Can you hear us now??

[SteamWake]

(CNN) -- Tea Party favorites won two primary elections over more mainstream Republicans on Tuesday, demonstrating again the clout of the conservative political movement on the political right.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/14/primary.elections/index.html

[AVGWarhawk]

In addition, former Gov. Robert Ehrlich won the Republican gubernatorial primary in Maryland to set up a rematch against Martin O'Malley, the Democrat who ousted him in 2006.


:yeah:

Maryland, Democratic through and through, is wavering quite a bit after yesterdays elections. Out of nowhere a fella by the name of Wargotz(R) is moving ahead against Barbara Mulkulski(D) whos butt is permanently glued to the seat. She has had this seat much to long IMO.

[Takeda Shingen]

Betting dollars to doughnuts that Christine O'Donnell loses in the general.

[Gerald]

Tea Party,sucks :yawn:

[AVGWarhawk]

Betting dollars to doughnuts that Christine O'Donnell loses in the general.

I think a lot of general elections will be a toss up. There will be some serious landslides but I think overall the races will be tight. At least in MD anyway. With exception of the govenor race. I see a serioius landslide for Erlich.

[SteamWake]

Tea Party,sucks :yawn:

Wow deep insightfull analysis.. thank you for your contribution. :haha:

[The Third Man]

Although the Tea Party Movement's fire can be seen as commendable, in the case of Christine O'Donnel they may have shot themselves in the foot.

As left as Mike Castle maybe he was a much better (read more electable) candidate for the Republicans in Delaware than O'Donnell seems to be on the face of it. Even a left leaning Republican still counts toward a Republican majority.

[tater]

All that matters is the big picture. Nominating someone who won't win is idiotic.

[The Third Man]

Something that every political enthusiast should be aware of..........

Game Theory and Voting (http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2008/10/07/make-your-vote-count-5-important-ideas-from-game-theory/)

Voting is a prized civic duty. But it is also a high stakes competition with clear winners and losers. In this light, voting can be viewed as a contest of strategy. If you want to make your vote count, it is useful to learn the rules of the game.

History suggests that some votes don’t “count.” In at least five U.S. presidential elections, the most popular candidate ended up losing (more on this below in point 5). The results depended on a variety of factors, including strategic voting. The lesson? We need to be on guard. Under current rules, votes can be gamed.

How can we make elections fair? Eventually we might adopt a different voting system, one less susceptible to strategy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_voting). But until we get there, we can level the playing field by telling people about voting theory. Doing so would lesson the impact of gaming. We would return voting to its original purpose: a test of popular will.

In that spirit, I share some ideas from voting and game theory. There are too many to do full justice so I will focus on 5 important ones:

http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2008/10/07/make-your-vote-count-5-important-ideas-from-game-theory/

[The Third Man]

This is she..........

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20100915/i/r4068135132.jpg?x=242&y=345&q=85&sig=gXm1gTWaJd3DcfPTmj4Xxw--

[mookiemookie]

Welp, so much for the 'pubs taking back the Senate, it would appear.

[Gerald]

She is pretty, but it sucks anyway :yawn:

[The Third Man]

Welp, so much for the 'pubs taking back the Senate, it would appear.

And this is pretty?
http://a4cgr.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/hillary-clinton.jpg

It is the sexism of the left which says attractive women are stupid and unelectable.

[Gerald]

but for me it is no attraction...In any case, not just that image

[The Third Man]

http://freedomist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ChristineODonnell.jpg

http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Christine_ODonnell.jpg

http://www.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/Politics/christine_o%27donnell_081106_397x224.jpg

[Gerald]

I might make an exception for a good cause, :O:

[GoldenRivet]

Welp, so much for the 'pubs taking back the Senate, it would appear.

where Washington was so hilariously mistaken about the tea party.

we dont want Dems in congress

we dont want a lot of "pubs" in there either

you are witnessing a peaceful, cold revolution. Hopefully we get these folks in and restore America.

[mookiemookie]

And this is pretty?
http://a4cgr.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/hillary-clinton.jpg

It is the sexism of the left which says attractive women are stupid and unelectable.

