2014 Midterm Election Catch-All

NormanTheIntern wrote:

It's true - he thanked God after winning and he's a Republican which must mean he sees socioeconomic processes as the literal hand of God instead of a complex system of causes and effects.

Alternately you can read the actual dissertation he wrote and draw some informed conclusions.

It's true--I doubt the intellectual credibility of any scholar who professes religious devotion, especially if they're part of an evangefundasmatic set--but I don't, as I facetiously and, yes, jokingly suggested above, believe that he's just another credulous boob.

After I followed some of these links, it's apparent he's something far, far worse.

Brat's past is being combed through and picked apart, so we'll leave that there for now. Given that, er, dissertation-or-thesis, I'm most interested in his thoughts on the rabid anti-science stance of many of his colleagues.

Nothing much to add, except Slate and possibly others have taken to calling the VA results the "Cantordammerung," which is great.

I get the "Cantor" part but from where does the rest of the portmanteau derive?

I've heard cantor lost because Virginia has an open primary and a not-insignificant fraction of primary voters were democrat saboteurs. I've viewed Virginia as a purple state for the last few years; is this view unfounded?

Over on MeFi, someone had looked into that, and the core of Brat's win came from a large number of votes from a super-conservative voting district, some city or other. The thinking was that there probably aren't enough Democrats there to matter.

This was a very low-turnout primary, so the committed, motivated Tea Party was able to have an impact far in excess of their actual electoral pull.

Some other analysis suggested that this was more about hate radio than Democrats, that it was the constant savaging of Cantor by some lady or other I haven't heard of before that had the biggest impact. And yet someone else pointed out that hate radio does not have the same goals that politicians do: they prosper when the Democrats are in power, because that lets them go on at great length about how horrible everything is. They get rewarded when their supposed enemies win elections, so pushing bad candidates in the Republican primaries, and then wailing and gnashing their teeth about the liberal conspiracy after the main election, is very much in their interest.

RolandofGilead wrote:

I get the "Cantor" part but from where does the rest of the portmanteau derive?

Gotterdammerung - the twilight of the gods. In short, the Norse version of Armageddon

Luckily, someone decided to ask Rick Santorum about the mid-term and 2016 elections.

Q: Shock waves this week with the defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Virginia primary. Why did he lose?

A: Clearly the issue of immigration was probably the biggest hot-button issue. That flash point probably hurt Eric Cantor quite a bit, as he was an advocate for doing something major along President Obama's line on the issue of immigration. I think Republicans are still very reticent to not focus on the problem, which is the border, and deal with the other issues later on.

...

Q: What does all this tell us about the direction of the party?

A: Look at who the Republican Party is. The Republican Party is skewing away from these Big Business, corporate types of interest, which a lot of the establishment Republicans seem to be wrapped around the axle about. We need to start looking for issues that really connect with average voters instead of trying to defend policies that tend to benefit corporate America.

...

Q: Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is often mentioned as a 2016 contender. But he supports immigration reform; he supports Common Core. Is he out of step with the Republican Party?

A: Look, they'll be a lot of Republicans who support as I call it the establishment agenda. Folks who, unfortunately, in my opinion tend to have great influence over the Republican Party because they tend to be the funders; they tend to live in big cities. So they're the donors; they're the political class here in Washington and New York. They get on TV all the time and tell everybody how we're going to win elections — as we've lost election after election listening to them. I think a lot of Republicans across this country are saying, you know what? We've tried your way now, two elections in a row.

When we've gone out and run on the basic platform and the basic issues we know will work for America, we actually do pretty well in our elections. And if we have good candidates who can articulate that message in a compelling way, we can actually do very well. We haven't tried that in a few elections.

Q: Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who like you ran in 2012, on Wednesday likened homosexuality to alcoholism, and he said people have "the ability to decide not to do that." Do you agree?

A: I think anybody's behavior is a choice. Behavior is a choice.

...

Q: Another potential competitor in 2016, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, is back on the Tonight show for the first time since the George Washington Bridge scandal. Could he win the presidential nomination of this Republican Party?

A: His most recent embrace of the EPA regulations is another example of how Chris is not in sync with average, working Americans. That's devastating for blue-collar Americans. It's devastating if you're in manufacturing. It's devastating if you're a coal miner. It's devastating if you're a trucker. These are not good decisions on his part.

I'm seeing too many of those issues where he doesn't line up with average Americans who are the base of the Republican Party right now. ... I think he'd have a hard time, given the decisions he's made on some of these issues.

Q: On the other side, do you assume Hillary Clinton will run for president?

A: I think she would be atypical of what the Democrats would nominate. They generally don't nominate old and tried-and-true. They tend to nominate young and bling, and only when the young and bling don't work out do they fall back to the tried-and-true. They like new. They like fresh. They like young. That's who the Democratic Party has been nominating since they really became the liberal party in America.

This would not be your typical Democrat choice.

We Democrats do love us some bling.

Little known fact, Carter rolls with rims and a grill that reads "J FRE$H".

His use of slang is just part of his strategy to appeal to younger voters. You know, like, 50.

