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[Jack Remington]

I was searching for a post from a little while back, and I came across this gem of a thread from 2008 on the day of Lehman Bros. collapse.

Lehman Bros will be bankrupt by midnight EDT

Kind of interesting to look back at it after so much time has passed. We were all just trying to make a living or finish school, and suddenly the bottom dropped out.

Two years later we gave Republicans a House majority that will last at least the better part of a decade.

 

[Grexeno]

I was searching for a post from a little while back, and I came across this gem of a thread from 2008 on the day of Lehman Bros. collapse.

Lehman Bros will be bankrupt by midnight EDT

Kind of interesting to look back at it after so much time has passed. We were all just trying to make a living or finish school, and suddenly the bottom dropped out.

Two years later we gave Republicans a House majority that will last at least the better part of a decade.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12798068&postcount=7

 

[Aaron Strife]

Loretta Sanchez (CA-46) will also run for Barbara Boxer's seat.

DISNEYLAND IS IN HER DISTRICT!

Blegh. She's a blue dog. Normally I wouldn't be so dismissive but come on, it's California.

 

[Jack Remington]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12798068&postcount=7

I remember thinking the whole thing would blow over in a few months, or by summer 2009 at the latest.

 

[ivysaur12]

Blegh. She's a blue dog. Normally I wouldn't be so dismissive but come on, it's California.

She won't even come close to winning, especially with Villagairosa in the race.

 

[RustyNails]

These maps are too close. STAHP

Also, NEVER trust Florida.

 

[Lucky Forward]

2012 was legendary in terms of the freakshow line up. You had:

- Michele Bachmann
- Rick Perry
- Newt Gingrich
- Rick Santorum
- Ron Paul

And of course, my personal pick for Republican nominee that year, Herman "the motherfucking Cain Train!" Cain.

Who do we have so far that are gonna be as entertaining as that line up of losers besides Huckabee and Ben Carson?

Back then Slate did a nice little animation of the GOP horse race for the nomination. It's fun to watch how many times challengers took the lead from Romney only to fall back into the pack.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...nimation_of_the_2012_republican_campaign.html

 

[ivysaur12]

Also, NEVER trust Florida.

I really just made a worst case scenario. The chances of that map coming to fruition would be difficult. Honestly? Maybe Rand could do it. But they're too dumb to nominate him.

Also, John Boehner's bartender tried to poison him. FBI stopped it.

 

[Black Mamba]

I really just made a worst case scenario. The chances of that map coming to fruition would be difficult. Honestly? Maybe Rand could do it. But they're too dumb to nominate him.

Also, John Boehner's bartender tried to poison him. FBI stopped it.

To be fair, his bartender alleged he might poison him if he was ready to do it (which at times he seemed so). The dude is mentally ill and quite clearly when you read an article about the situation. Blamed Boehner for ebola and him getting fired, wanted to confront him in a crowded area, e-mailed his wife, etc.

 

[HylianTom]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/chris-christie-fdu-poll-publicmind?utm_content=buffer1a26c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Christie's approval in NJ is underwater again.

Cheering for Dallas and hugging Jerry Jones will do that, :jnc

 

[NYCmetsfan]

I was searching for a post from a little while back, and I came across this gem of a thread from 2008 on the day of Lehman Bros. collapse.

Lehman Bros will be bankrupt by midnight EDT

Kind of interesting to look back at it after so much time has passed. We were all just trying to make a living or finish school, and suddenly the bottom dropped out.

Two years later we gave Republicans a House majority that will last at least the better part of a decade.

I love how gaf always recommends pooling our money and buying it.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Democrats deserved to lose the House in 2010 imo. You can't do nothing for people with immediate benefits and expect them to vote for you, especially when the economy sucks.

There were so many things they could have done, including this community college thing.

 

[NateDrake]

Elizabeth Warren rips apart Keystone XL pipeline and Republican leaders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS0lz7jKJaM

 

[Wilsongt]

Democrats deserved to lose the House in 2010 imo. You can't do nothing for people with immediate benefits and expect them to vote for you, especially when the economy sucks.

There were so many things they could have done, including this community college thing.

No. America did not deserve to have that shitstack of a 112th congress. Stop trolling.

 

[eBay Huckster]

Democrats deserved to lose the House in 2010 imo. You can't do nothing for people with immediate benefits and expect them to vote for you, especially when the economy sucks.

There were so many things they could have done, including this community college thing.

democrats deserved to lose the house in the same sense that a man with one leg caught in a bear trap deserves to have all of his limbs amputated

 

[WayneMorse]

http://news.yahoo.com/huckabee-slams-obama-letting-daughters-listen-beyonce-185535240.html

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has accused President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, of double standards in parenting, saying in an interview published Tuesday that the first family shelters its daughters from some things but allows them to listen to the music of Beyoncé.

