• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

PoliGAF 2014 |OT| Kay Hagan and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad News

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Aaron Strife

Banned
CONCORD, N.H. —A new poll on the potential matchup in the U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire, shows Democratic incumbent Jeanne Shaheen ahead of former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican, by eight percentage points, up from just a three-point lead in the same poll a month ago.

The Public Policy Poll conducted on behalf of the League of Conservation Voters on Wednesday and Thursday showed Shaheen leading 47 percent to 39 percent over Brown.
Click to expand...
But PD said the NH Senate seat was in trouble! Bad news for Kay Hagan!
 
W

WayneMorse

Banned
Aaron Strife said:
But PD said the NH Senate seat was in trouble! Bad news for Kay Hagan!
Click to expand...

Hopefully Dem momentum this year will be big enough to flip the state senate, it's shocking NH hasn't expanded Medicaid yet.

And when LePage and the true believers in Maine get dumped we can finally bask in single party Dem rule over the northeast.

speculawyer said:
Why isn't this Pat McCorry coal story not getting much traction? The situation seems massively corrupt.
Click to expand...

McCorry not running for Pres helps.

I was really disappointed by the Walker emails, embarrassing for him but nothing really damning, but it does show how fragile Walker's image is, he's one NY Times expose away from having his career ended.
 
S

Sibylus

Banned
Attorney General Signs New Rules to Limit Access to Journalists’ Records (Charlie Savage, NYT)
Among other things, the rules create a presumption that prosecutors generally will provide advance notice to the news media when seeking to obtain their communications records.

The Justice Department had been criticized for issuing subpoenas for phone records of Associated Press reporters and bureaus without notice, giving The A.P. no chance to negotiate over their scope or contest the matter in court. The logs led investigators to a former F.B.I. agent, who pleaded guilty in September.

The rules also address a law forbidding search warrants for journalists’ work materials, except when the reporter is a criminal suspect. It says that the exception cannot be invoked for conduct based on “ordinary news-gathering activities.”
Click to expand...

Sanity reigns!
 
S

Sibylus

Banned
Where Have All the Lobbyists Gone? - On paper, the influence-peddling business is drying up. But lobbying money is flooding Washington, DC like never before. What’s going on? (Lee Fang, The Nation)
And why not keep buying? A November report from McKinsey & Company estimated that the “business value at stake from government and regulatory intervention” is about 30 percent of earnings for companies in most sectors. Simply put, government policies can mean the difference of billions of dollars for major companies, and spending on politics offers a superb payoff. A study from the University of Kansas found that companies lobbying for a tax holiday received a 22,000 percent return on the money they spent to influence the legislation.
Click to expand...
Enforcement authority ultimately lies with the United States Attorney’s Office for Washington, DC. In an interview, Keith Morgan, the deputy chief of that office, acknowledged that the Justice Department has largely pursued cases in which a registered lobbyist has failed to update a quarterly statement or fallen delinquent, and the House clerk or secretary of the Senate has caught the error. Though there have been investigations, Morgan’s office has never prosecuted anyone for failing to register or for deregistering while continuing to lobby. “We have no ability to know if somebody doesn’t register unless some insider or a competitor comes and says, ‘We have reason to believe that this individual or this group is lobbying,’” Morgan says. To the best of his knowledge, even though Congress added criminal penalties for failing to disclose lobbying activities, there has not been one single case of criminal enforcement of the law.
Click to expand...
In his first month in office, Obama signed an executive order stating that registered lobbyists would not be welcome in his administration. The administration quickly backpedaled, however, issuing a number of exemptions in the following years. But the larger effect was that many lobbyists simply decertified, removing themselves from the lobbying-disclosure system and thereby pushing the influence-peddling profession more into the shadows. As Robert Gibbs, then Obama’s press secretary, explained glibly to Time magazine, when asked about reports of an Obama nominee engaging in lobbying activity: “If you’re not registered to lobby, you can’t be a lobbyist.” The clear implication was that the executive order would be narrowly enforced, and only against those who were registered under the LDA.
Click to expand...
Many unregistered lobbyists have argued that since they spend less than 20 percent, or one full day per week, engaged in contacting lawmakers, they should not have to register. Others have found equally creative justifications for not complying with the law. Newt Gingrich, during the last presidential campaign, memorably declared that he did not have to register as a lobbyist for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, which paid him about $1.7 million, because he worked for Freddie Mac as a “historian.” Gingrich also developed a healthcare institute that offered draft legislation, meetings with lawmakers and other benefits to its member corporations, including Astra-Zeneca and WellPoint. This institute, which even brought on Daschle for some events, did not register any of its advocacy as lobbying.