So, Cantor does absolutely nothing to forward a legislative agenda, proves incapable of policing his own party for a debt ceiling solution, and spends all his time campaigning and fund raising for higher office.

And he wonders why folks don't like him.

I think the elephant in the room is the fact that, irrespective of the nominee, you are going to get different flavors of obstruction, but obstruction is the only thing you will get. I guess the voters figured if that is the case, why not pick the nuttiest nutbar in the nutpatch?

I wonder what ridiculously high paying lobbying job he will get.

Well, one good point about his replacement: Brat has come out strongly anti-mass surveillance.

Heh, one of the better lines I've seen (buried in the middle of a long post):

Punkey on Metafilter[/url]]Many monocles popped out in surprise and fury tonight.

http://www.salon.com/2014/06/15/off_...

So the cycle goes on, uprising after uprising, an eternal populist revolt against leaders who never produce and problems that never get solved. Somehow, the free-market utopia that all the primary voters believe in never arrives, no matter how many privatizations and tax cuts the Republicans try. And so they seek out someone even purer, someone even more fanatical. They drag the country into another debt-ceiling fight, and this time, they say, they really mean it! But what never occurs to them is that maybe it’s their ideals themselves that are the problem.

Just read something similar on AP

http://www.apnews.com/ap/db_45577/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=M4pfPtml&detailindex=3

GOP officials and strategists say it's hard to persuade party leaders to adjust the political recipe when they feel increasingly upbeat about adding Senate control to their solid House majority this fall. This optimism, numerous GOP strategists say, makes looking past the party's loss of the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections easy.

When you can't accept that your policies are refuted by the data, all you have left is to insist they were just not sufficiently engaged, and the next set of policies needs to be tougher to succeed. Being wrong and changing is far more embarrassing than not admitting you're wrong at all and blaming a lack of commitment on the part of those who are, well, not you, for failing the cause.

It used to be that the Republicans accepted change; they just wanted it to happen slowly. Now, they want *radical* change, or they will just sit on their hands in governing. Conservatism in it's new mainstream has become radical. Tear the system down, or sit back and let it fail. No wonder the longer serving politicians are running scared...

Kehama wrote:

Luckily, someone decided to ask Rick Santorum about the mid-term and 2016 elections.

Q: What does all this tell us about the direction of the party?

A: Look at who the Republican Party is. The Republican Party is skewing away from these Big Business, corporate types of interest, which a lot of the establishment Republicans seem to be wrapped around the axle about. We need to start looking for issues that really connect with average voters instead of trying to defend policies that tend to benefit corporate America.

...

Q: Another potential competitor in 2016, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, is back on the Tonight show for the first time since the George Washington Bridge scandal. Could he win the presidential nomination of this Republican Party?

A: His most recent embrace of the EPA regulations is another example of how Chris is not in sync with average, working Americans. That's devastating for blue-collar Americans. It's devastating if you're in manufacturing. It's devastating if you're a coal miner. It's devastating if you're a trucker. These are not good decisions on his part.

I'm seeing too many of those issues where he doesn't line up with average Americans who are the base of the Republican Party right now. ... I think he'd have a hard time, given the decisions he's made on some of these issues.

I was wondering if he'd had some epiphany or something. Alas, I was wrong.

RolandofGilead wrote:
Kehama wrote:

Luckily, someone decided to ask Rick Santorum about the mid-term and 2016 elections.

Q: What does all this tell us about the direction of the party?

A: Look at who the Republican Party is. The Republican Party is skewing away from these Big Business, corporate types of interest, which a lot of the establishment Republicans seem to be wrapped around the axle about. We need to start looking for issues that really connect with average voters instead of trying to defend policies that tend to benefit corporate America.

...

Q: Another potential competitor in 2016, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, is back on the Tonight show for the first time since the George Washington Bridge scandal. Could he win the presidential nomination of this Republican Party?

A: His most recent embrace of the EPA regulations is another example of how Chris is not in sync with average, working Americans. That's devastating for blue-collar Americans. It's devastating if you're in manufacturing. It's devastating if you're a coal miner. It's devastating if you're a trucker. These are not good decisions on his part.

I'm seeing too many of those issues where he doesn't line up with average Americans who are the base of the Republican Party right now. ... I think he'd have a hard time, given the decisions he's made on some of these issues.

I was wondering if he'd had some epiphany or something. Alas, I was wrong.

Don't get me wrong, I could never vote for this dumbass... but I was kiiiiind of hopeful for a second there at the start.

Then he showed a staggering level of hypocrisy pretty quick and turned it right back around. I'm wondering how far apart those two responses were.

Also... how the hell do the EPA regulations hurt truckers? Coal miners I kind of get, even if Natural Gas did more damage than any regulations short of "NO COAL EVER" would. Truckers is where you lose me. (Manufacturing affected by regulations that you can't just dump your waste products anywhere? IF that's what he was going for, I nominate Santorum's home as the new dump... I mean, if he's ok with it anywhere, SURELY he's ok with in his home... just like Sarah Palin LOVES the smell of carbon emissions. :lol:)

Paleocon wrote:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/13/opinio...

Thanks, Obama.

