Comments on: Why ‘permanent majorities’ are a myth, Reason #517B.

By: youthgrunt

youthgrunt — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:57:24 +0000

I will measure if the electorate IS really paying attention is if my state throws Sen. Bayh out of office. He is the textbook talk conservative at home and then vote for Cap and Tax and Health Care “Reform” when away from his constituents.

We have several candidates running who should be acceptable replacements. Let’s see if we are paying attention.

By: youthgrunt

youthgrunt — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:50:39 +0000

for Obama by saying that he would govern from the center. I can’t tell you how many times I heard that from people clearly talking themselves into voting for him. One admitted his error to me about 3 months into his Presidency. I think many others have come to realize their error.

By: aesthete

aesthete — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:23:23 +0000

Even so, FDR would probably have considered an agenda with “only” HCR, Cap ‘n Trade, Card Check, and others to be pussyfooting it. Considering that an avowed, open, and diehard USSR supporter (not “democratic socialism” proponent, as even our most leftist will squeamishly call themselves in favor of) was a heartbeat away from the Presidency when FDR was near death, I’d say that leftists have a ways to go before they can get back to their “glory days”, at least rhetorically speaking.

By: Richard Mullins

Richard Mullins — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:52:39 +0000

With the hardest of hard leftist running the house,senate and WH, it hard not to notice.

By: aesthete

aesthete — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:48:50 +0000

because of the fall of the USSR. Subsequently, Clinton and the "new Democrats" were smart enough to recognize that parroting Soviet Union apologist lines verbatim was going nowhere fast with Americans, and gained a healthy "respect" for free-market principles (not). If you look, the left was much worse, and much bolder, from 1930-72 than it has been since the Reagan Revolution. Fun thing to do to tweak a lefty: find quotes of his favorite lefty preaching to the choir about the manifold benefits of the USSR/Cuba/[insert random third-world hole here]. Trust me, they're out there. When they insist that the Soviets/Lenin/Trotsky weren't that bad, read them a copy of Gulag Archipelago, and ask them how the process (certified by Lenin and Trotsky) was better than Nazi camps. Then, ask them to find a quote from your favorite conservative pol in favor of anything close to that level of atrocity. (Another good, all-purpose books on the USSR, which should have put the final nail in Marxism's philosophical coffin, is "The Black Book of Communism".)

By: aesthete

aesthete — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:29:39 +0000

“Liberalism” or “progressivism” in the US is really just a bastardization of free-market principles to suit said progressives and their goals. In fact, even many of the leftists in Congress today would be considered to be broadly on the right in most countries. Many of our CongressCritters probably wouldn’t overly mind letting the Red flag fly, but their constituency won’t let them. The most that we get is a weak form of market socialism. With that in mind, a truly leftist candidate, in the global sense of the word, would probably get <30% of the vote, even in the most liberal of states (and the votes that they’d get would come from the fools with Che paraphernalia, more likely than not).

That beating would be fun to watch.

By: Neil Stevens

Neil Stevens — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:53:39 +0000

Realignments *are* the dramatic, lasting changes:

1800. 1860. 1898. 1932. 1994.

By: Third Street

Third Street — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:50:39 +0000

…it’s just that the Democrats happened to have two cycles in a row in which they got really, really lucky. Bush was just that unpopular, the Dems’ recruiting strategy was just that effective, the Republicans had gotten just that pathetic, and the storm was just that perfect. In ’06 the GOP failed to capture a single House seat, Senate seat, or governorship held by the other party, something I don’t think had ever befallen either of the major parties in history, even in their worst respective years. Meanwhile, when we look at these times in the history books, 2008 will look a lot like 1964. Big for the Democrats, but fleeting.

These were two extremely abnormal, fluke cycles. The Dem mini-streak is over, and as a result of that mini-streak there are a whoooole lot of Democrats sitting in seats they simply shouldn’t have, and soon won’t have. I think that fundamentally, the electorate is still where it was as a result of the 9/11 realignment, and for the first time since ’04 we’re about to have something much closer to what a “normal” election year should look like as a result of that realignment. And what that should look like is a map that’s a big sea of red, producing a Congress that’s either GOP-controlled or razor-thin between the parties.

By: earlgrey

earlgrey — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:07:02 +0000

If there is no difference between the two parties. That is why the repubs must return to conservatism and oppose the Obama agenda. No compromising of principles!

By: Richard Mullins

Richard Mullins — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:59:14 +0000

or better yet, the stick the finger in the wind electorate. Independent is so BS these days, those define themselves that way are BS. I’m more than happy of our voter registration here in Texas, the party neutral one. That cuts out some of those that want to align themselves with Independents. Independents always vacillate between Major parties in voting because they don’t want to stand for anything. Our electorate has become a bunch of cowards over the years. It’s time to stop that.

By: Section9

Section9 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:45:09 +0000

They believe Obama and the Democrats to be spending the nation into penury, and they do not trust the Democrats with power.

It’s that simple. Other than that, the problem with Indies is that they vote for who’s done what for them lately. They are about as useful as tits on a bull.

By: tatertot62

tatertot62 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:29:44 +0000

It is pretty amazing how politics change when Americans are wide awake and paying attention. This next year may be the most accurate elections in years. Americans may finally get what they are voting for, not some myth! Let’s hope!

By: Rich Tandler

Rich Tandler — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:26:55 +0000

Those also will come back to haunt so-called Blue Dogs in red states. It will be interesting to track the survival rate for House members from red and purple states who voted for both.

By: neum432

neum432 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:23:29 +0000

in every congressional race, senate race..only pure conservatives ran against pure liberal/progressives. I’m talking pure black and white differences, no shades of grey. I just wonder what would happen. I feel that the conservative viewpoint would have a permanent majority. Of course this scenerio is fantasy, but fun to ponder the possibility.