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Politically Incorrect
message 651:
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Gary
(new)
Mar 04, 2016 08:34AM
A wonderful description of the Senator from Texas. Finally, Wisconsin can shed the mantle of producing McCarthyite Senators and give it to the new champ, the great state of Texas.
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Carful. People don't respect cowardice like they used to. :-)
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It's not as bad as it could be. We'll know the low point has been reached when Senator Inhofer gives a TED talk on the environment or global climate change. Although I will admit, I sense the average American IQ slipping every time he makes any public comment or there's a Republican debate.
I keep trying to hide from the "news" and anything related to the election because every time I'm exposed to it I seriously wonder if maybe I've gone completely bonkers and living in an alternate and scary universe inside my head. Surely the real world is more sane than this!
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Melki wrote: "Trump uses his latest victory speech to sell steaks and wine! Imagine all the products he'll hawk during his State of the Union address."Maybe the text of the speech will be carried on Ebay and Amazon.
Melki wrote: "Trump uses his latest victory speech to sell steaks and wine! Imagine all the products he'll hawk during his State of the Union address."And I'm sure he'll offer add space on the front of the newly built Trump Balcony (the greatest balcony ever installed in the House of Representatives).
Joel wrote: "Where is Hunter S. Thompson when you really need him?"Laughing and partying his ass off as he watches from the Great Tiki Bar in the Sky.
You're right, though, this election year was custom-designed for him.
He'll just license his name for the balcony, so when it collapses he'll shrug his shoulders and say he really had nothing to do with it.
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Apparently, you'd be better off eating a raccoon from Lisa's backyard.
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Melki wrote: "Apparently, you'd be better off eating a raccoon from Lisa's backyard."
And you'd get a ringed tail to make into a hat as a party favor.
Jay wrote: "I had dignity once."No. No he didn't. He veered close to it after Sandy came through but never quite achieved.
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Thanks a lot, Lisa!
How exactly do I recover my dignity from a shot that ricocheted in my direction????
:-)
Eeeks! Yeah, uh, sorry 'bout that, Jay. Perhaps I've been watching the politicians so much that I'm spinning without even realizing it (kinda like them).
I know it's not PC to judge a woman by her clothes (even though just about everybody does) but can someone explain to me why Hillary Clinton dresses like Mao? What's up with all those collarless, long jackets? I can't believe the Republicans aren't capitalizing on it.
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It's a rainbow of Hillary!
The Republicans don't have time to think about Hillary yet. First they have to come up with someone to take down Trump . . . someone who isn't Ted Cruz.
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Election Update
The primaries are falling by the wayside as the frontrunners claim their prizes. Super Tuesday yielded few surprises other than one of the best political cartoons of the year:
The primary candidates, lusting for more delegate votes, are now off to California, home of Hollywood glitz and glamour, militant gay rights, Silicon Valley techno-weenies, and (Surprise! Surprise!) a majority conservative agriculture-oriented voter base. California is also the world's 7th or 8th largest economy, depending on how it's calculated; roughly on a par with such countries as Canada and Italy. How the candidates will fare in this environment is the source of a lot of pundit speculation.
-Trump may benefit from the conservative base even though he'll be adamantly opposed in the liberal urban areas.
-Sanders will likely be the exact opposite—exciting some urban voters, but leaving the conservative base cold. Still, while unlikely to win, stranger people than Bernie have become a fad in California, so he's got a shot. However, it's more likely that...
-Hillary will likely add California to her win column. She'll impress a lot of voters as the most qualified, and pick up quite a few votes from the 'It's a woman's turn' voters.
-Others (mostly Rep.) are unlikely to spark any surprises or any wins.
Other Updates:
-Marco Rubio has dropped out due to an inability to appeal to anyone with a single progressive bone in their body.
-BBC News has published a nice article explaining where the candidates got their money—or a good portion of it, anyway. http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2...
---Note Donald Trump has financed his campaign mostly with debt, which is either his attempt at preparation for government work if he wins, or a financial play that will allow him major tax write-offs for years to come if he loses. Best bet...his accountant thinks running for POTUS is a good move.
That's enough grossly-questionable commentary for now!
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Joel wrote: "It's like the old joke: Donald Trump plays euchre; Ted Cruz plays Eucharist."good one!
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Maybe I'm not as old as think. I never heard it before.
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Well, the candidates are trekking west towards that biggest of prizes and delegate nirvana, California.
This week, they stopped along the way to pick up a few blue chips in Utah, Idaho (D) and Arizona.