Gingrich’s “historian” claim was widely mocked. And ethics watchdogs, including Public Citizen’s Craig Holman, regard Daschle’s failure to disclose as a clear “flouting” of the law. But their behavior has become the norm.
Click to expand...

I wonder which moves faster: money or language.

But yeah, long article full of gross things.
 
N

NYCmetsfan

Banned
Bo said:
Where Have All the Lobbyists Gone? - On paper, the influence-peddling business is drying up. But lobbying money is flooding Washington, DC like never before. What’s going on? (Lee Fang, The Nation)





I wonder which moves faster: money or language.

But yeah, long article full of gross things.
Click to expand...
I have no problem with lobbying per se. Like I have no problem people going to Washington and voicing their opinion. My problem is when that gets mixed with money. Lobbying isn't the problem its campaign finance.
 
D

DoktorEvil

Banned
Speaking of lobbying, has anyone read Jack Abramoff's book he wrote after conviction?

I didn't realize the life of a corporate lobbyist is so wealthy, but hey money is power on K street.

I don't hate lobbying, it's the one way small businesses can have their industry represented fairly.
 
empty vessel

empty vessel

Member
I don't support lobbying by incorporated entities. Their interaction with Congress should be limited to testimony at public hearings when requested.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
speculawyer said:
Pfft. You overestimate their chances. The demographics continue to slowly shift away from them. And their new crusade of anti-gay legislation is going to hurt the GOP image outside of deep red states. The GOP will certainly do well as this is a mid-term election but this won't be a 2010 wave. Back then the Tea Party had momentum. Now they've been exposed as the loons they are.
Click to expand...

What does any of that have to do with midterms though? The electorate will be older and whiter, and probably won't care about the Tea Party's extremism on gay issues.

If the economy is decent and people believe it's decent, dems should do decent. If not they'll lose the senate.
 
Q

Qazaq

Banned
I have a question.

Is this naive?

Is there something going on in Scott Brown's head, the polling, his advisors, whatever it is, that tells him he has an argument to make to the voters of a state in which he doesn't live?
 
W

WayneMorse

Banned
rocketknight said:
How the GOP Sabotaged Marco Rubio, the Man Who Was Once Its Savior, by Jonathan Chait
Click to expand...

Rubio is a dim twit so it doesn't surprise me he fell from grace so quickly.

He's just embarrassing himself now, for example last week he went at Obama on Twitter over the President apologizing to art history majors, him, Cruz and Paul are in a pissing contest to see how much they can show they hate the President, but if you go on any right wing blog it's pretty obvious they'll always hate Rubio.

Hopefully he'll lose his seat in 2016 so we can finally forget about him and he can fade into obscurity.

On the subject of Rubio though,

Obama Steals Marco Rubio’s Thunder Again

The White House released a few details Thursday about President Obama’s 2014 budget. The biggest news is that it will not include chained CPI—an inflation calculation that would have cut Social Security benefits for seniors—which liberals were happy to hear. More importantly, though, the budget includes an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for childless workers, an idea that might sound familiar to conservatives.

