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Weekly Open Thread: What Races Are You Interested In?

by: DavidNYC

Sat Aug 01, 2009 at 12:37 AM EDT


PC Load Letter? What the fuck is that?
DavidNYC :: Weekly Open Thread: What Races Are You Interested In?
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Weekly Open Thread: What Races Are You Interested In? | 104 comments
It's never too early: IA-Sen 2014
Heard a rumor this week that Tom Harkin does not plan to seek a sixth term, and Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) is being groomed to run for Senate in 2014. Braley has been doing occasional events in central Iowa for some time, so it's an open secret that he's been thinking about running for some statewide office some day. He's highly effective and articulate, and it won't hurt that he was a key sponsor of the popular "Cash for Clunkers" program.

The downside is that Braley is a rising star in the House, and it would be a shame to lose his position on the Energy and Commerce Committee. (He got that seat after whipping for Henry Waxman in last November's leadership challenge against John Dingell.)

Braley would be a wonderful replacement for Harkin
He's in the same progressive-populist mold that works well in Iowa. I've been a fan of him ever since his grilling of the Bush administration employee about using government offices and time to plan political operations.
[ Parent ]
yes, that was a classic moment
just two months into Braley's first term. That's when I started to notice him as well.

What the heck, let's take a walk down memory lane:


[ Parent ]
Iowa caucuses 2010, 2012
The off-year caucuses in January 2010 will take place on a Saturday afternoon for the first time, Iowa's Democratic and Republican parties jointly announced this week. Both parties allow members of the public to submit platform resolutions at precinct caucuses, but on the Republican side the 2010 caucuses could be more important. Those precincts will elect delegates to county conventions, which will elect delegates to district conventions, which will elect delegates to the state convention. If no GOP gubernatorial candidate wins at least 35 percent of the vote in the June 2010 primary, the nominee will be decided at a state convention.

It's not clear whether a Saturday would be considered for the 2012 precinct caucuses. I would like to see more substantial reforms to the caucus system than moving the date.

IA House districts 21 and 90
Democrats really need to find a new candidate in Iowa House district 21 (Waterloo area, Black Hawk County). Our first-term incumbent got pulled over for drunk driving in February and tried to get out of being arrested by telling the cop he'd been drinking with the governor that evening. Also, the same incumbent gave a false address several years in a row to send his kids to a special school without paying tuition.

Tom Harkin is headlining a fundraiser for Curt Hanson, Democratic candidate for the special election in Iowa House district 90 on September 1 (Van Buren County and parts of Wapello and Jefferson Counties, including the Fairfield area). I am a little concerned about this race because the Republicans have a lot of angry enthusiasm surrounding the gay marriage issue, and in a low-turnout special election environment, we could be in trouble. Dems supposedly have a slight registration edge in the district, but it's not the most liberal part of the state. I expect organized labor to get involved to help Hanson. The right-wing group Iowans for Tax Relief is basically running the Republican candidate's operation.

I would consider both of these districts important holds. Democrats hold a 56-44 majority in the Iowa House, but a half-dozen of those Democrats were unreliable votes on key issues. Our incumbents in districts 21 and 90 were reliable on those issues, so if we lose one or both of these seats we are that much further from having 51 votes to do good things.

Well, if were gonna talk 2014....
Mary Landrieu. Many people close to her say she may be leaning against a run. If she doesnt run:
Republican candidates- LA-01 Rep. Steve Scalise ( I guess all the GOP reps, if they keep gettin re-elected) SoS Jay Dardenne, Treasurer John Kennedy, AG Commisioner Mike Strain, and, of course, Governor Jindal
Democrats- Mitch Landrieu, any Democratic US Reps, next NO mayor (unless  John Georges wins)

And then, Governor, according to her husband, Blanco is considering running for Gov again in 2011. If she does (or doesn't) lets see what Dems. there are-
LT. Mitch Landrieu, Attorney General Charles Foti, Charlie Melanon (if he loses against Vitter), House Speaker Pro Tem Karen Carter Peterson, who is well known from her challenge to Bill Jefferson in 2006 and in the news alot because of her leadership position. There are also more potential candidates, but I think these are the most likely, unless Boasso wants a re-match

Charles Foti? Charles Foti?
Foti got less than a third of the vote in his runoff to get reelected and is well into his 70s.

