tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post92485238688156243..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: The Search for the Wrath of the Conquest of the Planet of the Bride of the Son of the Return of Cranky BloggingJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-39164923701697280142013-08-29T03:59:30.011-05:002013-08-29T03:59:30.011-05:00iirc are these *not* first past post democracies? ...iirc are these *not* first past post democracies? Like Australia i had the impression they are proportional rep democracies? <br /><br />admittedly they can wind up being 'effective' two party systems where minority parties are far too small to materially effect parliamentary votes but large enough to have at least a seat or few. <br /><br />the point about regional vs national is worth noting too, there could be more choice at low and only two choices at high level elections, which gives the appearance of choice locally but effectively the voter is still tied to one of the two national strands.<br /><br />but in terms of choices for voters, looking from the outside the US seems decidedly narrower in its offerings than those other examples....?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-16869709403698348232013-08-27T23:57:18.204-05:002013-08-27T23:57:18.204-05:00+1+1Henry Claynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-34618945786466498252013-08-27T13:53:45.551-05:002013-08-27T13:53:45.551-05:00"As for "not planning to run for office,..."As for "not planning to run for office," isn't it another way of saying "haven't made millions of dollars yet"? That's changed."<br /><br />Another word for it is 'not working in politics yet'. I imagine that one first has to go into politics as a grunt, organizer, campaign staffer. Then, if one is successful, one can run for office.Barry DeCiccohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04735814736387033844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-68549038672333585322013-08-26T19:29:05.532-05:002013-08-26T19:29:05.532-05:00Adding...
I think that sounded snippy; I apologiz...Adding...<br /><br />I think that sounded snippy; I apologize. You (MSS) obviously know this stuff far better than I do!<br /><br />Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-26768169109747090772013-08-26T18:05:00.861-05:002013-08-26T18:05:00.861-05:00Generation is a ragged concept at best, I agree. ...Generation is a ragged concept at best, I agree. The baby boom officially lasted from 1946 to 1964, which by the old definition I learned (generation=20 years) is about right for a generation, but a lot changed within that time period and so there are probably three "generations" within it.<br /><br /><br />I don't know if the baby boom is the exception that proves the rule, but the very fact of it--that is, sheer numbers-- changed a lot. But characterizing the generation except by a few common experiences that other generations didn't have is just the usual laziness of reality as interacting cliches and stereotypes. <br /><br />But I would make one observation about the effects of changes on attitudes among the young. In my early boomer cohort, the majority was apolitical, at least until forced not to be. But in terms of attitudes towards government, we had parents who remembered the New Deal and WWII, when government was very important. Governments were building highways all around us. And perhaps most important and most overlooked: labor unions were a strong political force well into the 1960s in support of government action. They made that case. Since their decline, there has been no institutional counterargument to the anti-government parroting of corporate interests. That probably has an effect on the percentages. <br /><br />As for "not planning to run for office," isn't it another way of saying "haven't made millions of dollars yet"? That's changed.Captain Futurehttp://dreamingup.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-5802981971634812882013-08-26T17:58:24.760-05:002013-08-26T17:58:24.760-05:00Yes, yes, you're right, it's shorthand. Mo...Yes, yes, you're right, it's shorthand. Most of those that don't wind up with a two-party system have a regional two-party system -- just as the US has had at various points in history. On the other hand, the US at *this* point also has institutionalized the D & R parties, so it's going to take quite a bit to dislodge one of them. <br /><br />And the implication that Fournier and his sources have is that we'll just go without any parties at all (he makes much of "independent" voters), which is even less likely. Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-66282621761201762662013-08-26T17:48:09.073-05:002013-08-26T17:48:09.073-05:00Those kids, with their protective tariffs and thei...Those kids, with their protective tariffs and their internal improvements...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-61195835496242898242013-08-26T16:12:16.763-05:002013-08-26T16:12:16.763-05:00"[The two-party system.] exists ...because of..."[The two-party system.] exists ...because of the very logic of large democracies and a first-past-the-post electoral system."<br /><br />Somebody forgot to tell India!<br /><br />Or, for that matter, Britain or Canada.MSShttp://fruitsandvotes.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-55742105575618246112013-08-26T14:54:53.741-05:002013-08-26T14:54:53.741-05:00The ugly little-known fact here is that news repor...The ugly little-known fact here is that news reporters generally are not qualified to write about a lot of the issues they cover. This becomes clearest when they're mangling statistics or trying to report on current academic debates, but it's also true on a wide range of political and public-policy questions. I mean, there was a local daily newspaper in Illniois that had <i>me</i> covering health, housing and transportation policy at age 19. I was a bright-ish 19-year-old and eager to learn, but obviously, one year out of high school, I knew nothing of those policies beyond what my sources told me, and was hardly equipped to make independent judgments about them, even news judgments.<br /><br />Which means that reporters fall back on formulas. A favorite, of course, is "who's up and who's down" or "what does this mean for the mayor / governor / president." Another is "more'n'more," e.g. "More and more young people are dropping out of traditional politics." Apparently that was Fournier's template here, along with "what's hot," which -- because <i>something</i> must be hot, right? -- often becomes "we're right on the cusp of radical change," which of course we always are and always aren't, depending on what you choose to focus on and whose comments you choose to credit.<br /><br />Anyway, yes, it all makes me cranky too. Although I don't think you need all these adjectives to excuse that. What you're calling "cranky blogging" is what most bloggers just call "blogging."Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-50118539608174235612013-08-26T14:30:52.018-05:002013-08-26T14:30:52.018-05:00Fun Fact: the Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader is ...Fun Fact: the Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader is a millenial (born 1980). Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16387816156204378075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-35788880411581814262013-08-26T13:19:27.396-05:002013-08-26T13:19:27.396-05:00If you really want to get worked up into a lather,...If you really want to get worked up into a lather, you could follow this with the big weekend WaPo story by David Farenthold.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-11694594389378406962013-08-26T11:33:12.064-05:002013-08-26T11:33:12.064-05:006, 7.4, 8.9, 10.2 percents.
All of those are with...6, 7.4, 8.9, 10.2 percents.<br /><br />All of those are within a 2.1% margin of error; I'm guessing (don't want to give them my email for a chance at getting behind what looks like a paywall) that the survey's margin is actually closer to 3 or more.<br /><br />Never mind that "planned to work for" is a FAR cry from "preferring." In the real world, a graduating senior will take the job they get. <br /><br />This number reached a high point in "the 2009 recession?" I am SHOCKED, just SHOCKED, that more graduating students said they would be working for the one portion of the economy that tends to cut hiring less than the other sectors of the economy during a recession. Granted, states and locals DID massively (and stupidly) cut hiring during the recession, but those hiring freezes don't start immediately...they need the next year's budget to be passed first, which is when? Oh, right, usually in the summer. So, students graduating in May who would have applied and interviewed for jobs in January-April took jobs in the sector of the workforce that lagged in hiring slowdowns? Say it ain't so!<br /><br />Ugh. That is REALLY stupid.Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.com