Recall Elections

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

The Republicans retained the State Senate in Wisconsin yesterday:

Democrats won two state Senate seats in Tuesday's historic recall elections, but failed to capture a third seat that would have given them control of the chamber.

By keeping a majority in the Senate, Republicans retained their monopoly on state government because they also hold the Assembly and governor's office. Tuesday's elections narrowed their majority - at least for now - from 19-14 to a razor-thin 17-16.

Consider me very surprised, as I assumed we'd see at least 3-4 switch over. Of the losses, one was from a Republican in Democratic territory, and the other was immersed in a number of scandals.

What does this say about Walker and the Republicans in Wisconsin? About the local impact of the changes in how the public sector deals with unions? Heck, about the popularity of the arguments put forth about the unions at all?

There are two recall elections for next week for Democratic incumbents, as well. I haven't seen polling for them yet.

Comments

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

Some taxes are good, some are bad, it depends on the context- What is being taxed and what is the money being used for?

But you just rejected the idea that taxes could be bad out of hand, which is it?

Sin taxes don't socially engineer bad habits away, they just make the users destitute. This usually disproportionally affects poor people because they tend to rely on these things just so they're not completely miserable.

Exactly ^ but making people destitute and miserable is just fine as long as it's in the name of the greater good correct?

Go back and read the whole reply with this in mind.

Re: DQ!

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Oh, so reduce everyone's speech and disenfranchise the population. Sounds great.

Re: DQ!

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

How do we know this occurs... well because the wrong guys win!!

Drop upon drop. Ounce after ounce. Reduce. Repackage. Alter. Change.

Make things better! Progress! Upwards! Onwards! Dispose of the regressive!

Ever sure of that final goal of "better". Always confident that when you lose it's because of the errors of the electorate and when you win because of their brilliance. Never content to believe it's neither inferiority of your argument or strength of theirs. Always others and their failings.

Re: DQ!

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

"If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war."

Oddly enough it's the book I'm reading right now because the wife found out I never actually read it in high school.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

You made his point, that's the beauty of it. But other than having a D behind his name, I'm not sure why Al Franken is exceptional enough to be singled out as a particularly bad Senator or even a bad politician.

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

Perhaps, but from the whole thread it was a bit more, but read it how you will....it may have been a bit too nuanced.

Possibly with Franken you are correct, he has been awfully quiet since he was "put in his place" (in a manner of speaking) quite early on.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

In your mind you proved my point, yes?

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

Funny watching you trying to jump in to snipe. Bruce and I were on the same topic. You jumped and missed the platform.

Re: DQ!

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

AV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y3jE3B8HsE

As for public funding, do whatever it is they do in Canada and other countries.

Re: DQ!

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

They don't seem to have this problem in other countries.

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

But you just rejected the idea that taxes could be bad out of hand, which is it?

Taxes in general are not bad. This was part of your premise, no?

Exactly ^ but making people destitute and miserable is just fine as long as it's in the name of the greater good correct?

I just explained how I am not in favor of certain taxes, to counter your accusation that I thought they were all good. It's a case by case basis.

Re: DQ!

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

They don't? Speech rights are terrible in other countries, and their freedom is worse too.

[harry-beast.livejournal.com]

Canada used to give money to political parties according to how many votes they got in the most recent election. Limits were imposed on personal and corporate donations. The government now intends to discontinue the per-voter subsidy.

Re: DQ!

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

Citation?

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Sure, the back and forth of him trying to explain what he was saying to you was all because you completely understood him. Ok.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

You finished?

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Nothing, this is the system the Constitution itself was designed for. It's functional but it has nothing to do with the rule of the people in a serious sense of the phrase.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Just let's calm down a bit, shall we?

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

They won both the House and the Senate after GWB and his Magnificent Bastards won both three times in a row. That reflected either that Bush was stupid or a lot of people really were angry at the Republicans the fourth time. Your call as to which one.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

I thought we were all on the dark side by default. It's written in the holy books after all!

Re: Voting against my own interest

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

*Ahem* The planters were 19th Century libertarians unwilling even to back the government they themselves created. They were so high on their own ideology that they directly sabotaged the Confederacy while multiplying every victory Grant won tenfold by so doing. Bad analogies lead to the people who make them looking like they know nothing of what they speak.

Re: Voting against my own interest

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

It's not hyperbole, you compared the public sector to the kind of institution that was the 19th Century Tea Party, complete with willful blindness with reality up to the very day before black United States soldiers entered the burned-out shell of Richmond.

Re: DQ!

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

That would be Teddy Roosevelt of Great White Fleet fame and one of the most notorious jingoistic militaristic racist bastards of the modern era? Why exactly is bringing *that* back an improvement?

Re: DQ!

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Hence why Tea Partiers claim up to the day of the deal that not raising the debt ceiling and the US government defaulting is no problem at all but the fault of all is on the Communist hyena vermin traitors of the Left.

Re: DQ!

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

OK, a dead white dude thought this. What does Bogey think? Can Bogey in fact have views of his own as opposed to that of dead people?