Russians go Republican
 

Interesting.....If people who lived in a "worker's paradise" feel uncomfortable with the direction the US seems to be going, well.....:cool:

"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Many Russian immigrants to the "red borough" of Staten Island are flocking to the Republican Party, saying that the national Democrats' "socialistic" policies remind them too much of the top-down oligarchy they fled in their native land."

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/many_russians_here_aligning_wi.html

Jake,

My GF was the daughter of loyal Communist Party apparatchiks in Leningrad. Oops, make that St. Petersburg (once again;)). She emigrated with her young daughter in 1991 and after 9/11 they both became US citizens.
She's not wildly GOP yet and simply hates Sarah Palin (she did an excellent Palin Haloween costume in 2008:D), but she really likes our new Guv, Chris Christie, a union challenging, big govt. enemy Republican.
Give me a few more years.;)

Side note: She has a much better life here than most of her college classmates do back home, except some guy named Medvedev, who was a couple of years behind her. Things aren't too good in Russia right now for the average citizen.

Thugs are still in charge there, just under a different banner

For all the same reasons Congress should have passed the Dream Act, we need to listen to these Russian immigrants. Their credibility takes a hit, however, when they say "that the national Democrats' 'socialistic' policies remind them too much of the top-down oligarchy they fled in their native land." Their use of the word "socialistic" seems frivolous and indicates that they lack an understanding of how Democratic and Republican policies have moved away from the socialist end of the ideological spectrum over the past 30 years. On the other hand, they probably know more about socialism than we do, so we should consider that part of their comment. Where I completely get off the bus, however, is when they accuse the Democrats of employing a "top-down" governing approach. It's the GOP, not the Democrats, who have tried to give more power to the central governments at the state and federal level. That part of the immigrants' comment reveals a lack of understanding of recent American history, IMHO.

I do agree that the Republicans sound much better than the Democrat pitch, at least to me. However, I am not sure whether the Russians are naive or not. Is there much of a difference between a Republicrat or a Demopublican? That seems to be what we get these days. I understand that they (both sides) do say a lot of nice things but will they act on it?

Absolutely.

Karl Rove and GOPers like him depend on people assuming that the Democrats and Republicans are all alike. So long as people make that assumption, people like Rove don't pay a price for lying. When they get caught in a lie, people don't hold hit against them because, the thinking goes, politicians are all the same. That view, however, is not supported by the facts. The entire GOP agenda for the past two years have been based on numerous deceptions, all focused on discrediting Obama. That's why they routinely oppose legislative proposals that they previously sponsored.

I used Rove to illustrate my point even though he appears to have been pushed to the side in recent years. I cite him as my example because he is a particularly brazen practitioner of this deceptive brand of politics. I could have used Mitch McConnell or any number of other GOPers, but I think Rove is the paradigm.

So is it your contention that a Democrat has never lied, is not lying and will never lie? People lie. Both parties are made up by people so how can one party claim to never have lied and never will?

I agree. In addition, do any of you realize that you have to be extremely wealthy to live on Staten Island? Of course they're Republicans.

Nope.

I have it on good authority from a reputable source that $50K will be plenty.

If you have a well insulated shipping carton to live in, sure.

Well, pressing him repeatedly for the details of how he would live resulted in nothing...........so, you might be correct............a shipping carton under the Manhattan bridge would work well...........plenty of money remaining for food and clothing.:D

Come on now JR. I went to high school there. It's like anywhere else. some nice areas. some not so nice. The median household income in 2008 was 72.5k. Half the folks there get by on less than that. Greenwich CT it's not. Sheet mon, the WTC is buried out there.:o

Staten Island aka Richmond County.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36085.html

WHOA there. that is not what I said. I said a carton over a warm grate behind a restaurant. That is heat and food. What is under Manhattan bridge?

It wasn't you............I was referring to a troll on the other thread.

Therein lies the explanation.

If two people have an income and share the cost of housing, you're in a completely different economic situation.

The discussion was a single person earning $50K. While it might not be impossible to pull off in the outer boroughs, Manhattan is out of the question unless you get a roommate.

So strange.

Why exactly? Unless you can say that one group has never and will never lie, the most you can dispute is that "I prefer my group's lies to yours". My contention is they both lie. Some are more subtle lies and some are more blatant. Doesn't change the fact that both are liars, does it? If you sell sex for money, you are a prostitute. I don't care if you are a $5 a BJ prostitute or a $4000 an hour "call girl".

Brian,

I didn't intend to cross polinate the thread. I was responding to the perception that everyone on SI is extremely wealthy.

I asked said daughter last night about a HS classmate of hers who worked for RL out of college. I recall her saying some time ago thast she went and visited her apt. down in the lower east side. She lived above a Chinese restaurant. When she told me that she probably made about 35k out of school 3 years ago, I asked her if she lived alone. Oh no, she said, she had 2 roomates. Single working girls starting out and wanting to live alone shlepp in from the Jersey City Heights. (;))

The Rent is Too Damn High!:D
Jimmy McMillan:D;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDEgCkLtELQ

I wouldn't put it that way, but at least this time your reply has some relevance to what I said.I never said otherwise.

