Who here is offended when a Presidential candidate refers to you as common folk...

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:08:34 -0400

Who here is offended when a Presidential candidate refers to you as common folk, everyday Americans, middle class, etc... I am tired of these candidates subliminally putting themselves in a superior class. I think our founders would be offended by both parties. Thoughts?

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Jul 11 at 2015 9:09 AM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:09:46 -0400

Roger, we are Americans first class citizens.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Jul 11 at 2015 9:12 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:12:10 -0400

Well, the Founders were certainly NOT the common folk.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 9:13 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:13:44 -0400

I am slightly offended by that term myself. What about using the term "every day people"?

Response by Bryce Englin made Jul 11 at 2015 9:14 AM

Bryce Englin — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:14:48 -0400

Most of the time it's the Democrats and RINOs that do it. In looking at the 2016 class even though guys like Rand Paul, Ted Cruz or Scott Walker (only names that come to mind) have never served, I get the feeling they have a lot of respect that is sincere for us and won't look down on us. However these types are those who are few and far between.

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 11 at 2015 9:32 AM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:32:22 -0400

SSG Private RallyPoint Member I agree. We just need to start calling them "Common Politician" or better yet “Common Criminals” in some cases. Same jargon and same everyday message! Blah, blah, blah...... In all seriousness though all the candidates nowadays need to have superior war chest of money to even get noticed by the public, which I think is very sad. I think these huge war chest should be limited, then we could see which candidates can really keep a budget!

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 9:37 AM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:37:05 -0400

I think there is a great deal of this that occurs on both sides of the fence, unfortunately we the people elect individuals that are disconnected from the majority. Or perhaps, we like minded folks are now the minority and we are disconnected not just with presidential candidates but with the masses. Like him or not, I have a great deal of respect and admiration for President George Bush because of his human side and the way he continues to demonstrate he cares for the public. I hope we have a candidate with similar traits in the up coming election.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 9:42 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:42:11 -0400

Considering they're all filthy rich and generally detached from common worries and concerns, I'd call it accurate.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Jul 11 at 2015 9:47 AM

SGM Mikel Dawson — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:47:33 -0400

And that's the problem - there are only two parties. If there were more parties and we had more to choose from, then I think they'd begin to think about us more. Right now the Reps and Dems are no different. We've seen what the last election did. We got Reps in, but they've been no different than what we had before.

Response by SGT Michelle Saunders made Jul 11 at 2015 9:52 AM

SGT Michelle Saunders — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:52:57 -0400

That's what they do...Clearly, they either forget where they came from, or they came from a life full of rainbows and butterflies. Imagine if us 'common folk' boycotted voting all together. Wowzah!

Response by Sgt Jay Jones made Jul 11 at 2015 10:06 AM

Sgt Jay Jones — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 10:06:58 -0400

That's because they are all rich and cannot relate to the poor and middle class!

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Jul 11 at 2015 10:57 AM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 10:57:44 -0400

Our founding fathers rebelled against this. They truly were part of the common folk. Not these elitist bastards we are stuck with.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jul 11 at 2015 11:19 AM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:19:25 -0400

I know I am not common. I am not in a class. I am a U.S. citizen who has work hard to get where I am today along with thousands of other individuals.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Jul 11 at 2015 11:24 AM

LTC John Shaw — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:24:30 -0400

No, I am not offended by any of the phrases you list and I don't think you are either.
I am offended by the tone and tenor of the political class and major media outlets who assume that we are too stupid to make decisions ourselves or that we can't fact check their lies.
We are best turning off the TV and talking heads and finding family and friends to invest our time.
I think the founders would be offended by both major parties because the Federal government is much more powerful than any intended.

Response by SSgt Charles Edwards made Jul 11 at 2015 11:29 AM

SSgt Charles Edwards — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:29:14 -0400

No worries Sarge. After all, it's us "common folk" who determine their political lives.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 11 at 2015 11:38 AM

PO1 John Miller — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:38:43 -0400

SSG Private RallyPoint Member, our Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves!

Response by COL Ted Mc made Jul 11 at 2015 12:18 PM

COL Ted Mc — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 12:18:45 -0400

SSG Private RallyPoint Member - Sergeant; There is a scale of "offensiveness" and it would depend on context.