The EITC is a refundable tax credit that promotes work, because the amount workers receive rises with their earned income until it hits a certain point and then is slowly phased out. The credit is most generous for married parents. Currently, childless adults can collect a maximum of $496 from the EITC. That’s less than 10 percent of the maximum amount available to a parent with two children ($5,460). The White House said the cost of the EITC expansion will be offset by “closing tax loopholes that don’t reward work or help our economy,” according to the White House.

If this rings a bell, it’s because Senator Marco Rubio pitched a similar version of it in January. Rubio wanted to eliminate the so-called marriage penalty built into the EITC. The payments a family receives from the EITC are calculated based on the family's gross income, not based on each individual worker's earnings. That means that two individuals would each receive larger EITC payments as individuals than if they were married. Thus, the EITC penalizes marriage.

In response, Rubio proposed changing the EITC to a work subsidy that all workers could collect, regardless of marital status. A wage subsidy works in a similar manner as the EITC, supplementing the wages of low-income workers. However, unlike the EITC, it would be available equally to all workers. That means that Rubio's plan would allow childless workers to receive much larger payments.

But, as Sharon Parrot at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities points out, unless Rubio is prepared to significantly increase the size of the EITC, his plan will cut payments to those who used to receive the most from it (mostly low-income, working parents). Besides that, Obama and Rubio are offering relatively similar ideas.

This isn’t the first time that the White House has pre-empted one of Rubio’s ideas. During the summer of 2012, Rubio and a few other Republicans were working on legislation that would have allowed the children of undocumented immigrants to stay in the country legally while working on their college degree or pursuing a military career. It was dubbed the "DREAM Act lite." But while Rubio was working on it, Obama announced that he was taking unilateral action to effectively stop the deportation of the children of undocumented immigrants.

Poof! Just like that, Rubio’s immigration plan, which he had been working on for months, was useless.

After Obama’s speech, Rubio claimed that he was not personally upset with the White House, but wished they had contacted him before the announcement. "If you're really interested, and you read in the newspaper that there's a Republican senator working on an idea, don't you reach out and say, 'Hey, how does your idea work? Just curious.' That never happened," he said. "It's not that my feelings are hurt. That's not the issue."

Less than two years later, Obama is stepping on Rubio’s toes again.
Click to expand...
 
H

hipsterpants

Member
So PoliGAF, I was wondering if you guys had any interesting articles about the increase/rise of the left/progressives in the US since Obama was elected in 2008. Did Obama's campaign and election help create the larger base, or has it been a reaction to the radicalized conservatives (that appeared because of Obama's election)?

Now I'm only 19 and didn't pay much attention to issues like social justice until about a year ago, but has Obama's election and riling up of the conservative base really dragged many of these issues like racism and sexism and discrimination against homosexuals out into the spotlight? While I know that you can debate whether you think Obama's policies have been good or not, I'm particularly interested in the cultural impact that his election has had on the people of my generation (either directly or indirectly).
 
T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
crush said:
So PoliGAF, I was wondering if you guys had any interesting articles about the increase/rise of the left/progressives in the US since Obama was elected in 2008. Did Obama's campaign and election help create the larger base, or has it been a reaction to the radicalized conservatives (that appeared because of Obama's election)?

Now I'm only 19 and didn't pay much attention to issues like social justice until about a year ago, but has Obama's election and riling up of the conservative base really dragged many of these issues like racism and sexism and discrimination against homosexuals out into the spotlight? While I know that you can debate whether you think Obama's policies have been good or not, I'm particularly interested in the cultural impact that his election has had on the people of my generation (either directly or indirectly).
Click to expand...

No articles come immediately to mind, but basically partisanship comes down to whether or not people think the country is on the right track, and if they think their kids will be better off than they are. Thanks mainly to the 2008 economic crash, the answer to both of those questions are very negative.

And when people have a negative view of the country they tend to be pretty upset with the status quo. And when people move away from the status quo and wanting change, that basically by definition makes people move away from the center.

