[Poggio]

xD so I must say, drunk Rem is like the best Rem.

[Lauv Keiko]

We need more drunk voters? hehe

[Lucid:]

Projections have been part of elections for years. There are some states that have always trended a certain way. Calling a swing state early is complete crap, but calling California, Utah, et cetera is usually pretty sound.

So now that Obama's got a second term and the Republicans have control of the house, get ready for 4 years of nothing ever getting done yay. D:
I don't care who's in power right now as long as they get important things done, but Obama has proven to not be able to work across party lines so now the divided congress is going to give us problems. Oh well, maybe we'll see something happen in 2 years when we have another house election.

[Coda]

That's not true at all, Lucid. Obama WAS able to reach across party lines to get things done during the first two years of his term. Obama is REMARKABLY centrist. (That's what I like about him. I would never have voted Democrat before 2008. And yes, I'm old enough to have voted in that absurd 2000 election.)

The problem is the Republican party. As the Democrats have been moving towards the center, the Republicans have been reacting by moving increasingly to the right and becoming increasingly radical. Once the Republicans took control of the House in 2010 that they INTENTIONALLY chose to do everything they could do to block Obama regardless of how bipartisan his measures were. This isn't speculation: there's plenty of sound bites and news reports that show that this was an explicit plan. It's politics at its worst and you can't blame the President for the opposing party conspiring to do everything possible to make him look bad.

[Arikana]

What was so absurd about the 2000 US election? owo

[Coda]

For the record, my political affiliation isn't along party lines at all.

I'm fiscally conservative, that is, I believe that the federal government should be small, federal taxes should be brought down to the lowest sustainable level (but no lower!), and most programs should be administered at the state level, even though this means state taxes have to go up; as the third-largest country in the world, the US is too large to administer matters of regional concern with efficiency and fairness.

But I'm socially liberal, that is, I believe that the federal government has a responsibility to ensure that all citizens are treated fairly, to protect minorities from oppressive local majorities, and to make sure that all states conform to certain guidelines of public well-being.

There is no candidate for me. There's a party for me -- the Libertarian party nominally has the same political stance, but not only are they too weak to ever get anyone elected, they're a little bit too radical for my comfort.

So this leaves me in every election looking for leaders that are centrist enough to do what's right instead of pushing for their party's platform.

[Coda]

Ari: In 2000, Florida's result was decided by only 500 votes. There were unending recounts, claims of corruption, controversies over voting machines... a royal mess. And to make matters worse, Florida's electoral votes were the tiebreaker, because neither of the two candidates (Bush and Gore) would hold a majority without Florida.

[Rem]

Originally Posted by Vader

I'm pretty relieved and pumped about it, too, but...

xD

oh my lord this made me chortle ~ lol thanks vader
I was p toasted =u=

Pogs - xDD thanks
You should *hear* me when i'm drunk my drawl gets even thicker I sound like somebody on Hee Haw

2000 election >__> STILL enrages and saddens me to this day
god I remember that time, I legit cried lol

We'll see what happens with the House
Frankly with so many progressive measures passing all over the country, conservative measures getting shot down and radical right tea party golden boy candidates losing flat out I would think Repub leadership would wise the fk up and start realizing the electorate has rejected what they're trying to sell, and would start actually working with the President

But that would require them being other than what they are I suppose

I'm estatic about the Senate myself (Elizabeth Warren!!)

[Lauv Keiko]

I saw a photo post in facebook.

It has the picture of Bush on the left and it has a text on it :: You gave this guy 8 years to mess things up
and on the right, Obama's picture :: I'm giving this guy 8 years to fix it all up.

thoughts?

[Coda]

It's not gonna be fixed in the next four years. It's going to take much longer than that -- it takes longer to build than to destroy, you know. It WILL improve, but four years isn't long enough to completely turn this mess around.

[Arikana]

Originally Posted by Coda

Ari: In 2000, Florida's result was decided by only 500 votes. There were unending recounts, claims of corruption, controversies over voting machines... a royal mess. And to make matters worse, Florida's electoral votes were the tiebreaker, because neither of the two candidates (Bush and Gore) would hold a majority without Florida.

owo

Daaaang, that sucks. Did the US Government ever figure out what happened in Florida? Or have they just brushed it under the rug? =w=


I wonder what Gore would've done if he had become president instead of Bush.

[Lauv Keiko]

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@Coda: Yup, I get you. Hopefully, he proves his worth this time.
I believe in him.

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[Coda]

Originally Posted by Lauv Keiko

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@Coda: Yup, I get you. Hopefully, he proves his worth this time.
I believe in him.

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Me too. I've got high hopes for this term, and I hope that the right doesn't try to sabotage him.

[Daigotsu]

If people aren't satisfied with the bipartisan system we have, they need to vote independant/libertarian. Yes, it's like the votes don't matter at this point, however, if they get 5% of the popular vote, they get federal funding for the next election. At that point, then we have a 3 party system to work with and it'll feel less like "vote for the lesser of 2 crazies" and we'll have a middle ground to work with. With that, each individual vote will be worth more, as well. It'll take time for that, but I believe that the next generation will be able to enjoy a far better system.

[Coda]

That's not how it's going to happen.

If we break away from a two-party system, it's not going to be because of a third-party candidate. It's not going to be due to third-party campaigning. Both of the existing sides will rightfully argue NOT to vote for a third party, because of the paradoxical effect of a third party vote HURTING your position in a single-vote ballot. (That is, if you believe in A, C, and E, and the Democrats believe in A, B, and C, and the Republicans believe in D, E, and F, and your third party believes in A, C, and E, a vote for your third party will hurt the likelihood of electing a candidate that supports more of your beliefs. It's not just a wasted vote, it's a counterproductive one.)

If we ever break away from the two-party system it's going to be because one of the parties fails and new parties form around the fragments.

[Serra Britt]

Coda, isn't there a flaw in your argument? If enough people believe in A, C, and E and then vote for the candidate who believes in A, C, and E, won't that candidate win? That hardly seems counterproductive, but too many people think that there's no way a third party will win so they don't vote for them no matter if they will support their beliefs the best.

I would say that if enough people were educated (maybe via informative campaigning) then maybe enough people would vote for a third party for them to win? I suppose that's silly considering how many uninformed people vote, I guess.

Just me thinking intuitively here, I might be way off.