Ok.

[Tribesman]

It is the sexism of the left which says attractive women are stupid and unelectable.
Have you ever visited planet earth?

[The Third Man]

Have you ever visited planet earth?

I will when you visit reality. Lol. You let yourself open to that one.:DL I hope your sense of humor is as good as your ....... what ever you have.:woot:

[Gerald]

I will when you visit reality. Lol. You let yourself open to that one.:DL I hope your sense of humor is as good as your ....... what ever you have.:woot: "It is the sexism of the left which says attractive women are stupid and unelectable". you should think a little more...

[Tribesman]

you should think a little more...
You overstate the case, for him to be able think a little more he would have to be thinking in the first place.

[Platapus]

There is only one poll that matters and we usually have them on the second Tuesday in November.

[SteamWake]

There is only one poll that matters and we usually have them on the second Tuesday in November.

Indeed cant wait.

[Gerald]

How will the end, do you think :hmmm:

[The Third Man]

Biden: "It's real tough for the Republican party really, they've hung out a shingle, no moderates need apply, it sorta spawns a tone in politics that's not helpful in getting things done"

Translation....they are going to pound us Nov. 2 and there is nothing we can do about it. That is why Barack is engaging Minority Leader Boehner with love...not!

BTW obstruction is a good thing. It is what keeps us from being a dictatorship.

[Platapus]

How will the end, do you think :hmmm:

One thing to keep in mind is that polls only represent what people choose to say about what they feel. There is really no expectation that anyone would tell the truth on any poll.

People have been complaining about their congressional representatives for longer than I have been alive, but these same representatives are re-elected at the rate of more than 90%.

How do I think it will come out?

Most will be re-elected, some will choose not to run, some may not be re-elected. The problem is that even if the composition of the congress changes, what will change in government?

Since 1980, the GOP has been a party of more spending and bigger government. The fantasy of the GOP being the fiscally responsible party is long gone.

These Tea Party candidates have absolutely no past performance record to stand on. A Tea Party candidate is just another politician saying they are for smaller government and lower spending. Politicians have been saying that ever since I started voting. Why would I believe a Tea Party candidate?

If the Tea Party wants to be considered a viable political party, they need to start small. They need to follow the plan of the Libertarian party in slowly getting their people elected to local positions first. Then the Tea Party can establish a track record that the voters can use to make their decisions.

Establishing a viable political party/affiliation takes more than a few months of mugging before news cameras holding up misspelled signs. It will take years and years (generations?) to establish. If the Tea Party is not willing to invest this time, and expects to be elected based on a few demonstrations, they are demonstrating to me, an independent voter, that they are not a viable political choice.

Currently, in my opinion, the Tea Party is just a flash in the pan. I am not going to take a chance on a political party with no track record. I might as well vote for the Republican candidate. At least I will know what I will get. More spending, bigger government, Big business over citizens, Party over country and perhaps a few new wars just for the hell of it.

Or I can go with the Democratic candidate. At least I will know what I will get More spending, bigger government, citizens over Big Business, Party over country and perhaps a few expensive government programs for the hell of it.

hmmm choices choices choices. Sometimes it appears that my only choice is whether I want an Oaken or a Maple stick rammed up my butt. :stare:

sigh

[krashkart]

...another politician saying they are for smaller government and lower spending. Politicians have been saying that ever since I started voting.

Ain't that the truth. :doh::up:

[mookiemookie]

How will the end, do you think :hmmm:

GOP controls the House, Dem's retain control of the Senate.

[Takeda Shingen]

How will the end, do you think :hmmm:

It will end the same way that it always does: That is, there will be no end.

Of all people, Jesse Ventura sumed up the American political scene the most truthfully in stating that politics is akin to professional wrestling. It is fake. All of it. No issue is resolved, no progress made. Every election simply leads to the next election, with the only winners being the elected and the industry that now surrounds the process. The day after the election, the machine simply prepares for the next election.

