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The United States Elections/Political Party Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Archive: The Senate Floor' started by liberalmaverick, Mar 6, 2006.

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  1. DARTH_CONFEDERATE

    DARTH_CONFEDERATE Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    Arkansas has a good chance of going Democrat? I wouldn't count on it. Remember the media tried to play Arkansas off as a swing state? It didn't come close to going for Kerry. I live on the border of Arkansas and spend a good lot of time there, especially in the southern part. I wouldn't bet money on it going to a Democrat any time soon. Huckabee's is pretty popular and the Democrats aren't thought of very highly right now. Back in 2004, I travelled from the western border to the eastern. I saw two Kerry signs which were surrounded by about 5 Bush signs. It is very unlikly that it will go Democrat.

    On another note, I am sorry to say that two of my teachers have pledged their support to Kinky Friedman. I don't think he'll win, I hope he won't, but he'll beat the Democrat (whoever the heck he is). I don't like Perry much, but he beats the heck out of that lunatic Friedman. Friedman is a likable guy with a great sense of humor, but he can't run my state.
     
  2. KnightWriter

    KnightWriter Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2001
    I'm just looking forward to watching Janet Napolitano crush whoever the Republican challenger is here in Arizona. She's allied herself with McCain on immigration, and that's always a good move. She's tremendously popular here, and is a model for what may be necessary for Democrats to reclaim the White House.

    She's a popular Democratic governor in a state whose legislature borders on being dominated by radical conservatives. Her veto is the bane of their existence.
     
  3. Jedi_Xen

    Jedi_Xen Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 26, 2001
    Another lock is the aging Robert C. Byrd, he's sort of like Cal Ripken with the All Star Game, as long as hes active the people are going to vote him in, he even had a huge sympathy boost lately has his wife of 60+ years passed away this past March. Byrd wins WV.
     
  4. KnightWriter

    KnightWriter Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2001
    karma has apparently come home to roost for Tom DeLay.
     
  5. Jansons_Funny_Twin

    Jansons_Funny_Twin Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2002
    I literally whooped when I heard this just a minute ago on TV. My God, it feels good.

    Guess he's not so confident anymore.




    You ungrateful, metal pansy!
     
  6. JediTre11

    JediTre11 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2001
    Hopefully it isn't for a presidential bid.
     
  7. liberalmaverick

    liberalmaverick Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    [face_laugh]... he's not that stupid.
     
  8. ShaneP

    ShaneP Ex-Mod Officio star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2001
    Napolitano and Bill Richardson are both border state democrats who have done more to secure their own respective borders than Bush and his empty-suit republicans.

    It's not enough, and Nap wrongly supports McCain's sop to a potential voting bloc in his home state(the illegals),but hey....she did do something.

    To all the liberals here....do you really want Hillary? Seriously...why not Richardson or even Mr. Evil Eyebrow, the governor of Virginia?
     
  9. liberalmaverick

    liberalmaverick Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    I'm about as liberal as it gets in the USA, and I don't "want Hillary."

    But that's for another thread (namely, this one).
     
  10. J-Rod

    J-Rod Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2004
    MAV!!!! Good to see you again!

    BTW: I want Hillary to run. Badly. Hell, I'm more electable that she is.[face_mischief]
     
  11. Darth Mischievous

    Darth Mischievous Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 12, 1999
    Now, if only Ted Kennedy would resign for killing that girl while drunk driving all things would be even....

    [face_mischief]
     
  12. Quixotic-Sith

    Quixotic-Sith Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 22, 2001
    Update from Pennsylvania:

    I just got back from attending the debate between the three Democratic canditates for U.S. Senator at Slippery Rock University (those challenging Rick Santorum): Alan Sandals, Bob Casey, and Chuck Pennacchio (sp?). I'm concerned, for a number of reasons.

