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PoliGAF 2011: Of Weiners, Boehners, Santorum, and Teabags

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mckmas8808

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
besada said:
It's heavily invested in biotech and medical innovations, but spends some cash on Aerospace and materials technology, including a little company called NanoTailor, which is trying to make buckytube based fabrics.

Successful companies pay back investments and it's supposed to be a self-funding fund, although they've already dumped more money into than they originally planned, so we'll see how that works out.

They do pre-seed investing, particularly spinning off medical technologies (more than half of the awards) that come out of state universities. You can see the list of all the awards, which comprise $134 million of the total $500 million allocated, here:
http://governor.state.tx.us/files/ecodev/etf/TETF_Dashboard.pdf (PDF)

I suspect you'll be fond of it.

Edit: Annual report on the TEFT here:
http://governor.state.tx.us/files/ecodev/etf/TETF_Report.pdf (PDF)
Click to expand...


So why are conservatives against this type of "fund" nationwide but for infrastructure and medical technology of all kinds? I like it personally.
 
I

Incognito

Troll
this will be a fun and revealing read

http://www.randomhouse.com/book/218096/rick-perry-and-his-eggheads-by-sasha-issenberg/9780307986771/

A fascinating, never-before-reported look into how Rick Perry, in his 2006 re-election campaign in Texas, had academics conduct real-time experiments to study what makes people vote--revealing a new side of a major politician and a game changing trend in American politics.

Despite his folksy personality and disdain for east coast "elitists," Texas governor Rick Perry helped spark a revolution in campaign politics. For his 2006 re-election effort, his campaign manager convinced him to allow four social scientists from Yale to come in and gauge the effectiveness of various campaign tools--candidate appearances, yard signs, television ads, etc.--by running real-time experiments in the heat of a campaign. No candidate had done this before and no one has done it since.

Now, in this chapter-sized pull-out from his upcoming book, The Victory Lab, Sasha Issenberg tells this never-before-told story. With unprecedented access to Perry's campaign team, including the strategist, Dave Carney, Issenberg shows how the "eggheads" made great strides in understanding what works and what doesn't in elections.

Written with energy, insight, and first-class reporting, Rick Perry and His Eggheads shows how social science, political machinations, and big personalities thinking outside the box are reshaping the way we elect our leaders.
Click to expand...
 
R

RustyNails

Member
It just occurred to me that it's going to be a bitter GOP primary. Probably the most bitter we will ever see for a while. GOP electorate is heavily polarized (from moderate on one end to extreme right on the other), and the candidates we have are on either end of the poles. There's no room for middle, so when Rick Perry eventually loses the nomination to Mitt, there's simply no way Perry's base will sway towards voting for his opponent. It's too far out. And there's also no way Mitt or Huntsman's base will ever vote for a raging teabag with cowboy boots. Obama and Hillary were on the same end of the pole so their voters did not really have a problem reconciling with each other and voting for Obama. The silver lining to all of this is the fact that Teaparty possibly constitutes a small part of GOP, and Mittens could overcome the divide with *sane* Republican voters.
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
Well, nothing unexpected there. I fully expect Perry to cannibalize most of Bachmann's support and all but the most faithful and unwavering Paulites who hang out on video game message boards to declare he's going to win because he came in second at the Ames Straw Pill.

Two man race from here on out.
 
mckmas8808

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Dave Inc. said:
Whatever happened with his big ol' day of prayer? I heard so much about it in the lead up to it, but nothing about it after it happened.
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It actually rained like one day, so it worked!
 
I

Incognito

Troll
GhaleonEB said:
Rasmussen

[/credibility]

I would not be surprised to see Perry jump into a lead over Romney, who conservatives seem to be holding their nose while supporting. But we'll need more polling to back this up; Ras has a tenancy to cook polls to build narratives at this point in cycles.
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very true, althought PPP was heavily hinting yesterday that perry will be in lead or very close to lead in their new nationwide poll, too.
 