People are fed political vitriol through the various media outlets in the attempt to whip them into frenzied support of the parties. A lot of people buy it, including some on this very forum. So the election is never an election; it is a referendum. In this case, it is said to be a referendum on a person who is not currently up for re-election. If you're trying to reform government, why would you simply use the election of one branch of government to prove a point to some guy in another branch of government? That's pretty stupid.

American politics has become simplified to being a matchup of Team R vs. Team D. The public is told that voting against your convictions is okay so long as it gets someone from one of the teams into office, as in the Delaware Republican primary. You might agree with candidate number 1, but that person cannot win the general election, so you should really vote for candidate number 2. Sure, you don't agree with that candidate's stance on the issues, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that the team can get another player on the field. That's moronic, and flies in the face of what western liberal democracy is supposed to be about.

The parties fear real reform, because real reform puts them out of office, money and power. As such, third parties are attacked and marginalized with vigor. You are beginning to see it happen with the Tea Party. Christine O'Donnell's win in Delaware illicited a very negative reaction from the Republican party. They have effectively cut her loose, refusing to give financial support to her campaign. Why? Because they fear a fracture in the party, which is only detrimental to their ends. And so, a potential third party movement must be squashed, even at the expense of having Team D keep a player on the field. We've seen it in the recent past with the Democratic party and the Green Party. Once the darlings of Team D, the Green Party became a little too powerful and organized, and were marginalized. The same fate awaits the Tea Party.

I think it foolish to invest so much time in the political. On the surface, it looks like a grand palace. Once you get close, however, one begins to see that the marble floor is actually sand, and the walls are made of paper. It is a sham but one that is happily fed to the people, many of whom lap it up like pigs at a trough.

[Gerald]

It will end the same way that it always does: That is, there will be no end.

Of all people, Jesse Ventura sumed up the American political scene the most truthfully in stating that politics is akin to professional wrestling. It is fake. All of it. No issue is resolved, no progress made. Every election simply leads to the next election, with the only winners being the elected and the industry that now surrounds the process. The day after the election, the machine simply prepares for the next election.

People are fed political vitriol through the various media outlets in the attempt to whip them into frenzied support of the parties. A lot of people buy it, including some on this very forum. So the election is never an election; it is a referendum. In this case, it is said to be a referendum on a person who is not currently up for re-election. If you're trying to reform government, why would you simply use the election of one branch of government to prove a point to some guy in another branch of government? That's pretty stupid.

American politics has become simplified to being a matchup of Team R vs. Team D. The public is told that voting against your convictions is okay so long as it gets someone from one of the teams into office, as in the Delaware Republican primary. You might agree with candidate number 1, but that person cannot win the general election, so you should really vote for candidate number 2. Sure, you don't agree with that candidate's stance on the issues, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that the team can get another player on the field. That's moronic, and flies in the face of what western liberal democracy is supposed to be about.

The parties fear real reform, because real reform puts them out of office, money and power. As such, third parties are attacked and marginalized with vigor. You are beginning to see it happen with the Tea Party. Christine O'Donnell's win in Delaware illicited a very negative reaction from the Republican party. They have effectively cut her loose, refusing to give financial support to her campaign. Why? Because they fear a fracture in the party, which is only detrimental to their ends. And so, a potential third party movement must be squashed, even at the expense of having Team D keep a player on the field. We've seen it in the recent past with the Democratic party and the Green Party. Once the darlings of Team D, the Green Party became a little too powerful and organized, and were marginalized. The same fate awaits the Tea Party.

I think it foolish to invest so much time in the political. On the surface, it looks like a grand palace. Once you get close, however, one begins to see that the marble floor is actually sand, and the walls are made of paper. It is a sham but one that is happily fed to the people, many of whom lap it up like pigs at a trough. :up:

[mookiemookie]

It will end the same way that it always does: That is, there will be no end.

Of all people, Jesse Ventura sumed up the American political scene the most truthfully in stating that politics is akin to professional wrestling. It is fake. All of it. No issue is resolved, no progress made. Every election simply leads to the next election, with the only winners being the elected and the industry that now surrounds the process. The day after the election, the machine simply prepares for the next election.