So what is the difference between a Republican that lies and a Democrat that lies? I can't trust either of them not to stick it in my keister without lube.

I never said there was any difference between a Republican that lies and a Democrat that lies.

And they do have free community hospitals where you can recover from being set on fire and urinated on.....

Therefore, if politicians are human and humans lie, and humans make up the Democrat and Republican parties, both parties are staffed by liars. What is the difference between the parties?

Median home price, 360 grand, yup, that's real old fashion middle America, only a measely 23,000 a year higher median income than Houston.

I had no idea that things in Russia are so much like they currently are here in the US.

These Russian-Americans are exactly the types of folks that the republicans should be trying to attract. They would be better off with then than the wing nuts.

Repub Huh---I KNEW we couldn't trust them damn ruskies.

These Russians are used to and prefer hawkish, authoritarian, dictatorial, style of leadership. They are "lost at sea" in a democracy. They have too many choices and they long for someone to tell them what to do.

[/generalization]

Ideas are free on this forum!

Yeah! Cracke the whippens!

It is entertaining to watch and read how everyone fills in the missing details with their own preconceived opinions.

That's not nice.

I have worked with a lot of Russians during my time in the oil biz. I used to be able to handle a bit of the lingo, but that was long ago.

I learned very quickly not to put any stock in their opinions since they had no factual basis for almost anything they said. Did you know that Alaska, Washington State and Oregon are still a part of Russia? It's True!

There are two races of people in Russia. Russians and Jews. Yup, There are no other native peoples there at all and never have been.

How do you get a table at a Russian cafe? You tell the doorman, usually a retired military person with a ton of medals, that you are coming in and if you have to go though him to do it then BY GOD that is the way it will be. Then he opens the door. They really do respect that whole totalitarian thing there.

If you ever said you were going to study a problem to determine the best way to deal with it they would not quite freak out but they would get very nervous. If they were presented with too many choices it would cause them to just stop and do nothing.

Another Russian trait is to never say what you really think. You always say what is expected of you. Everyone know someone who was sent to the Gulag for speaking their mind, so why take the chance?

Do you think they would get off the boat and say the Russian way of life was best? They would expect to be given a one-way ticket back to Mother Russia.

And who would think that someone who just got off the boat would know everything about how our Government works?

Sure, few people say what is on their mind but what you want to hear. MAYBE the Russians do it more, IDK. I can't say much about the rest of it but this part makes me curious. Why? It isn't like they simply skipped across the border like the illegals so they must have put some effort into the process. So if they didn't think it was a better way of life, why would they even be here? I'd work in Europe if I had to but why would I bother with the legal hassle of immigration if I didn't think that was the better side of the road? :confused::confused:

If you lived in Moscow you might not want to move here or anywhere else.

If you lived in, say, anywhere else in Russia you would be willing to walk across broken glass to get out.

There is first world and third world. Then there is the USA. I have never known a Russian, or anyone from what used to be called the East Bloc, yet that did not enjoy living here more than there no matter what their current home circumstances.

Several years ago I had a Russian Engineer work for at a testing lab. We tested the compressive strength of concrete. Its a simple test, you load the concrete cylinder in a press that can exert up to 250,000 pounds of force, and break it, noting how much force it took.
It is common for "3000 PSI" concrete to break in excess of 4000 PSI. the 3000 PSI mixes are just that forgiving and often the owner of the concrete company will add 1/2 bag or so of cement to the mix--costs him very little and its cheap insurance.
Well, after breaking a bunch of concrete my Russian is a bit apprehensive. He tells me, " In my country someone would be going away for wasting so much cement." ( 3000 PSI design concrete better break very close to 3000 PSI; anything over 3200 PSI was views as a State crime as a waste of valuable resources.)

Another experience that reinforces my apprehension of a too-controlling government.

For the most part, living OUTSIDE the forest allows one to see all the trees and therefore, allows the observer the right to call it as they see it.

And, I'm sure that having lived under "socialistic rule" for as long as they have, they'd be more than qualified to know a "socialist" when they see/hear one.

:rolleyes:

.

In Russian pipeline operations if they are told to deliver 50,000 bbls of oil to a refinery they deliver 50,000 bbls of oil.

If there is a leak in the line and 100,000 bbls go out on the ground while delivering the 50 then that is OK. They must stick to the plan which comes out of the Central Committee.

This has created the largest lake of crude oil in the world since one pipeline has been leaking for about 25 years without repair.

As far as Russians being experts on any economic system it is best to remember an old Russian saying... 'They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work.'

That line is JUST BEGGING for a comeback. I'll hold back... :rolleyes: ;)

Isn't that the model we've been striving toward since the 2010 election?
The problem with socialism of any type that eventually you run out of other people's money.

Congress has a fix for that. Print more money.

That is a solution that solves nothing.

Ah but Sir, you are wrong. As your elected official, I promise give you things and you elect me. This printing of more money solves a problem. How do I get re-elected.

As you know, it simply "kicks the can down the road". All you want is to get re-elected a few times, collect that great pension, and then become a lobbyist for the really big payday.

I know that and you know that but the voter doesn't care about "down the road".

File that under " Sad, but true"

the problem with a representative democracy is that we get the government we DESERVE".