Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Maybe Ds could try winning something on a State level in Ohio. OR maybe when Husted offered a real solution to partisan districts, maybe your boys in the Black caucus should have agreed -- but that would have meant putting their all AA seats in serious risk.

In any event, the Rs will continue to dominate most of America. They'll lose in November, and likely lose the Senate. And then, after two more years of the Ds in the WH, they'll make big gains and increase their stranglehold. And that works great for me!

Cripes, when did you become a full-blown establishment Republican? Dems seem to do alright in statewide races when they're going up against your boss (Sherrod Brown...LMAO...that mental midget).

Anyways redistricting shouldn't be a partisan issue. Both parties abuse gerrymandering, sure. If Husted had a solid plan to turn redistricting over to an impartial panel and Marcia Fudge or whomever foiled him, then shame on her. I'd still rather see districts abolished completely and just have parties represented proportionally like a parliamentary system. It would eliminate the hyper-partisans of both sides and encourage the growth of new parties. But for that reason alone it'll never happen.

It might also be beneficial to stop holding House elections every two years and stagger it by state like the Senate. How much of a Representative's time is spent perpetually campaigning?

[Dr. Strangelove]

What I don't understand is why is the so-called librul media sucking up to Trump. Trump trolls and the media instantly provides a million dollars worth of television ad time for free. Its like all of tv is suddenly Fox News.

If you believe enough right-wing conspiracists, Trump is a liberal plant.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Of course, without the hyper-partisans, things in DC eventually look like this



Fucking Giuliani-Trump-Bloomberg-Clinton-Torre-Billy Crystal circlejerks

[lineygoblue]

If you believe enough right-wing conspiracists, Trump is a liberal plant.

I don't believe he's a liberal plant, but I have no doubt that he's not a real conservative. He's saying what his crowds want to hear.

[iam416]

I dunno, DSL, he's 2-1. I guess that's bad for Rs in Ohio. If he beats Husted for the nomination, then he'll be 3-1 and Governor.

You should pay more attention to state politics. I wish the Ds did. Instead their statewide organization is shit. They GOTV in presidential years and do fuckall every other election. Hold them accountable. If you actually believe in accountability.

In any event, with the Burn vanquished I'll still be voting D in the presidential election. Unless some miracle happen with the Rs.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Dems only seem to turn out the vote on issues. Casinos? Sounds great! You want to destroy public sector unions? Booooo. So the state isn't completely dominated by conservative thought, even if it looks like it from a headcount at the Capitol

It's certainly sobering though that Strickland could lose in between two votes for Obama.

[iam416]

The constitutional issues are infuriating. I vote against them as a matter of principle. Try reading the Ohio constitution once. I'd rather read the tax code.

Anyway, the Rs get state politics. They turn out votes consistently. Then the state legislatures set districts. The Ds need to improve their off year ground game.

[Wild Hoss]

Do they have the money for it? They're often leaving municipal races uncontested here because they simply cannot afford a campaign. They have to pick the battles they think they can win.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[Hannibal]

LMAO Travis County, Texas just elected this guy as GOP Chariman. Here is his Twitter feed...

[iam416]

Do they have the money for it? They're often leaving municipal races uncontested here because they simply cannot afford a campaign. They have to pick the battles they think they can win.

I don't think they're at a meaningful disadvantage in terms of cash.

In Ohio, 2 of the 3 large urban centers aren't surefire D locks. They can run it up in NE Ohio. Columbus is probably roughly 55/45 for the Ds and Cincinnati is a split - maybe even a touch R.

I think the real problem for Ds in Ohio is that their voters are far less reliable. They'll turn out in droves when entire DNC is throwing its full efforts to GOTV. But, then, in off years they disappear.

So now you have a true purple state that's dominated at the state level by Rs and then the Rs are able to parlay that advantage into a significant advantage in the House. And, yes, the Rs are very much partnered up with Black Ds. The latter want heavily AA districts so they can guarantee themselves a Rep, and the Rs are more than happy to create a 90/10D district for 3 60/40R districts. The current Secretary of State wanted to significantly alter this process, but the coalition I mentioned held and he got nowhere.

The Supreme Court did hold that "independent commissions" can do the redistricting -- and that case came from a ballot initiative in Arizona. So, maybe that will address gerrymandering a bit. I dunno.

I was never much a state/local guy, but it's fascinating. I don't think people realize just how much more important local/state govt is in their life than the Federal govt. Ohio may be a purple/blue state every 4 years, but by and large it's a really red state day-to-day. I think I'd rather control 30-40 states than the Executive. That said, the shameless growth of the "Administrative Branch" makes that a close call.

[Wild Hoss]

I was never much a state/local guy, but it's fascinating. I don't think people realize just how much more important local/state govt is in their life than the Federal govt.

So much this...Ent can attest that I have been beating this horse for years. Everybody focuses on the Patriot Act or the ACA, or Hillary's emails, or whatever, but meanwhile state governments in many states are becoming radicalized one-party fiefdoms and running all kinds of nutty laws and provisions through, crashing budgets with crazy economics, and all kinds of general foolishness which actually impact your life on a day-to-day basis.

But...you cannot vote for a party that doesn't have a rep on the ballot either. Or expect INDs to vote for one they never heard of because he/she only has money to plant lawn signs, and run radio ads for a week.

But that said, I do agree that Dems need to start targeting "Working" whites, as you've said in re Ohio. It applies here as well. If they get off the gun infatuation and wave the flag more, it'd help.

[Hannibal]

I don't see a ton of difference between how the Ds and Rs govern at the smaller levels. It's more about balancing budgets and successful administration. With that said, there are some exceptions.

[Wild Hoss]

I don't see a ton of difference between how the Ds and Rs govern at the smaller levels. It's more about balancing budgets and successful administration. With that said, there are some exceptions.

Kansas is one of them.

[Ghengis Jon]

So is Louisiana.

This is hilarious. There'd be riots if it was announced LSU couldn't play ball.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/2/12/10978892/lsu-football-budget-louisiana-governor-john-bel-edwards

[Wild Hoss]

On a lighter note, the GIRLPOWER reboot of Ghostbusters has a trailer out.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ugHP-yZXw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ugHP-yZXw[/ame]


Thus far the official version on youtube as 94K Likes...and 166K Dislikes.