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
[ Parent ]
Buddy Caldwell is the incumbent AG
He defeated Royal Alexander in the runoff. Foti came in third in the first round.
[ Parent ]
Crap!
I always get confused as to which one got defeated! I thoguht Caldwell got defeated in the primary! AG just isn't a big spot to me. I don't know too many LA AG's that move on to higher office like in many other states.
[ Parent ]
Landreiu
Mary Landreiu will be 59 in 2014. I think she's gonna want to stick around for another 6 years at least.
[ Parent ]
I would too
But people close to her say she questions whether she wants that fight in an increasingly red LA
[ Parent ]
She's a bit of an unlikely survivor
Her best bet is to make herself indispensable to the state. She already has some serious seniority now.
[ Parent ]
i think retirement certainly makes sense
She only won by 6percent and as a two-term incumbent who faced a meh candidate and who has some clout already, I really don't see her wanting to bother. Yeah, she only won her last two races by 2percent so this is a move in her direction, but IIRC polls showed her doing much better than that towards the end (feel free to correct me) and that race wasn't really even talked about by the time election season picked up on this site, and that's quite indicative bc we talk about everything.

Plus, 2014 is the second mid-term through Obama's presidency  with a state growing redder by the day.

I think retiring bc you'll have to campaign is pretty weak, though.  Honey, you're a Democrat from the South, suck it up and keep holding it down for us.

[ Parent ]
Scalise
I thought Scalise said, after his election, he wouldnt be one of those U.S. Reps who use that position as a stepping stone to something higher. i.e. he doesnt want to move up. But...maybe all politicians say that when theyre first elected ;).
[ Parent ]
I'm deciding which state or large city I would like to control the political machine in.
Like Daley in Chicago or Norcross in New Jersey.  Anyone want to join in on this?  Any suggestions for a location?
Majority leader of the New York State Senate seems to have been a good gig.
As was Speaker of the Texas House.

The only powerful position in California is Senate Minority Leader.  Pretty much any title you can imagine is worthless in California, our government is so dysfunctional.

The Mass politicians seem to have fun.  Having no meaningful opposition party makes the backroom politics much more rewarding and lucrative.

Bossing Philly and Detroit used to make you invaluable in presidential elections, but nowadays those states are so inherently Democratic that the bosses aren't as potent as they used to be.  Same for New Jersey actually.  If you can't deliver the state to the GOP by sitting on your hands, then you're not really important, are you?

Governor of Florida is a damn good job.  Governor of Ohio is also important to the presidential campaigns, although Ohio isn't swimming in drug money the way Florida is.

If you had to give me just one though, and I had to take it today, it'd be Governor of New York.  California is too much of a nightmare, and if the NY State Senate can be tamed, then New York could be the scene of a progressive renaissance.  I realize that's one hell of an if-clause, but I honestly can't think of a state I'd rather be governor of just now.  

28, gay guy, Democrat, CA-08

[ Parent ]
How about Alabama?
My state is not as economically in the toilet as NY, CA, NJ, and MI are.

50, straight white male, Democrat(Dan Boren/Gene Taylor 2012!), AL-7(born in AL-5)
[ Parent ]
That's because
you guys dont tax and fund anything in the first place.
[ Parent ]
Hard to be in the toilet
when you're at the bottom of the septic tank.
[ Parent ]
Gov of Texas, easily
I'd have to overlook the diminished role of state government in general, but what I'd really enjoy is how there's so much room to improve and to effect some change. Not having a severely hamstrung legislature is a nice bonus, of course.
[ Parent ]
TX
We have no state income tax and so if any progressive change does happen in social programs (health care, education, etc) then the funding will have to come from somewhere else. Texas will never settle for a state income tax, IMO. We already have an 8.5% or something sales tax. Maybe the property taxes can go higher for the higher end properties. I am unsure what the property tax rates are. Property rates (and cost of living in general) are actually very decent in Texas which helps things. Now putting a higher tax on gun sales...thatd make some real money. Not too confident itd get passed though ;). The NRA would go bonkers.
[ Parent ]
I did see on City-Data
along with countless complaints, that Texas's average property tax of 1.80% is actually the second-highest in the country (the first being New Jersey, New York, or Connecticut I think).

And a downside of living in a low-service state is that services for people like me that have autism are severely underfunded, and the social workers that help people like me and my boyfriend, who also has autism, are stuck with a high caseload so the agencies are extremely inefficient (probably a way for conservatives to "prove" that "government doesn't work").

