I think Santorum (and his idiocy) is driving the D's to vote against Romney as they realize
Santorum will be destroyed in a general if he ever gets there.


@HM - gotta start somewhere.
Some states don't have enough "diversity" or weight in their electoral votes to matter.
DE comes to mind as an example. But for the larger states like CA, TX, PA, NY, NJ, FL, IL, OH ...
Perhaps starting with the top ten would be good, no?

That is a very dangerous dance with the devil. Shit happens, like say the election ends up in court.

Perhaps, but some states already allocate their electoral votes in the same manner.
The winner-take-all for the larger states seems rather outdated.
Actually this method might even REDUCE lawsuits because there will not be such a
large number of electoral votes in question.

Pretty interesting chart with stats from Huffpo.
Says its constantly updated at 5 min intervals too.
Link here

from Wiki
I think my suggestion (Pretty sure I'm not the first) could be an effective "middle ground"
between the two options mentioned above. In a sense, a best of both.

This makes it an even better idea.

Speaking of voting, man, republicans sure do hate letting poor people, minorities, and students vote, huh? I mean, *cough* OH NO VOTER FRAUD

or felons, or anyone who looks like a felon, or anyone who has the same name as a felon, or...

Please...

Do either of you have any ideas on making the system better?

I offered some ideas and that's really all you have?

C'mon You are both pretty thoughtful.

Classic, it a matter of the devil you know vs the one you don't (gerrymandering).
I see very little or no benefit by a change such as you suggest.

In theory, there's nothing more simple than just counting all votes to see who won the State.

Look at the Iowa Caucus vote this year... first Romney wins, and then there's a local revision and Santorum wins.
Why do you think that won't happen with a proportional vote, with more cooks in the (local district) kitchen.

Besides, for me, if the Republicans want it they must think it would be to their benefit. So I'm ag'in !

What's wrong with the system exactly, on a national scale, classic?

Ok. I was looking for a little more, but I can appreciate your opinion.
thanks

Which system? the current one or some other?

The current one, I mean.

I remember a proposal at one point where states would put a law on the books such that if the total number of electoral college votes of all the states with this law on the books was enough to win the presidency, then all of those states would put all of their electoral college votes towards the winner of the popular vote.

In the absence of an actual Constitutional Amendment removing the electoral college in favor of the popular vote, I'd support that.

Big states with lots of electoral power aren't going to give it up if nobody else does; this way they all jump in together, at a point where anybody who doesn't do it is irrelevant.

OK as you wish, here is more: By coincidence here is today's example...

NY Times
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
2/29/12

Santorum Campaign Says It’s a Tie (in Delegate Count) in Michigan

This is a link to one of YouTube's most popular videos.

It sort of fits with another post today in a different thread

This is the latest ad in our area...

Powerful.

I like the idea of a war on women.


See, after thirty years of the War on Drugs, drugs are easily and cheaply available to anyone who wants them.

So after a few years of War on Women ...

:devil:

or

it could be like teh GWOT, where the result is an infinite amount of money and energy spent resulting in no discernible effect. T-ism is neither easy nor cheap, in fact, there's *none* to be found around anywhere I go. And that would be bad.

Yep, sounds like my relationship with women, alright. :( ;)

If Bush had gone out with the stated intent of banning democracy it would have gone much smoother.

Newt Gingrich: Job Killer

:D

The staff got severance pay valued at one day's work at minimum wage
- a picture of Newt.

If you think that's bad, just wait till he drops out. Not a single media outlet will get a dime and heads will roll.

Ooooh, sounds like somebody got a new IPad.

It is a load of political Bull Shit....

Google News today listed this headline:

Sydney Morning Herald
"Primaries may put Mitt over the top"

It was startling because I first read it as:
"Primates may put Mitt over the top" :rolleyes:

I thought Newt was one of the saner candidates. But I'm reading The Gay Metropolis by Charles Kaiser, which is technically a history of gay people in New York from the 1940s onwards, but is further ranging and quite fascinating. 'Cept I have to stop and keep looking up people and places which it is assumed I know about. Anita Bryant, Fire Island et al.