As far as Obama is concerned, I don't really think he personally changed political climate much at all, outside of maybe his race sparkling dormant tensions. If anything, it seemed as though he's fighting against the current political climate and failing, wanting to be a grand bargain style president.
 
C

Chichikov

Member
crush said:
So PoliGAF, I was wondering if you guys had any interesting articles about the increase/rise of the left/progressives in the US since Obama was elected in 2008. Did Obama's campaign and election help create the larger base, or has it been a reaction to the radicalized conservatives (that appeared because of Obama's election)?

Now I'm only 19 and didn't pay much attention to issues like social justice until about a year ago, but has Obama's election and riling up of the conservative base really dragged many of these issues like racism and sexism and discrimination against homosexuals out into the spotlight? While I know that you can debate whether you think Obama's policies have been good or not, I'm particularly interested in the cultural impact that his election has had on the people of my generation (either directly or indirectly).
Click to expand...
I think Obama is a result of the rise in progressivism, not the cause of it (though is amazingly impressive campaign in 2008 sure got a lot of people to pay more attention to politics).

As for the cause of that rise, it's complicated, and any one paragraph description will miss a whole lot of nuance, but I'll give it a go anyway -
The main ideological thrust of the GOP since World War 2 was rolling back the welfare state, and that is an amazingly unpopular idea with the public. The GOP realized after the '64 election and ever since they were looking for issues that can get people to vote for them.
First it was the red scare, then the resistance to the civil rights movements (read: racism), being tough on crime, the war on drugs, flag burning, gay marriage and tax cuts.
But those issues become less and less effective with the public, especially young people, there are many reasons for that - part of it is the apparent failure of such policies (trickle down, war on drugs, 3 strikes) and part of it is that we live in a much more open and diverse society, and hate mongering works much better when you can't see, talk or interact with the people you're supposed to hate/be afraid of. With the Iraq war killing the idea that the GOP is good on national defense, they're left with very little to sell, especially for young people.
 
P

pigeon

Banned
Chichikov said:
I think Obama is a result of the rise in progressivism, not the cause of it (though is amazingly impressive campaign in 2008 sure got a lot of people to pay more attention to politics).

As for the cause of that rise, it's complicated, and any one paragraph description will miss a whole lot of nuance, but I'll give it a go anyway -
The main ideological thrust of the GOP since World War 2 was rolling back the welfare state, and that is an amazingly unpopular idea with the public. The GOP realized after the '64 election and ever since they were looking for issues that can get people to vote for them.
First it was the red scare, then the resistance to the civil rights movements (read: racism), being tough on crime, the war on drugs, flag burning, gay marriage and tax cuts.
But those issues become less and less effective with the public, especially young people, there are many reasons for that - part of it is the apparent failure of such policies (trickle down, war on drugs, 3 strikes) and part of it is that we live in a much more open and diverse society, and hate mongering works much better when you can't see, talk or interact with the people you're supposed to hate/be afraid of. With the Iraq war killing the idea that the GOP is good on national defense, they're left with very little to sell, especially for young people.
Click to expand...

I strongly agree that Obama is a result, not a cause, of the increased liberalism of the American youth. For the cause, I think you have to point to a few different factors:

* George W.'s wars. Unpopular wars tend to break apart coalitions in America -- the Democratic coalition came apart after the Vietnam War, and it wasn't accidental. Since it's been impossible to win a war post WWII due to the radical increase in force multiplication, going to Iraq was basically guaranteed to screw the GOP.
* The Internet. I strongly believe that the vast increase in access to information and in more or less personal contact with others effectively "urbanized" college America. People who know people of color and gay people personally are inevitably much less likely to support oppressing them.
* The economy, stupid. Even before the recession, the modern economy was already visibly more difficult for students looking for work, less rewarding of loyalty, and less able to provide people with a living. Socialism is a natural response to the corporatization of the American dream.
 
T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
I still have no idea what the hell was the point of Obama putting chained cpi into the budget. I mean it's both unpopular with the base and the moderates. Republicans are even a bit weary of talking about it freely.