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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)

[ Parent ]
Tell me about it
Granted I live in New Mexico where the services are a fair bit better than Texas but still, the whole state is a big mess about pretty much everything.

Incidentally, that's something I wish were being better addressed in the whole health care debate, it's pretty sickening that no one seems to talk about mental health issues except when something like the Virginia Tech shooting happens (of course, that's a bit of an aside on my part, but you know what I mean).

Politics and Other Random Topics

24, Male, Democrat, NM-01, Chairman of the Atheist Caucus, and Majority Leader of the "Going to Hell" caucus!

[ Parent ]
I am in absolute agreement with you about mental health
It is seemingly not talked about at all. And its a damn shame. I work at a retail chain and have a very basic insurance plan and they wont cover psychiatry visits. And they hardly cover anything for my prescription meds. I just really hope whatever bill passes makes insurance so much better.  
[ Parent ]
Im sorry
That agencies dont do a good enough job to help you and your boyfriend. I hope they get on the ball soon. The Texas Rehabilitation Commission (under a new name now, i think) helped me personally alot a few years back, when i was in my early 20s, when i was not yet ready to do many basic 'independent adult' things (such as working), due to my combination of depression, learning disabilities, etc. But maybe i was just the exception. i hope not. and i seriously hope that agency and many similar ones are not underfunded these days. but i have a feeling they are. Also, i was rejected for SS Disability twice, the last time being in front of a judge at one of those hearings (or whatever theyre called, its not in an actual 'court room'). Its pretty much impossible to get it, it seems, unless you have something like MS like my mom has. At least here where I live. Ironically my lawyer at that 'hearing' actually ran for a judge position a few years back. i never did hear if she won although i can always look it up.
[ Parent ]
Well, they did help me after one year.
And I'm glad that I can now get the work experience it seems almost every employer almost everywhere wants. I hope my boyfriend finda something with DARS (Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services) help soon. His work specialty area, computers, never recovered from the last crash in 2001.

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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
I hope he finds a job, too
Its a tough field to get work in, though. But if hes really talented at it then he definitely can. Especially if he has 'connections', Im sure.  
[ Parent ]
Gotta be Jersey
Property taxes are at least double those in NY and rising rapidly.  The state rebate on property taxes (threatened by Corzine evry year, it seems) is $1,000 but in my town the average property tax bill for a 1,500 square foot, 40 year old house is exoected to increase by more than that this year alone.  Property taxes for businesses will be sharply reduced with homeowners paying the difference.

Yup, Corzine is bragging about another $15 billion in tax breaks for businesses while the little and middle guys get slammed.  And those3 savings are mostly for the bug guys, not the small businesses that provide most of the jobs.

Want to talk autism?  The rate in Jersey is an astonishing one in 94, up from 1 in 167.  Not to worry.  We have to give more tax breaks to businesses.

[ Parent ]
Sounds similar to California
minus the high property taxes, thanks to Prop 13. But Prop 13 still sticks it to small businesses with all kinds of fees I mentioned in an earlier comment to make up for the lost property tax revenue.

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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
At It's Height, It's Hard to Beat Chicago
You'd be all but rewarded for your graft, a hell of a laboratory for progressive experiments, a pretty potent mix of loyal foot soldiers and committed independents, and of course, you'd get to pick Presidents. :)

Today is different- there's a lot of other Machines that can compete and maybe even beat the Machine (if you could ever have such a contest). But in the 1960s, you'd be set.

[ Parent ]
RI-Gov.
I'm pretty sure the Republicans will not hang onto the governorship. But is it Lincoln Chafee's to lose? Or can the Democrats win this after 20 years of being out of power?
Chafee
Would basically be a liberal governor, although perhaps moderate by RI standards. One of his only conservative positions is trade and thats a non-issue as Gov.
[ Parent ]
Carcieri
Why did Carcieri beat Fogarty. I really thought that Fogarty would bear Carcieri because he was ahead in a lot of polls.
[ Parent ]
Actually
I think the polls were pretty split. The race was definitely a dead heat for a while there. I can't find too much on this right off the bat, but here's something published by the NY Times months before the election:

"Mr. Carcieri has better name recognition and is relatively well liked. A former business executive, he has made some efforts to rein in the state's legendary reputation for corruption in government, lure more businesses to Rhode Island and improve education. But he may be hurt with more liberal Rhode Islanders because of the tough line he has taken with labor unions and state employees, and by anti-Bush sentiment...."

