The New American Politics thread

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by nik-

Texas would be so amazing if it was all Austin.

Then it would just be Oregon with less rain

[nik-]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Then it would just be Oregon with less rain

And way way way better BBQ.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by nik-

And way way way better BBQ.

True that

[Senator Clay Davis]

Two charges is smart, he wouldn't remember if it was three.

A grand jury indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday for allegedly abusing the powers of his office by carrying out a threat to veto funding for state prosecutors investigating public corruption — making the possible 2016 presidential hopeful his state's first indicted governor in nearly a century.

A special prosecutor spent months calling witnesses and presenting evidence that Perry broke the law when he promised publicly to nix $7.5 million over two years for the public integrity unit run by the office of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. Lehmberg, a Democrat, was convicted of drunken driving, but refused Perry's calls to resign.

Though the Republican governor now faces two felony indictments, politics dominates the case. Lehmberg is based in Austin, which is heavily Democratic, in contrast to most of the rest of fiercely conservative Texas. The grand jury was comprised of Austin-area residents.

The unit Lehmberg oversees investigates statewide allegations of corruption and political wrongdoing. It led the investigation against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican who in 2010 was convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering for taking part in a scheme to influence elections in his home state — convictions later vacated by an appeals court.

http://news.yahoo.com/texas-perry-in...224901143.html

[Caged Great]

Virginia ex governor Bob McDonald and his wife Guilty on a majority of counts.

[Flash Walken]

Representative democracy is in crisis in the United States. One of the three pillars of our system of government — the legislative branch — is failing. The current Congress has shut down the federal government, bickers constantly and increasingly does not speak broadly to the American people. Obvious problems, from a struggling middle class to a flawed tax code to crumbling roads and bridges, go unaddressed. The American people have certainly noticed; according to Gallup, 80 percent disapprove of Congress.

We can’t let 535 people continue to limit the progress of a nation of more than 300 million.

After two decades spent gaining a data-driven perspective in the private sector, I believe that problems on this scale are usually caused by structural failures. Our electoral process has created perverse incentives that have warped our democracy and empowered special interests and a vocal minority. Congressional dysfunction is the logical result of closed primaries, too many gerrymandered one-party seats and low-turnout elections.

To address these problems, I filed the Open Our Democracy Act in July. If passed, the legislation would mandate open primaries for House elections, begin the process of national redistricting reform and make Election Day the equivalent of a federal holiday.

Step one is giving independents and moderates a voice. Maryland, where independents are the fastest-growing voter bloc, is an example of a changing electorate that isn’t being served by the current system. In January 2001, according to data from the state Board of Elections, 13 percent of Maryland voters were not registered as Democrats or Republicans; by July 2014, that number was 19 percent. This group now includes more than 700,000 people — more than the population of Baltimore — but it plays little role in Maryland politics, because in most of the state, primary elections are the only contests that matter.

Around the country, we select candidates using a partisan primary filter, then act surprised when the huge portion of the electorate that isn’t ideological is unhappy with its general-election options. My legislation would open House primaries to allow all voters to participate in one race, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election.

Such a system is much more likely to send pragmatic bridge-builders to Washington. Because of low turnout, candidates in traditional, closed primaries have an incentive to appeal only to the most committed — and ideological — voters. In an open primary, the electoral math changes, and reaching out to swing voters becomes more important. Open primaries can have a moderating effect even in districts that are so red or blue that the top two candidates are likely to come from the same party; in both primary and general elections, an ability to win votes beyond a narrow base could be decisive.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...ml?tid=rssfeed

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Virginia ex governor Bob McDonald and his wife Guilty on a majority of counts.

The jury of seven men and five women heard testimony from 67 witnesses and deliberated over three days before arriving at today's decision. Sentencing has been set for Jan. 6, 2015.

The trial has been a humiliating blow for the onetime rising GOP star who was elected governor in 2009 and just a few years ago was considered a possible running mate for Mitt Romney.

Shortly after he left office in January, McDonnell and his wife were accused of taking more than $165,000 worth of gifts and loans from Williams.

Attorneys for the McDonnells argued that as a result of the couple's disintegrating marriage, Maureen McDonnell craved attention and developed a crush on the Star Scientific owner, who testified that the couple accepted and solicited gifts from him.

"Well, the former governor, when he ran for governor, represented his family as essentially the Cleavers — bustling and wholesome," Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Jeff Schapiro told All Things Considered. "And five years later, now running for his life, his lawyers are depicting the McDonnells as the Louds — bitter and dysfunctional."

