U.S. Politics - pre-election ballot hijinx

[Wee baby Shamus]

Typically you will not be called a bigot or a racist until you say something bigoted or racist. Also typical is that people who are bigoted or racist don't recognise that what they are saying is bigoted or racist, because they believe it to merely be truth, so it generally leads to bewilderment and claims to the effect of "liberals call everyone who disagrees with them racists or bigots".

It has been my experience on message boards that all conservatives are boiled down to bigots and racists. And all non conservatives are morally superior but they always seem to be the ones who spill the most hate.

And the non conservatives are always the first ones to name call and make the debate personal.

[ThinkerX]

http://news.msn.com/us/top-arizona-republican-official-resigns-after-forced-sterilization-remarks

Pearce made the comments about the federal-state healthcare program for the poor amid a broader discussion of welfare abuses during his radio show earlier this month.

"You put me in charge of Medicaid, the first thing I'd do is get a woman Norplant, birth-control implants, or tubal ligations ...," Pearce said. "Then we'll test recipients for drugs and alcohol and nicotine" and if women want to reproduce or use drugs or alcohol, "then get a job."

Something about 'staying classy'?

Though I suppose a case could be made for testing for illegal drugs, seeing as those almost invariably lead to major health issues. Though, in that instance, go with mandatory drug treatment. (and before folks here get too irked, I have watched illicit narcotics completely wreck quite a few lives.)

[Suttree]

You do know that you are losing the debate when you result to name calling.

Or you know it's because you're a troll that keeps coming back after being banned.

I have watched illicit narcotics completely wreck quite a few lives.)

ftfy

[ThinkerX]

ftfy

What? Not up on internet abbreviations.

[Paladin of Ice]

What? Not up on internet abbreviations.

Fixed That For You, because when talking about narcotics ruing lives there's no need to specify illict.

Which isn't absolutely true, as there are legal drugs medically classified as narcotics which are still addictive and can sink their hooks into people. (An ex of mine used a legal medication for anxiety/panic attacks that was an opiate and she would start going into withdrawal if she missed a dose, for example.)

[ThinkerX]

Fixed That For You, because when talking about narcotics ruing lives there's no need to specify illict.

Which isn't absolutely true, as there are legal drugs medically classified as narcotics which are still addictive and can sink their hooks into people. (An ex of mine used a legal medication for anxiety/panic attacks that was an opiate and she would start going into withdrawal if she missed a dose, for example.)

Thank you for clarifying that.

Still,

I used to know a couple people who were pretty much addicted to legit 'flexarils' (sp?). Another tragic tale.

[TerraPrime]

I used to know a couple people who were pretty much addicted to legit 'flexarils' (sp?). Another tragic tale.

There is no lack of substance for people go hang their dependency and addiction on. Like, say, alcohol. Completely legal, too.

[Summah]

Some of us are colorblind, but beyond that, anyone with a even a cursory understanding of US history would know communists have often been referred to as red. see Red Scare, the.

I love that the party of McCarthy is now the party that uses red, especially since it's the party that still uses socialism as scare tactic now. And Terra was correct.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

I'm considering voting Democratic in the SC governors race. Sheehen is a decent candidate.

SYC,

I'm a long way right of the center Asile and I've been posting here (or in prior itterationa of this board) for more than a decade.

[TerraPrime]

It has been my experience on message boards that all conservatives are boiled down to bigots and racists.

Not all. Just a lot, or most, depending on context. It is hard not to come across as bigots in some way when the party one supports herald such gems as Rick Santorum, Peter King, Michelle Bachman, etc., whose political platforms are built on moral issues. When the party one supports routinely uses slut-shaming to push for laws that restrict women's reproductive health, it is difficult not to come across as sexist.

And the non conservatives are always the first ones to name call and make the debate personal.

Yes because there is nothing personal at all about the abortion, guns, gays, and God agenda of the modern conservatives.

[DanteGabriel]

Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous that the Secretary of State is refusing to remove his name from the ballot, but I think that even if his name is left on, it won't have much of an impact. Pretty much everyone has to be aware by now, and if not, there's still a lot of time to get out the message. Even the people living overseas should know. The internet has really changed the availability of information.

If the Democrat stays on the ballot and still gets a very small number votes, I would think it's likely those voters did so deliberately and wouldn't have voted for the independent candidate anyway.

