Today's US election

[Wrath of Dagon]

Republicans are expected to win big in the House, but Democrats are expected to hang on to the Senate. Should be the start of some exciting fights. Here's probably the first big one, increasing the debt limit: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44528.html

[Guard Dog]

Ahhhh divided goverment is back again. God bless political gridlock, because the government can't hurt us if it can't get anything done. Seriously, having all the power of the Federal Government in the hands of one party in NEVER a good thing, no matter what your politcal persuasion is.

 

As far as folks outside of the US are concerned, just move on, nothing to see here. The US will not change as far a foreign policy is concerned. Obama is still the President, for a little bit longer anyway.

[GreasyDogMeat]

I voted!

 

I did have to hold my nose and vote for McCain.

[Walsingham]

I don't think I'm ever going to understand how a system designed on the premise of a government which cannot do any work is a good thing.

[Enoch]

I don't think I'm ever going to understand how a system designed on the premise of a government which cannot do any work is a good thing.

Well, the system isn't designed that way, and work certainly still gets done, unless we reach the point of a federal shutdown.* But it essentially represents an operative transfer of power to the unelected bureaucracies-- they keep doing their jobs and interpreting the laws that are on the books as they see fit, while gridlock on the Hill prevents the Congress from changing their missions/authorities/interpretations/decisions/whatever to check that authority.

 

There are some more serious consequences, though. For example, the backlog of un-filled federal district court judge vacancies has gotten large enough to seriously impact how the judicial system is run. The prospects of any improvement there dim significantly with a more evenly-divided Senate.

 

 

* Which means that a present budget for day-to-day expenses of agencies hasn't been passed, so they all have to cease operation until Congress gets them an appropriation. I know a government shutdown was postulated in the article WoD linked, but I still don't think that the GOP is dumb enough to try that again. It backfired on Newt & Co. pretty badly back in the '90s.

Edited November 2, 2010 by Enoch

[Wrath of Dagon]

Never underestimate the dumbness of politicians, especially the ones elected by mad as hell voters. Having said that, I still think a shut-down is unlikely, for the reasons you stated. But refusing to increase the debt ceiling wouldn't cause a complete shut down, it would just suddenly force the government to operate with a lot less money, which probably does mean some kind of partial shut down.

Edited November 2, 2010 by Wrath of Dagon

[Monte Carlo]

Not that I want to lower the tone in a serious political debate or anything, but am I alone in finding Sarah Palin strangely hot?

[Wrath of Dagon]

You and the entire male tea party membership.

[Volourn]

"You and the entire male tea party membership."

 

Liberal democrats find her hot too if all the porn with Palin lookalikes and other Palin oreinted sexual innuendo is to go by.

 

For myself, she's modestly okay looking for an aging old fart who is a grandma.

 

As for the politics, overly dramatic for nothing.

[Gfted1]

I don't think I'm ever going to understand how a system designed on the premise of a government which cannot do any work is a good thing.

 

My god man, havent you seen what happened when one party runs the show? We wind up with TRILLION dollar money pits that only benefit 10% of the population.

[Morgoth]

Doesn't matter who wins. The Wall Street and Fed are in charge of Americas course.

[Guard Dog]

I don't think I'm ever going to understand how a system designed on the premise of a government which cannot do any work is a good thing.

Thats easy to understand when you consider this: THIS governments work is to inflict injury on 70% of the people in the country with the idea that it might somehow benefit the other 30%. So far it has not. When you find yourself in the group being injured a government that does no work at all will be a refreshing change.

[Wrath of Dagon]

There's a saying in Texas that no one's life or property is safe while the legislature is in session. Thus the legislature is only allowed to meet every two years.

[Oblarg]

There's a Tea Party candidate with a chance of winning here in Colorado. I would go out and vote against him, but I'm still a Maryland resident.

[Enoch]

Never underestimate the dumbness of politicians, especially the ones elected by mad as hell voters. Having said that, I still think a shut-down is unlikely, for the reasons you stated. But refusing to increase the debt ceiling wouldn't cause a complete shut down, it would just suddenly force the government to operate with a lot less money, which probably does mean some kind of partial shut down.

Hitting the debt ceiling would limit Treasury to payments that are no more than present incoming revenues (which vary wildly based on the time of the year). Just about all of the visible day-to-day activities of the government would stop.

 

The debt ceiling issue is something that a lot of congressmen will rail about in TV interviews and floor speeches, then quietly allow to pass after it's attached to some guaranteed-to-move piece of legislation. (Like, say, the DOD appropriation.) Some iconoclasts who value ideological purity over actual governance will get to vote against it, but that'll be meaningless symbolism.