Quite liked that article, would be interested to read more about how they actually select sample groups etc. if anyone knows of good articles.

Wish I'd stopped before getting to the comment section though...

IMAGE(http://37.media.tumblr.com/73904049381605cc251123adebf5ea3f/tumblr_n72dmoVhA81rr5t33o1_500.jpg)

Ok, two questions here...

-How are small government and strong national defense not mutually exclusive? I feel like if you're going to be just unlimited credit carding the military... you kind of need a powerful government as a counterbalance to that.

-Do... do tea party folks legitimately believe there is no difference between Republican legislators and Democrats? How is that possible? West Chester, OH is full of impeach/primary Boehner signs again this year (is he even up for reelection? I feel like he's not)... what has John Boehner that wasn't basically him reading from the tea party playbook for the last 5 years?

Also, the tea party sign is missing notes on being racist and self-obsessed as hell.

On the subject of unlimited credit cards for military contractors....

http://digg.com/video/the-designer-o...

Paleocon wrote:

On the subject of unlimited credit cards for military contractors....

http://digg.com/video/the-designer-o...

What's $84 billion in cost overruns between besties?

OG_slinger wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

On the subject of unlimited credit cards for military contractors....

http://digg.com/video/the-designer-o...

What's $84 billion in cost overruns between besties?

Last night I heard a long story about Overtime System At Customs And Border Protection Investigated It was wasting $40 million a year.

I need to start working for a military contractor. I could probably find the money to pay off all my medical bills stuck in the seat cushions in their break rooms.

Kehama wrote:

I need to start working for a military contractor. I could probably find the money to pay off all my medical bills stuck in the seat cushions in their break rooms.

That or just empty the toilet paper dispenser in the men's room.

I am sure they are just breaking even.

Paleocon wrote:

I am sure they are just breaking even.

With the GDP of non-industrialized nations?

In Mississippi Thad Cochran beat his Tea Party challenger in a runoff election by appealing to Democrats. And apparently this was the first time in about 80 years that someone who finished second in a primary came back to win the runoff.

Cochran’s victory puts an exclamation point on the GOP establishment victories over the Tea Party so far this cycle (think Thom Tillis in North Carolina, Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, Jack Kingston/David Perdue in Georgia, Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, and now Thad Cochran in Mississippi). In fact, the Tea Party’s one big win this cycle -- defeating Eric Cantor -- came without any of the national Tea Party groups supporting Cantor challenger Dave Brat.
...
Even though Cochran beat McDaniel by more 6,000 votes, McDaniel didn’t concede in his remarks last night. And he appeared to complain that African Americans voting for Cochran lost him the race. “There is something a bit strange, there is something a bit unusual about a Republican primary that's decided by liberal Democrats,” he said. “So much for bold colors- so much for principle.” But let’s get something straight: There was nothing illegal about a Republican campaign getting Democrats or African Americans to vote in primaries/runoffs when that state doesn’t have party registration. And what is strange hearing a candidate who wanted to represent a state with nearly 40% of residents being African American that he didn’t want their vote in the primary/runoff.
...
By the way, don’t miss what conservative writer Erick Erickson wrote about Cochran’s victory and McDaniel’s defeat: “I continue to oppose a third party. I’m just not sure what the Republican Party really stands for any more other than telling Obama no and telling our own corporate interests yes. That’s not much of a platform.”
Tenebrous wrote:
Kehama wrote:

I need to start working for a military contractor. I could probably find the money to pay off all my medical bills stuck in the seat cushions in their break rooms.

I work for a defence contractor and nope, we have had a pay freeze for the past three years. Meanwhile I have brought in revenue well exceeding my salary, but I can't get a 3% raise. Go figure.

Paleocon wrote:

I am sure they are just breaking even.

You would be suprised. You can loose money on a Cost Plus contract, not to mention the firm fixed price ones. I could really go on with this but it would really derail this thread.

I don't doubt it.

That said, if the entire industry is that bloated and inefficient, that just raises even more troubling questions.

Kehama wrote:

I need to start working for a military contractor. I could probably find the money to pay off all my medical bills stuck in the seat cushions in their break rooms.

I work for a defence contractor and nope, we have had a pay freeze for the past three years. Meanwhile I have brought in revenue well exceeding my salary, but I can't get a 3% raise. Go figure.

Paleocon wrote:

I am sure they are just breaking even.

You would be suprised. You can loose money on a Cost Plus contract, not to mention the firm fixed price ones. I could really go on with this but it would really derail this thread.

Paleocon wrote:

On the subject of unlimited credit cards for military contractors....

http://digg.com/video/the-designer-o...

So instead of having one figther that does many roles he is advocating many different fighters each with one, perhaps two roles. The defence industry benefits more from the second scenario than the first. That second scenario is also will cost the government more in parts, training, space, etc.

The problem with the F-35, IMHO, stems more from how they set up their supply chain, requiring Lockheed to source from every partner country amoung other problems.

On the overruns question, what will happen is that once the contract is closed out the DoD will audit the books and pull out every bit of cost that has a wiff of something wrong with it, making Lockheed refund the money. If the overruns were unjustified, the government will get the money back.