Wow!

 

[B-Dubs]

http://news.yahoo.com/huckabee-slams-obama-letting-daughters-listen-beyonce-185535240.html



Wow!

The GOP primary is going to be magical.

 

[Armoured Priest]

http://news.yahoo.com/huckabee-slams-obama-letting-daughters-listen-beyonce-185535240.html



Wow!

Yet, Huckabee is totally OK with Ted Nugent to the point he'll play guitar with him.

 

[Wilsongt]

http://news.yahoo.com/huckabee-slams-obama-letting-daughters-listen-beyonce-185535240.html



Wow!

Pot calling the kettle black in terms of sheltering. Conservative Christian children are some of the most sheltered, ignorant people out there.

 

[smokeandmirrors]

Cheering for Dallas and hugging Jerry Jones will do that, :jnc

i wonder if this would have any measurable effect...

 

[Averon]

What's so scandalous about Beyoncé's music?

 

[Poodlestrike]

i wonder if this would have any measurable effect...

I could see it, actually.

 

[PhoenixDark]

What's so scandalous about Beyoncé's music?

Sexual content. I can understand not allowing a kid to listen to certain music, or making sure they listen to the clean version of an album like Beyonce's last one. I'm gonna assume Malia is old enough to listen to what she wants.

Huckabee also accused Jay-Z of pimping Beyonce. I've seen some articles about Huckabee not knowing his side lost the culture wars, but I don't think that's the case. He's not talking to us, he's talking to his base.

 

[WayneMorse]

So Huckabee is basically running a book tour campaign? There's no way wealthy donors/the establishment would go with a candidate with rhetoric like that.

 

[gcubed]

i wonder if this would have any measurable effect...

I could see it, actually.

besides bridge gate, and him being a general asshole, he has completely abandoned his state to focus on the national stage. He's dead man walking for the nom. If Christie can't deliver anything in the northeast (he can't anymore), he's basically dead to the party and becomes useless.

 

[Joe Molotov]

So Huckabee is basically running a book tour campaign? There's no way wealthy donors/the establishment would go with a candidate with rhetoric like that.

God, Guns, Grift, and Gravy

 

[adamsappel]

Yet, Huckabee is totally OK with Ted Nugent to the point he'll play guitar with him.

Ted Nugent is a hard-rockin', God-fearin', gun totin' Real American who pissed and shit his pants when he reported to his draft board. And over here you have a teenager who possibly listens to Beyonce.

 

[Lucky Forward]

Not an Onion article: Man Who Got Romney Logo Tattooed On Face Won't Support 2016 Bid

 

[CharlieDigital]

Democrats deserved to lose the House in 2010 imo. You can't do nothing for people with immediate benefits and expect them to vote for you, especially when the economy sucks.

There were so many things they could have done, including this community college thing.

The problem is that those people weren't going to vote no matter what. They just don't show up.

 

[Y2Kev]

I'm actually really happy that Romney is running. Bush was going to run away with it. Now it's going to be a bloodbath.

 

[Aaron Strife]

The problem is that those people weren't going to vote no matter what. They just don't show up.

They show up in presidential years at least. The problem is convincing them that the elections that aren't for the president are worth showing up for.

I don't think 2010 would have gone much differently if Democrats punted on healthcare reform to do something else.

 

[Diablos]

Carville is right lol. Romney's main 2012 argument was that Obama's policies were destroying the economy. Barring an economic disaster it's very likely that Obama's terms will end with the US in a solid position. This year could see some very impressive growth (hence shutdown attempts by the GOP). If Romney couldn't beat Obama with the economy halfway in the shitter, how the hell will he beat Hillary with the economy rolling?

What about when 10 million people lose their health insurance? That's going to severely fuck with the economy.

 

[Aaron Strife]

What about when 10 million people lose their health insurance? That's going to severely fuck with the economy.

Didn't SCOTUS just beat back a challenge to PPACA

I think if they wanted to kneecap it they would have done it by now.

 

[ivysaur12]

What about when 10 million people lose their health insurance? That's going to severely fuck with the economy.

Why not worry about things/blame/response when they happen though?

 

[RustyNails]

I'm actually really happy that Romney is running. Bush was going to run away with it. Now it's going to be a bloodbath.

Well Rmoney is still deciding...it's not confirmed yet.

I honestly think he will back out. From the Netflix documentary, he didn't really seem the type of guy who would do it so I wonder who this is coming from. I'm probably thinking his kids. They looked like the kind of entitled little shits.