 

 

IMO, the voters as a whole aren't really all that mad as hell. (The opinion leaders on either side of the ideological divide are madder than they've ever been, but the polity in general doesn't really follow them.) The results swung strongly towards the Democrats in the last 2 election cycles because the Bush admin's various screwups pushed moderates a little leftwards and because of increased turnout among usually-apathetic groups who the Obama campaign effectively reached. The GOP's likely gains this time are mostly the turnout effect disappearing and the crappy economy pushing moderates in an anti-incumbent direction. By and large, the people who are extraordinarily pissed off at the present Democratic rule are the people who would never have considered voting for them in the first place.

[Monte Carlo]

I just saw somebody on the TV called Nancy Pelosi. She's obviously one of those creepy liberals who talks to the public like they are completely stupid. Yuck.

 

We have a few politicians here from the same stock but happily we voted most of them out of government earlier this year.

 

In other news, Sarah Palin is strangely hot.

[Hurlshort]

I voted all over the map today. I went with the democrats Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom for Governor and Lt. I was originally going with Meg Whitman, but in the last few weeks her comments have been very distasteful. It was tough to go with a guy who didn't accomplish much in his first term, but Whitman sounds like she will do more harm than good with her ideas on education.

 

For the rest of the positions I went with a mix of Republicans and Green Party candidates. Basically I looked for the small business owners in the bunch and chose them.

 

Gavin Newsom was the easiest choice of the bunch, he's dreamy.

 

I voted yes on almost every prop. Seemed like some good ones this year. I even voted yes on the one that suspends the stricter environmental regulations, so don't read too much into my Green party choices.

[Walsingham]

Out of interest, Hurlshot, what are her educational no nos?

[Humodour]

Republicans are expected to win big in the House, but Democrats are expected to hang on to the Senate. Should be the start of some exciting fights. Here's probably the first big one, increasing the debt limit: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44528.html

 

Proposition 19 is the most interesting election this cycle. It's also got probably the most wide-spread, long-term impact of all the elections currently taking place in America.

Edited November 3, 2010 by Krezack

[Humodour]

I even voted yes on the one that suspends the stricter environmental regulations

 

Why?

[Hurlshort]

I even voted yes on the one that suspends the stricter environmental regulations

 

Why?

 

Because if it is implemented today it will put a bunch of small businesses out of work. We run a small trucking company in our family, and in order to bring our fleet of 4 trucks into line with the regulations, it would cost about $100,000. Given that we are already barely treading water in the slowed economy, we would have to close up shop immediately.

 

The prop suspends it until the unemployment rate drops to 5.5%. Seems like a smart call to hold off on anything that will cause more jobs to be lost at this point.

[Hurlshort]

Out of interest, Hurlshot, what are her educational no nos?

 

She blames the teachers for the problems in education, and thinks merit pay and charter schools are the answer.

 

Merit pay doesn't improve student performance. It is a stupid idea that people who don't really understand what goes on in a classroom come up with. Charter schools only work in a limited capacity. They are successful because the kids that get in to charter schools have parents who want them to be there. When you get a bunch of kids in a school with parents who don't care, you get a bad school, charter or no, merit pay or no, good teacher or bad.

[Wrath of Dagon]

The debt ceiling issue is something that a lot of congressmen will rail about in TV interviews and floor speeches, then quietly allow to pass after it's attached to some guaranteed-to-move piece of legislation. (Like, say, the DOD appropriation.) Some iconoclasts who value ideological purity over actual governance will get to vote against it, but that'll be meaningless symbolism.

Don't think that's how it's going to work this time, Republicans have to make a stand or they'll lose all credibility.

 

If the revenue varies wildly, there should be some money in current accounts, the debt ceiling is about long term debt, not short term fluctuations.

 

I voted all over the map today. I went with the democrats Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom for Governor and Lt.

Governor Moonbeam is back! Edited November 3, 2010 by Wrath of Dagon

[Tigranes]

So for GD, Enoch and the like, as the Reps look set to get the House majority, what does this mean for the Tea Party movement? Is it really a vindication & victory for them and their 'soccer mom leaders' like the media is suggesting, or, (as I suspect, given the way the media is raving) is it more complex than that? Can we demarcate between "traditional" Republican votes/gains and radical Tea Party ones, or is the Tea Party as a new / independent movement overstated?

 

To be honest, being a dumbarse about politics as a field, it's really difficult to make heads or tails of which policies are right and what party stands for what. Just seems like increasingly, even if you're fairly educated, trying to work out exactly where each candidate stands and, more importantly, how likely they will be able to carry through their promises, is just too much to bother with if you're not keyed in. And of course that's where my greatest concern with US elections post-Bush comes in - the absolutely massive role a select few individuals & bodies play in agenda setting & opinion leading.

[Monte Carlo]

Those of us who predicted that an Obama Presidency would make Jimmy Carter look like FDR were broadly correct, not that I'm gloating or anything.