On the day he was indicted, Bob McDonnell told reporters, "I have apologized for my poor judgment, and I accept full responsibility for accepting these legal gifts and loans. However, I repeat again, emphatically, that I did nothing illegal for Mr. Williams in exchange for what I believe was his personal friendship and his generosity."

McDonnell said the loans had been "repaid with interest" and the gifts had been returned. He also has said that despite appearances of impropriety, there was no quid pro quo — that part of the role of governor is to support the state's businesses.

And Schapiro said there's some truth that this could be considered business as usual in Virginia.

"One wonders, given Virginia's long tradition of a business-friendly government, if perhaps some of these things took place and no one really noticed," Schapiro said. "Because for a long time, Virginia's government, like so many Southern governments, was controlled by a handful of like-minded conservative white guys. They looked out for business; business financed the political organization; the legislator came through with friendly laws and light regulation. This has been the pattern in the commonwealth for a long, long time."

McDonnell's status as a GOP luminary was cemented when he was chosen to deliver the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union speech in 2010.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...rruption-trial

[Flash Walken]

One of Georgia’s largest counties announced last week that it will allow early voting on a Sunday in late October and will open an early voting location in a shopping mall popular among local African-Americans. Concerned that this will lead to higher African-American voter turnout and hurt his party’s dominance, one state lawmaker is speaking out and vowing to stop this easy voting for minority voters.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Tuesday that Georgia state Senator Fran Millar (R) penned an angry response to DeKalb County’s announcement that early voting will be available on Sunday, October 26, and that an early-voting location will be opened at The Gallery at South DeKalb Mall. Millar represents part of the county and is Senior Deputy Whip for the Georgia Senate Republicans.
Millar wrote:

Now we are to have Sunday voting at South DeKalb Mall just prior to the election. Per Jim Galloway of the AJC, this location is dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist. Galloway also points out the Democratic Party thinks this is a wonderful idea – what a surprise. I’m sure Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter are delighted with this blatantly partisan move in DeKalb.

Is it possible church buses will be used to transport people directly to the mall since the poll will open when the mall opens? If this happens, so much for the accepted principle of separation of church and state.

Many predominantly Black churches around the country organize “Souls to the Polls” events that encourage churchgoers to vote after attending Sunday church services. This often relies on carpooling and is perfectly legal, according to the Freedom From Religion Foundation (which advocates for a strict separation of church and state). While Republicans in places like North Carolina and Ohio have pushed to eliminate Sunday voting hours, it is unusual for a legislator to so candidly admit that this strategy is about reducing African American turnout.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/201...g-suppression/

[Flash Walken]

The Washington Post this week reported that in the past 13 years, there have been 61,998 cash seizures on roadways and elsewhere without use of search warrants.

The total haul: $2.5 billion, divided pretty much equally between the U.S. government and state and local authorities (hence the Kafkaesque “equitable sharing” euphemism).

Half of the seizures, according to the Post, were below $8,800. Only a sixth of those who had money taken from them pursued its return.

Some, no doubt, were indeed drug dealers or money launderers and just walked away from the money. Others just couldn’t spare the expense and time of going to court.

Of those who did, though, nearly half got their money back, a statistic that fairly screams about the legitimacy of the seizures.

So does another fact: In many cases, authorities offer half the money back – money they’d claimed was proceeds of crime. And when they do issue a cheque, they almost always insist their victim sign a legal release promising never to sue.

It would also appear police like to target minorities, who tend to be cooperative and less likely to hire a lawyer.

Civil rights advocates have documented all sorts of outright legal theft:

The (minority) businessman from Georgia who was relieved of $75,000 he’d raised from relatives to buy a restaurant in Louisiana.
The (minority) church leaders who were carrying nearly $30,000 from their Baltimore parishioners to carry out church activities in North Carolina and El Salvador.
The young college grad with no criminal record on his way to a job interview out West who was relieved of $2,500 lent to him by his dad for the trip.
News outlets here have reported many such abuses over the years. But the Washington Post’s latest investigation exposes money-grabbing as big business.

It involves a nationwide network of enforcement agencies (except in the few states that have banned it) that operates with the help of a vast private intelligence service called “Black Asphalt” (police forces pay an enrolment fee of $19.95). The network uses consultants and trainers who either charge fees or operate on contingency, keeping a percentage of cash seized by their police pupils.

Police forces use the money to finance their departmental budgets, sometimes spending it on luxury vehicles, first-class tickets to conferences, and lavish quarters. They regard the money as rightfully theirs. One prosecutor used seized cash to defend herself against a lawsuit brought by people whose cash she seized.

