Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Da Geezer]

And in 2020 I will be unable to vote for anyone for President. Fantastic.

Welcome to the club.

[iam416]

To put a final point on it, DSL, DJT could have lost Michigan AND Wisconsin AND STILL WON. And still lost by over 3 million votes. You can read from that what you will in terms of the relative value of the Silent Plurality vs. Coastal Voter.

Now, in other elections it's reversed. In Illinois and NY, e.g., the Silent Plurality is truly shut up. So it's obviously context dependent. But, over the past 8 years over the whole of the country, the Ds have fared poorly.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Our governmental system places a heavy emphasis on geographical location and the Dems voters are concentrated in too few locations. This doesn't change the fact that they are, as of 2016 at any rate, the MAJORITY.

The way our system is designed, obviously, being the majority is worthless unless you are dispersed in a strategic manner.

The system rewards geography rather than popularity. And Republicans were wise to seize control over geography decades ago.

[Dr. Strangelove]

And now I shall do you a favor because I am quite tipsy.

I don't know if you appreciate porters/stouts, but No Rules by the Perrin Brewery is quite exceptional and is available for purchase at the Kenny Road Market just off of Bethel Road. Just ask for it behind the counter. You will appreciate the Lebowski reference.

[iam416]

Our governmental system places a heavy emphasis on geographical location and the Dems voters are concentrated in too few locations. This doesn't change the fact that they are, as of 2016 at any rate, the MAJORITY.

I don't disagree, even if it's the rantings of a quite tipsy man. I don't disagree, even if it's the rantings of a quite tipsy man. But that is the current REALITY, and if the Ds want to make their MAJORITY count, then, IMO, they probably need to re-think their message a bit. Because they definitely the MINORITY when it comes to elected officials.

I should also clarify -- for my own sake -- that when I say "progressivism" won't work in Ohio, I'm talking more the social justice element of progressivism. There's also very much an economic element that Bernie ran on -- does an Economic Progressive sound better than Socialist? In any event, that message has currency in Ohio. As I have said before, Bernie's fundamental message was economic. I got the distinct sense he was disinterested in the social justice stuff and perhaps even though it distracted from his message. Poor white folks and poor black folks have a lot in common and I think Bernie wanted to keep his message on the commonalities rather than introduce differences. I really respected Bernie for that.

When I talk about the Ds and their strategic choices, this is a big one (IMO).

More importantly, what the fuck are you doing at Kenny and Bethel??? Getting your crossfit on? Heh. That little area has some really great places. I'm a huge fan of Bethel Center and their roughly 12 different ethnic restaurants, Indian Market, Asian Market and, of course, Turkish market. Or, as you surely know it, the place on Bethel where the BW3 is. Down the road at Kenny/Henderson, Tensuke market is pretty good, too.

All this fucking immigrant Japanese folks working for Honda -- goddamn boon for the shopping plaza restaurant scene!

[AlabamAlum]

Wiz-Entropy 2020

Make America Gay Again

[Wild Hoss]

#MAGAY

[AlabamAlum]

lol

[entropy]

well, that's two votes

[Wild Hoss]

well, that's two votes

You're as popular as Ben Carson!

[iam416]

It takes a brave, deprave being to bottom for The Wizard.

[hack]

To put a final point on it, DSL, DJT could have lost Michigan AND Wisconsin AND STILL WON. And still lost by over 3 million votes. You can read from that what you will in terms of the relative value of the Silent Plurality vs. Coastal Voter.

Now, in other elections it's reversed. In Illinois and NY, e.g., the Silent Plurality is truly shut up. So it's obviously context dependent. But, over the past 8 years over the whole of the country, the Ds have fared poorly.

I think it's very true that the system is designed to make the votes of some people more weighty, but the terminology is a problem. It's a curious choice to use the word "silent" to describe the loudest faction in the country, and the one that sets the debate, but that ultimately is a value judgement and people have different values. But the term plurality can at least be used accurately. It applies to Clinton voters - they are the largest faction but not the majority. That's what a plurality is.

[iam416]

I don't care about the term. Call it whatever the F you want. I used it because of its historic context -- Nixon, duh. Whether they are silent or a majority or a plurality matters not to me as I was using it to reference a specific set of voters. Not only that, but it's clear that we all know what was meant so there really isn't any ambiguity in my usage. But, sure, call them Vocal Minority for all I care.

How you describe them doesn't change my point one lick. The Ds have now managed to lose at every level of election. The can blame the way we elect government officials at every level if they wish, but NEWSFLASH -- that ain't changing. The Ds either need to figure out how to win more elections or accept being a party that loses a majority of state and federal races. Surely that point is so not contentious that we can spend time on the stultifying, esoteric discussion as to how to properly name a group.

[hack]

No, it doesn't change your point at all. It's an excellent point. Not at all contentious.

I do think it's important though. The reason why is a little bit soft and indirect, but, your historical relevance is also appreciated and relevant. I wasn't there in the 60s. Maybe Nixon's voters really felt like the silent majority then, as there's no doubt the left wing was pretty damn loud at that time. It's obviously not the case now, and it hasn't been for a very long time. For roughly a generation politics has catered to this group. Now many people in it are reasonably smart people who make very stupid decisions. To me it is no coincidence that they have been told by politicians for a generation now that they can have their cake and eat it too. These are damaging fictions. All suffer from them, and not just one group. So whilst I appreciate all your points, and you make the sub-national-level one extremely well, IMO its worth a minute to consider terminology.

[iam416]

Fair enough.