Upcoming Elections

[Jaskalas]

I support changing the majority in the Senate, just to watch Democrats rediscover the filibuster. Our government is dysfunctional either way, but at least they'd be casting votes.

Under Reid, too many items don't even get a vote.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Or was it split up to have two congressional districts (25th & 35th) which would represent approximately 700,000 residents?

No, it was split up to dilute the Austin liberal vote into more districts.

 

[doubledeluxe]

The problem is people like zorkorist. Mindless hacks who don't see that both parties are garbage.

Vote them all out and demand real representation.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

No, it was split up to dilute the Austin liberal vote into more districts.

So where should the new districts granted by the census data been developed? Seems like to me the districts need to be placed in areas with the most population growth and then evenly divided based on the population which appears to be the case with the 25th and 35th congressional districts.

 

[doubledeluxe]

Blue states are OK on Big Government, and spending money they don't have. Passing the debt on to the kids.

Red states, are not much better.

I'll vote the lessor of two evils. I'll vote Republican.

-John

Quoting to immortalize your stupidity.

 

[Zorkorist]

T'was the eve before mid-terms,
and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse.

The Senators all spent countless money,
McCain-Feingold be damned,
I told President Bush,
this was a fucked up plan.

So, on voters,
on Republicans,
let your wishes be known,
vote out the incumbents,
and hope for a better plan.

-John

 

[werepossum]

I'm getting tired of voting for the lesser evil. This year I'm writing in "Satan"

 

[cubby1223]

Only one more day of political hate ads across the airwaves!

 

[cubby1223]

The problem is people like zorkorist. Mindless hacks who don't see that both parties are garbage.

Vote them all out and demand real representation.

How do you vote them out? Fantasy does not match reality. And once they are all voted out (somehow miraculously), those voted in will just band together and form a new political party swimming in the same filth.

 

[cubby1223]

I'm getting tired of voting for the lesser evil. This year I'm writing in "Satan"

? You still are.

 

[doubledeluxe]

How do you vote them out? Fantasy does not match reality. And once they are all voted out (somehow miraculously), those voted in will just band together and form a new political party swimming in the same filth.

The united states has had great leadership before. Arguably some of the best in human history. To think that its not possible again is quite defeatist.

Yes, greed, power, corruption, and all the other problems in politics are a real thing buy things cannot get better by continuing to vote for garbage.

There are two possible ways for change. Better leadership or revolution. The latter will require the former so we might as well shoot for that first and vote for candidates that do not represent the status quo and have new ideas.

 

[cubby1223]

The first start would be to reject voting for former lawyers (R or D). Too many of them have been elected. Need more scholars. Need more businessmen. Reduce the lawyer count and maybe D.C. will slowly improve.

 

[FerrelGeek]

Power corrupts. There have been a fair few that went to DC with reform on their mind and have been swallowed up by the machine, caving in to the allure of power and perks. I don't see any practical solution besides term limits. Congress will never propose such an amendment. We'd need 2/3 of the states to force a constitutional convention to get it passed. Limit terms, don't let them collect their pension until they turn 62, and don't let them take their warchest when they leave. And forbid congress from exempting themselves, and select federal workers, from laws they impose on the rest of the country. Just some random thoughts.

 

[soundforbjt]

Take the money out of politics, this is the most expensive midterm race in HISTORY...
Until you remove the MONEY, you'll never have any real say in the results.

 

[cubby1223]

Take the money out of politics, this is the most expensive midterm race in HISTORY...
Until you remove the MONEY, you'll never have any real say in the results.

The only real way to take money out of politics and the elections is to reduce the amount of money that flows through the federal budget. That ain't happening anytime soon.

 

[werepossum]

Power corrupts. There have been a fair few that went to DC with reform on their mind and have been swallowed up by the machine, caving in to the allure of power and perks. I don't see any practical solution besides term limits. Congress will never propose such an amendment. We'd need 2/3 of the states to force a constitutional convention to get it passed. Limit terms, don't let them collect their pension until they turn 62, and don't let them take their warchest when they leave. And forbid congress from exempting themselves, and select federal workers, from laws they impose on the rest of the country. Just some random thoughts.

This, exactly.

Take the money out of politics, this is the most expensive midterm race in HISTORY...
Until you remove the MONEY, you'll never have any real say in the results.

When Congress AND the various agencies have the power and the will to make or destroy major corporations and even whole industries, there is no way to take the money out of politics. At best you could drive it underground. There is simply far too much at risk to expect people with significant assets to risk those on the whims of Congress or White House.

The closest we could come would be to adopt the FairTax, removing Congress' biggest power - the ability to reward or punish using tax code - and greatly reducing the size and scope of the federal government. Neither of those is ever going to happen.

 

[PokerGuy]

Where there is power there will always be money flowing to corrupt it and gain it. Trying to "get money out of politics" or "stop money from corrupting politics" is as futile as trying to fight the "war on drugs" by stopping the supply. As long as demand is there, supply will always find a way.

The only answer is to limit the power of DC, but that's not going to happen.

 

[werepossum]

One interesting point - I voted about 10AM and turnout was very heavy. I took the very last parking space, although three cars were leaving as I was walking to the building. This in spite of the fact that absolutely none of the races are competitive. The Dems don't even bother to field a candidate for state representative and senator, the Dem running for Congress has about as much chance as times she has mentioned her party affiliation (zero), and the Dems running for governor and Senator are nothing more than pathetic half-hearted attempts. Even the usual waving idiots around the entrance were all Pubbies. Even the Libertarians aren't putting in much effort this round. Only thing I can figure is that the proposed amendments are drawing in a lot of people, or else a lot of people really wanted to vote against the Dems even though the elections were never in doubt.

 

[doubledeluxe]

Anecdotal. Sit there for 12 hours and report back.

 

[FerrelGeek]

Where there is power there will always be money flowing to corrupt it and gain it. Trying to "get money out of politics" or "stop money from corrupting politics" is as futile as trying to fight the "war on drugs" by stopping the supply. As long as demand is there, supply will always find a way.

The only answer is to limit the power of DC, but that's not going to happen.

Like I said, it will require 2/3 of the states to vote to demand a constitutional convention. Strip congress of any ability to use their position to get rich.

 

[doubledeluxe]

Like I said, it will require 2/3 of the states to vote to demand a constitutional convention. Strip congress of any ability to use their position to get rich.

How does this work exactly?

 

[PokerGuy]

Like I said, it will require 2/3 of the states to vote to demand a constitutional convention. Strip congress of any ability to use their position to get rich.

The problem is, congress is not just some evil cabal that appeared out of thin air. It's a reflection of the voting public and society in general (and that's a pretty depressing reality). Even if you were to magically get rid of the idiots in DC today, any form of governance will revert back to a reflection of the populace at some point, and that's generally not a good thing.

 

[feralkid]

The problem is people like zorkorist. Mindless hacks who don't see that both parties are garbage.

Vote them all out and demand real representation.

False equivalency is the crutch of the low information voter.

 

[norseamd]

Any thoughts on Minnesota redistricting?

http://ballotpedia.org/Redistricting_in_Minnesota

 

[HomerJS]

I'm amazed by 2 things so far.

All polls show very low approvals for members of Congress yet incumbents continue to get re-elected.

Per results so far people seem to think we were better off 6 years ago then now.