It’s just human nature, really.

Give police the legal ability to take someone’s money, and to claim it’s in the national interest, and then tell them they can keep a nice chunk of it, and what other result could there be?

Travel advice
So, for any law-abiding Canadian thinking about an American road trip, here’s some non-official advice:

Avoid long chats if you’re pulled over. Answer questions politely and concisely, then persistently ask if you are free to go.

Don’t leave litter on the vehicle floor, especially energy drink cans.

Don’t use air or breath fresheners; they could be interpreted as an attempt to mask the smell of drugs.

Don’t be too talkative. Don’t be too quiet. Try not to wear expensive designer clothes. Don’t have tinted windows.

And for heaven’s sake, don’t consent to a search if you are carrying a big roll of legitimate cash.

As the Canadian government notes, there is no law against carrying it here or any legal limit on how much you can carry. But if you’re on an American roadway with a full wallet, in the eyes of thousands of cash-hungry cops you’re a rolling ATM.

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/world/story/1.2760736

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/201...g-suppression/

It's really just mind-boggling for an outsider to hear the #### that comes out of the mouths of American politicians. I mean we got some pretty amazing characters, but they have people who feel that it's perfectly okay to say that getting people to the polls is a bad thing. I mean how blatantly can you make it clear that you have absolutely zero respect for the idea of democracy?

And this is so normal that his party and voters will probably be supporting him in that twisted logic.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Itse

It's really just mind-boggling for an outsider to hear the #### that comes out of the mouths of American politicians. I mean we got some pretty amazing characters, but they have people who feel that it's perfectly okay to say that getting people to the polls is a bad thing. I mean how blatantly can you make it clear that you have absolutely zero respect for the idea of democracy?

And this is so normal that his party and voters will probably be supporting him in that twisted logic.

Welcome to American Politics...

what's good for one isn't for another, that is until they're in power

[Caged Great]

They should seriously make it a holiday on election day and make it mandatory to vote unless illness with a doctors note prevents you from going to the polls.

[Senator Clay Davis]

TMZ needs to get on this ASAP

Anchorage Police Department’s communications director Jennifer Castro confirmed to the Loop that there was a fight at a party where the Palins were in attendance. Castro said “just before midnight Anchorage police responded to a report of a verbal and physical altercation taking place between multiple subjects…”.

“At the time of the incident, none of the involved parties wanted to press charges and no arrests were made,” she said. “However, the case is still an active investigation and is being reviewed by APD and the Municipal Prosecutors Office. Alcohol was believed to have been a factor in the incident. Some of the Palin family members were in attendance at the party.”

The best details came from Alaska political blogger Amanda Coyne. She describes Track Palin stumbling from a stretch Hummer and spotting the ex-boyfriend of sister, Willow. Then came the yelling and the punching and Bristol Palin launching a mean right hook repeatedly. Coyne writes that Sarah Palin screamed, “Don’t you know who I am!”and someone in the crowd screamed back, “This isn’t some damned Hillbilly reality show!”

Track was shirtless and giving people the middle finger. Todd Palin had a bloody nose.

A witness told the Alaska Dispatch News that the fight was a pileup “just like you see in a football game.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...d-sarah-palin/

Video in the link includes an interview from an eyewitness (who apparently got fired for doing the interview, thus lending it more credibility)

[Mr.Coffee]

sounds like a Jerry Springer episode or something.

[burn_this_city]

Can someone explain how the Republicans are poised to win both the house and senate when Congress has one of the lowest approval ratings ever?

[Itse]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Can someone explain how the Republicans are poised to win both the house and senate when Congress has one of the lowest approval ratings ever?

Lying and cheating, same as any party.

But more obviously, Americans are just the textbook example of voting sheep. Not they probably are that stupid on average, they just have an incredibly toxic and partisan media environment that makes it really hard for your average person to get a handle on what's happening.

Still, it boggles my mind that the Democrats largely lost the last election due to the health-care reform, but now that it's turned out to be a success, they seem to be gaining nothing from what can only be described an epic success. (Considering how hard it is to get anything at all done in the Congress these days.)

[Caged Great]

The reason why the Dems are likely going to lose the senate is that none of the normal democratic voters actually show up. On Bill Maher's show he or Nancy Pelosi (whom he was interviewing at the time) said that 50% of voters don't even know there's an election this November.

In a lot of cases the only people that show up are republicans. That's why the Republicans want to dissuade turn out in any way possible because that's the only way they can win.