E

Evlar

Banned
GhaleonEB said:
Rasmussen

[/credibility]

I would not be surprised to see Perry jump into a lead over Romney, who conservatives seem to be holding their nose while supporting. But we'll need more polling to back this up; Ras has a tenancy to cook polls to build narratives at this point in cycles.
Click to expand...
This also wouldn't surprise me.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Incognito said:
very true, althought PPP was heavily hinting yesterday that perry will be in lead or very close to lead in their new nationwide poll, too.
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I missed that, I assume they were tweets? I was away from Twitter most of the day yesterday. PPP confirming a Perry lead would be quite significant.

I look forward to Mittens and Perry trying to out-crazy each other.
 
P

Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
Dr. Pangloss said:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/08/obama-clashes-with-tea-party-member/1 Obama getting ambushed by the Tea Party. Can't wait to see how Rick handles something like this. Also, he sounds like eznark to me.
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"Now, in fairness, since I've been called a socialist who wasn't born in this country, who is destroying America and taking away its freedoms because I passed a health care bill, I'm all for lowering the rhetoric."
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:lol
 
I

Incognito

Troll
GhaleonEB said:
I missed that, I assume they were tweets? I was away from Twitter most of the day yesterday. PPP confirming a Perry lead would be quite significant.

I look forward to Mittens and Perry trying to out-crazy each other.
Click to expand...

yeah. he's surging in a lot of states according to PPP. north carolina, colorado, wisconsin, etc..
 
A

Averon

Member
http://www.theatlantic.com/business...ed-stimulus-to-cover-97-of-its-deficit/70077/

Texas Used Stimulus to Cover 97% of Its Deficit
Even as he railed against the Recovery Act, Texas Gov. Rick Perry used the government's stimulus plan to cover 97 percent of the state's budget deficit in 2009:

Turns out Texas was the state that depended the most on those very stimulus funds to plug nearly 97% of its shortfall for fiscal 2010, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Texas, which crafts a budget every two years, was facing a $6.6 billion shortfall for its 2010-2011 fiscal years. It plugged nearly all of that deficit with $6.4 billion in Recovery Act money, allowing it to leave its $9.1 billion rainy day fund untouched.
"Stimulus was very helpful in getting them through the last few years," said Brian Sigritz, director of state fiscal studies for the National Association of State Budget Officers, said of Texas.

In FY 2012, Texas' deficit is projected to come in at $12 billion, more than 30 percent of its budget -- the third highest rate in the country. But the states, which are collectively facing a $120 billion shortfall next year, are unlikely to see any more stimulus, in large part due to the efforts of conservatives like Gov. Perry, who have slammed the Recovery Act as a wasteful and ineffective government bailout. You make your own bed, etc.
Click to expand...
 
mckmas8808

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Joel Was Right

Joel Was Right

Member
Ron-Paul-007.jpg


For the last few days, the American media and political classes have been debating the fallout from the Ames straw poll: the Iowa ritual that marks the first real hurdle in the Republican nomination race. There was much to say. Michele Bachmann won, cementing her as the Iowa frontrunner. Tim Pawlenty came third and instantly pulled out. Herman Cain's fifth place burst his bubble. Rick Santorum's fourth place gave him a lift. Even some who were not taking part – such as Sarah Palin – were endlessly analysed.

But what of Ron Paul, who came second? The Texan congressman, outspoken libertarian and Tea Party idol got a mere 152 votes fewer than Bachmann. Where was the analysis of his campaign chances or – better still – a debate over his policy positions.

As usual, Paul was mostly ignored. The Washington Times declared him a "loser" even as it said Santorum, with 3,014 fewer votes than Paul, was a "winner". The blanking given to Paul was best summed up by Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, who showed news anchors and analysts laughing at Paul and treating him like a geek in high school being teased by jocks.

If Paul had got an extra 153 votes and actually won, I bet the analysis would have stayed the same. Paul would have been dismissed as a "no hoper" and Bachmann's second place would still have been hailed as the real breakthrough. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61412.html best in a rare piece outlining its unfairness. But even it could not resist a dig at Paul's opinions. "I do not fully understand Ron Paul and his beliefs," wrote columnist Roger Simon, but then he added: "But I do understand when a guy gets shafted and Ron Paul just got shafted."