 

[Armoured Priest]

Ted Nugent is a hard-rockin', God-fearin', gun totin' Real American pedophile who pissed and shit his pants when he reported to his draft board. And over here you have a teenager who possibly listens to Beyonce.

ftfy

 

[Chichikov]

http://news.yahoo.com/huckabee-slams-obama-letting-daughters-listen-beyonce-185535240.html



Wow!

So Huckabee is basically running a book tour campaign? There's no way wealthy donors/the establishment would go with a candidate with rhetoric like that.

Book tour/money scam campaign.
I still think that Herman Cain started to sabotage his own race when he got scared for being in the lead

Spoiler

well, maybe I do, though I am 100% sure he had no intent of actually becomming a president.

 

[Jack Remington]

What about when 10 million people lose their health insurance? That's going to severely fuck with the economy.

God, I can already see it if their idiotic troll suit succeeds. They'll hammer the Democrats for wasting everyone's time for five years and point to the Democrats as the ones who left the healthcare system in shambles.

I don't know whether that or Laxative Man's smug gloating would be more intolerable.

 

[Plinko]

http://news.yahoo.com/huckabee-slams-obama-letting-daughters-listen-beyonce-185535240.html



Wow!

Yeah, that would go over real well in the general election.

 

[HylianTom]

Slamming someone for listening to Beyonce is on the same tier as claiming that Harry Potter is demonic. When I go to my more "moderate" relatives and argue that the GOP is full of extreme nutbags, this is exactly the kind of thing that'll make my job easier.

So thanks, Huck! Keep on rockin'!

 

[thefro]

Well Rmoney is still deciding...it's not confirmed yet.

I honestly think he will back out. From the Netflix documentary, he didn't really seem the type of guy who would do it so I wonder who this is coming from. I'm probably thinking his kids. They looked like the kind of entitled little shits.

I think a big part of it is he doesn't want Jeb Bush to be the nominee.

Slamming someone for listening to Beyonce is on the same tier as claiming that Harry Potter is demonic. When I go to my more "moderate" relatives and argue that the GOP is full of extreme nutbags, this is exactly the kind of thing that'll make my job easier.

So thanks, Huck! Keep on rockin'!

I think Huckabee probably hasn't noticed that all the popular "country" songs these days are about sex & drinking. Guessing he won't bash people for listening to that though.

 

[NobleXenon]

Make me glad I left that horrible state long ago (Wisconsin), and never looked back.

 

[HylianTom]

I think Huckabee probably hasn't noticed that all the popular "country" songs these days are about sex & drinking. Guessing he won't bash people for listening to that though.

Pretty much. It's a cultural dogwhistle-type mechanic.

For a huge chunk of popular country music songs these days, you can sit and listen with a checklist to hear about alcohol, lust, partying, not wantin' to work, infidelity, etc etc. But you're not going to hear a peep from the GOP on this because, to them, country music is the music of "real America" - as opposed to those filthy, evil city folk.

 

[AntoneM]

Pretty much. It's a cultural dogwhistle-type mechanic.

For a huge chunk of popular country music songs these days, you can sit and listen with a checklist to hear about alcohol, lust, partying, not wantin' to work, infidelity, etc etc. But you're not going to hear a peep from the GOP on this because, to them, country music is the music of "real America" - as opposed to those filthy, evil city urban folk.

You didn't dog whistle hard enough.

 

[Don Chalupa]

I'm not cheering with Obama on this one...

American Entrepreneurship: Dead or Alive?

My hunch is that no one talks about the birth and death rates of American business because Wall Street and the White House, no matter which party occupies the latter, are two gigantic institutions of persuasion. The White House needs to keep you in the game because their political party needs your vote. Wall Street needs the stock market to boom, even if that boom is fueled by illusion. So both tell us, "The economy is coming back."

Let's get one thing clear: This economy is never truly coming back unless we reverse the birth and death trends of American businesses.

 

[B-Dubs]

I'm not cheering with Obama on this one...

American Entrepreneurship: Dead or Alive?

This is a long term trend, not something you can blame on Obama.

Keep in mind that most businesses will fail within 3 years of starting and most of what's left will be gone within the following 10 years. Also investors not wanting to invest in something that's not a sure thing, due to a general feeling about the economy, plays a large part in this as well. If a business can't get capital to do it's thing, everything instantly becomes much much harder for them. Yes, investors will invest in anything they think will make them money but they won't be willing to take a new risk, basically something that hasn't already been done, without feeling that the economy is strong.

We also need to understand that not everyone can run their own business, the world doesn't work like that. The number of start ups has been in decline due to a number of factors like globalization and the internet, yes that second one sounds odd but the more connected we are the more people will be competing for the same customers. Only so much competition can exist in the same space. The trend has only been intensified by the downturn. There's far bigger issues at play.

