US President 2016 - the Great Horse Race

[Sarpedon]

Oh my. There was a large number of urban poor because the rural middle class had been driven off their land by the rich and their slave plantations. The government opted to simply feed the poor rather than address the underlying problem of income inequality and the fact that the slave economy is inherently hostile to the middle class and the working poor. The reason that the Senate wouldn't solve the income inequality problem is because THEY were the owners of the slave plantations. Saying the problem was with the rich would at the time be 'politically incorrect.' The urban poor did not vote for senators. The common people elected the 'Tribunes.' I would not have been elected to the Senate because I am not an aristocrat. If you want to know more about the organization of the Roman government, I would recommend Machiavelli's "Discourses on Livy."

It was the agrarian middle class that also formed the backbone of the Legions in the early days. The destruction of this class was also the cause of the deterioration of the army, which the government chose to address by hiring mercenaries, instead of confronting the underlying problem.

But please, go on blaming the poor and powerless for the problems caused by the rich and powerful. Most problems are caused by powerful people, because powerful people can accomplish more than powerless people. I would think this would be obvious.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I'll take Outlying Polls for $1200 Alex.

Missouri


Clinton with a 1 pt lead! Senate shows Blunt with a 4 point lead.

The poll indicates that Johnson is a major player, with no Democrat support of Johnson. However, with Blunt at a 4 pt lead, it looks like it is split between Republicans and Indies that wouldn't vote for Trump. But there appears to be a notable Johnson effect in the poll. In the past, third parties haven't done well in the booth. So all things being equal, a swing back to Trump may make sense, but then again nothing in this election cycle for the Republicans has made any sense.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Polls continue being all over the place. Interesting stuff, however, is that Trump didn't receive a bounce in either the Rasmussen or Reuters polls.

 

[J842P]

There is a parallel. In that time it would have been Politically INcorrect to say that the majority who voted for the bread were wrong. You would not be elected to the senate.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Polls continue being all over the place. Interesting stuff, however, is that Trump didn't receive a bounce in either the Rasmussen or Reuters polls.

According to Sam Wang at Princeton Election Consortium, Trump's bump consisted of GOPers who hitherto have kept their distance.

I like PEC because it's statistically driven, and because Wang's an amateur(he's a neuroscientist and elections are a hobby), he's not tailoring his stuff to drive traffic.

The measure of the post-RNC bounce so far is a median swing of 1 percentage point. For stragglers, see HuffPollster.

One point is not an impressive change. Recall that in states won by Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Trump has been lagging by about 9 percentage points. A CBS crosstab (can’t find at the moment – perhaps a reader can help) reports that Trump’s progress was made entirely with Republicans – whose support went up by 2 points. This suggests that with many reluctant Republican voters, Trump did not close the sale. Also, note that some of the change may be changes in how likely people were to respond to the survey. And of course, it remains to be seen whether any increase in support is lasting.

http://election.princeton.edu/2016/07/25/the-polls-are-always-bouncing-to-the-left-and-to-the-right/

 

[arkirk]

It is rather a serious matter that there is no major party candidate who is even hesitant to resort to using our military in support of the empire. Clinton and Trump both pounded their chests and declared their support for the endless wars our leaders have pushed on the American people. To my knowledge only the Green Party and Libertarian Party candidates show any inclination away from chauvanism and intervention in countries beyond our borders. This is a serious issue and it eats money that is needed to rebuild crumbling infrastructure ignored by our leaders in favor of supporting Israeli expansion and regime change to suit the US corpocracy. Why do we not have enough money in the public coffers to educate our people?....try F-35's, Cluster Bombs, Drones, and arms to people outside our country. Clinton's rackets are every bit as bad as Trumps.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It is rather a serious matter that there is no major party candidate who is even hesitant to resort to using our military in support of the empire. Clinton and Trump both pounded their chests and declared their support for the endless wars our leaders have pushed on the American people. To my knowledge only the Green Party and Libertarian Party candidates show any inclination away from chauvanism and intervention in countries beyond our borders. This is a serious issue and it eats money that is needed to rebuild crumbling infrastructure ignored by our leaders in favor of supporting Israeli expansion and regime change to suit the US corpocracy. Why do we not have enough money in the public coffers to educate our people?....try F-35's, Cluster Bombs, Drones, and arms to people outside our country. Clinton's rackets are every bit as bad as Trumps.

