November 6, 2018

[Reverend Jim]

The day that Americans will decide if they want to step on the brakes or drive off the cliff.

[rproffitt]

Just a note about voting. Here we did our vote early by heading to our "Registrar Of Voters" to vote early and when we wanted. Didn't have to wait till November 6, 2018.

It was less waiting than the last few voting locations. Our family went together and it looks like this is how we will vote in the future.

[Reverend Jim]

I don't know how the machines work in your state but there have been major irregularities reported. For example, in Texas, if you selected "straight ticket", it was noted that the Senate box could be left blank if you voted straight Democrat.

[rproffitt]

Thanks for writing about that. I love how Texas voting machine put Paul Ryan(R) in when you selected a Democratic "straight ticket."

"Thank you. Your name is Not Sure."

[Reverend Jim]

So it looks like brakes.

I see that some voting machines in predominantly black precincts could not be powered on because somehow they forgot to include power cords.

[mbannister]

The next two years and the performance of the Dems in the house will fuel either more gains or GOP revival. I hope the Dems now move toward policies and leave the name calling to the other side.

[Reverend Jim]

Yeah. The old "when they go low, we go high" just wasn't working. Someone suggested "when they go low, we go hard" as an alternative. When Obama won his forst term he wanted to reach across the aisle so both sides could work together. I hope that from the way that all worked out the Dems have learned their lesson but I am reminded of the followinig...

[mbannister]

History tells us that the present state of affairs will continue until someone breaks the cycle. I don't think that reaching across the aisle will work at present, but neither does brutal insults. The Dems are a political party, commited to some broad vision of the way the world should work, as soon as they get to work operationalising that with committed policies, the sooner they stand out from the mob. I keep saying they rather than we because I am a progressive from the UK, having spent much of my life in Australia and New Zealand and now my golden years in the Philippines, because the cost of living is within my pension budget. I have a wife and a daughter of three years and my vision where ever I have lived has been to have a govt that recognises that capital without labor is worth zilch. That a country that invests in universal health care, universal free education, encourages companies where the workers own the action, where companies have to contribute to workers pensions, where a minimum wage is at least 50% above the breadline, and where infrastructure development and maintenence is seem as a. Where Citizens United is seen for what it is and the law can only be changed when a majority want that change. Now there are a few ideas for policy development that would give the GOPs something to do with the time they currently use developing poorly fashion fakes news. Sorry but I watched this opportunity slip away before and I don't think we will get to many chances to right the wrongs.

[Agilemind]

+Reverend Jim True, but the political divide is actually more about values than anything else. You can't change someone's opinion about something by speaking from a different set of values to them. e.g. I saw and interesting documentary about a bunch of people living on an island that is being submerged due to rising water levels caused by climate-change but were in total denial about it (saying it was just 'erosion') and refused to even hear out the scientists until someone pointed out that surely the scientists were doing God's work and could be part of God's plan to warn them.

liberals will never convince fiscal conservatives that deficits are a good thing, but they can convince them that investments now are a good deal because they lead to long-term savings.

"Where Citizens United is seen for what it is and the law can only be changed when a majority want that change. "
If only! Citizens United was a Supreme Court ruling on the interpretation of the US Constitution. The only way it can be undone (as far as I know) is if the Dems get control of the Supreme Court and a new case is heard that could contradict the earlier ruling, or with a Constitutional Amendment. Arguably the majority of the country disagreed with the ruling when it occurred.

[Reverend Jim]

liberals will never convince fiscal conservatives that deficits are a good thing

Let's dispense with this myth right now. The idea of the "fiscal conservative" is a farce. Republicans are only concerned about the debt when Democrats are in power. When Republicans get the reins they are more than happy to cut taxes for the wealthy and for corporations, and increase spending for the military. Then when the debt balloons they say we can't afford Medicare, Social Security, food stamps, etc.