All of which, begs the question: why? Despite Simon's protestations, Paul's beliefs are easy to understand. He is a libertarian who believes in small government at all costs. That extends to social policy, as well as foreign policy. So Paul wants to scrap the department of education and end the war on drugs, at the same time as condemning the invasion of Iraq and warning against threatening Iran.

Unlike other candidates from both parties – who tack left and right as the polls tell them – Paul has held his beliefs for years and does not change them to suit a focus group. He has principles and stands by them. This makes Paul admirable even when you disagree with him (as I mostly do). It also makes Paul the one thing that American media and political elites of all stripes can't stand: a genuine outsider.

This is especially true for foreign policy. Paul's outspokenness on America's wars abroad and troubles with Iran are a prime example. During the last GOP debate, Paul spoke angrily in favour of leaving Iran alone and played down the threat of Tehran's nuclear ambitions. He also made reference to the US-backed coup in Iran that overthrew democratically-elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq in 1953. "We started it in 1953 when we sent in a coup, installed the Shah … it's been going on and on because we just plain don't mind our own business. That's our problem!" Paul said, showing he knew his Middle East history.

But, of course, no politicians or journalists are interested in that history. That – like Paul's opposition to the war s in Iraq and Afghanistan – is seen as unpatriotic and that is a cardinal sin. Whether Republican or Democrat, mentioning the idea that other nations around the world might have good cause to be annoyed at the US is a no-go area. Mentioning events like the 1953 coup in Iran – backed by the CIA and Britain – triggers a collective cultural response of putting hands over one's ears and shouting: "La, la, la, la!"

It goes against the idea of American "exceptionalism". Paul's positions question the country's very role in the world. He even calls America an "empire". That is simply too much for the system to take. Far better to debate familiar topics like gay marriage, abortion rights, taxes and welfare cuts. Or ridiculous side issues like flag-burning.

Meanwhile, Paul is portrayed as the crazy uncle at the family party. Which is a tragedy. Paul likely won't win the 2012 nomination. His support is solid, enthusiastic, but hard to see growing very broad. But to cast him as a fringe weirdo says far more about the biases and idiocy of the media and his political rivals than it does about Paul.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/aug/16/ron-paul-media-bias?CMP=twt_fd​
 
M

Macam

Banned
Averon said:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business...ed-stimulus-to-cover-97-of-its-deficit/70077/

Texas Used Stimulus to Cover 97% of Its Deficit
Click to expand...

Welcome to Texas.

For fiscal 2011, without the stimulus, we tapped heftily into the Rainy Day Fund, had our comptroller magically revamp her expectations by $1.2bn or so, and shredded our education and Medicaid budgets heavily all so we could avoid, you know, raising taxes.

Gov. Perry pretty much just hit the Eject button and bailed out of the plane on its way down.
 
T

ToxicAdam

Member
TacticalFox88 said:
It's like ammunition falls into the Dems laps. Jesus Christ.
Click to expand...

It's not really a new allegation. It's been floating around since the stimulus passed.


Also, the WSJ predicted the stimulus money would set up governors for increased shortfalls in the future.

First, in most state capitals the stimulus enticed state lawmakers to spend on new programs rather than adjusting to lean times. They added health and welfare benefits and child care programs. Now they have to pay for those additions with their own state's money.

For example, the stimulus offered $80 billion for Medicaid to cover health-care costs for unemployed workers and single workers without kids. But in 2011 most of that extra federal Medicaid money vanishes. Then states will have one million more people on Medicaid with no money to pay for it.

A few governors, such as Mitch Daniels of Indiana and Rick Perry of Texas, had the foresight to turn down their share of the $7 billion for unemployment insurance, realizing that once the federal funds run out, benefits would be unpayable. "One of the smartest decisions we made," says Mr. Daniels. Many governors now probably wish they had done the same.

Second, stimulus dollars came with strings attached that are now causing enormous budget headaches. Many environmental grants have matching requirements, so to get a federal dollar, states and cities had to spend a dollar even when they were facing huge deficits. The new construction projects built with federal funds also have federal Davis-Bacon wage requirements that raise state building costs to pay inflated union salaries.

Worst of all, at the behest of the public employee unions, Congress imposed "maintenance of effort" spending requirements on states. These federal laws prohibit state legislatures from cutting spending on 15 programs, from road building to welfare, if the state took even a dollar of stimulus cash for these purposes.