You don't say arkirk. I thought you were screaming your head off Wednesday when Sanders announced that Clinton is the nominee.

 

[James Brown]

According to Sam Wang at Princeton Election Consortium, Trump's bump consisted of GOPers who hitherto have kept their distance.

I like PEC because it's statistically driven, and because Wang's an amateur(he's a neuroscientist and elections are a hobby), he's not tailoring his stuff to drive traffic.

The measure of the post-RNC bounce so far is a median swing of 1 percentage point. For stragglers, see HuffPollster.

One point is not an impressive change. Recall that in states won by Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Trump has been lagging by about 9 percentage points. A CBS crosstab (can’t find at the moment – perhaps a reader can help) reports that Trump’s progress was made entirely with Republicans – whose support went up by 2 points. This suggests that with many reluctant Republican voters, Trump did not close the sale. Also, note that some of the change may be changes in how likely people were to respond to the survey. And of course, it remains to be seen whether any increase in support is lasting.

http://election.princeton.edu/2016/07/25/the-polls-are-always-bouncing-to-the-left-and-to-the-right/

Makes sense. Some Republicans may have been biding their time, privately rooting for a contested convention. But since that didn't happen, they've decided to suck it up and vote for the Not-Democrat.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Makes sense. Some Republicans may have been biding their time, privately rooting for a contested convention. But since that didn't happen, they've decided to suck it up and vote for the Not-Democrat.

If that's the case then it may be a good thing that Trump will have to go through the next three months under the same microscope that Hillary's been under for the past 25 years. Depending on if journalists grow some balls, it could be enough to keep those people from either voting, or cause them to secretly vote for Hillary.

 

[arkirk]

It is rather a serious matter that there is no major party candidate who is even hesitant to resort to using our military in support of the empire. Clinton and Trump both pounded their chests and declared their support for the endless wars our leaders have pushed on the American people. To my knowledge only the Green Party and Libertarian Party candidates show any inclination away from chauvanism and intervention in countries beyond our borders. This is a serious issue and it eats money that is needed to rebuild crumbling infrastructure ignored by our leaders in favor of supporting Israeli expansion and regime change to suit the US corpocracy. Why do we not have enough money in the public coffers to educate our people?....try F-35's, Cluster Bombs, Drones, and arms to people outside our country. Clinton's rackets are every bit as bad as Trumps.

You don't say arkirk. I thought you were screaming your head off Wednesday when Sanders announced that Clinton is the nominee.

I really don't waste my time screaming my head off. I was trying to point out to you and others here that there is nothing standing in the way of us having several more wars on our hands very soon and continuing our national hiatus from replacing aging and obsolete infrastructure. The money that goes into these wars hurts people where the wars are being prosecuted directly and us at home indirectly. If you keep dropping bombs on people you will experience more and more "terrorism." You will also experience continued decline in our standard of living. These leaders are just cheerleading for corporate profits. I haven't screamed once in this whole fiasco, but the fact remains that this war shit costs us social advancement, education, and of course shorter if not sweeter lives.
There is nothing implicit in either empire or hegemony that profits the common citizen of our country...regardless of how much Hillary or Trump say "Believe me!" A person does not become an asset to their society just because a heap of balloons are released to fall on them. The coronations of Hillary and the Trumpster are shameful indeed. The moral tone of the conventions pretty much mirror tribalism...and actual information of policy is not discussed because the powers with money don't want it discussed. Who bought the fucking balloons anyway?

 

[lpetrich]

To note that Americans of African heritage have a lower average IQ than Americans of European descent is not Politically Correct.

Have you identified the gene variants responsible for this alleged difference?

To remark that the BLM movement is overtly racist is not Politically Correct.

I don't see any evidence that it is "overly racist".

To take note that a religious group spawns large numbers of active terrorists today is not Politically Correct since it offends the religious.

Or because it seems like ignorant stereotyping. George S, would you enjoy it if someone stereotyped white Americans as ignorant racist bigots who think that they are entitled to rule the world?

The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire is a large topic worthy of a book. Oh, wait, that's been done. At the end it was a progressivist democracy.

Don't make me laugh. The Roman Empire wasn't even close to a representative democracy.

Everyone was "entitled" (as voted by law) to free bread.

It was supported by the political elite to pacify the lower classes.

The government debased the currency by putting in an increasing amount of base metal in gold coin it issued to buy said bread.