Anyway, I know Republicans are the anti-gay party (not Republican Dwellars, but that's what comes across from the party) but I didn't realise how far back Gingrich's homophobia was adversely affecting gay lives.

Still, it's all education - live and learn.

You are living in a fantasy world mercy if you believe that a series of quotes of derogatory remarks made by lawmakers you favor is "a load of political Bull Shit" but the baseless assertion that "Obama owns the rise in gas prices" is "is really an important fact to hammer".

One is a fact, but unfavorable, which you dismiss. The other is an opinion, you feel is favorable, which you try to promote as meaningful and factual. But you can't tell the difference. A shame.

Buy your tickets early, the circus is coming to town

Now that Jeb Bush has moved his first piece off pawn’s row,
and Mitt Romney has cleverly countered as Bishop,
I thought of starting a new thread for the 2016 GOP Presidential nomination,
but then realized we already have that T-shirt.

So starting here…

The current prominent candidates:
Mitt Romney is deja vu all over again
Paul Ryan has decided to re-read the entire works of Ayn Rand
Ron Paul is body-snatching under the name of Rand Paul
Herman Cain is replaced by Dr. Ben Carson as the GOP’s token Black
Rick Perry still can’t name that 3rd Agency, maybe due to lead paint on his camp’s sign
and Rick Santorum who still believes ObamaCare is akin to apartheid

Other returning notables:
Donald Trump promises urban redevelopment on the National Mall in Washington DC,
with a multi-storied hotel and retail center to be named “Trump Mall USA”
Jack Felllure thinks it’s still 1919 and time for prohibition
Mike Huckabee managed to break his contract with Fox News
Sarah Palin promises to continue being Sarah Palin

Other notables( and not so much) from 2012:
John Huntsman has departed the building, but graciously left us with one
of his beautiful daughters, Abby, as tv hostess we can watch daily
Jimmy McMillan was the GOP’s most colorful, but he also jumped the shark
to run for NY City Mayor, endorsed Obama , and his rent is still too high
Thaddeus McCotter is still named Thaddeus McCotter
I’ve lost track of Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, the Ron Jeremy look-alike,
Jonathan Sharkey, and the Arizona Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, along with other GOP wannabes
who weren’t worth uncaging the ferret.

New presidential candidates for 2016 include:
Marco Rubio, but his sun has suddenly been totally eclipsed by his Governor
Jeb Bush will try to do better than his brother, who failed to do better than his father
Ted Cruz promises to shut down the Executive branch and will take over as President of the Senate
George Pataki promises a nationwide tax-free area for businesses
… zero taxes … no sales-, use-, transfer- or business- taxes, and no personal income taxes for employees
Carly Florin promises to eliminate the US debt with her golden parachute from HP
John Bolton wants to run, but can’t get out of his contract with Fox News
Scott Walker promises to demolish the European Union, the Union Pacific,
and all 18 “Union County” governments will be renamed as “Abstinenceonly”.
Bobby Jindal is the only GOP Governor told “…he was doing a good job…” by Barack Obama
Lindsey Graham promises to bomb everyone who…

And lastly there is Chris Christy who has told everyone to sit down and shut up.



,

I think I'm going to be ill.:vomitblu:

Vote for Ralph, or Fluffy whomever your heart desires.

Or go with the majority and don't vote at all.

Thaddeus McCotter was awesome, but lost his congressional job in 2012 due to arcane ballot access matters*. It should not have happened, I'm certain it was his staffers' fault as was alleged, and he deserved better. But in any case, it's unlikely that he will ever again be in politics.





*trust me: i know about arcane ballot access matters. i devoted several years of my life to arcane ballot access matters...

