipulated by those who have their own agendas.

when the populace learns tolerance of other ideas and agrees to stop dictating that others live by their personal moral stances, when they are better educated and less fearful of anyone who is "different", then we will have a democracy that works efficiently and a government that might actually get something done. the key is working together to find common ground instead of grandstanding no matter what your politics are.

sadly the latter is probably a pipe dream in my lifetime...