[ Parent ]
SC-04: Inglis gets a similar treatment as Castle got from a birther
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07...

At a recent town hall meeting, a man stood up and told Representative Bob Inglis to "keep your government hands off my Medicare." The congressman, a Republican from South Carolina, tried to explain that Medicare is already a government program - but the voter, Mr. Inglis said, "wasn't having any of it."

You know the base is going off the deep end when one of their congresscritters reminds them of reality...and then they reject it.

In other news, that's a really nice commentary article on the health-care issue.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

Wow
A Republican that actually loves Medicare. Most of these days I've heard Republicans talk down to medicare.  

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
[ Parent ]
Inglis
is a genuine right-wing conservative, but he's recently been showing distinct signs of frankness and independent thinking. Considering how right-wing the Greenville, SC area is, that may be about the best they can do right now.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
Not the first time, either
It was Inglis who said, in the wake of the Sanford and Ensign affairs, that the GOP needs to lose the "stinking rot of self-righteousness". I think he might be overcoming his programming.
[ Parent ]
Integrity
He seems to have some integrity and backbone. Other members of his party who are smart might want to follow him and get a dose of those.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
Oh man
There are so many uninformed, ignorant people in the United States. It's things like this that speak to the original premise of the electoral college.
[ Parent ]
Oh good lord
Whats next, 'get the governments hands off my Social Security!', 'get the governments hands off my welfare!', 'get the governments hands off my stimulus check!', 'get the governments hands off my tax return check!', and on and on and on. I wouldnt put it past some people, though.
[ Parent ]
This is unacceptable
I have been reading this site for a long time, but I just created an account to tell the poster of this site that they messed that quote up.  I cannot believe it. It goes:

"PC Load Letter, What the Fuck Does That Mean?!"

Well, at least it got me to create an account.

20, Male, Democrat, CA-44 (home) CA-12 (college)

bahahahahaha
I had no idea where that was going and was like, oh jeez, hardcore troll comment coming.  Nope, just fixing a quote.

Feel free to leave more comments now that you bothered to make an account.  :)

[ Parent ]
What's the quote from?
n/t

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
You should be temporarily banned from the site for having to ask that :)
At least until you've watched Office Space!
[ Parent ]
I seldom watch TV
and recently threw away my old TV, which I had never bought a digital converter for. I also don't go to the movies too often (a few times a year). When can I resume posting? :-P

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
Like IndianaProgressive said
After you watch Office Space! :) You are also encouraged to check out SSP's Official Approved Movie List™.
[ Parent ]
Fundraising for governor's races
Any chance we could get a list of fundraising totals in the governor's races? It'd be harder to compile since it would have to be culled from state campaign finance websites, but I'm sure the SSP brain trust could pull it together pretty quickly.
Hawaii Gov
In the first six months of the year we have -

http://www.honoluluadvertiser....

Hannemann (D)
583K raised + 659K mayoral account transfer
(Hannemann's been raising money for just one month)

Abercrombie (D)
486K raised + waiting to see if he can transfer 1 million from his congressional account
(Abercrombie has been raising money since March)

Lt. Gov. Aiona (R)
308K Raised
1,900K Total raised
(Don't know when Aiona started but obviously he has been for awhile)

[ Parent ]
Here are some (mega) California numbers...
Jerry Brown (D): $7.3 million
Meg Whitman (R): $4.9 million
Steve Poizner (R): $3.7 million
Gavin Newsom (D): $1.2 million
Tom Campbell (R): $0.317 million (lol!)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...

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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)

[ Parent ]
what's with Newson's fundraising?
he's not quite in Tom Campbell territory, but he is going to have to do a hell of a lot better than these kinds of numbers if he has a shot at winning the primary against Brown, let alone a general election against self-funders like Whitman or Poizner...

any idea why he is so weak on fundraising ?

[ Parent ]
Probably
because Brown has been in state politics for a long time. He's familiar to all the the state fundraisers I presume so he's able to sign up a ton of deep pocket donors. Plus besides the whole gay marriage fight, Newsom isn't well known throughout the state. He does have Hollywood behind him though. Maybe Newsom should get some movie stars to hold some fundraisers for him.