The house and senate should be in democratic hands right now, the house had more than 1.5 million more votes for the dems than the republicans, but jerrymandering screwed that as well. The most important thing is to have Democratic Governors as they'll be able to redistrict things more evenly so that way you don't get weird squiggle districts that make sure that it's guaranteed to be a republican seat.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Can someone explain how the Republicans are poised to win both the house and senate when Congress has one of the lowest approval ratings ever?

It is the same thing that happened 8 years ago. most people in this country are pretty down the middle politically and the hard right and left wingers like the folks on fox, cnn, msnbc, etc are, and do not speak for the majority. What happens is people get tired of one parties policies when they have the power for so long and vote the other way.

Obama hasn't been the president that many wanted and even his followers are starting to shift away from him because he isn't a strong leader.

But to be quite honest many in this country are just too stupid to vote. it's not racial at all because plenty of dumb white trash folks voted romney or who ever wasn't black when the elections roll around. For instance, here in my district in Alabama the district lines are drawn up on racial and financial lines. There will never be a Republican that is white voted in this district for a long long time. But the district that conveniently goes right up to the nice rich white area of Birmingham (hoover, vestavia hills, mountain brook) will never vote for a black democrat.

If they do they will redraw the district lines to make sure that they stay in power.

It's funny that every time a bill comes up for campaign reform no one votes on it even those hot shots that run their mouth about it.

like I said, I consider myself pretty conservative on most things but I would be shunned and outcasted from the republican party for some of my ideals. I believe everyone that is an American should have the right to health care. No one should be bankrupted because they got the flu. I am not pro abortion but I believe in pro choice. There are certain times that an abortion is okay like rape or the life of the mother is in danger etc. I believe that what two condensing adults do in the privacy of their bed room is none of my damn business and none of the governments either. Let gay people get married, they have just as much of a right to be legally miserable as the rest of us.

Alabama property taxes are stupid low:

> Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 8.2%

> Total state and local taxes collected: $13.28 billion (25th lowest)

> Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 68.0% (21st lowest)

> Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 32.0% (21st highest)

Alabama has the seventh lowest per capita income in the U.S., at $33,499. However, residents also have a low 8.2% tax burden, compared to a 9.9% national average. In 2010, Alabama residents paid $2,740 in taxes per capita, the third lowest of all states. Contributing to the low tax burden was a property tax per capita of $506, the lowest of all 50 states. Alabama's sales tax of 4% is below the national median of 6%. Alabama's cost-of-living index was also among the lowest in the country.

The only other states lower are:
New Hampshire
Texas
Wyoming
Louisiana
Tennessee
South Dakota
Alaska

Compared to the top states that pay higher state taxes like NY, NJ, Conn, Cali, Wisc, RI, and Minn at 12% we pay roughly 4% less!!!

They wonder why the school system in Alabama suck, most with the resources put their kids in private schools. But if I were in power I would press to bump property taxes. I would be called a communist etc but the morons dont see that if the youth is better educated the better the area is. More money, business, and better life would be here but they're just more worried about keeping up with the jones's.


Those things right there would shut the door on me if I were ever to run as a conservative. I would be considered a communist blah blah blah. But our gov has done a pretty good job. Bentley is a Doctor and has/had his own practice. He hasn't taken a pay check since being in office. He's brought more jobs to Alabama and has done a good job. Is there room to grow? sure, but he's doing a good job and no one has showed me that they can do better.

but this is just Alabama but it goes on everywhere, it sucks because we as citizens are screwed by the ruling class that most likely have no idea what the people that they SERVE actually have to do to live.

[dobbles]

found this an interesting read:

http://qz.com/268014/the-very-differ...conservatives/

Parents on both sides of the US political spectrum say that being responsible is the most important thing to teach children. And that’s pretty much where the similarities end. According to a Pew Research survey out today, children of liberals are in for a lot of instruction about empathy, tolerance, and curiosity, while children of conservatives can count on a much more parental guidance regarding religion, work ethic, and manners.

[Nehkara]

John Boehner, GOP leader in congress and House Speaker:

House Speaker John Boehner was asked after a speech last week to comment on a plan for addressing poverty – promoted by a Republican colleague, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

Speaker Boehner gave a response that was favorable toward Representative Ryan's plan, but not so favorable about Americans’ work ethic. He said in part: “I think this idea that’s been born over last ... couple of years that, ‘You know, I really don’t have to work, I don’t really want to do this, I think I’d just rather sit around,’ – this is a very sick idea for our country.”