This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was first published at The Conversation.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1419780
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1419780
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Ryan Zinke should be in prison
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Primaries Are Getting More Crowded With Shitty Republican Candidates.
Headlines should at the least convey the gist of the article.
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Though is “shitty” really the appropriate adjective? Sure, it’s accurate, but it’s probably the least problematic characteristic of the candidates. “Batshit Insane Republican Candidates” is probably more specifically apt to the subject of the article. They may be shitty human beings, but it’s the complete disconnect from reality that makes them dangerous to society when they win.
ETA: Tom Price and Scott Pruitt were shitty Republicans, but they weren’t insane ones like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Madison Cawthorn (who are also shitty).
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Primaries Are Getting More Crowded With Batshit Insane Republican Candidates.
Sometimes a headline writer has to fit it within what space the font allows! 
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Not in these parts. Here in New Mexico, it’s the Dems who field half a dozen candidates or so. There were something like 7 or 8 candidates for Bernalillo County Sheriff – on the Dem side. Another 5-6 on the Republican side. One of the Democrats (or maybe “Democrats”) stated that he was currently The Sheriff of The Republic of Texas. Another listed himself as an electrician. In the Governor’s race, there were 5 or 6 Repubs.
That’s just one example. Have we all forgotten the last few presidential races? What were there, twenty odd (and I do mean odd) candidates on the left? In 2016, when they didn’t have an incumbent, it was similar on the “R” side.
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Show me you are non-political while running for political office.
I’d honestly love to read the party’s platform.
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So crowded primaries mean more extreme candidates in the general, and one of the examples cited is the 2020 Democratic primary… which gave us probably the least extremist candidate on the stage?
To even begin to address the reasons why extremist candidates are doing better in GOP primaries, you’d need to do a much deeper dive than this superficial fluff crap. And no, Rep. Tlaib winning one of the two races she was entered in, while not winning the other, doesn’t actually mean a goddamned thing. Maybe the people who voted for one candidate for the partial voted for a different candidate for the full term. We don’t know, and can’t really dive into the level of analysis needed to determine it without a lot of access to voting information that we don’t and shouldn’t have.
Don’t half-ass this shit and then hide the half-assing behind words like ‘seemingly’. Dig deep, do the research, and then make confident statements that aren’t afraid to say ‘this is what is true.’
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Been awhile since I was in Bernalillo County ('04 or '05). The vibe I got from LEOs there wasn’t very positive-- with DUI traffic checkpoints and poor attitudes when conducting those stops. Hope it’s changed for the better-- but am aware of the history of turnover in the department back in those days.
The answer is in the article - instant runoff voting. Though since we can’t get people to vote anyway, making it harder might not be the best version.
In the CA primary for Padilla’s seat, there were something like 20 candidates. By the time you weeded out the gun humpers, forced birthers, lunatics, Republicans, people who have never held a job, people convinced they are on a mission from God, anti maskers, and crypto fans, you were left with basically Padilla.
I’m sorry, who was “odd”? Bernie Sanders? Joe Biden? Oh, wait: you mean that Williamson woman who got instructions to run for President from someone on the astral plane, or something? Okay, she was silly, and lots of people who aren’t into any form of spiritualism would find her “odd.” Who else? Not just someone who was running to puff their vanity, but truly off-kilter?
He shouldn’t have been let into the SEALs either. He’s a drama queen, and they break fast under interrogation…
Here in PA we were lucky, Perry ran unopposed in the primary.
This saved The Republicans in my District from thinking, reading or even listening to Fox to tell them how to vote.
Thank God we had a break from Republicans attempting thought.
2020 Democratic Primary Candidates
-Joe
-Bernie
-Tulsi
-Elizabeth
-Mike
-Amy
-Pete
-Tom
-Andrew
-Deval
-Michael
aka The Deep State
I suspect there’s a reason why this guy is only an assistant professor at a largely online diploma mill I’ve never heard of before (hey, at least it’s nonprofit!).
My question is, couldn’t TPM have found a (for lack of a better word) competent political scientist to write this piece? Jesus, get a grad student to tackle this subject: I’m sure the intellectual rigor would be much higher.
Well, TPM didn’t find him to write it, per se. The text under the byline notes that it was originally posted on The Conversation, so TPM is just reprinting it here. The argument should be whether or not TPM ought to be printing these sorts of “politics” articles from The Conversation, if their quality is questionable.
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What evidence is there that implies Rashida Tlaib is an “ideological extremist”?
Ranked-choice voting
Ranked-choice voting
Ranked-choice voting
Ranked-choice voting
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Ranked-choice voting
This is good news for John McCain!