Republicans
-Trump is still on top with an Arizona win. Donald picked up support for his hardline immigrant stance from such luminaries as Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who somehow managed time away from building his case that the grassy knoll was the scene of an illegal immigrant's picnic.
It's unlikely Trump's embarrassing loss in Utah had anything to do with his insulting remarks concerning Mitt Romney's religious faith. Let's be honest, Trump has routinely insulted much larger religions, so Mormons are way down on the list.
-Cruz took more than 50% of the vote in Utah, but delegate-wise, that still makes him the loser for the day. However, if Cruz can continue to slow the Donald train, he has a chance to plead his case at the GOP convention. There's always a possibility that the convention will be attended by one or two influential Republicans who Cruz hasn't pissed off. However, it's difficult to confirm such apocryphal stories.
-Kasich won fewer votes in Arizona than Marco Rubio, who dropped out of the race last week. Lesson Learned: a GOP candidate with reasonably moderate leanings can't compete at the polls with completely batshit rightwing candidates.
I know, the truth hurts...and has very little to do with politics.
Democrats
-As expected, Hillary was the big winner for the day, taking Arizona and the most delegates home in her purse. However, Sanders trounced her in Utah and Idaho, literally making her look like an 'also ran.'
While Hillary is easily the Democrats' frontrunner (300+ delegate lead) with a strong, well-funded campaign, she still has trouble appealing to young people and many women, who think she should have shot Bill and Monica.
It's also unlikely that she'll lose the moniker—and worse, the perception—that she's the 'establishment candidate' unless she divorces Barack politically. However, doing so would alienate people of color, a huge block of her support. A more realistic strategy is to convince voters that establishment is not a dirty word. Then again, maybe she should just tell young people that it was the sixties and that she did inhale.
-Sanders had a banner day in Utah and Idaho. Even though he's behind, he won two of the three available contests. If you don't count delegates, he at least looks like a winner.
Bernie attributes his wins to voter turnout, especially among young voters. Of course, it could also simply be testament to the phenomenal number of voters who fail to ask their candidate to back up their campaign rhetoric with details, such as numbers that economists and accountants won't laugh at harder than at 'two gorillas walk into a bar...'
What's Next?
Three Democrat-only primaries upcoming:
The primaries in Alaska and Hawaii will largely be ignored since:
-Combined they have only 54 delegates.
-No one sane wants to visit Alaska and risk a Bristol Palin endorsement.
-Turnabout is fair play—Hawaii has every right to ask candidates to produce a long-form birth certificate.
The Washington Caucus (same day) has 118 delegates and will see most of the play.
That pretty much wraps up March as this season's crop of hopeful candidates march to California.
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Well, the candidates are trekking west towards that biggest of prizes and delegate nirvana, California.
This week, they stopped along the way to pick up a few blue chips in Utah, ..."
Love that cartoon!
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Regarding individuals, that's true. Regarding Mormons as a voting block (the same as any other demographic), I have to disagree, Joel. Historically, predicting the Utah Mormon vote is a slam dunk.
UTAH
Voted for Republican president in last seven elections; two Republican senators, three out of four House representatives are Republicans; past three governors have been Republicans; Republican-controlled Legislature.
Source: The Hill: How red or blue is your state?
Utah is one of the reddest of the red. Depending on source, it's at times been noted to be the reddest state in the union. Ergo, I don't find it surprising that they would side with a party-preferred candidate over an outsider like Trump.
I agree, Mormons do not vote as a single block. If they did, a Democrat would never be elected. However, voters are not as independent-minded as they believe themselves to be, and the relationship between religion and politics, although complex, is well studied. There is a definite influence from the pulpit on voter behavior. Some of that is direct clergy influence; some is simply the likelihood of a practitioner of a particular faith to be liberal or conservative.
Predicting that Mormons in Utah will vote party-line Republican en masse is about as prescient as predicting sugar is sweet.
Outliers do not negate the rule.
Political strategists study demographics for a reason. Voting blocks can often be very, very predictable.
As to giving Trump some credit... The guy's rich. He can use cash.
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I was kind of surprised they went for Bernie. Hillary does a much better job of pandering to the religious.
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I suppose it makes sense that after the candidates have a "biggest pecker" contest, they move on to "who has the hottest wife?"
(I prefer Heidi, as she can actually move her face, rather than the heavily-Botoxed Melania.)
Though, looking at the men they married (and presumably, have sex with), both women deserve our pity.
