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Why Democrats favor a Republican in Mass.

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Started 2 years ago by Tenzo
Latest reply from Andrew Hall

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Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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People are stunned that in a Democratic state people could be voting for a Republican.

To me it's pretty straight forward. No party, democrat, republican, green, whatever should have a 'super majority'. The news claims that losing the super majority will allow the Republicans to filabuster.

Looking at it from the other side it means that without a super majority, the merits must be debated in the open. Like maybe on C-SPAN.

Personally I think we need to go back to the origin. Congress was never supposed to be a full time job. It was scheduled to meet outside key agricultural schedules so that a representative could travel to DC to vote and put forward the desires of the people he represented.

What it has become now is nothing like the original intent
IMHO

Posted 2 years ago #
pez

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Tenzo wrote >>
People are stunned that in a Democratic state people could be voting for a Republican.
To me it's pretty straight forward. No party, democrat, republican, green, whatever should have a 'super majority'. The news claims that losing the super majority will allow the Republicans to filabuster.
Looking at it from the other side it means that without a super majority, the merits must be debated in the open. Like maybe on C-SPAN.
Personally I think we need to go back to the origin. Congress was never supposed to be a full time job. It was scheduled to meet outside key agricultural schedules so that a representative could travel to DC to vote and put forward the desires of the people he represented.
What it has become now is nothing like the original intent
IMHO

Agree. As much as I dislike the Republican Party, I hate a Democratic super majority more (and vice-versa).

Posted 2 years ago #
Jimbo Jones
German Village
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I agree as well. I'm a (moderate) Republican, but I think our federal government works best when neither party has unfettered power. I like to see the White House and at least one of the houses of Congress be controlled by different parties.

Posted 2 years ago #
J.R. Locke
Weinland Park
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Contract with America redux. It's coming.....

Posted 2 years ago #
StowCbusCleveland
Jackson Township, Canton, OH
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J.R. Locke wrote >>
Contract with America redux. It's coming.....

Hopefully there is an actual contract with real ideas. My biggest concern politically is that the GOP will be the dog that catches the car in 2010 and they won't know what to do with it. A split government that turns to pragmatism to bridge the divide would be great, but we have real issues in this country that need to be addressed and now is not the time for government paralysis. I fear that the current edition of the GOP won't vote for anything that isn't a defense bill, regardless of merit.

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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StowCbusCleveland wrote >>

J.R. Locke wrote >>
Contract with America redux. It's coming.....

I fear that the current edition of the GOP won't vote for anything that isn't a defense bill, regardless of merit.

To be fair, the current congress voted increases to the military budget and increased foriegn military pressense.

I like to consider myself middle of the road and think than only the uniformed would pull a party lever without looking at the candidates. If I'm going to take the time to vote, I'm going to do my homework.

In bad times I tend to go waver toward what people consider Republican. Less taxes less increase in programs. In good times I go Democratic. Spend money on the less fortunate.

So I guess my outlook is; yes feed all the hungry (including those overseas), but first, I want to make sure my family is fed.

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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J.R. Locke wrote >>
Contract with America redux. It's coming.....

I'd like to see Obama's promise of all debates being public on C-SPAN.
The guy had some great hope and dream ideas. Many times he seemed like Kennedy in the optimism he generated.

'had some'; WTF?
Was it that hard to make good on his basic promises?
Don't get me wrong, I was not for McCain and the dingbat. I was for Obama. But I haven't seen that guy since some suit took office.

Posted 2 years ago #
Bear
The woods
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Tenzo wrote >>
Was it that hard to make good on his basic promises?

The Obameter has him at 91 kept, 15 broken, 33 compromised, and 362 either stalled or "in the works" at present.

So it depends on how you look at it. 91 out of 500+ doesn't sound all that great, but on the other hand a 91-to-15 ratio isn't that bad.

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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Bear wrote >>

Tenzo wrote >>
Was it that hard to make good on his basic promises?

The Obameter has him at 91 kept, 15 broken, 33 compromised, and 362 either stalled or "in the works" at present.
So it depends on how you look at it. 91 out of 500+ doesn't sound all that great, but on the other hand a 91-to-15 ratio isn't that bad.

What?
Since when can honesty be put forward on a ratio?
I only steal money out of the till on alternate Fridays, so overall, I'm an honest employee.

Why can't we hold people to their word (when it is their control)?

obama:"Will maintain fiscal responsibility and prevent any increase in the deficit by offsetting cuts and revenue sources in other parts of the government

I'm dissapointed that people would think partial honesty is all we can expect out of our representatives.

Posted 2 years ago #
Nitsud Regnifloh
Valerio Heights
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you know, i may disagree with the majority of you on a lot of issues and technicalities, but I will say this. I am glad CU members are willing to check the other side once in awhile and most definitely will educate themselves before pulling the "party lever."

Posted 2 years ago #
rus

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/01/20/with_60th_vote_gone_a_search_for_a_new_strategy/

Representative Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York, said: Ã¢â‚¬Å“When you have large numbers of citizens in the United States of America who believe this is going in the wrong direction, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a limit to which you can keep saying that OK, they just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get it, if we just pass a bill, theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll get it,Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ he said.