One provision prohibits states from cutting Medicaid benefits or eligibility below levels in effect on July 1, 2008. That date, not coincidentally, was the peak of the last economic cycle when states were awash in revenue. State spending soared at a nearly 8% annual rate from 2004-2008, far faster than inflation and population growth, and liberals want to keep funding at that level.

A study by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation in Seattle found that "because Washington state lawmakers accepted $820 million in education stimulus dollars, only 9 percent of the state's $6.8 billion K-12 budget is eligible for reductions in fiscal year 2010 or 2011." More than 85% of Washington state's Medicaid budget is exempt from cuts and nearly 75% of college funding is off the table. It's bad enough that Congress can't balance its own budget, but now it is making it nearly impossible for states to balance theirs
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S

Souldriver

Member
Somehow I'm convinced Obama will get a second term.


Don't ask me why, because normally I'm a pretty pessimistic/realistic and cautious person. But I just don't buy the idea that one of those GOP nutjobs can get a majority of the Americans behind him/her with a narrative of social conservatism and "free market prevails", in a time when the economy is going down the shitter. Or maybe I'm overestimating the American electorate.
 
J

Jonm1010

Banned
Souldriver said:
Somehow I'm convinced Obama will get a second term.


Don't ask me why, because normally I'm a pretty pessimistic/realistic and cautious person. But I just don't buy the idea that one of those GOP nutjobs can get a majority of the Americans behind him/her with a narrative of social conservatism and "free market prevails", in a time when the economy is going down the shitter. Or maybe I'm overestimating the American electorate.
Click to expand...

Nah, I think youre right. Both Bush and Reagan had shitty poll numbers around this time and still got re-elected. Its hard to unseat an incumbent. And the people poised to run against Obama are not likeable guys.

Bachman's batshit, Romney is boring and will get run through the grinder from both sides by the base and by the independents and Perry is the type of guy who only sounds good when the economy is rolling and Americans are in that complacent time like when George W. Bush won.
 
Dude Abides

Dude Abides

Banned
Souldriver said:
Somehow I'm convinced Obama will get a second term.


Don't ask me why, because normally I'm a pretty pessimistic/realistic and cautious person. But I just don't buy the idea that one of those GOP nutjobs can get a majority of the Americans behind him/her with a narrative of social conservatism and "free market prevails", in a time when the economy is going down the shitter. Or maybe I'm overestimating the American electorate.
Click to expand...

We have a weiner.

Remember, this country elected GW twice, once because Gore was an annoying nerd, and the other time because Kerry was a goofy frenchy-looking type person.
 
J

Jonm1010

Banned
Dude Abides said:
We have a weiner.

Remember, this country elected GW twice, once because Gore was an annoying nerd, and the other time because Kerry was a goofy frenchy-looking type person.
Click to expand...

That same electorate also elected an accused half black closet muslim over the safe white male war veteran.

I guess all im saying is that it cuts both ways. And even so Obama has done a good job bucking trends.

I just don't see Romney, Perry or Bachman having the right mix of appeal to attract both their base AND enough independents to win the election. That's just me though.
 
G

gcubed

Member
Jonm1010 said:
That same electorate also elected an accused half black closet muslim over the safe white male war veteran.

I guess all im saying is that it cuts both ways. And even so Obama has done a good job bucking trends.

I just don't see Romney, Perry or Bachman having the right mix of appeal to attract both their base AND enough independents to win the election. That's just me though.
Click to expand...

I think Romney would have the best chance in the general, but i dont think he'll beat Perry. Perry is pretty off putting if you aren't his base.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
Jonm1010 said:
That same electorate also elected an accused half black closet muslim over the safe white male war veteran.

I guess all im saying is that it cuts both ways. And even so Obama has done a good job bucking trends.

I just don't see Romney, Perry or Bachman having the right mix of appeal to attract both their base AND enough independents to win the election. That's just me though.
Click to expand...

It won't matter with unemployment at 9%. Unless they nominate Bachman, the GOP has a very good chance at winning.
 
T

ToxicAdam

Member
Meus Renaissance said:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/aug/16/ron-paul-media-bias?CMP=twt_fd
Click to expand...