Does he just really like the policy or what?
 
B

bonercop

Member
thepotatoman said:
I still have no idea what the hell was the point of Obama putting chained cpi into the budget. I mean it's both unpopular with the base and the moderates. Republicans are even a bit weary of talking about it freely.

Does he just really like the policy or what?
Click to expand...

Pretty much. His desire to cut entitlements is well-documented, and goes back years, even before he was president.
 
A

Avon Barksdale

Member
I was doing some research on New Hampshire and their state legislature is fucking huge!

Their population is only 1.3 million and yet they have 424 (24 State Senate, 400 State House) members in the NH legislature. By contrast, California only has 120 members, Texas has 181 members and New York have 212 members of their respective legislatures.

And they only get paid $100/year.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
The ironic thing is that the youth voters that propelled Obama to office are worse off now than they were under Bush. If not for GOP stupidity on social issues the youth vote would be up for grabs in 2016.
 
F

FyreWulff

Member
Avon Barksdale said:
I was doing some research on New Hampshire and their state legislature is fucking huge!

Their population is only 1.3 million and yet they have 424 (24 State Senate, 400 State House) members in the NH legislature. By contrast, California only has 120 members, Texas has 181 members and New York have 212 members of their respective legislatures.

And they only get paid $100/year.
Click to expand...

I just read this:

"In New Hampshire, a member of the state legislature can be designated as being a member of more than one party. If a candidate runs on one ticket and the opposing party fields no candidate, and if the candidate gets a certain number of write-in votes on the opposing party ticket, then as an elected official, that politician is defined as belonging to both parties, with the party under which s/he officially ran listed first."

New Hampshire seems to be legislated entirely by "WILDCARD, BITCHES"
 
B

Baraka in the White House

2-Terms of Kombat
cashman said:
Just saw a political ad where they used Ted Cruz to promote a candidate.

Fucking Texans.
Click to expand...

AM talk radio in Texas is doing a full-court press against John Cornyn while plugging Ted Cruz every chance they get. They're trashing Cornyn HARD. I hope he wins just to piss them off. It's pretty much tea party radio now.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
Too bad Cornyn doesn't have any decent GOP competition; Stockman is a joke. Democrats wouldn't win the seat either way but I'd love to see Cornyn lose in the primary.
 
G

Giant Panda

Member
PhoenixDark said:
The ironic thing is that the youth voters that propelled Obama to office are worse off now than they were under Bush. If not for GOP stupidity on social issues the youth vote would be up for grabs in 2016.
Click to expand...

It's not just the social issues. I think many younger voters don't like the Republicans economic pitch either. If Republicans dropped the social issues they would get some people to vote for them who just blame any problems on the party of the president, but I think you're overestimating the number of young people who don't pay any attention to the pitch Republicans give on the economy either.
 
R

RustyNails

Member
CNN's Reliable Sources host calls Ted Nugent's rant "hate speech". I learned that Hitler used "subhuman mongrel" to describe Jews. This guy belongs to 1950s Mississippi with a cone hat. I cannot believe his endorsement counts for the gubernatorial race in Texas for the GOP candidate. How likely is he going to win? I hope Wendy Davis can score an upset.
 
W

WayneMorse

Banned
As much as I like Wendy Davis it would be a miracle for her to pull off a victory.

Even if she's wins every other statewide office will be won by Republicans and the legislature will be dominated by Ted Cruz wannabes so I doubt she could get anything done.
 
W

WayneMorse

Banned
PhoenixDark said:
The ironic thing is that the youth voters that propelled Obama to office are worse off now than they were under Bush. If not for GOP stupidity on social issues the youth vote would be up for grabs in 2016.
Click to expand...

To be honest I can see Rand Paul doing very well with young voters, he has his fathers loyal following behind him and he takes somewhat progressive stances on issues young people care the most about, marijuana and surveillance.
 
