Mid-Term Election Predictions

[toasty]

Just curious what people think will happen in the mid-terms. Thoughts?

[BSully828]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

I think they'll split - but honestly, this is a lose-lose situation in my eyes.

Should the Republicans defy the reelection predictions and retain control of both the House and Senate, it would only polarize the country even further. Democrats would probably cry foul and insist they were ripped off, bitch and moan about whatever conspiracy theory was the cause this time, and create a shitstorm of controversy and accusations that will last for months. The heads of the GOP would feel more emboldened than ever and continue right along with their stagnant policies, claiming that the people have spoken.

If the Democrats win the day and that shrew Nancy Pelosi takes power, then Washington will grind to an absolute halt. Nothing, nothing will get done. With a far left leader of the House, any bill, hell any idea brought by the Republicans will be shot down on site. The Left will finally have an open shot at the administration and will waste not one second in getting their licks in. Impeachment demands will just be the beginning, the Democrats will put 100% of their time and energy for the next 2 years in taking down the Republicans. The events going on in the world will be a distant second to getting their payback on the GOP. They will work to get an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, remove any kind of pressure that has been directed towards North Korea and at best, at best, send a polite request to Iran to lay off the nukes, please, for now. Should this be the case and the Dems force their hand to pull out completely, I don't even want to think of what might/will happen.

Neither side presents a palatable option. Repub victory = the same shit with no change, the wedge further divides the country. Dem Victory = Washington bogged down with petty payback, nothing gets done.

Like Jack Nicholson said in Batman - this town needs an enema. If only we had a hose big enough....

[Lorn]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

Total gridlock is the best thing for a two party system. That way the people can get some work done.

[thesightless]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

its a lose-lose situation on our behalf.......

at least leiberman will give a good showing, hopefully winning.

like i say, time to clean the houses, get em all out. no one should be sitting on their 7th term......

[Lorn]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

no one should be sitting on their 7th term......

Amen brother.

[toasty]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

Total gridlock is the best thing for a two party system. That way the people can get some work done.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to characterize "total gridlock" as "the best thing," but having opposing parties in charge of the legislative branch and the executive branch, or even the different houses of the legislative branch, definitely does help insure that legislation is thoughtfully considered and is not simply ramrodded through by ideologues. The system works best when the folks that are supposed to be checking and balancing each other actually have differing viewpoints and do more than rubber stamp each other.

What would be bad is if the dems take over and, as bsully suggested, waste the opportunity by devoting a disproportionate amount of time and effort on payback or impeachment purely as a political statement (i.e., what the Republicans did with Clinton where they knew they wouldn't have the votes to actually remove him from office).

With that said, I would welcome an actual investigation into what got us where we are today with the whole Iraq thing. Folks on the right will say, "who cares how we got here, let's just look to the future," but the fact of the matter is that it does matter how we got here to the extent that we can't let it happen again. Giving Bush, Cheney, Rice & Rummy the benefit of the doubt, it is still the worst intelligence failure I'm aware of in our nation's history, and none of the folks at the top of the chain have been called upon to answer for it at all. 655,000 Iraqis dead, and thousands of US soldiers dead or injured on an admitted error at least merits sitting their asses down in front of Congress to answer some questions.

[thesightless]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

655,000 Iraqis dead

go check dumbest defense... its off by a few hundred K..... and it was clearly exposed

[toasty]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

go check dumbest defense... its off by a few hundred K..... and it was clearly exposed

OK, that certainly raises some legitimate questions about the study, but I'm not seeing anywhere that confirms that "its off by a few hundred K" or that "it was clearly exposed."

Let's give you the benefit of the doubt, though. What's your point?

[Jenks]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

Not to sound like a whining liberal here, because i'm far from that, but what is disturbing about the those iraqi death numbers, is yeah, it's off by a few hundred K...which brings us to a number we're comfortable with? Like-

"650k dead!! OUTRAGE!! .....OH, only 100k dead? ah, well that's cool."





re: the elections-

all i know is, Prop 2 better pass in Missouri.

[toasty]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

all i know is, Prop 2 better pass in Missouri.

Any idea how it's looking? A friend of mine and I had this exchange Friday before the game:

Him: Do you vote?
Me: Yes.
Him: Do you know how you're going to vote on Amendment 2?
Me: Yes, I'm voting yes.
Him: [opens mouth to respond, then sheepishly closes mouth and looks frustrated] OK

I was left with the feeling that he's had this discussion with bunches of folks and was frustrated at the responses he was getting. Maybe I just said it with enough conviction that he knew that having a discussion about it wasn't going to change my mind. I dunno.

Good news is that there's a huge war chest to support it. Check this out:

Amendment 2 Backers Shatter Fundraising Records

edit: actually, per that article, looks like its at about 51% right now, down from 58% in September.

[Jenks]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

Any idea how it's looking?

I have been driving around St. Louis a lot lately looking at rehab properties (just closed on one, weeee) and i'm seeing a LOT more "Vote Yes" signs vs. "Vote No" signs. Although, i've been driving through some of the more popular areas right now that are populated with young people- brentwood, richmond heights, stlouis hills, benton park, etc. Yes signs all over the place. I imagine the larger populated Chesterfield, west co, and ladue areas where all the old money and old fuckers live probably have a lot of No signs. Hope not tho. This issue pisses me off more than anything else in politics today.

[toasty]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

^^ that's the thing -- you drive around the bastion of liberalism that is St. Louis City and wonder how in the world something like this could fail. Even at the rally at the stadium on Sunday, Blunt was mercilessly booed when he was announced. Gotta remember there's a lot of folks in outstate MO, though, who do nothing but read their Bible and pop out of their houses every couple years to vote...

[Jenks]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

"God" holding back Science...really gets me in a fit of rage man.

[thesightless]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

my only point was that those numbers are way off and geared to make our country, not just our current admin, look bad, in part due to an outside group with an agenda...


but beside that point, my only concern over the next 3-4 years is that i see far right groups joining up in the european governments, in that they are slowly facing a different type of war, a cultural war, and if our country moves to far to the left, in a reactionary vote to the 3 stooges (rummy, rove and cheney), then we will again, have further strained relations with the one group that is realizing that north america and europe need to get together for mutual benifit.... we dont need, and pardon the term, a bleeding heart liberal amdinistration that might just actually end up being the polar opposite of our counterparts across the atlantic.

we really need to give mike bloomberg the presidency, and i know im gonna get flamed all around on that statement, but you cannot argue with what the guy does, how he does it, and the frankness in which he informs and handles the public. he has truly gotten the local parties on the same track, exposed the guys he has too, and has implemented his policies to overwhelming success with only minor objections, soley from bureocrats and unions......

[toasty]

Re: Mid-Term Election Predictions

north america and europe need to get together for mutual benifit.... we dont need, and pardon the term, a bleeding heart liberal amdinistration that might just actually end up being the polar opposite of our counterparts across the atlantic.

Uh, liberal, conservative, or whatever, I find it hard to fathom an administration doing a worse job of working together with the rest of the world than this one. US-everyone relations have been in a steady decline since March 2003. Whoever gets elected will, by default, be an improvement.

I thought you were the US-isolationist guy?