People are fed political vitriol through the various media outlets in the attempt to whip them into frenzied support of the parties. A lot of people buy it, including some on this very forum. So the election is never an election; it is a referendum. In this case, it is said to be a referendum on a person who is not currently up for re-election. If you're trying to reform government, why would you simply use the election of one branch of government to prove a point to some guy in another branch of government? That's pretty stupid.

American politics has become simplified to being a matchup of Team R vs. Team D. The public is told that voting against your convictions is okay so long as it gets someone from one of the teams into office, as in the Delaware Republican primary. You might agree with candidate number 1, but that person cannot win the general election, so you should really vote for candidate number 2. Sure, you don't agree with that candidate's stance on the issues, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that the team can get another player on the field. That's moronic, and flies in the face of what western liberal democracy is supposed to be about.

The parties fear real reform, because real reform puts them out of office, money and power. As such, third parties are attacked and marginalized with vigor. You are beginning to see it happen with the Tea Party. Christine O'Donnell's win in Delaware illicited a very negative reaction from the Republican party. They have effectively cut her loose, refusing to give financial support to her campaign. Why? Because they fear a fracture in the party, which is only detrimental to their ends. And so, a potential third party movement must be squashed, even at the expense of having Team D keep a player on the field. We've seen it in the recent past with the Democratic party and the Green Party. Once the darlings of Team D, the Green Party became a little too powerful and organized, and were marginalized. The same fate awaits the Tea Party.

I think it foolish to invest so much time in the political. On the surface, it looks like a grand palace. Once you get close, however, one begins to see that the marble floor is actually sand, and the walls are made of paper. It is a sham but one that is happily fed to the people, many of whom lap it up like pigs at a trough.

Perfectly stated.

[Ducimus]

It will end the same way that it always does: That is, there will be no end.

Of all people, Jesse Ventura sumed up the American political scene the most truthfully in stating that politics is akin to professional wrestling. It is fake. All of it. No issue is resolved, no progress made. Every election simply leads to the next election, with the only winners being the elected and the industry that now surrounds the process. The day after the election, the machine simply prepares for the next election.

People are fed political vitriol through the various media outlets in the attempt to whip them into frenzied support of the parties. A lot of people buy it, including some on this very forum. So the election is never an election; it is a referendum. In this case, it is said to be a referendum on a person who is not currently up for re-election. If you're trying to reform government, why would you simply use the election of one branch of government to prove a point to some guy in another branch of government? That's pretty stupid.

American politics has become simplified to being a matchup of Team R vs. Team D. The public is told that voting against your convictions is okay so long as it gets someone from one of the teams into office, as in the Delaware Republican primary. You might agree with candidate number 1, but that person cannot win the general election, so you should really vote for candidate number 2. Sure, you don't agree with that candidate's stance on the issues, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that the team can get another player on the field. That's moronic, and flies in the face of what western liberal democracy is supposed to be about.

The parties fear real reform, because real reform puts them out of office, money and power. As such, third parties are attacked and marginalized with vigor. You are beginning to see it happen with the Tea Party. Christine O'Donnell's win in Delaware illicited a very negative reaction from the Republican party. They have effectively cut her loose, refusing to give financial support to her campaign. Why? Because they fear a fracture in the party, which is only detrimental to their ends. And so, a potential third party movement must be squashed, even at the expense of having Team D keep a player on the field. We've seen it in the recent past with the Democratic party and the Green Party. Once the darlings of Team D, the Green Party became a little too powerful and organized, and were marginalized. The same fate awaits the Tea Party.

I think it foolish to invest so much time in the political. On the surface, it looks like a grand palace. Once you get close, however, one begins to see that the marble floor is actually sand, and the walls are made of paper. It is a sham but one that is happily fed to the people, many of whom lap it up like pigs at a trough.

Sort of related, i've posted it before, but i really think it's true.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIraCchPDhk

I have no faith, none, at all, in either poltiical party, or the entire politics scene. It's all a bunch of crap bought, sold, and paid for. It really doesn't matter who gets into office, because they all do the same BS. The only ting that would ever redeem american poltiics is the disoluation of the democrat and republican party.. which will never happen. Team D, or Team R.... piss on em both.