Also his campaign has been going through some rough spots since several of his campaign advisers who go back quit.  

19, Male, Independent, CA-12

[ Parent ]
MN-Gov: Draft Rybak!
http://www.swingstateproject.c...

Is going strong and picking up mo.

FL-08
Grayson leads in a couple of internal polls, although old, from the Crotty campaign and his own. This is likely to be our toughest hold in Florida.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.c...

And a note
There's a good chance Cretul or someone else could be the Republican nominee, and they would likely perform better.
[ Parent ]
Am I missing something here?
Because this seems like a pretty big Crotty lead to me:

After hearing these statements, who would you vote for...
23 Definitely Crotty
12.7 probably Crotty
5.3 lean Crotty
16 definitely Grayson
9.3 probably Grayson
2.7 lean Grayson
31 undecided

[ Parent ]
Those numbers...
come after the "Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for Alan Grayson if you knew he ate babies for breakfast?" message-testing questions.
[ Parent ]
Without the push-polling questions
Grayson leads.
[ Parent ]
By 37-34
And 46-40 in his own internals -- I see that now; my initial reading was a rushed skimming.

Man, Grayson better be prepared to drop another couple million on his re-election campaign...

[ Parent ]
He probably will be
Grayson realizes that if he wins re-election in 2010, he's likely to get a much friendlier seat in 2012 as Rs try to shore up the rest of their seats (FL-12, Fl-13, FL-16, FL-18, FL-25, the new FL-26, etc.).

26, Male, Democrat, TX-26
[ Parent ]
Grayson's the kind of guy
who needs a friendly seat, not a swing seat. Dude doesn't make life easy on himself.
[ Parent ]
We'll see
If he comes across as effective, he could be OK. The mouth breathers are never going to vote for him, so he just needs a  good story to tell the swing voters. (He also has to turn out lots of the Puerto Ricans who voted for Obama last year, and that might be more of a challenge, especially if many have left).
[ Parent ]
I saw a list once of the minority-turnout districts
that might be likely to wash away from us in the presence of a strong GOP challenge, and without Obama on the ticket driving turnout.

I remember Driehaus, Perriello, and maybe Kratovil were on the list, but I don't recall the others.  Bright and Griffith, possibly.  

Evidently Grayson would belong on such a list?  The one I saw was factoring in only black turnout, but Latino turnout clearly matters as well.

28, gay guy, Democrat, CA-08

[ Parent ]
Why?
Sticking it to the for loaning money to foreigners instead of Americans was brilliant.  No scandals and no sucking up to Republican friends like Debbie W(asserman-Schultz).
[ Parent ]
NY-23 and CA-10 are SOOO Special
Special elections in two of the big states...

So New York is down to 3 Republican seats (Peter King and freshman Chris Lee, plus the soon-to-be Army Sec. McHugh), and Republicans manage to nominate a politically experienced, centrist woman who seems to have a solid record on abortion and gay rights in Dede Scozzafava. If I could vote there, I, as a centre-left Dem, would vote for her. Mostly just to annoy the regional rump of Republicans in the South.

In CA-10 to replace the retiring center-left Ellen Tauscher, I am proud to announce that Anthony Woods is my new boyfriend. And with 3 establishment candidates to split the vote, he may just have a chance as an outsider...

And inevitably, the press will portray both as referendums on Obama, even when both of them aren't... at all. Like most Congressional seats these days, they have much more to do with local conditions than national ones.

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.

I would too.
I hate to say it, but Dede is also my choice, so long as she maintains her progressive views.  A Dede win in NY-23 would be good for gays because she would replace a man with an antigay voting record.  It will also, like you said, piss off the hard-right party establishment.

Now in CA-10 of course Anthony Woods is the one who should win.  The others are all blah.  Anthony Woods would be such a historic post-Prop 8 victory.  He is black, gay, young, progressive, a veteran of the Iraq War, and would be a great person to be the face of the Military Readiness Act (repealing the disastrous and despicable DADT policy).  I really pray that he takes it in CA-10, the others are just conventional Democrats.  Does anyone out there know how he's polling?

