jerseyhoya wrote:Ride Along With Mitch

I think I found my guy for 2012. Very long article from the Weekly Standard. I doubt many will get through it, though I encourage Vox and any of the other board conservatives to put in the time to read it.

In both his campaigns for governor—in 2004, when he won a close race, and in 2008, when he won reelection against the Obama tide in an 18-point landslide—Daniels visited each of Indiana’s 92 counties at least three times, appearing in places that hadn’t seen a statewide candidate in generations, or ever.

The shows are bizarrely compelling, as if D.A. Pennebaker had been let loose on the set of Hee Haw. The Hoosiers themselves​​—grizzled old farmers, bikers with attitude, housewives in floral prints, chubby kids in too-tight T-shirts—are part of the attraction. They are alternately delighted, disbelieving, and annoyed to find a well-known politician in their midst.

How did the six ideological groups do overall? Here they are, best to worst, with an average number of incorrect responses from 0 to 8: Very conservative, 1.30; Libertarian, 1.38; Conservative, 1.67; Moderate, 3.67; Liberal, 4.69; Progressive/very liberal, 5.26.

Americans in the first three categories do reasonably well. But the left has trouble squaring economic thinking with their political psychology, morals and aesthetics.

To be sure, none of the eight questions specifically challenge the political sensibilities of conservatives and libertarians. Still, not all of the eight questions are tied directly to left-wing concerns about inequality and redistribution. In particular, the questions about mandatory licensing, the standard of living, the definition of monopoly, and free trade do not specifically challenge leftist sensibilities.

Yet on every question the left did much worse. On the monopoly question, the portion of progressive/very liberals answering incorrectly (31%) was more than twice that of conservatives (13%) and more than four times that of libertarians (7%). On the question about living standards, the portion of progressive/very liberals answering incorrectly (61%) was more than four times that of conservatives (13%) and almost three times that of libertarians (21%).

The survey also asked about party affiliation. Those responding Democratic averaged 4.59 incorrect answers. Republicans averaged 1.61 incorrect, and Libertarians 1.26 incorrect.

Adam Smith described political economy as "a branch of the science of a statesman or legislator." Governmental power joined with wrongheadedness is something terrible, but all too common. Realizing that many of our leaders and their constituents are economically unenlightened sheds light on the troubles that surround us.

jerseyhoya wrote:I wouldn't. His term as governor will be up, and he is term limited, so this is about all that is left politically. He fears for the future of the country, and appears to believe he is the best person to fix America. Politicians aren't normal people. Once they start getting into thinking they're the one who is needed to save the country, a lot of them end up running.

The GOP field is wide open, too. No reason for a credible candidate not to run.

jerseyhoya wrote:Two questions there I have a bit of a problem with are "5) Third World workers working for American companies overseas are being exploited (unenlightened answer: agree). 6) Free trade leads to unemployment (unenlightened answer: agree)."

If they question was Most Third World workers..., then I'd be fine with agree being considered unenlightened. I don't mind people saying Agree to it without a most qualifier though, because no doubt some Third World workers are being exploited.

And implementing free trade policies can lead to increased unemployment in certain segments of the market, so again it depends on how the question was worded for me on whether agree is a dumb answer.

The other stuff I'm fine with them mocking the liberals.

kruker wrote:Link

Some fodder.

"Consider one of the economic propositions in the December 2008 poll: "Restrictions on housing development make housing less affordable." People were asked if they: 1) strongly agree; 2) somewhat agree; 3) somewhat disagree; 4) strongly disagree; 5) are not sure.

Basic economics acknowledges that whatever redeeming features a restriction may have, it increases the cost of production and exchange, making goods and services less affordable. There may be exceptions to the general case, but they would be atypical."

Gomes wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:I wouldn't. His term as governor will be up, and he is term limited, so this is about all that is left politically. He fears for the future of the country, and appears to believe he is the best person to fix America. Politicians aren't normal people. Once they start getting into thinking they're the one who is needed to save the country, a lot of them end up running.

The GOP field is wide open, too. No reason for a credible candidate not to run.

I'd be shocked mostly because I've been reading since 2008 that he has no desire to run, and from the article describing his wife as "antipolitical."

I'll be happy if I'm wrong.

"Newt told me, look, quit saying you're not going to do this. If you don't run, you don't run. But say you're leaving the door open, and the national press will pay a lot more attention to your viewpoint."

-- Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), quoted by the Weekly Standard, on Newt Gingrich's advice to keep speculation of a 2012 presidential bid alive.

jerseyhoya wrote:I was the 32nd Republican to vote in my precinct at 2:00 PM, a mere 8 hours after the polls opened.

There are two precincts in the same voting location in my town, and the other was at 26 Republicans. Between the two, a total of 24 Democrats had voted.

VOTER ENTHUSIASM!

TenuredVulture wrote:jh, isn't your precinct more or less a Republican one anyway? And, if you go by those kind of numbers, The Democrats may be able to hold the Arkansas Senate seat.