Countdown to Extinction: The 2016 Presidential Election

[Todd]

What do you think: Jeb! drops out after the Granite State?

I give him until mid-March.  Lots on money and hope springs eternal.

[Todd]

No election should be this entertaining.

[Karl Henning]

No election should be this entertaining.

We're getting our meltdown after all!

[knight66]

Another one bites the dust.

He wants to fight for the cause of liberty.....is liberty still delayed then?

Mike

[Gurn Blanston]

He wants to fight for the cause of liberty.....is liberty still delayed then?

Mike

There is a substantial faction in this country which believe that any form of governmental regulation whatsoever is an infringement on their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. (by God, constitutionally guaran-freaking-teed)

Of course, they sure are happy to have a bridge over that river, or a road to that city they want to go to. Speaking of roads, I should just be able to go the speed I want on that road, and I also don't believe in paying a tax on this liquor I drink while driving along... 

[knight66]

So to obtain liberty you need to join government and be paid to salami-slice it into impotency, whilst continuing to draw the full salary, health insurances etc. A very bourgeois way of going about it. More arranging rather than fighting.

Mike

[drogulus]

     People like liberty in the abstract while distrusting the Trojan Horseyness of it. Shit in a liberty wrapper is still shit.

     

[Gurn Blanston]

So to obtain liberty you need to join government and be paid to salami-slice it into impotency, whilst continuing to draw the full salary, health insurances etc. A very bourgeois way of going about it. More arranging rather than fighting.

Mike

     People like liberty in the abstract while distrusting the Trojan Horseyness of it. Shit in a liberty wrapper is still shit.

There you have it. 2 very different ways of saying the same thing. In my view, we are all liberals in what we want from government and all conservatives when it comes to paying for it.

Although, to take Ernie's metaphor a step further towards reality: life is like a shit sandwich; the more bread you got, the less shit you have to eat. It's the American Way 

[Florestan]

In my view, we are all liberals in what we want from government and all conservatives when it comes to paying for it.

I fully subscribe to : as much liberty as possible, as much constraint as neccesary, while being acutely aware that the degrees of possible and necessary vary heavily from country to country.

[bwv 1080]

The median American is no Nazi, but he is a moderate national socialist ... The same psychological force that thwarted the masses' wishes before 2012 continues to shield us.  What is that force?  For want of a better term, ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  Populist policy preferences go hand-in-hand with intellectual laziness and intellectual impatience.  As a result, populist voters fail to hold their leaders' feet to the proverbial fire - allowing wiser, elitist heads to prevail.

i.e. we are saved from the Trumps and Sanders of the world by lazy voters with a short attention span, otherwise we would look like Argentina

http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2016/02/adhd_shall_save_1.html

[Karl Henning]

New, expanded schedule: 4 upcoming Democratic debates. And with O'Malley's exit, it's Clinton-VS.-Sanders, head to head.

I have choir rehearsal tomorrow, so I cannot help missing this first one.

[drogulus]

    After 2 terms governed by a towel snapping retahd, then 2 terms of governance by a law professor who'd make a good hermit, what now? Cruz and Rubio, if it comes to that, will vie for the honor of being a human sacrifice to the Queen of Hell. Not that there's anything wrong with that....

     Dubbing Hillary the Q of H might be a little grandiose considering what a monumental bore she is. Repubs can't bear being chewed to pieces by a nice old lady in a nice old lady pants suit, so she'll have to do.
     

[Todd]

They're dropping like flies.

[Gurn Blanston]

They're dropping like flies.

About damn time!   

[EddieRUKiddingVarese]

Just change your leaders every time the wind changes, like we do in Oz.

We've had 5 in 5 years, good going I say- don't let 'em settle into anything they can only cause harm......

Outgoing PM Tony Abbott's words, "a febrile media culture has developed that rewards treachery"?

You gotta love the way pollies speak

[Karl Henning]

Death of a Diacritic? (Okay, different sort of extinction . . . .)

[Karl Henning]

The campaign would be aimed at "reshaping the Democratic Party," not upending it, said Sanders's close friend Sugarman. "The kind of socialism he is advocating, it's a kind of minimalist socialism."

[drogulus]

     A few Years ago Sanders talked for over 8 hours on the Senate floor, a filibuster. Today it's known as "the speech". A few of you may have heard of it. 

     The Punishment Begins:

     https://www.youtube.com/v/VLNKNq9soLE 

     

[Karl Henning]

Fair disclosure: a Fox News commentator 

The Quinnipiac University national poll shows Clinton's support has collapsed since the last survey in December, losing nearly 20 points to fall into a statistical tie with Sanders. Clinton is still popular with Democrats, but hard sentiment seems to be growing. Some 22 percent of Democrats hold unfavorable views of Clinton, more than double Sanders. The Vermont senator also holds the highest overall favorability among any candidate in either party at 44 percent and performs better in the general election matchup against all Republicans than Clinton. That's strong evidence that her electability argument isn't working.

Clinton's battering of Sanders in Thursday's debate suggests she is aware of her predicament. But she likely worsened her plight as she not only went scorched earth after Sanders but also made several head-scratching claims including that she was not part of the Democratic establishment.

[drogulus]

      National polls are useless at this stage. What matters now is that Hillary has a firewall in South Carolina. The last poll in late January had it Clinton 63% Sanders 33%. If things run true to form Sanders has picked up a bump to 38-40%, and a win in N.H. could move it up a little more. But I don't see Sanders going much above 40% in a two person race. He should lose by at best 55-45, more likely 60-40.