[ Parent ]
I haven't seen any new polls yet.
Though after learning more about Woods, I am also 100% behind him because of his great background. While DeSaulnier is a great progressive, he or Joan Buchanan moving to the House would mean a loss of another very important state legislative seat that would require us to reach out to one more obstinate, no-new-taxes Kool-Aid drinking Republican. And we already have one vacancy in the Assembly as it is. (And it doesn't help that Buchanan's Assembly seat is risky.) If Garamendi won the CA-10 special, Arnold would appoint a Republican to take Garamendi's place as Lt. Gov.; the name most floated around is the lone "moderate" state senator Abel Maldonado in a Dem-leaning district.

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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
Wow
Hes everything a right wing bigot hates. Blacks, gays, gay military men, progressive...

It will be good to see him basically giving them the middle finger. He probably literally wont...but im sure his words will speak for him.  

[ Parent ]
Re: Wow
Don't forget...he's also got a master's from Harvard, so he's elitist!

And also! [wink]

He's from a poor family and grew up without healthcare...SOCIALIST ALSO!

...it's like, seriously, there's a reason this guy has what's been called the best political resume ever. He is my new political bromance.

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.

[ Parent ]
Itll be something if he gets the nom.
But he has his work cut out for him against the more well known and better funded candidates.  
[ Parent ]
Here's a question
that I doubt anyone will know, but if anyone would, it's someone here at SSP. Does anyone know anything about Grant County, North Dakota (popu. 2,841)? The reason I ask is because I was sorting through some 2008 presidential data (yeah, I have some real exciting Saturday nights sometimes) and it's by far, of all the nation's counties, the one with the biggest share of third-party votes: 35% (to 21% for Obama and 44% for McCain). The nearest runner-up is only at 7%. Bob Barr beat Obama, at 22%, and there was another 11% for Charles Baldwin of the Constitution Party. Is there a big right-wing militia enclave here, or what? (This seems especially weird because in 2004, the third-party share here was only 2%.)
Gave Buchanan his fifth-highest showing percent-wise in 2000
http://uselectionatlas.org/RES...

(It's interesting that Harry Browne's five best counties were all Metro Atlanta counties).

Follow the elections in Georgia at the 2010 Georgia Race Tracker.

[ Parent ]
Some more stats from Leip's site
County with highest % of vote, 2008:
Obama: DC. 92.46%. But if you dont want to count that then: Prince George's County, MD. 88.87%. U.S. Census pop. est, 2008: 820,852. African Americans make up 62.70% of the pop. in the 2005 U.S. Census est.

McCain: King County, TX. Just south of the TX Panhandle. 2000 pop: 356 (nope, NOT a typo!). McCain got 151 votes...Obama got 8! I bet they are glad the voting wasnt like a caucus. Everyone would be looking at them strangely. 8 votes for a major Pres. nominee in an entire county. With 163 voters in total. It makes me think...why are there such small counties?? And do they really even bother having county commissioner elections? Oh and they have the 3rd lowest pop. of any county in the U.S. Bob Barr got 5 votes less than Obama. Not that that really says anything about Barr. It only totalled 3 votes!

Nader: Lincoln, ID. 4.12%. In southern ID. Pop. 4,044. McCain won 65.9-29.1%. Nader's votes were still just 77 votes.

Grant, ND: 22.35%. 2000 pop: 2,841. In southern ND. As maybe said in the other post Barr got 297 votes to Obama's 280. Thats 22.35-21.07. Oh and his next highest total? Esmeralda County, NV which only gave him 2.73%.

Baldwin: Also Grant County, ND. 11.14%. 3rd party candidates (including write-ins) got a whopping 34.77%. Take that, Perot! But, to be fair, Perot did get 32.1% in 92. Clinton only got 21.2% that year. In 96 Perot got 21.5%. Clinton only beat him by 5 votes. Pat Buchanan only got 5.61% in 2000. Badnarik and Peroutka both interestingly got less than 0.50% in 2004. So I wonder why Barr and Baldwin did so well.

[ Parent ]
Lots of anti-McCain (or Palin votes)
Bush romped there in 2000 and 2004. I think there were just a lot of Republican voters who didn't like McCain (or were protesting the Republicans) but couldn't bring themselves to vote for Obama.

Follow the elections in Georgia at the 2010 Georgia Race Tracker.
[ Parent ]
Google says
it was an error. Supposedly, the county made a clerical error in 2004 and flipped McCain and Obama's votes in a precinct for Barr and Baldwin's votes. The erroneous tally wasn't caught until after the vote was certified.

