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Michael Sommerville Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 12 April 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 417
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| Posted: 08 June 2018 at 10:18pm | IP Logged | 1
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A California or New York Democrat might not be the best option, for an Electoral College win. They already have those votes and probably will win the popular vote. The Democrats need to look for an option in a normally red or swing state.
It also depends on the issues left on the table, If the economy stays strong, Democrats will have to walk a fine line between supporting and blocking reform on immigration, Dreamers, gun control and prisons. If Republicans are smart they will give just enough concessions on parts of those issues that a majority of voters support. The optics will be Republicans compromised and Democrats caved or obstructed for political reasons.
In my opinion, i really depends on how dumb the Repubs are in the next 2.5 years not how strong a candidate the Dems can find.
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Robbie Parry Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 17 June 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 12185
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 3:52am | IP Logged | 2
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Why can't EVERY US citizen just vote Libertarian, Green Party, etc? For a change. Haven't Democrats and Republicans screwed things up over the decades?
Why not give someone else a chance?
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 135920
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 4:51am | IP Logged | 3
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Many years ago there was a brief surge of "Throw the Bums Out!" sentiment. Vote out the entrenched old timers! Get new blood in Congress!NEWSWEEK ran a cartoon that parodied this perfectly: a roadside billboard with a picture of a typical fat cat politician, alongside the legend "THROW THE BUMS OUT! RE-ELECT ******!" (Don't recall the name used.) American voters have a bad habit of preferring the devil they know.
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James Woodcock Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 21 September 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 8427
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 6:02am | IP Logged | 4
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Thing is, many believe that by electing Trump they have thrown the bums out - they elected a non-politician who promised to fundamentally alter politics, drain the swamp etc.
I think his definition of ending corruption in politics & my definition are diametrically opposed.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 135920
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 6:04am | IP Logged | 5
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Seems like the swamp is considerably deeper these days.(And, in case no one else has noted it, isn't it incredibly appropriate that Rump should use an environmentally damaging metaphor?)
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Michael Roberts Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 20 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 14911
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 10:25am | IP Logged | 6
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Why can't EVERY US citizen just vote Libertarian, Green Party, etc? For a change.
———
Because they aren’t any better and are arguably worse?
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Eric Sofer Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 31 January 2014 Location: United States Posts: 4759
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 10:33am | IP Logged | 7
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Robbie - that's a fine idea, but we are hamstrung by the electoral college. No matter what the public would choose, they'd still stick to their democrat/republican selections. First we have to change our manner of electing president... then maybe we can make a difference.
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Jason Czeskleba Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 30 April 2004 Posts: 4639
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 11:44am | IP Logged | 8
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Romney's prediction is predicated on the assumption that the economy will still be doing well in November 2020. Currently, the economy has been expanding for 9 years, which makes it the second-longest economic expansion in US history. If it continues past next summer, it will break the record. The notion that it will break the record and then continue for over a year beyond that seems, well... extremely optimistic. Romney is classic Republican thinker who may actually believe Trump and Ryan's huge tax cuts for the rich will stimulate the economy, but there's little historical evidence to support that. Simply based on history, the greater likelihood is that there will be a downturn sometime before the next Presidential election.
Trump is relatively unpopular for a President in a strong economy. A large part of the country is willing to ignore his hijinks as long as things are going well, but if that changes they may not be. Certainly, the Democrats could screw up and pick a poor nominee, or progressives could again idiotically waste their votes on a third-party candidate, but I don't think it's safe to assume those things will happen. We have no idea what shape the country will be in, in 2.5 years, and anyone like Romney who thinks they can predict with confidence what will happen in the election is just talking out of their ass.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 135920
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 11:50am | IP Logged | 9
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Despite that nine year "boom", Rump was able to convince people the economy was a mess and he was the one to save it. If everything has crashed by 2020 he will find a way to blame Obama, and the mindless masses will buy it.
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Robbie Parry Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 17 June 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 12185
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 12:01pm | IP Logged | 10
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Michael Roberts wrote:
| Because they aren’t any better and are arguably worse? |
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Shouldn't it at least be time to tell the two main parties to fuck off after decades of corruption, war, etc? Why keep doing the same thing again and again?
And I speak from no moral high ground here: it's exactly the same in the UK. It's either Conservatives or Labour (the Liberal Democrats did participate in government from 2010 to 2015 due to a hung parliament), but no-one else is given a chance. So UK voters just keep swapping the red for the blue.
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Steven Myers Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 10 June 2004 Location: United States Posts: 5742
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 1:13pm | IP Logged | 11
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I have vowed I will never again vote for the "lesser of evils" and will look at all candidates. Doesn't mean I won't vote for a Republican or Democrat. We need to look beyond the labels. Not at how many Ds and Rs are in government, but about how good those particular people are.
If Alabama can do it, we all can.
Trump is the outsider, more independent type I've always wanted to win. Except he's also uninformed, a horrible speaker, and just downright embarrassing.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 135920
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| Posted: 09 June 2018 at 1:31pm | IP Logged | 12
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Rump may be the outsider in Washington, but in the more developed corners of the rest of the country he is Establishment top to bottom. That he was able to successfully sell himself as anything else speaks loudly of the naivety and fear of his base.
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