U.S. election races...

[Nurvingiel]

My comment on McCarthy influencing the Pledge of Allegiance seems to have derailed the thread a bit. Heh. Sorry.

Also, I moved all my comments about the Green Party to the Environment thread.

Originally Posted by rohirrim TR

Nurv...I hate to say but i'm kinda glad you can't cancel out my vote of course there are plenty of other people who will.

Completely fair buddy.

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

*sneaks in, Moothugs Eärniel and Nurvi, and leaves*

*tracks RÃ*an down, Moothugs her, goes back to thread*

I forgot to mention that while Barack Obama does oppose gay marriage, he supports gay civil unions. This may affect your views of him Hector.

Originally Posted by sun-star

Nurv, that was an awesome post

Thank you Sunstar, see you in the Environment thread?

Originally Posted by sun-star

Bible-basher/Bible-thumper mean the same thing in the UK. I don't know what that says about us as a country...

Haha.

<B5 quote time>G'Kar: Do not thump the Book of G'Quan, it is disrespectful.</B5 quote time>

Originally Posted by The Gaffer

That we as a country don't go to church and are highly suspicious of people who harp on about it. Ironic, really, as we have an established church.

Maybe that's why you're suspicious of it.

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

ROFL!!!!

GREAT one, hector! Yes, liberals only love "living documents" when it's something THEY want to change!

Good point Hector. That's probably why it hasn't been changed as of yet.

If I was American though, I'd be eager to eliminate all traces of McCarthyism from government documents, living or not.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Nurvingiel

If I was American though, I'd be eager to eliminate all traces of McCarthyism from government documents, living or not.

I very much doubt that McCarthy, after the over-kill that libs and dems have lavished, will ever be seen as an actual person ever again, so no fears...

[hectorberlioz]

REQUIRED READING:

Politics of Evasion

[hectorberlioz]

Eisenhower-Jehovah's Witness(!)
Nixon & Hoover-Quakers

Now does anyone think Romney being Mormon will be a stumbling block?

[hectorberlioz]

Hey Nurv, 9% lifetime rating for Hillary...

http://www.acuratings.org/2005Senate.htm

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

Eisenhower-Jehovah's Witness(!)
Nixon & Hoover-Quakers

Now does anyone think Romney being Mormon will be a stumbling block?

His mother was a Jehovah's Witness.

And yes, I think it will.

[hectorberlioz]

About Ike's mom: Hmm....

[rohirrim TR]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

And another thing, cultural traditions have to start somewhere, may as well put "God" in the pledge and keep him in there.
Besides, it'll be fun to tell our kids the story of how "Under God" made it's way into our Pledge because Jo McCarthy thought everyone was a communist...

It is a good story, and Mccarthy would make an interesting thread too, very misunderstood guy. Too bad we don't (or at least I don't) have time to discuss him.

[Nurvingiel]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

Hey Nurv, 9% lifetime rating for Hillary...

http://www.acuratings.org/2005Senate.htm

This site has how each Senator voted in 25 votes, right? But what are the last 4 columns? The 2004 and 2005 columns seem to be percentages, but of what? And what is YOS and Life a measure of?

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Nurvingiel

This site has how each Senator voted in 25 votes, right? But what are the last 4 columns? The 2004 and 2005 columns seem to be percentages, but of what? And what is YOS and Life a measure of?

YOS I think refers to the "non-conservative" votes, and LIFE means their overall score since they were elected.

Originally Posted by rohirrim TR

It is a good story, and Mccarthy would make an interesting thread too, very misunderstood guy. Too bad we don't (or at least I don't) have time to discuss him.

Not a bad idea. I don't know much about that whole thing myself....

[Butterbeer]

McCarthy was mis-understood???

How exactly?

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

Originally Posted by Butterbeer

McCarthy was mis-understood???

How exactly?

I think we are about to see the evidence for Satayana's dictim that "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

*sigh* You used to need to be a landowner (and white male) to vote. I don't like that criteria, but having merely existed for 18 years without a felony conviction may be setting the bar too low.