22, Democrat, AZ-01
Peace. Love. Gabby.
[ Parent ]
Ah, I see
Well I guess theyre glad it wasnt a very populated county (by ND standards).  
[ Parent ]
Someone from Alabama up there
said that his state in not in the economic toilet as NY, CA etc.

This is just southern propaganda similar to the hyped chivalry that let them practice segregation for generations. The post above them went somewhere else and so I to write separately.

1. Jefferson county in Alabama is bankrupt. No services. This includes Birmingham. The city may not be bakrupt. The county is. To check this just google "Jefferson County" and check the news.

2. Alabma (and 9 more southern states) are the 10 worst states in helthcare.

3. For every dollar NY and CA send to the federal governmant, they get a smaller fraction back. The southern states have been geting more than what they send back to the federal government for at least 25 years. If NY and CA (or NJ) received the same kind of treatment, they would not be in an economic hole.

I am just preparing for an attack on the spelling mistakes I made above.

[ Parent ]
Indeed.
Conservatives constantly accuse us Californians, and New Yorkers and New Jerseyans, of having "high taxes", yet they gladly accept the tax dollars that they would not get if we didn't have such "high taxes". Palin, Barbour, Jindal, Sanford, et. al. seem to enjoy biting the hands that feed them.

Here are the 2005 tax numbers, the most recent data available:

Alabama: $1.66 for every $1.00 sent (though I do give Riley credit for not lashing out against the stimulus like his fellow southern governors and Palin did)
Alaska: $1.84 for every $1.00 sent
Louisiana: $1.78 for every $1.00 sent
Mississippi: $2.02 for every $1.00 sent
South Carolina: $1.35 for every $1.00 sent (and they have higher unemployment than "unfriendly" California!)

California: $0.78 for every $1.00 sent
Connecticut: $0.69 for every $1.00 sent
New Jersey: $0.61 for every $1.00 sent
New York: $0.79 for every $1.00 sent

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[ Parent ]
New Jersey ranks dead last
Republicans here in NJ love to point that out. Former Rep. Dick Zimmer actually made that 61-cent figure the centerpiece of his Senate campaign against Senator Lautenberg last year, while talking out of the other side of his mouth about how he wouldn't use earmarks.  
[ Parent ]
If NJ got their fair share
I cant imagine how much of that money could be spent toward tax rebates to poor and middle class citizens that would help relieve their tight belt. The cost of living is quite high there and doesnt always match their income.  
[ Parent ]
Ditto California.
Imagine all the service restoration we could do if we got our fair share also.

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[ Parent ]
Ron Paul
My neighboring congressman Ron Paul is kind of the opposite in a way. He talks about slashing government spending left and right yet hes not an anti-earmark crusader by any means. He isnt one of those congressmen who rejects it for his district. Its the case with many conservatives, sure, probably especially old school ones (who came along before the whole anti-earmark movement) but hes probably one of the ultimate examples. Although maybe he personally isnt against fair govt spending for the states. Especially as he just ran a national campaign for Pres (not that he had any shot at actually winning)
[ Parent ]
South
In many southern states, though, you have impoverished rural blacks & latinos who most certainly dont agree with the anti-stimulus attitudes/rhetoric of conservative politicians as well as anti-tax sentiment. And many poor whites there, too. Its too bad that politicians like Mark Sanford and Rick Perry seem to think they speak for everyone in their state.
[ Parent ]
I should add
Not just poor rural folks but urban, as well.
[ Parent ]
Although not accusing you of thinking they agree with em
Or that you think there should be some kind of 'collective blame' concerning the actions of the ultra-right governors :).
[ Parent ]
I know the poor black/Hispanic candidates don't necessarily agree with their govs.
I was just trying to point out the hypocrisy in those far-right govs telling blue-staters to pull themselves up by the bootstraps when we are not only pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps, we're also pulling them up, straining ourselves in the process, as we have seen with the budget crises in California, New Jersey, and New York.

And a funny thing, Perry apparently forgot to practice what he preached: http://www.lubbockonline.com/s...

