jerseyhoya wrote:Day after: SCOTUS ruling not so bad?

I was told otherwise. docsmooth promised battery acid.

“I think this will be very incremental,” said Gross. “The chamber and other trade associations will undoubtedly accumulate funds for targeted races, but I don’t see this seeping its way into competitive races all over the country."

jerseyhoya wrote:Day after: SCOTUS ruling not so bad?

I was told otherwise. docsmooth promised battery acid.

swishnicholson wrote:
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this decision. While I can definitely see the merits of the specific case before the court, the extension of this to all corporate political "speech" still strikes me as absurd.

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:Day after: SCOTUS ruling not so bad?

I was told otherwise. docsmooth promised battery acid.

my metaphorical acid has its pernicious effects circulating in your system, not thrown in your face.

This scribe thinks bombs are only weapons when they explode. Remarks like this are jaw-droppingly disingenuous:

“I think this will be very incremental,” said Gross. “The chamber and other trade associations will undoubtedly accumulate funds for targeted races, but I don’t see this seeping its way into competitive races all over the country."

no kidding - relatively few elections are real contests anyway. Of course the $ will be used in competitive races.

TenuredVulture wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:Day after: SCOTUS ruling not so bad?

I was told otherwise. docsmooth promised battery acid.

my metaphorical acid has its pernicious effects circulating in your system, not thrown in your face.

This scribe thinks bombs are only weapons when they explode. Remarks like this are jaw-droppingly disingenuous:

“I think this will be very incremental,” said Gross. “The chamber and other trade associations will undoubtedly accumulate funds for targeted races, but I don’t see this seeping its way into competitive races all over the country."

no kidding - relatively few elections are real contests anyway. Of course the $ will be used in competitive races.

Maybe. But really, the best way to raise money is to be a heavy favorite. Businesses want access to guys who are in office.

Arkansas Rep. Marion Berry (D) will announce plans to retire after seven terms, according to two sources familiar with his plans.

The move would make him the second Arkansas Democrat – after Rep. Vic Snyder – to announce plans this month to forego a re-election bid.

Berry would be the twelfth House Democrat to retire this year, and the fifth from a district John McCain won in 2008, and Republicans are certain to target his seat.

jerseyhoya wrote:

Arkansas Rep. Marion Berry (D) will announce plans to retire after seven terms, according to two sources familiar with his plans.

The move would make him the second Arkansas Democrat – after Rep. Vic Snyder – to announce plans this month to forego a re-election bid.

Berry would be the twelfth House Democrat to retire this year, and the fifth from a district John McCain won in 2008, and Republicans are certain to target his seat.

Even more consequential, though, is the fast-growing swath of voters who can summon no affinity for either party. As in other aspects of modern American life, brand allegiance in politics is at an all-time low; more than a third of Americans (and more than half of all Massachusetts voters) identify themselves as independents rather than as members of the blue team or the red. The most prevalent ideology of the era seems to be not liberalism nor conservatism so much as anti-incumbency, a reflexive distrust of whoever has power and a constant rallying cry for systemic reform.

swishnicholson wrote:I'm not a huge fan of Matt Bai, but his article in the Times Magazine this past Sunday sounds basically right. Generally it states that we should be very wary of declaring great cultural shifts(left or right) based on recent elections since the mood is much more "throw the bums out" (whichever bums they may be) and change for change sake rather than some ideological uprising, although the prevalence of ideological allegiances contributes to the volatility.

link

Even more consequential, though, is the fast-growing swath of voters who can summon no affinity for either party. As in other aspects of modern American life, brand allegiance in politics is at an all-time low; more than a third of Americans (and more than half of all Massachusetts voters) identify themselves as independents rather than as members of the blue team or the red. The most prevalent ideology of the era seems to be not liberalism nor conservatism so much as anti-incumbency, a reflexive distrust of whoever has power and a constant rallying cry for systemic reform.

Of course, of the $787 billion in the package, $288 billion was for tax cuts to 95% of all Americans and $275 billion was for states to prevent cuts in public services. Most of the remaining money dedicated for specific "shovel-ready projects" hasn't even been spent yet because the projects were not "shovel-ready."

Joe Klein: "It is very difficult to have a democracy without citizens. It is impossible to be a citizen if you don't make an effort to understand the most basic activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an increasingly competitive world if you're a nation of dodos."

Try to look at it from my point of view. I have no reason to live. In my 59 years, I've made millions of dollars, built a veritable media empire, and accomplished virtually everything that a man of my limited imagination and worldview could possibly accomplish. And yet, at this point, in no way could you refer to what I'm doing as "living," exactly. I just sort of exist. I derive no real pleasure from life. Oh, sure, I talk a big game about what a golf nut I am and how much I enjoy the taste of a fine cigar, but it's all horseshit. Complete and utter horseshit.

PRINCETON, NJ -- The 65 percentage-point gap between Democrats' (88%) and Republicans' (23%) average job approval ratings for Barack Obama is easily the largest for any president in his first year in office, greatly exceeding the prior high of 52 points for Bill Clinton.
...
[G.W.] Bush's average Republican-Democratic gap for his eight years in office was 61 points. This included the record gap for a single approval rating: 83 points, which occurred twice -- in September 2004 (95% Republican, 12% Democratic) and October 2004 (94% Republican, 11% Democratic).
...
Prior to Ronald Reagan, no president averaged more than a 40-point gap in approval ratings by party during his term; since then, only the elder George Bush has averaged less than a 50-point gap, including Obama's average 65-point gap to date.

swishnicholson wrote:I'm not a huge fan of Matt Bai, but his article in the Times Magazine this past Sunday sounds basically right. Generally it states that we should be very wary of declaring great cultural shifts(left or right) based on recent elections since the mood is much more "throw the bums out" (whichever bums they may be) and change for change sake rather than some ideological uprising, although the prevalence of ideological allegiances contributes to the volatility.

link

Even more consequential, though, is the fast-growing swath of voters who can summon no affinity for either party. As in other aspects of modern American life, brand allegiance in politics is at an all-time low; more than a third of Americans (and more than half of all Massachusetts voters) identify themselves as independents rather than as members of the blue team or the red. The most prevalent ideology of the era seems to be not liberalism nor conservatism so much as anti-incumbency, a reflexive distrust of whoever has power and a constant rallying cry for systemic reform.

Woody wrote:

I Don't Even Want to Be Alive Anymore

...worthless, amoral, cocksucking fuckface

traderdave wrote:Am I completely off-base here, Hoya? Has there been (or could there be) a circumstance where you voted Democrat simply because you thought he/she was the better candidate?

....And what is the dupe du jour?

Officials of both parties are sharply criticizing a fundraising mailing from Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele they say could be confused with official correspondence regarding this year’s Census.

The fundraising letter comes in the form of a "survey," a frequently used device for partisan fundraising, but this one has a twist: calling itself the "Congressional District Census," the letter comes in an envelope starkly printed with the words, "DO NOT DESTROY OFFICIAL DOCUMENT" and describes itself, on the outside of the envelope, as a "census document."

Sounds illegal, doesn't it? But because it doesn't "use the full name of the Census Bureau or the seal of any government agency," it apparently manages to stay just this side of legal.

And naturally, since it's goal is to dupe its supporters, it is expected to be "among the RNC’s most lucrative fundraising initiatives."

jerseyhoya wrote:In legislative races I'd have a hard time voting for the better candidate from the opposite party just because their main job is voting, not being a good person. In executive races, whether on a state or national level, I think personality/leadership qualities have to play a big role in addition to issue stances.

"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed," Bauer said, according to the Greenville News. "You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better."