The Low Information Voter: November 2012

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Why Huffington Post?

One of the things that just bugs me all over is when a Conservative dismisses any article in the Huffington Post as if it were a single source narrative by the "Liberal Press". It simply is a really, really off the wall thing to say. At the end of many stories you can drill down to the sources you find there for a variety of stories. Here's a sample:

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Do Nothings

The argument that we need filibuster reform in the Senate is heating up again... as it should. Here is the record of the Congress over the span of time that includes the Truman "Do Nothing" Congress as put out the on FB by 1jdgriff:

"Not even the 80th Congress, which President Truman called the "do-nothing Congress" in 1948, passed as few laws as the current one, records show.

Fewer laws have been passed by this Congress than by any other in the last 65 years. Number of laws passed each year by Congress since 1947:

2012: 61;
2011: 90;
2010: 258;
2009: 125;
2008: 280;
2007: 180;
2006: 313;
2005: 169;
2004: 300;
2003: 198;
2002: 241;
2001: 136;
2000: 410;
1999: 170;
1998: 241;
1997: 153;
1996: 245;
1995: 88;
1994: 255;
1993: 210;
1992: 347;
1991: 243;
1990: 410;
1989: 240;
1988: 473;
1987: 240;
1986: 424;
1985: 240;
1984: 408;
1983: 215;
1982: 328;
1981: 145;
1980: 426;
1979: 187;
1978: 411;
1977: 223;
1976: 383;
1975: 205;
1974: 404;
1973: 245;
1972: 383;
1971: 224;
1970: 505;
1969: 190;
1968: 391;
1967: 391;
1966: 461;
1965: 349;
1964: 408;
1963: 258;
1962: 484;
1961: 401;
1960: 417;
1959: 383;
1958: 620;
1957: 316;
1956: 638;
1955: 390;
1954: 492;
1953: 288;
1952: 339;
1951: 255;
1950: 481;
1949: 440;
1948: 511;
1947: 395"

You will note that in 1995, when Newt Gingrich was in charge, Congress had a similar lapse under the Clinton administration's watch. It didn't work then and it won't work now.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Yes, Obama Won.

Now is when the Republican party will try to tear itself apart looking for why things went the way they did in the election. They will have to pony up to their mega-donors. They will look at every nook and cranny trying to figure out why their "internal polling" was so off base. It's not that hard to see what went wrong... really.

The R's could start by getting real and realize they have attracted the largest block of bigots in the country. They could realize that lying to everyone on every issue is a bad idea. They could figure out that the country is not conservative and will push back when shoved. They might realize that preaching hatred and being anti-everything is just plain stupid. Anti: education, union, LGBT, women, Latino, Asian, Black, Medicare/caid, Social Security, Small Business, Obamacare... (very long list to follow) is no way to build support. One of their biggest problems is having spokespersons like Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Sean Hannity... and the like is toxic. They might come to realize that they have developed a new code language of disparaging America and that gets the attention of everyone. Many R's have said to me lately that they are embarrassed by what the party has become and are open to discussing Democratic ideas going forward. Several I know voted Dem this time because of that embarrassment.

We will see what level of realization the R's can actually get to but in the mean time their self inspection brings nothing but vitriol to the surface. They may just implode in the process and cease to exist as a party.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Data Dump

My sister, Suzy, sent me the link below and I suspect I will be coming back to Stephen Bloch's correlations again and again to ponder the meaning of the universe.

Debt & Deficits.

It is just the nature of wonkishness to ponder sets of numbers and time lines.

This Explains a Lot

Robert Reich has hit Romney-view squarely on the head.

Romney World Explained

While certain bits of this have been evident some has not been quite so clear.