I followed up on your post about Mr McCotter in our Book of all Truths, Wikipedia,
and it does appear as tho it was his staff that were responsible for his political demise.
Several members of his staff were found guilty and served jail time for forging (my phrase)
signatures on ballot nomination forms which resulting in the signatures being removed.

But I'm not seeing what you mean by "arcane ballot access matters"
Was it only a problem with the numbers, or do you suggest there were other political games being played ?

At this point of my readings, I would put the events in the same category as
what seems to be going on with Chris Christy and the Washington Bridge business.
Christy denies all "knowledge or involvement", but some of his staff appear to be deeply involved.

But as with the military's chain of command, the boss "knew or should have known",
what the staff is doing. And if not he/she is still complicit because he/she should have
trained or otherwise shown subordinates the legal or appropriate ways to run their shop.

Ah I see, it didn't go down exactly as I'd heard: his staffers faked the signatures.

It's a common thing, where the candidates are unaware of how critical it is to meet the requirements. And they only had to collect 1,000 signatures. That's only $500 and a weekend with the right group, at the going rate of $2 per.

Do the signers show ID, or do the collectors just accept their word? If the signer is annoyed, feeling trapped because they can't bring themselves to say no but really don't want to, they could give false information getting both the collector and candidate in trouble.

It's nearly impossible to get anyone to sign anything in this day, so you can't ask for anything more than the signing. You just have to take people's word for it, and over-collect.

What was I thinking $500, it's $2000 for 1000 signatures at $2 per.

I find it strange after serving since 2003 he had to get nominating petition signatures for the 2012 primary. Guess the party wanted him out.

I can imagine one dilemma that Representatives (of both parties) must face when running for the Presidency
... their re-election as Representative is every 2 years, and so always coincides with the term of the President.
OTOH, sometimes Senators luck out when their term does not, and they are simply remaining in office as they run for President.

Michigan may or may not be like other states in requiring candidates to declare if they are running for both offices... I don't know.

In any case, it may well be the staff was negligent in not fulfilling the state's election law requirements in a timely manner.

Hmmm..... so soon !
Ladies and Gentlemen...Today, performing in RING NUMBER 1

Washington Post
Associated Press
January 19 2015
Jindal: Muslims form ‘no-go zones’ outside civic control
And besides all that: Democrats said Jindal’s comments were a blunder.



...and Snopes gives a fairly up-to-date and extensive review of the topic here

I'm white and from a Christian background. I will be honest and say I never want to go to Birmingham (West Midlands, England) in my life again.

Moslems?
Forget the bloody Muslims (more common pronunciation here)
On the way from Leeds to Oxford over Christmas I believed I was being helped onto the right coach at our Birmingham interchange. Look up various photos here, I was the pink haired black faced lady with no glasses and very compromised eyesight.
Miserable bloody white Geordie driver didn't let us know that those of us travelling on to Oxford NEEDED TO CHANGE COACH. I was not the only person who was horrified to find myself in Plymouth. And that had nothing to do with Moslems either.

On the way home to the nuthouse, it was evil weather that gave me an enforced stay in a very cold Birmingham coach station. I refused to pay for the toilet, as I should have been on a coach with a free one at that point. They eventually let me pee for free.
My tears didn't move them re a free drink though. No water available (bet they were lying) only what could be bought from the concourse, and that was run by concessions, so they couldn't make them give us food or drink, no matter how long we were held up.

I wish Brum Coach Station was run by Muslims. Real ones, not perverse murderers. Hospitality is one of the tenets of Islam. They'd have got me a glass of water and a few tissues.

Just an aside on "no go" areas. Don't most cities have a few blocks that have special rules? There are places in little Binghamton where the city cops never roll fewer than three cars.

Western Samoan, and many other South Pacific Islands are sad, but Jeb Bush and all the other GOP presidential candidates are happy.

Mitt Romney has bowed out of the 2016 GOP Presidential race.

And besides all that: The pundits are saying this gives Jeb Bush a leg up.
But Scott Walker is hiding the the bushes ready to jump out and run
across the finish line without having legged the entire marathon.