    First: Casey. As of right now, Casey is the front-runner, ahead of Santorum by 10 points. Santorum has generated enough animosity in this state to cause my grandmother (a dyed-in-the-wool Republican) to say that she isn't going to vote for him. Casey said next to nothing, and appeared to be a real lightweight. His "take-home" message was anti-Bush and anti-Santorum; aside from his pro-life/anti-choice (however you choose to characterize it), he didn't really say much. He used the term "bipartisan" quite often, but proposed very little. He managed to talk around the questions, instead of answering them. While I held a sign for him before he got up to speak (at a pre-debate greeting party for him), I will not vote for him in the primary. Assuming he wins the nomination (as the other two candidates have little to no name recognition, nor do they have the same weight of backing organizations), I will vote for him in November on the "anti-Rick Santorum" platform, if only because Santorum is an embarassmant to my state. Bottom line: he came across as milquetoast, a "Diet Coke" politician who I am very concerned will not be able to hold his own in a debate with Santorum. It isn't that Santorum is that good, it's just that Casey came across as a lightweight.

    Second: Pennacchio. I cannot turn off either the logician or the psychologist, and this guy really left a sour taste in my mouth. On the one hand, he is a historian, not a lawyer, and I do believe that politicians ought to study history to avoid making the same mistakes (e.g., fiscal responsibility, social policy, foreign policy, etc.). On the other hand, he was a "red meat" speaker - he threw out so many applause lines and naked appeals to emotions that it masked the very little he had to say. He did make impressive use of statistics, but proposed very little in terms of policy. Admittedly, all the candidates had only two minutes to speak, and when wrestling with complex questions, one clearly has to gloss over or encapsulate one's views, but one does not have to be so nakedly manipulative. While he properly looks for long term solutions, he seems to simply ignore the fundamental realities of contemporary politics. He stresses his "outsider, I don't take special interest money" line, but at the same time betrays his misunderstanding of realpolitik - he has all the makings of a flash-in-the-pan ideologue and demogogue. My father and a friend of his also attended, and they were sucked in by his style, which we talked about on the way back to Pittsburgh - their initial enthusiasm was at least tempored by my criticism of his manner and position. I would prefer to see him in party leadership, i.e., as an advisor, not as a decision-maker.

    Last, Sandals. Of all the candidates, he impressed me the most. He thought quickly, presented his positions coherently, demonstrated an understanding of realpolitik and the ways of the Beltway, and actually answered the questions asked. I will support him in the primary, but his lack of name recognition and endorsements (IIRC, the only organization of significance endorsing his candidacy is NOW) will probably doom his candidacy.

    I think Casey will get the Democratic nomination, and that he has a good chance to win this November, but I cannot shake the feeling that it will be because he is the lesser of two evils, not because he is the best Pennsylvania can produce.
     
  13. Darth Mischievous

    Darth Mischievous Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 12, 1999
    I'm in agreement with you concerning Santorum, Quix. He said some really nasty things about helping this area affected by Katrina right after the disaster.

    I'm quite sure PA will throw him out of office in November.
     
  14. liberalmaverick

    liberalmaverick Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    J-Rod, you have my vote...



    ...for dogcatcher. :p
     
  15. Darth Mischievous

    Darth Mischievous Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 12, 1999
    Well, yesterday's election was hyped up quite a bit by the press to be a forerunner of a Democratic takeover in the House if the Democrats would be able to take Cunningham's seat...

    Looks like that didn't happen, and it almost seems like the press has a collective disappointed sigh in their reporting of the result...

    I noticed this morning that they've marginalized the term 'bellwether' unlike right before and immediately after the election return came in... Now they're referring to it as 'closely watched'. (EDIT: Only The Washington Post kept 'bellwether' in their story).

    I'm quite sure if the Democrat won the race, it would have been THE prime story on the cable news web and a portent of things to come...

    Still, I think it probably has little significance to what will actually occur in November.
     
  16. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    DM, as I just pointed out in another thread, the national organization poured $5 million into this race, which they barely won, in a district where Republicans have a 44-29% percent lead over Democrats in voter registrations.

