tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post5770787507956525305..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Quick Iowa NotesJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-53576907455304025812011-12-21T02:03:52.008-06:002011-12-21T02:03:52.008-06:00Couves, major parties are very happy for voters to...Couves, major parties are very happy for voters to have viable choices outside of the traditional partisan options! They'd just like those viable choices to hurt their opponents and not them. The Republicans would be very happy for the Green Party to rise so that instead of 50D-50R, the composition of legislatures went 10G-25D-65R.Neil Sinhababuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03249327186653397250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-15443420123489293232011-12-20T19:44:24.992-06:002011-12-20T19:44:24.992-06:00@Neil Haha, that's right, people are just wait...@Neil Haha, that's right, people are just waiting for that day to come. :)Brad Hugheshttp://www.printedunion.com/politicalprinting.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-88011612762556525412011-12-20T19:16:41.460-06:002011-12-20T19:16:41.460-06:00"The party ought to be able to pick its own c..."The party ought to be able to pick its own candidates. If independents want a say, let them join the party."<br /><br />I respect your point of view, but I couldn't disagree more. The party nomination process is integral to our democratic system -- every qualified voter should have the opportunity to vote for any qualified candidate. Democracy should serve the people, not the parties. <br /><br />But if states like Iowa decide to restrict participation in the Caucuses to party members only, then it might make more sense for Ron Paul to run as a third party candidate. Of course, this is potentially an even more disastrous outcome for the GOP.<br /><br />The thing is, major parties don't want voters to have any viable choices outside of the traditional partisan options. No one in the Iowa GOP thinks that Paul is a Democratic plant – what worries them is that he will provoke a political awakening among voters who support limited government, peace and individual liberty.Couveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00926561539205771774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-37517879916090050842011-12-20T13:42:50.394-06:002011-12-20T13:42:50.394-06:00If Paul were to win in Iowa, that would certainly ...If Paul were to win in Iowa, that would certainly play into the "news"/"not news" press bias and it should generate a ton of attention.<br /><br />I have some sympathy for the Iowa Speaker, though, quite apart from the question of Ron Paul supporters. The party ought to be able to pick its own candidates. If independents want a say, let them join the party.Scott Monjenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-87179625036693138472011-12-20T13:10:47.751-06:002011-12-20T13:10:47.751-06:00Another bit of media spin is that "Ron Paul c...Another bit of media spin is that "Ron Paul can't win." Now that's an entirely reasonable thing to say, but if the media continues to disregard Paul on that basis, even after an Iowa win, then NH voters may be in a mood to prove it false. <br /><br />The Iowa GOP establishment, which is panicked over the prospects of a Paul win, is showing a similar contempt for the will of voters. According to the Speaker of the Iowa House, the participation of independents in the Caucus constitutes "perverting the process." That's right, Paul has yet to win a single vote and we're already being told that there's something perverse about the democratic process. This will feed the conspiracy theorists for years to come...;-)<br /> http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70674.htmlCouveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00926561539205771774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-42799154018622703332011-12-20T10:51:59.866-06:002011-12-20T10:51:59.866-06:00@Everyone, If you go back to 2008, Romney was like...@Everyone, If you go back to 2008, Romney was liked. He was second only to Fred Thompson among the more conservative wing of the Republican party. What's changed since then is that hating ACA has been the steamroller in the Republican party, and it's run over Romney. <br /><br />I saw this when I was researching the origins of the Tea Party movement. For an example of Romney <i>admiration</i>, read <a href="http://moderatepoli.blogspot.com/2011/12/pulse-of-republican-regret-2008.html" rel="nofollow">this post</a> (about 1/3 of the way down).ModeratePolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-21391073464585150342011-12-19T23:11:08.591-06:002011-12-19T23:11:08.591-06:00CSH: While neither has spent as much as Romney in ...CSH: While neither has spent as much as Romney in raw dollars, n a dollar per voter basis, I think both Meg Whitman and Linda McMahon have spent way more than Romney has, with results about as impressive as his.Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-40109087098587866932011-12-19T22:59:51.349-06:002011-12-19T22:59:51.349-06:00Was thinking about Romney today on the occasion of...Was thinking about Romney today on the occasion of Kim Jong Il's passing. In particular, the phony hero worship of the Dear Leader, funded by the state. Somewhat similarly, Romney's Presidential gravitas has been purchased largely with Romney's own dollars.<br /><br />Is there another modern major party candidate who spent as much of his own dough building the image that we really like him/her?CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-4324757092752269022011-12-19T21:12:44.302-06:002011-12-19T21:12:44.302-06:00Don't worry, Jonathan, people are just waiting...Don't worry, Jonathan, people are just waiting for Newt to be safely defeated before they link back to your posts!Neil Sinhababuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03249327186653397250noreply@blogger.com