This article makes me a bit crazy. I wonder the nationality of Paul Harris. It seems as if he could be a British journalist that has been assigned to cover American politics in the past 4 years and doesn't completely understand our system.

It completely avoids referencing history and that the Libertarians have always been an afterthought in Republican politics and especially since the rise of Reagan and his ushering in the warhawk neocons that dominate(d) the party. Also the fact that the Ames straw poll is mostly an artificial edifice that doesn't really measure anything at all.
 
Dude Abides

Dude Abides

Banned
Jonm1010 said:
That same electorate also elected an accused half black closet muslim over the safe white male war veteran.

I guess all im saying is that it cuts both ways. And even so Obama has done a good job bucking trends.

I just don't see Romney, Perry or Bachman having the right mix of appeal to attract both their base AND enough independents to win the election. That's just me though.
Click to expand...

They elected a Democrat because the country was heading into the shitter after eight years of a Republican. Now the country's in the shitter with a Democrat, so a Republican's prospects are good.

PhoenixDark said:
It won't matter with unemployment at 9%. Unless they nominate Bachman, the GOP has a very good chance at winning.
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They have a very good chance even if they nominate Bachmann.
 
S

SecretMoblin

Member
ToxicAdam said:
This article makes me a bit crazy. I wonder the nationality of Paul Harris. It seems as if he could be a British journalist that has been assigned to cover American politics in the past 4 years and doesn't completely understand our system.

It completely avoids referencing history and that the Libertarians have always been an afterthought in Republican politics and especially since the rise of Reagan and his ushering in the warhawk neocons that dominate(d) the party. Also the fact that the Ames straw poll is mostly an artificial edifice that doesn't really measure anything at all.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I agree. Goldwater was about as libertarian as a mainstream Republican can get, and ever since leaders in the conservative movement started advocating "fusionism" libertarian ideas and rhetoric have been common in Republican Party politics.

That isn't to say libertarian views on several issues aren't marginalized, of course.

And count me in as someone who thinks it's way, way too early to start calling the race either way.
 
C

Clevinger

Member
Obama's doing horrible with independents

Ohio's a pretty good microcosm for an unhappy nation right now.

Barack Obama's approval rating in the state right now is 44%, with 52% of voters disapproving of him. His numbers with independents are horrid at 34/59. And there's a whole lot more Democrats (16%) who disapprove of him than there are Republicans (just 4%) who like him.
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Hey, Obama, maybe this is some kind of indication that you should do something different. You know, just maybe. Oh, you don't think so? OK.

The upside? Independents hate the GOP candidates more. At least for now.
 
S

scorcho

testicles on a cold fall morning
As if the multitude Bush-on-Steroids quips aren't enough to inform one to Perry's potential as POTUS, here's another one to scare us all up - Douglas Feith has become a (thus far informal) advisor to Perry on national security issues.

some of you may ask, well, who's this Feith dude?

http://www.slate.com/id/2100899/

Of all the revelations that have surfaced about the Abu Ghraib prison-abuse scandal so far, the least surprising is that Douglas Feith may be partly responsible. Not a single Iraq war screw-up has gone by without someone tagging Feith—who, as the Defense Department's undersecretary for policy, is the Pentagon's No. 3 civilian, after Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz—as the guy to blame. Feith, who ranks with Wolfowitz in purity of neoconservative fervor, has turned out to be Michael Dukakis in reverse: ideology without competence.
Click to expand...

really, the whole thing is worth the read.
 
mckmas8808

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
ToxicAdam said:
This article makes me a bit crazy. I wonder the nationality of Paul Harris. It seems as if he could be a British journalist that has been assigned to cover American politics in the past 4 years and doesn't completely understand our system.

It completely avoids referencing history and that the Libertarians have always been an afterthought in Republican politics and especially since the rise of Reagan and his ushering in the warhawk neocons that dominate(d) the party. Also the fact that the Ames straw poll is mostly an artificial edifice that doesn't really measure anything at all.
Click to expand...


This being the most important part. But you could argue that had Perry or Romney won it, the media would be making a big deal out of it like they are doing for Bachmann.
 
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