US Politics Episode 6 - Return of the Prez

[K.C.]

Knowing what we do now, the simple answer is that they didn't stand a chance once they were finished thoroughly alienating Latinos in the primary. I'm still dumbfounded by this new information though.

Consider the Chrysler ad Romney's Waterloo, his last hurrah in Ohio. When that blew up in their faces, they desperately tried to open up new paths to victory because he couldn't win without Ohio in most projections. That explanation makes more sense to me than the notion that the entire campaign had their heads up their asses. I guess we'll have to wait for the book/movie to know the real story.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

I would love to see the HoR tripled in size (if not more). 435 men and women with 700,000 constituants a peice can hardly represent those people properly. It adds to the overall partisan hard line divide. Turn the capitol buliding into a museum and let the reps meet and vote by videoconferencing so that they stay in their home districts rather than becoming isolated in DC.

[IheartTesla]

Almost everyone who knows knew that Pennsylvania is a chimera for Republicans. It always shows the tiniest bit of hope for them, but in the end votes solid blue.

Now one thing Obama did very well in 2008 was expanding the map. But this was because demographics were on his side in NC, VA and NV. If you are confident of winning then you can try this sh*t. But Romney was always playing defence, and the only way for him to win was to build a time machine and walk back his auto bailout comments.

[sologdin]

thoroughly alienating Latinos in the primary

the arrogance of the self-righteous xenophobe: insult the fuck out of impecunious immigrants but then expect their electoral support.

[MinDonner]

I would love to see the HoR tripled in size (if not more).

Small government? ;)

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Min,

I think you are misconstruing what ai mean by small government. It's not few representatives. It's limited abilities to impose power on the populus. :)

[sologdin]

is direct democracy, with every citizen voting by internet, the largest or the smallest gubmint? OH NOS PEARADOCKS!!

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Sologdin,

An "Allthing" with limited power is small government, in my opinion.

[Kosciuszko]

Charles Darwin received 4,000 votes against the Congressman that called evolution "lies from the pit of hell."

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Kos,

:thumbsup:

[sologdin]

Allthing" with limited power is small government

scot, as it happens, i am reading hyperion right now for the first time. a fortuitous correspondence of cause!

does BHO get to be the shrike?

[Fez]

Silly question. Suppose for a moment that you were Romney's campaign strategist. Which states would you have gone after?

I think Romney didn't have much choice except to do what we did, he was too locked in to too many positions to appeal to the demographics necessary to win.

However, if way back when Rick Perry had entered the primary Romney hadn't gone so far right on immigration, I think he should've embraced immigration reform, had Jeb Bush start campaigning around Latino communities speaking that Spanish of his (and also connect with conservative groups that supported his brother) he could've made a play for Florida, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Virginia. If he took all those, that'd put him at 268, and then he just needs one more, either New Hampshire or Wisconsin would probably be the best better.

Alternatively, if he never attacked the bailout he could've tried to embrace protectionism and made a play for the midwest. If he takes Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania (and still has North Carolina) then he'd win without the Florida that should surely swing hard towards Obama in response to this.

[Opisthokont]

Not sure if Arab and Persian ethnicities are captured in the general "Asian" category or if they are counted as a separate middle-east category. I think lots of the Arab and Persian Americans went for Bush in 2000 and 2004. So I think the only non-white category of voters to possibly still vote majority republican is Arab and Persian.

Aren't non-African middle easterners in general counted as "white"? Or is that just in the US census?

[Prosesskrift]

Sologdin,

An "Allthing" with limited power is small government, in my opinion.

How would you limit that power though and on what basis? Your values? The majority's values?

If a pseudo direct democracy like your Allthing decide to abolish private property following a bewitching lecture by sologdin, what do you envision would be in place to stop them?

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Process,

Direct limits on what areas laws may be created to control unless say 75% (also with some supermajority quorum requirement as well) of the Allthing were to approve the expansion of power into that new area probably require multipule vote seperated by some significant period of time (a month at least).

[Sci-2]

Had debate 1 been a clear win for Obama Romney would have been a write of from that point forward, because he was all but written off going in to the debate.

I'm still annoyed Obama fucked this up. Hoping this kind of "above showmanship" politician ends with him - The game is the game, and I believe Hilary knows how to play it.

[Datepalm]

+1 for Charles Darwin and Solo reading Hyperion. Looking forward to your review.

How could Romney have won? By not being a cunt republican?

Seriously, how much could smart strategy, ability to do maths, reasonable undertanding of the variables, total withdrawl from all the koolaid etc, etc, possibly have done for him while his actual policies remained what they were? American elections have turned into a demographic battlefield for everyone but whites, because that's how the Republicans have made it. And if they keep going the way they are, it'll turn into a gender battle as well, where the only people still capable of voting for Reps, as a physical fact, without their brain blowing up from the cognitive dissonance will be old white men and women in polygamous mormon marriages.

[Sci-2]

because that's how the Republicans have made it.

Yeah, the Glenn Beck "content of their character" types always miss this. You don't get to racebait as part of your strategy and then claim you're fighting this wave of entitlement based on political correctness.

Or, I guess you do, and you alienate more and more minorities. I used to get angry when I saw these idiots raving, but now it's ammo to use against them.

Murder their brand, which is pretty much worthless to actually governing at this point anyway.

[Whoring Drunkard]

http://www.slate.com...n_majority.html

Living in Canada, a country that has a non-partisan elections commission that runs elections and determines seat boundaries, I am always incredulous that seat boundaries are determined by the whim of partisan state legislatures. It is stunning to see the effects of extreme gerrymandering, especially when you realize that it will impede the President's agenda and cause more gridlock.

[awesome possum]

Glen Beck is also doubling down. In this clip at 7;25 he rejects the idea of appealing to minorities... If conservatives follow their leaders strategies I really can't see them winning the next election.

http://www.video.the...source=THEBLAZE

Hannity is going the opposite clip, saying his view on immigration has "evolved"

"We've gotta get rid of the immigration issue altogether. It's simple for me to fix it. I think you control the border first, you create a pathway for those people that are here, you don't say you gotta home. And that is a position that I've evolved on. Because you know what--it just--it's gotta be resolved. The majority of people here--if some people have criminal records you can send' em home--but if people are here, law-abiding, participating, four years, their kids are born here... first secure the border, pathway to citizenship... then it's done. But you can't let the problem continue. It's gotta stop."

I was going to say the party might return to sanity once Rush Limbaugh's big fat greedy pig heart finally explodes, but it looks like Beck is going to proudly carry the ignorant racist idiot flag regardless.