And too, Donald Trump is saying exactly what is expected of The Frump...

Attachment 50257

Today is the day Scooter's poo hit the rotating blades

SW: Oh, excuse me. It was just a typo

SW: Oh, excuse me. It was just a misunderstanding by their staff

SW: Oh, excuse me. It was just a misunderstanding by my staff

SW: Oh, excuse me. Uh .... I mean.... uh... Oh, Well... uh....

The NY Times has seen fit to write an entire editorial about The Scooter.
Here is the gist, for those of you who are not just interested in $ and budgets...


NY Times (Editorial Board) 2/6/15
Gov. Walker’s ‘Drafting Error’
Besides all that: It looks as tho I do have a dog in this fight.


.

Well if the University can't turn out graduates who have the skills Koch Industries needs, we shouldn't be using public money to teach them. What good are public institutions if not to serve the ruling class?

You always have and always will, just like everyone else... but you knew that. :haha:

Not in the GOP primaries !

Sure you do, the outcome affects us all because some are more beatable than others.

Well, I really do have a dog in the this next fight...

And let it be a warning to all who are in politics and live with their "fiance"...:rolleyes:

John Kitzhaber controversy: Oregon attorney general launches criminal investigation

The Oregonian - 1/20/15

You would think that after the Virginia governor was found guilty for the same thing, all the other governors would perk right up and take notice and stop that shit. You can't even have the appearance of impropriety any more.

I agree. But I'm betting our Governor will end up in a bed of roses, because legally they are not married.
So he could/would/might not have known or been responsible for her failure to declare her $118k income.

JK has been a good Governor, and he certainly seemed emotionally shaken during the earlier
press conference when he (first ?) learned of her IRS issues.
Also, this woman has already had revelations of 2 other questionable issues in her past.

But you can be sure the Republicans will throw a fit if JK comes out OK, in part because JK has been
a strong supporter of what came to be known as Obamacare.

And don't count on the Virginia governor doing time. It sounds like he's got a fan in the appeals court.

Well, when you're in trouble you find out who are your friends. Today, the dam burst.

Although last night JK told the Press that he was not going to resign,
and the Press has not reported any specifics about possible "criminal activities, ...
almost every elected Democrat in the Oregon Legislature is calling for Kitzhaber to resign.

It has being reported that JK sent out an email telling State employees to delete
his "personal" emails from the State servers, and that the employees have refused to do so.

The Press is loving it, and saying: "It is only a matter of time"

Today is a tempest, maybe in a tea pot or maybe over the entire State of Oregon.

.

Tell it to Cuomo. As governors they suffer from big fish little pond syndrome. They really expect to get away with stuff because they've always gotten away with stuff.

Local news is reporting Governor Kitzhaber is resigning, effective Feb 18th.
Still nothing specific is being reported.

Next, we play a reverse musical chairs of office holders moving - up(?)

The (local) media is beginning a "self-evaluation" of how they reported these events.

ETA: John Kitzhaber has served 2 separate terms, the first was 1995-2003
During that time, the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility for women was built, and opened in 2001

Wouldn't it be ironic if it turns out that he is the one who built the future home of his "fiance", Cylvia Hayes :rolleyes:

I'm quite sad about all this.
I believe that my dog in this fight has turned out to be a bitch.

This is the first article I've seen that puts it all in perspective, and I don't disagree with much of anything in it.
But I have sniped out a lot of stuff that has been reported before about Kitzhaber, himself.

For me now, it's another instance of: "He knew, or he should have known..."

Oregon Gov. Kitzhaber + Cylvia Hayes: Political Valentine gone wrong?
Christian Science Monitor - Brad Knickerbocker, - February 14, 2015

I heard this on the radio, driving home yesterday. Sad for the (soon to be former) governor; but at the same time, he had to have known what his fiancee was up to. Unfortunate for Oregon.

Left out racist. :eyebrow:

Least corrupt politicians, or most corrupt prosecutors?