EDIT: Companies like Walmart haven't helped much either. Walmart enters a community and small businesses close down as it opens up.

 

[pigeon]

I'm not cheering with Obama on this one...

American Entrepreneurship: Dead or Alive?

I am?

The chart paints a pretty clear picture. In 1977, it was easy to make new businesses (probably this data point is a fluke and the entire reason the chart begins in 1977). Making new businesses gets easier when the economy does well and harder when the economy does poorly. We had a huge recession in 2008 and it got very hard. Now it's getting easier.

What's your takeaway, exactly?

 

[Fenderputty]

I'm not cheering with Obama on this one...

Be honest now. Have you ever?

 

[Black Mamba]

I am?

The chart paints a pretty clear picture. In 1977, it was easy to make new businesses (probably this data point is a fluke and the entire reason the chart begins in 1977). Making new businesses gets easier when the economy does well and harder when the economy does poorly. We had a huge recession in 2008 and it got very hard. Now it's getting easier.

What's your takeaway, exactly?

It also conveniently stops at 2012 or so. Need newer data, my guess is it's reverting to the mean.


In other news, Pew released new polls!

President Obama enters the seventh year of his presidency in a familiar position when compared with his recent predecessors. His 47% job approval rating places him squarely between George W. Bush (33%) and Bill Clinton (63%) at similar points in their second terms. Obama’s rating is comparable to Ronald Reagan’s in January 1987 (49%), when Reagan was embroiled in the Iran-Contra affair.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Jan. 7-11 among 1,504 adults, finds that Obama’s job approval has risen five points since December (42%). The president’s job rating changed very little over the course of 2014.

Obama is being helped by a steady improvement in public views of the nation’s economy. Currently, 27% say the economic conditions are excellent or good, up from 16% a year ago. Perhaps more important, almost twice as many expect the economy to be better than worse a year from now (31% vs. 17%).

For the first time in five years, more Americans say Obama’s economic policies have made conditions better (38%) than worse (28%); 30% say they have not had much of an effect. And Obama engenders more confidence on the economy than do the leaders of the new Republican majority in Congress.

Overall, about half of Americans (49%) say they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in Obama to ‘do the right thing’ in dealing with the economy, while 50% have not too much confidence or no confidence at all. That compares with 43% who have at least a fair amount of confidence in Democratic congressional leaders, and 37% who express confidence in GOP leaders on the economy.

Currently, 40% approve of Republican leaders’ plans and policies for the future, while somewhat more (49%) disapprove. Shortly after the midterm elections, when Republicans gained full control of Congress, about as many approved as disapproved of GOP future plans (44% approved vs. 43% disapproved). The public has mixed opinions about whether Republicans will be successful in getting their programs passed into law; 45% say they will be successful, while 46% say they won’t.

And once again, people know nothing!

Currently, 40% approve of Republican leaders’ plans and policies for the future, while somewhat more (49%) disapprove. Shortly after the midterm elections, when Republicans gained full control of Congress, about as many approved as disapproved of GOP future plans (44% approved vs. 43% disapproved). The public has mixed opinions about whether Republicans will be successful in getting their programs passed into law; 45% say they will be successful, while 46% say they won’t.

Obama has long sought the closure of the U.S. prison holding terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. More Americans think closing the prison in the next few years is a bad idea (49%) than say it is a good idea (42%). Republicans overwhelmingly say that closing the prison is a bad idea (80%), while 64% of Democrats think it’s a good idea.

Overall, about half (48%) of Americans say that Obama is liberal, while 37% say he is ‘middle of the road’ ideologically; just 12% describe him as conservative. The balance of opinion in these perceptions has changed little over the last several years.

Other stuff:

Among independents, 36% say Obama’s policies have made the economy better, 31% worse, and 32% say the policies have not had much of an effect.

While views of the economy have improved, economic ratings remain highly partisan. Nearly four-in-ten Democrats (39%) describe economic conditions in the country as excellent or good, compared with just 14% of Republicans; among independents, 27% call the economy excellent or good.

And while Democrats (+9 points) and independents (+7 points) have become more likely to rate the economy as excellent or good since October, there has been no significant shift in views among Republicans (+3 points).

http://www.people-press.org/2015/01...-views-of-nations-economy-turn-more-positive/


Key here is that independents are moving back into Obama's corner and this will matter if the trend continues.

 

[Jack Remington]

economic ratings remain highly partisan

I hate this so much.

It's to be expected when their main news source has spent 5+ years yammering on about how much the Obama economy sucks. Its become intrinsically tethered to their worldview, and difficult to change for the true believers.