    All this race does is emphasize the magnitude of the problem that Republicans are facing for November. They can't afford to outspend Democrats by more than 2 to 1 in every single race.
     
  17. Kimball_Kinnison

    Kimball_Kinnison Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2001
    There's another perspective on it, though. The final vote was 49.5% to 45%. The Democrats didn't get much more than Kerry got from that same district in 2004 (43.9%). Even with all of the problems that the Republicans are having, the Democrats didn't see that much in the way of gains.

    Kimball Kinnison
     
  18. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    That's a fair point. Also I think it's important to realize that the Republicans saw this as important. They set out to win it pretty much with everything they had. And they won it. At the end of the day it was an important victory.
     
  19. Fire_Ice_Death

    Fire_Ice_Death Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Feb 15, 2001
    This story could fit in a few places, but I'll put it here as it mentions Democrats getting gang raped in the elections. But really, Rush, Malkin, and O'Reilly blaming the media is rather funny since they are a part of the media. And they're terrible people to listen to. The fact that they have the gall to shift blame from the massacre in Haditha to the media and not those responsible is the height of irresponsibility.
     
  20. DeathStar1977

    DeathStar1977 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 31, 2003
    There is yet another perspective...in 2004, Busby lost by 21 percentage points, here it was 4.5.

    Either way, a loss is a loss, but I don't see this as much of a barometer for the fall. A lot depends on what districts are considered close and the demographics of those districts.

    FID

    Its not surprising that those that speak so sanctimoniously of personal responsibility are so quick to point blame elsewhere.
     
  21. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    What Rush Limbaugh is saying is that "The Haditha scandal may be the story that ends the American occupation in Iraq."

    The pro-war right needs to have its excuses ready in case that happens. Not that "the Haditha scandal helped lose the war," or "the Haditha scandal was symptomatic of what lost the war," but instead "left wing media coverage lost the war." No one can accuse Rush of refusing to learn the lessons of the Vietnam War.
     
  22. Mr44

    Mr44 VIP star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 21, 2002
    Why would anyone need execuses for anything? What you just desrcibed is how the system is supposed to work.

    If the voting public wants to elect politicians who will pull US troops out of Iraq, or vice versa, then that's what they should do. If two groups who hold differing views engage in a valid debate, neither side is really the looser, if they both learn something from the flow of information. I think that's supposed to be the entire point of a representative democracy.
     
  23. Espaldapalabras

    Espaldapalabras Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 25, 2005
    The biggest story isn't how screwed up the republicans are, it is normal for people in power to screw up, especially when they have gone this long with it. What is not normal is the minority party to be so ineffective in gaining from the other's losses. I think it speaks to the polarization that has occured between parties, because it has come to the point where even if you know your party is screwed up and doesn't deserve power you hate the other one so bad you are willing to put up with it.
     
  24. Darth Mischievous

    Darth Mischievous Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 12, 1999
    Great point.

    ... and one that may end up putting the GOP back in control of the House and Senate this Fall.

    The Republicas are incompetent and corrupt boobs, but the Democrats are even more reviled by the general public...

    On basic issues, Democrats have an edge domestically.. but they've gone so far out on the nutcase secular-progressive left on some issues, that it has cost their national reputation dearly.

    Say what you want about Rove, he's a genius at marketing core social issues that motivate conservatives and many independents.
     
  25. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    The stock market lost three months worth of gains in a week. Whether the DJIA is at 12 or 10.5 in November is I think going to make a difference. Even more important than that is the recent surge in home mortgage foreclosures. That trend is likely to accelerate leading up to November. And it will expose the economic weakness at the heart of Bush's "Ownership Society" in a way that is very painful and personal to voters, certainly more so than whether or not we're in a bear market, since America's sense of its own wealth in the last few years has to a large extent been tied up in the real estate bubble.
     
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