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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I think this event will strengthen the Democratic party.

The Weiner seems to get it.

Posted 2 years ago #
JD3
Columbus
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von wrote >>
you know, i may disagree with the majority of you on a lot of issues and technicalities, but I will say this. I am glad CU members are willing to check the other side once in awhile and most definitely will educate themselves before pulling the "party lever."

Agreed.

Posted 2 years ago #
gramarye
In Exile
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I know the national GOP and conservative groups are spinning this as a rebuke of the Obama administration, and there is certainly an element of that in the significance of the Brown win, but I don't think that's the majority of the story. Local Massachusetts politics deserve attention, too.

In most parts of the country, the local party is more popular than the national one. People may think "the Republicans" or "the Democrats" are corrupt, wasteful, etc., but think their local rep (D or R) is OK. I knew many Democrats here in northeast Ohio who couldn't stand the national GOP, for example, but thought Ralph Regula (R) was a good guy. (He retired recently after something like 36 years in the House.) The situation is different in Massachusetts. The last three consecutive speakers of the state legislature (all Dems) have been indicted on corruption charges. Gov. Deval Patrick is not very popular, even among Democrats. Obama is still personally very popular in Massachusetts. If the presidential election were held again today, Obama would beat both a generic Republican candidate and any plausible GOP nominee. Obviously, however, the Massachusetts voters feel differently about their local figures.

You can look at this as a rebuke to Obama, yes. (And, on the flip side, I know many liberals who were already engaging in damage control days before the election, attempting to cabin the implications to Coakley and Coakley alone.) However, I think it's as much or more a rebuke to the Massachusetts state Democratic Party. Its track record in the state of late has been underwhelming.

Posted 2 years ago #
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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gramarye wrote >>
I know the national GOP and conservative groups are spinning this as a rebuke of the Obama administration, and there is certainly an element of that in the significance of the Brown win, but I don't think that's the majority of the story. Local Massachusetts politics deserve attention, too.
In most parts of the country, the local party is more popular than the national one. People may think "the Republicans" or "the Democrats" are corrupt, wasteful, etc., but think their local rep (D or R) is OK. I knew many Democrats here in northeast Ohio who couldn't stand the national GOP, for example, but thought Ralph Regula (R) was a good guy. (He retired recently after something like 36 years in the House.) The situation is different in Massachusetts. The last three consecutive speakers of the state legislature (all Dems) have been indicted on corruption charges. Gov. Deval Patrick is not very popular, even among Democrats. Obama is still personally very popular in Massachusetts. If the presidential election were held again today, Obama would beat both a generic Republican candidate and any plausible GOP nominee. Obviously, however, the Massachusetts voters feel differently about their local figures.
You can look at this as a rebuke to Obama, yes. (And, on the flip side, I know many liberals who were already engaging in damage control days before the election, attempting to cabin the implications to Coakley and Coakley alone.) However, I think it's as much or more a rebuke to the Massachusetts state Democratic Party. Its track record in the state of late has been underwhelming.

Good point about the local/national in MA. The NJ governor's race was similar. As someone who used to like Kay Bailey Hutchison, I think Texas primary will be much more interesting.

Posted 2 years ago #
rus

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Tenzo wrote >>
I think this event will strengthen the Democratic party.
The Weiner seems to get it.

He does seem to. Not sure if the rest do.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31708.html

Fifty-two percent of Bay State voters who were surveyed as the polls closed said they opposed the federal health care reform measure and 42 percent said they cast their ballot to help stop President Obama from passing his chief domestic initiative.

Then there's this from the Christian Science Monitor:

Scott Brown: the tea partyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s first electoral victory

Posted 2 years ago #
JonMyers
Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand
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We might as well read some tea leaves and throw sheep bones on the ground to divine an answer to this question as to why.

Everyone is reading way too much into this victory. There is not one easy answer as to why, I don't think it's a reflection of the national political climate nor a judgment on Obama.

Sometimes those that normally vote Democratic like myself do vote for a Republican. Especially if you feel that person is the best for the job.

I remember voting without hesitation for Bloomberg because the bottom line is I felt like Mark Green was a total incompetent idiot and Bloomberg was the best person for the job.

It happens.

Posted 2 years ago #
Bear
The woods
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Tenzo wrote >>
What?
Since when can honesty be put forward on a ratio? ...
I'm dissapointed that people would think partial honesty is all we can expect out of our representatives.

You were expecting 100%?

I'd actually love to see how past Presidents did on the same metric.

Posted 2 years ago #
greenhouse1014
Columbus
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Plus, it didn't help that Coakley seemd to know about nothing about the state she was trying to represent. Good job Dems in putting forward a lameass candidate for one of the most stable dem-held position ever.

It's almost like the DNC is lined up to take a big giant shit on Teddy's grave.

Posted 2 years ago #
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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greenhouse1014 wrote >>
Plus, it didn't help that Coakley seemd to know about nothing about the state she was trying to represent. Good job Dems in putting forward a lameass candidate for one of the most stable dem-held position ever.
It's almost like the DNC is lined up to take a big giant shit on Teddy's grave.

or everybody.

Posted 2 years ago #