Discussion for article #232874
Majority partys have the luxury of affording some defectors; it’s minority partys that whip the members in a circle.
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Being from a blue state tends to put a lid on some of the Rs crazier impulses. But tomorrow’s another day.
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It’s comforting to see that the Republican delegation is developing a reality-based wing. I realize that may be optimistic and premature.
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[quote] Their party has no replacement. [/quote] Same old story for the past three decades. Nothing new here. Unfortunately these three will not start a new trend - they will be primaried in 2016.
Their purpose here has nothing to do with healthcare - it’s all about screwing that ni**a in the White House.
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3 GOP reps are ok with ACA? that explains the mess of the flying pig droppings this morning at my place.
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Yup, at least one of 'em learned first-hand that he has to expect the presidential-year turnout to be different from the midterm turnout. (When will our side finally do something about that, btw?)
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So, basically these guys got elected in a historically low turnout election and they know damn well if they have any shot at all of getting reelected they’re going to have to pretend they’ve got some sense.
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Bruce from Maine can’t help himself with his talking points. He has no details on his job killing blither. But he is smart enough to know that he would get excoriated in the press for taking up a tea folk vote.
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When will our side finally do something about that, btw?)
I don’t think there is much that can be done. Midterms have been dismissed as unimportant by both parties for too many years, and it seems only the most rabid Rs come out to vote against Democrats. All the pleas and reasoned arguments that might be presented on the Net and elsewhere will fall on deaf years if people haven’t seen the light yet.
Can’t accept that. We’ve just got to find a way – a narrative, a prod of some kind – to get our voters out when there’s no presidential race, or we’ll never make more than the most incremental progress that’ll be ever easier to roll back as the Koch types get ever better at their own ground game (which they’re increasingly focusing on). The Feudal States of America is simply not an option. But boy, we really have to work on this…
In Australia voting is mandatory, and consequently there is about a 75% turnout. If somebody doesn’t vote they could be subject to a fine if the excuse they offer isn’t acceptable. This is not the kind of government intrusion that would be welcome here,and I can’t see our current crop of legislators enacting anything of this kind. But short of a financial hit I can’t imagine what it will take. By the way, I have never missed a vote since I became eligible which was in the JFK era.
Oh, I don’t doubt that you’re a reliable voter, as are most here I’d guess. And I’m well aware mandatory voting won’t fly here. But Dems have never cracked the art of the narrative as Republicans have. Give people facts and their eyes glaze over; tell them a compelling story, based on the very same facts, and they can be moved to act. Most Dems have always been too afraid of seeming cheesy, or have just felt too intellectually superior for that sort of thing. But on those rare occasions when one has gone that route, it’s tended to work. We simply have to start working that way. No other choice; we’ve backslid more than enough since the JFK era as it is.
Some of the problem may be the giving them a compelling a story part and hoping they can be moved to act. The Democratic figures who are presented to us on TV talk shows, where I suspect is where most people get their info, are verbally constipated (sorry for the analogy), and they’ve memorized sanitized and safe talking points and recite them almost by rote. There’s no fire, no passion, no inspiration. Howard Dean rises above that sometimes, Wasserman Schultz is unable to do that, and everyone else just open mouth and unreels from memory There’s also the diversion factor. With so many sources of information, and most of it a blend of info and 'tainment, people seem to have lost the ability to maintain any kind of attention span. Somewhere near election time they begin to tune in, and by then TV ads are overwhelming them. There’s so much that broken, and worse is that the wingnuts dominate talk radio and Faux is their faithful servant. We here don’t understand why those around us aren’t as concerned as we here, but I myself have come up against too many glazed- over eyes when I start advocating for one issue or other in conversations with friends and some family, and I know now not to go there unless I’m invited. On that cold day in hell.
But there is some reason to hope that the 2016 Senate races will break our way since there are 24 Rs running for election including in some in states O has won, and only 10 Ds running. The R field has yet to come together with any kind of cohesive message and the Latino community is listening very closely to their immigration proposals. That alone may keep the R vote low.
In 2016. Then there’ll be 2018…gotta crack this nut.