[hectorberlioz]

You know, I've been wondering "why did anyone suggest that Barack Obama run for Prez?"

I'm not trying to be mean, and I'm not saying he shouldn't try to run for president... but why did his name suddenly become so big when he isn't famous for anything? I can swear to you that he was not a household name before 2006 at least. You don't see either of Tenn's senators trying to run, nor either of say, Hawaii's, and god forbid Massachussetts...but thats another story

What I'm trying to say is, while it makes complete sense that Hillary would try to run, and John Edwards, but what did Barack Obama do to get to be the sudden front-runner for the Dems in 2008?

I say the Media, for a very racist reason, chose him.

Any thoughts?


EDIT: also I may be having a turnaround here...I'm asking myself if our next president should be a "foreign policy" president, to wrap up this war...Romney may or may not be the man for that.

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

from an organizing perspective. Most people aren't. But the structure of party organization still counts for something.

Look at the primaries. Ever wonder why Iowa or New Hampshire have such power in selecting the nominee? Why aren't the important primaries in California, or Texas? It's because the parties have district reps, and area reps, and state reps, and they all get together in the National Committees to figure out who runs stuff. Most of the people who wind up holding visible public office have put in their years in those levels, so they have the contacts, etc. to get endorsements, raise money, and run a big campaign.

Actually, iirc, one of the other states...maybe Delaware? tried to run a Democratic primary before Iowa's in '04 and got shot down, bigtime. Iowa wasn't giving up its cash producing spot in the national spotlight. I'll see if I can find something on that.

So, Obama was known to the people who count. He spoke at the convention. He tested well. In a job where your FIRST responsibility is to get elected, that counts, kwim? All those things will go into consideration for the National Committee, which controls a lot of the forces on the ground.

Look at Ed Rendell. To a layperson, politically, he was mayor of a middlesized city. But he was active in the party, so, in a position to move up.

If Al Franken is elected, you could be seeing more of him on the national stage.

Won't that be fun?

But it happens a long time before the media gets a shot, whether that would involve racism or not. Obama is well-spoken and looks electable. He's a good interview. I'm sure other candidates wish they had his PR apparatus.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by sisterandcousinandaunt

If Al Franken is elected, you could be seeing more of him on the national stage.

Won't that be fun?

He won't get elected...he's too jittery and bitter

But it happens a long time before the media gets a shot, whether that would involve racism or not. Obama is well-spoken and looks electable. He's a good interview. I'm sure other candidates wish they had his PR apparatus.

What you say makes sense, but at the same time, McCain is struggling, and nearly everybody knows him and what he does etc...and he's been considered a possible president for ages...

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

but I thought this was funny.
http://ctlocalpolitics.net/2007/01/2...in-the-nation/

everyone wants a dog in the hunt.

Here it is : http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/000478.php

and the results
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/states/deprim04.html

[hectorberlioz]

Calderone vs. Chavez? ...and interesting opinion.

An al-qaeda leader in Iraq may or may not have been wounded...READ HERE

Margie Thatcher gets a statue: HERE

So you still think Cleopatra and Marc Antony were hotties, eh?
Think Again, and take this quiz.

Looks like Gingrich may still be runnin': Here

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

McCain and Biden have the same problem. Doing the actual work of being a Senator involves compromise. You vote for a lot of bills that have provisions in them that your opponents can use to demonize you. That messes you up during the campaign.

Look at recent Presidents. The last elected president with experience in Congress was Nixon, and the two years as Representative for George Bush, who was elected, after all, to the #2 seat. All the rest have been Governors.

The longer you serve as a Senator, the worse your chances. I don't know why they even run.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by sisterandcousinandaunt

and the results
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/states/deprim04.html

I'm surprised Joe Lieberman got the most votes in that primary...I wasn't aware that he had been such a strong Dem contender in '04...

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

He won't get elected...he's too jittery and bitter

Maybe. A lot of liberals miss Paul Wellstone. And this is the state that elected Jesse Ventura.