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And checking the facts can be a real bitch either way.
My heart goes out to those poor voters in Wisconsin that have had to put up with this nonsense as the candidates campaigned across the state. Every parent had to wonder if it was safe to turn on the TV or radio if younger ears were around.
American politics! What an extraordinary business.
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The End of Climate Denial?
Rumors have persisted that there are Republicans in Congress who acknowledge the climate crisis but have been afraid to say so. Now, some are breaking ranks. A dozen Republicans have signed a House Resolution that acknowledges the adverse impacts of climate change on weather, national security, economic productivity, the environment, government spending, and every region of the United States. “There is increasing recognition that we can and must take meaningful and responsible action now to address this issue,” the resolution says.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william...
Is it possible that Republicans are starting to dip a toe into the warming waters of reality?
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The End of Climate Denial?
Rumors have persisted that there are Republicans in Congress who acknowledge the climate crisis but have bee..."
Uh-oh! Before you know it, they'll be doing their jobs . . . like confirming a supreme court justice.
Melki wrote: "Jay wrote: "The GOP is beginning to splinter in numerous areas, such as:The End of Climate Denial?
Rumors have persisted that there are Republicans in Congress who acknowledge the climate crisis ..."
Aw, come on. Doing there jobs? The splintering could never get that bad.
Jay wrote: "The GOP is beginning to splinter in numerous areas, such as:The End of Climate Denial?
Rumors have persisted that there are Republicans in Congress who acknowledge the climate crisis but have bee..."
The meat industry aren't going to be too happy about that.
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Wisconsin is noted for its cheese, and its primary news coverage should be noted for cheesy reporting.
Wisconsin is a very fine state with very fine people, however only 42 of them are Republican delegates. As a percentage of the 1,237 a Republican candidate needs to win, Wisconsin is a mere 3%, hardly a reliable predictor of the election's outcome.
Republicans
-Trump has not met his Waterloo in America's Dairyland. He still has the lead (743) and a very viable path to 1,237. He's already bested Cruz by more than 200 delegates and Trump may be more popular in many of the remaining primaries, particularly in some of the delegate heavy states like New York and California.
The pundits attempting to blow Trump's every faux pas into the last straw of his campaign are having a tough time. If there's one thing that Donald knows well, it's spin. There's no telling if one specific item will kill his chances before the convention, but I tend to doubt it. His PR organization is just too strong. What the hell, it's covered his mouth so far.
-Cruz did collect some cheese in Wisconsin, but he still has a lot of work to do, particularly in the Northeast. Yes, he's modified some of his rhetoric to appeal to moderates who don't want to live in the United States of Iran. However, he's still a theocrat, or more cynically to some, just another evangelical willing to lie, cheat and steal to push his bigoted rightwing agenda. That's a lot to overcome, especially in states like New York with a highly diverse population and a school system that doesn't blithely kowtow to the religious right.
Cruz can't rely on the 'I'm not Trump' card to sway people as easily as he believes. His own record of rightwing religious wackadoodle must come to the fore either pre or post-convention, and if nominated, he has just as much chance of handing the election to the Democrats as does the mouth that roared, Donald. Indeed, that's a very likely outcome if Cruz can't convince voters that he understands diversity is not a dirty word.
-Kasich
Who?
Democrats
-Wisconsin wasn't all bad news for Hillary according to Bloomberg. She improved her vote share from 2008. She also maintains a hefty lead in delegates (1,749 to Sanders 1,061) [Superdelegates: 469 to Sanders 31]. However, her post-Wisconsin change in attitude toward Sanders may be the major plus in this battle. She's become a lot more challenging to Sanders, demanding that he back up his rhetoric with facts, figures and actual viable plans.
Uh-oh!
Going into the Northeast, Hillary is certainly strong in New York having served as their senator, but she's not resting on laurels and is campaigning steadily.
-Bernie's rhetoric after his Wisconsin win was focused on showing that he's building momentum. While it's true that he has been strong with young people, particularly young women, the very liberal, and those angered over income disparity, Bernie is still weaker than Clinton at appealing to minorities. It's also up in the air at this point if he can handle Hillary's harder stance on demanding that he support his rhetoric with...horror of horrors!...realistic facts and figures.
Other News
Clinton and Sanders are scheduled to face off in the Wyoming Democratic Caucus today, but as there are a mere 14 delegates up for grabs, the media has chosen to cover the Miami Illegal Immigrant Kennel Club Swimsuit Yacht Race instead.
That's all for now.
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