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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)

[ Parent ]
Federal money
Yep, states like CA, NY and NJ are definitely pulling deep south states up. And I am hoping that poor communities like South Central, East LA, Harlem, etc. get much more than their fair share as they need it.  
[ Parent ]
They all probably do.
I did see on Wiki that CA-37 "receives about three dollars in federal money for every tax dollar it contributes, one of the higher ratios in the country". Other districts like CA-09, CA-33, and CA-35 probably do too, but then you have CA-06, CA-08, CA-10, CA-12, CA-14, CA-30, etc., which likely give much more than they get back due to being higher-income.

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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
To run or not to run
Carolyn Maloney's antics are getting a bit long in the tooth. But empusas are known to have long and sharp teeth and claws. So this does not suprise me.
Empusas?
What are those?

BTW, tonight is the beginning of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. I've been a dedicated viewer since 1995, and much of my interest in sharks (and their relatives the rays, skates, and chimaeras) comes from watching Shark Week.
I've even had the chance to snorkel with sharks whenever I vacation in the Florida Keys (lucky me). Don't worry, they weren't the dangerous kinds, just reef and sandbar sharks that are too small to be of any threat to me.

[ Parent ]
The answer is here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E...

The Peseus Jackson movies (5 of them) will start next year.
You will find the empousas in the 4th book "The battle of the labyrinth".

"I am senior empousa" she growled, "I have not been beaten for a thousand years."

[ Parent ]
I think it's becoming clear to her
that she just isn't going to have to resources to take this thing. Gillibrand (likely Senator for life if she wins this election) has taken her seriously though, which is a good thing.  
[ Parent ]
I bet alot of
Pols in her district will be disappointed. An open congressional race doesnt come along too often.
[ Parent ]
She's running just the kind of campaign
that one would expect given that her two top advisers are noted winners Joe Trippi and Mark Penn.
[ Parent ]
heh
I saw Penn's book in paperback yesterday. . .
[ Parent ]
KY-Sen
Here's a Daily Kos diary some of you will find interesting:

KY-Sen: Democratic Race Sizzles in Fancy Farm

My brief take: The Democratic primary seems to have already degenerated into personal attacks and inane and irrelevant debates about whether people should apologize for using colorful language to describe themselves.

Admittedly, I haven't listened to the videos of each candidate's entire speeches before posting this.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  

Saw that...
This primary gives me a headache.
[ Parent ]
Conway is another candidate
who I'll be donating to if polls show him in a tough spot.  Fuck that asshole Mongiardo, he knows he's not going to win this so he's going dirty and Id rather die than support a candidate who supports mountain-top removal.  I'll want him to win if he wins the primary but personally do work for, NEVER.  If I lived in Kentucky, I'd still vote for the bastard, but actually campaign for, absolutely not.

Conway had better pull this primary off.

[ Parent ]
Mongiardo
I know he was massively underspent but if he couldnt even defeat the senile and loathed Jim Bunning in 2004...then i dont feel real good about his chances against a more likable Republican. Even with all the money in the world. Money means alot in elections but isnt everything.
[ Parent ]
And a more sane Republican
I might add
[ Parent ]
All primaries give me a headache
If they can't play nice. And they never do. Sigh.
[ Parent ]
Another interesting DailyKos diary, about Bachmann
"Can a Democrat Beat Michele Bachmann?"

Quite long, detailed analysis. I could actually diary this, but it seems more appropriate for this open thread. I honestly didn't read every word, but here's somewhat of a taste:

Looking at the internals of the poll, Tinklenberg drew the support of 87 percent of self-identified Democratic respondents, 15 percent of self-identified Republicans, and 51 percent of self-identified independents. By comparison, Bachmann drew the support of 79 percent of self-identified Republicans, 8 percent of self-identified Democrats, and 35 percent of self-identified independent respondents. (Anderson was favored by 12 percent of independents, 4 percent of Republicans, and 3 percent of the Democratic respondents.)

The poll results suggest that for a Democrat to win in the 6th, that candidate has to retain the support of nearly 90 percent of Democratic voters, win more than 50 percent of the independent vote, and take around 15 percent of the Republican vote.

And at the end of the diary:

Up next: Part II -- The Candidates

Those of you who really want to be involved with detailed analysis of this campaign will want to check back for that sequel.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  

Arkansas Us Senate Seat
Blanche Lincoln, versus the 8 members of the Republican Sandwich club and the Independent, former Green Beret Trevor Drown. It will be an interesting one.
Weekly Open Thread: What Races Are You Interested In? | 104 comments

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