Of the three terms you cited, "middle-class" is probably the least offensive since it actually has some defined meaning. "Everyday Americans" is slightly more offensive (even though it is more inclusive than "middle class", but is probably OK since its meaning is (supposed to be) "the statistical group that encompasses the 25-75% range of opinion on any topic".

Personally I dislike "common people" since people simply aren't "common".

But I beg to differ with you when you say "... subliminally putting themselves in a superior class ...". There simply isn't anything "subliminal" about someone from "the naturally governing class" believing that they belong to "the naturally governing class".

And, considering that the Founding Fathers had an intense dislike for "party politics", there isn't any doubt that they would be dismayed at the level to which it has taken over and replaced reasoned debate with the ability to tell an " R " from a " D ".

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made Jul 11 at 2015 12:34 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 12:34:42 -0400

I would need some context before making a judgement to be honest - Who said it? Why? How? Some of our politicians grew up poor or middle class, so they could say it without a touch of irony. Others? Yeah, you're not "common." You never were. Shut the hell up.

That said, I really doubt it would have offended the founders. They were mostly extraordinarily wealthy land-owners that very much had an interest in preserving the social order.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 12:40 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 12:40:20 -0400

Being referred to as "common folk" is demeaning. It makes me think that they think themselves as our betters.

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Jul 11 at 2015 12:49 PM

SFC William Swartz Jr — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 12:49:53 -0400

I have never felt that they are trying to put themselves above us, it has been a LONG time since any Presidential candidate has actually been from the middle class anyways, they do it more to appease those of us that represent on average the largest voting block, the middle class (economically speaking). It is more when comments are made that seem to disparage a certain block of society, such as when President Obama said that "....they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.", when he said this is appears that he likens this particular group, to being bigoted, religious fanatics. Those type of comments and the comments that Trump has made about Mexico and immigrants, burn my ass more than being labeled as "common folk or middle class".

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 12:55 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 12:55:10 -0400

I think everyone needs to grow thicker skin & stop being offended by every adjective that someone uses to classify the group of people they're trying to address. You know what he/she meant so there's no need to dissect it for the sake of drama.

Response by LTC Ed Ross made Jul 11 at 2015 1:47 PM

LTC Ed Ross — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 13:47:40 -0400

Will Rogers said, "Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects." I would add that to be successful politicians have to be ignorant about everything.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 11 at 2015 7:03 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 19:03:15 -0400

19K?

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 11 at 2015 7:24 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 19:24:53 -0400

I am not politically astute but here is my impression. The Democrats will promise the world and the Republicans know how to piss off the people.

Response by PO3 Sherry Thornburg made Jul 12 at 2015 4:53 AM

PO3 Sherry Thornburg — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 04:53:49 -0400

Actually, our founders were mostly landed or wealthy businessmen. They were the elite colonists of their day. Very few were other than that. They set up requirements for voting that included owning land and other things that kept the vote in the hands of a specific group of people.

That sort of divide tends to come up because government position tends to be sought by prominent citizens, with the education and wealth to get elected.

But I hear you. It rankles me too to hear them make a distinction between themselves and the voters that amounts to, all you little people or you unwashed masses. I hear it mostly from East Coast politicians and celebrity types.

Response by MSgt Erik Copp made Jul 12 at 2015 8:55 AM

MSgt Erik Copp — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 08:55:50 -0400

I completely agree. This is the USA. Being rich or in political office does not make you better or "above" anyone else. The way I see it we all get diarrhea and we all die in the

Response by PFC Daniel Cox made Jul 12 at 2015 11:56 PM

PFC Daniel Cox — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 23:56:25 -0400

I can't say that I'm offended being called common by common politicians or "party puppets" that like pro athletes ramble the same rehearsed speeches time and time again. What offends me is the greed and corruption that is killing the morals in this world. Banks got bail out money so didn't the car company's but the people who were losing their jobs and homes got nothing. So no I'm not worried about what dirt bag politicians think of me.

Response by SPC Joseph Ahner made Jun 19 at 2016 1:06 PM

SPC Joseph Ahner — Sun, 19 Jun 2016 13:06:07 -0400

Depends on context.