R

reggieandTFE

Member
WayneMorse said:
As much as I like Wendy Davis it would be a miracle for her to pull off a victory.

Even if she's wins every other statewide office will be won by Republicans and the legislature will be dominated by Ted Cruz wannabes so I doubt she could get anything done.
Click to expand...

You can do a lot with an executive office. I'm terrified of Bruce Rayner winning here in IL. The dens will still hold the house and senate but he'll be able to push us in the direction Indiana under Mitch, MI under Snyder and WI under Walker.
 
A

AntoneM

Member
I don't think Cruz actually wants that power. He's happier being an agitator who can "out conservative" his fellow Republicans without any real consequences. Put him in power and he would have to moderate... if he wanted to stay in power/keep office.
 
D

Diablos

Member
AntoneM said:
I don't think Cruz actually wants that power. He's happier being an agitator who can "out conservative" his fellow Republicans without any real consequences. Put him in power and he would have to moderate... if he wanted to stay in power/keep office.
Click to expand...
I don't know about that. He's probably the best thing the tea party sect has going for it presently. He knows this.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
Becoming senate majority/minority leader demands a set of skills Cruz doesn't have: making friends. And based on his behavior it doesn't seem like he has any interest in staying in the senate long enough to be considered for the position.

I'm sure GOP operatives are just waiting to "accidentally" send oppo research on him to the press in 2016.
 
R

RustyNails

Member
reggieandTFE said:
You can do a lot with an executive office. I'm terrified of Bruce Rayner winning here in IL. The dens will still hold the house and senate but he'll be able to push us in the direction Indiana under Mitch, MI under Snyder and WI under Walker.
Click to expand...

How's he doing against Patty Quinn?
 
S

speculawyer

Member
PhoenixDark said:
The ironic thing is that the youth voters that propelled Obama to office are worse off now than they were under Bush. If not for GOP stupidity on social issues the youth vote would be up for grabs in 2016.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah . . . the Bush years were so great for the kids. Get sent off to a pointless war. Have the economy completely meltdown in 2008.

Keep on trolling.
 
R

RustyNails

Member
WayneMorse said:
Last time I checked Quinn was one of the most unpopular governors in the country so he's probably not doing well!
Click to expand...
Oh well. At least I hope if Rauner wins, he will lower the property taxes. We have the second highest property taxes in the country after new jersey.
DE20140102-average-property-tax-chart.jpg


Cook county is 2.9% and is about to surpass New Jersey this year.

We also have 2000 more government offices than necessary and a pension plan that's been mismanaged as fuck due to decades of shit mayors and corruption. Our schools are worst in the country, and roads are probably worse than abandoned sections of Detroit. Soaring crime, corruption, and teaparty nutters in the southwest suburbs. Chicago is the next to go belly up.
 
B

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
WayneMorse said:
To be honest I can see Rand Paul doing very well with young voters, he has his fathers loyal following behind him and he takes somewhat progressive stances on issues young people care the most about, marijuana and surveillance.
Click to expand...

No way, he'll fold like a wet paper towel. Sure some support will carry over, but he's an intellectual lightweight who is just getting by due to his last name. If he wasn't Ron Paul's kid no one would give him a second look.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Locked
PoliGAF 2017 |OT6| Made this thread during Harvey because the ratings would be higher
338 339 340 341 342
17K
2M
UselessNapkin replied
  • Locked
PoliGAF 2017 |OT5| The Man In the High Chair
395 396 397 398 399
20K
2M
RDreamer replied
  • Locked
PoliGAF 2017 |OT4| The leaks are coming from inside the white house
396 397 398 399 400
20K
2M
ShironRedshift replied
  • Locked
PoliGAF 2017 |OT3| 13 Treasons Why
393 394 395 396 397
20K
2M
Zaraki_Kenpachi replied
  • Locked
Poligaf 2017 |OT| It Almost Isn't Fair
9
4K
Bonen no Max'd replied
Top Bottom