Fun fact: Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is also one of the nation's foremost experts on voter suppression, or the Republican Legal Strategy for Staying Relevant When Women, Minorities, Gay People, and Young People Hate You.

http://www.kansas.com/opinion/editorials/article1142568.html

And Kobach's legal team, in oral arguments before the state supreme court, got batted around by the justices like a milk cap in a kitten's paws:

Much of the oral arguments focused on a trove of previous withdrawal letters filed by Kobach's lawyers the day before the hearing. A number of the letters, some of which were accepted by the secretary's office, seemed to be largely in line with the letter filed by Taylor earlier this month. Some of them also had not been properly notarized, though they were still accepted by Kobach's office. The resulting questioning centered on how much discretion Kobach has in applying the law.

"It seems pretty loosey goosey. What are we to do with that?" Justice Dan Biles said to Kobach's lawyer Ed Greim. "It seems like the legislature put some requirements in the statute, and you guys are deciding whether you want comply or not on an ad hoc basis almost."

[TrackerNeil]

I'm considering voting Democratic in the SC governors race. Sheehen is a decent candidate.

Next you'll be marching in a gay pride parade! (And you'd be welcome there.)

[SkynJay]

Next you'll be marching in a gay pride parade! (And you'd be welcome there.)

I have read Scot's posts here four years running, not sure he would be that against that march.

[Ormond]

As for Kansas, the latest polls show the Independent winning the US Senate race even if the Democrat's name stays on the ballot, so it did not take most Democratic voters in the state that long to figure this out. Of course this does not guarantee what will happen in November.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/16/roberts-down-seven-kansas-senate-race-poll/#!

[Lightysnake88]

I like Scott. He's pretty consistent as far as it goes, and while I disagree with him on a lot, he's one of those old-school conservatives who knows how rotten the current Republican party is.

Anyways, Rand Paul continues being a national joke. He is now pledging to...

http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/09/rand-paul-doesnt-really-want-to-repeal-every-executive-order-ever/380157/ repeal all previous Executive Orders in US history

[TerraPrime]

I like Scott. He's pretty consistent as far as it goes, and while I disagree with him on a lot, he's one of those old-school conservatives who knows how rotten the current Republican party is.

Anyways, Rand Paul continues being a national joke. He is now pledging to...

http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/09/rand-paul-doesnt-really-want-to-repeal-every-executive-order-ever/380157/ repeal all previous Executive Orders in US history

How anyone can take him seriously as a candidate is beyond my ken. On a few selected issues he's on the right side, though generally short on viable corrective measures. But over all?

[Lightysnake88]

I can't even give him credit for those, given how often he contradicts himself. That's the thing about rand Paul: he will take any position to make himself look better to his current audience. He is utterly devoid of principle.

[Sci-2]

I have read Scot's posts here four years running, not sure he would be that against that march.

Yeah, has Scot opposed gay marriage? Maybe at some point, but not that I recall?

[TrackerNeil]

How anyone can take him seriously as a candidate is beyond my ken. On a few selected issues he's on the right side, though generally short on viable corrective measures. But over all?

Heh...at first I thought you were talking about Ser Scot, whom I would not be surprised to see at a gay pride event.

I agree about Rand Paul, though. His foreign policy views are too far outside the mainstream of the Republican Party, and unless he backtracks I don't think he's a realistic nominee.

[awesome possum]

States with higher minimum wages gain more jobs

The 13 states that raised their minimum wages at the beginning of this year are adding jobs at a faster pace than those that did not, providing some counter-intuitive fuel to the debate over what impact a higher minimum has on hiring trends.

Many business groups argue that raising the minimum wage discourages job growth by increasing the cost of hiring. A Congressional Budget Office report earlier this year lent some support for that view. It found that a minimum wage of $10.10 an hour, as President Obama supports, could cost 500,000 jobs nationwide.

But the state-by-state hiring data, released Friday by the Labor Department, provides ammunition to those who disagree. Economists who support a higher minimum say the figures are encouraging, though they acknowledge they don't establish a cause and effect. There are many possible reasons hiring might accelerate in a particular state.

It still sort of boggles the mind that somehow people who are making minimum wage - the vast majority of which are not saving and are spending all of their paychecks - getting a raise somehow means they'll stop spending that extra money they make.

It has been my experience on message boards that all conservatives are boiled down to bigots and racists.

Weird, because it's been my experience on message boards that most conservatives were bigots and/or racists. After all, most conservatives support the GOP or, as you so eloquently stated, "Vote Red." That suggests you support the Republican platform... a platform that is inherently intolerant of homosexuals, women and minorities. What's the definition of bigotry again? It couldn't have something to do with intolerance, could it?

As TP stated, this is the same party that had Michelle Bachmann as a frontrunner for the presidential nomination. Michelle fucking Bachmann. If you don't like that shit-flavored cake, don't eat it.

old-school conservatives

I think that's the key here. The current GOP is full of intolerance whereas the only intolerance Scot seems to have is for intolerance. And that makes him A-OK in my book.