Evidence that it was mainly bread and not military force that they were buying? The Roman Empire maintained a large army, something that would make it very good by conservative standards.

 

[blastula]

I really don't waste my time screaming my head off. I was trying to point out to you and others here that there is nothing standing in the way of us having several more wars on our hands very soon and continuing our national hiatus from replacing aging and obsolete infrastructure. The money that goes into these wars hurts people where the wars are being prosecuted directly and us at home indirectly. If you keep dropping bombs on people you will experience more and more "terrorism." You will also experience continued decline in our standard of living. These leaders are just cheerleading for corporate profits. I haven't screamed once in this whole fiasco, but the fact remains that this war shit costs us social advancement, education, and of course shorter if not sweeter lives.
There is nothing implicit in either empire or hegemony that profits the common citizen of our country...regardless of how much Hillary or Trump say "Believe me!" A person does not become an asset to their society just because a heap of balloons are released to fall on them. The coronations of Hillary and the Trumpster are shameful indeed. The moral tone of the conventions pretty much mirror tribalism...and actual information of policy is not discussed because the powers with money don't want it discussed. Who bought the fucking balloons anyway?

I wish you were president because I know you could be in charge of and take care of the nation's security without ever having to use military force.

 

[arkirk]

I really don't waste my time screaming my head off. I was trying to point out to you and others here that there is nothing standing in the way of us having several more wars on our hands very soon and continuing our national hiatus from replacing aging and obsolete infrastructure. The money that goes into these wars hurts people where the wars are being prosecuted directly and us at home indirectly. If you keep dropping bombs on people you will experience more and more "terrorism." You will also experience continued decline in our standard of living. These leaders are just cheerleading for corporate profits. I haven't screamed once in this whole fiasco, but the fact remains that this war shit costs us social advancement, education, and of course shorter if not sweeter lives.
There is nothing implicit in either empire or hegemony that profits the common citizen of our country...regardless of how much Hillary or Trump say "Believe me!" A person does not become an asset to their society just because a heap of balloons are released to fall on them. The coronations of Hillary and the Trumpster are shameful indeed. The moral tone of the conventions pretty much mirror tribalism...and actual information of policy is not discussed because the powers with money don't want it discussed. Who bought the fucking balloons anyway?

I wish you were president because I know you could be in charge of and take care of the nation's security without ever having to use military force.

The U.S. has 21 aircraft carriers. The next country on the list having aircraft carriers is Italy (not Russia) with 2. You don't seem to understand the meaning of the word PORK. This PORK is unnecessary and a gross waste of tax payer money. Who bought the fucking balloons? The people making the aircraft carriers we don't need, and the F-35s we don't need.

 

[blastula]

I know what pork means, and I love pork, but I don't think you know what responsibility means.

Why obsessed with the balloons? They're bought by the DNC. If you're not a donor, it didn't cost you anything, party pooper.

 

[RavenSky]

...keep those people from either voting, or cause them to secretly vote for Hillary.

I suspect there will be a lot of this

 

[fromderinside]

How to keep angry white men from voting. Supply free beer and Cheetos at a stadium, NASCAR event, or sports bar, on election day.

 

[Ford]

I wish you were president because I know you could be in charge of and take care of the nation's security without ever having to use military force.

The U.S. has 21 aircraft carriers. The next country on the list having aircraft carriers is Italy (not Russia) with 2. You don't seem to understand the meaning of the word PORK. This PORK is unnecessary and a gross waste of tax payer money. Who bought the fucking balloons? The people making the aircraft carriers we don't need, and the F-35s we don't need.

If you think a Sanders administration would have dismantled all those ships and planes then I've got some Trump Steaks I'd like to sell you.

 

[RavenSky]

Some woman in the elevator asked me: "So I voted in the primary already. Do I have to vote in November, too?"

 

[TV and credit cards]

The U.S. has 21 aircraft carriers. The next country on the list having aircraft carriers is Italy (not Russia) with 2. You don't seem to understand the meaning of the word PORK. This PORK is unnecessary and a gross waste of tax payer money. Who bought the fucking balloons? The people making the aircraft carriers we don't need, and the F-35s we don't need.

If you think a Sanders administration would have dismantled all those ships and planes then I've got some Trump Steaks I'd like to sell you.

Don't you understand? China is pushing into the South China Sea and Russia intimidates it's neighbors because the US struts around like they're the cock of the walk. If we would just dismantle our military, they'd back off. Isn't it obvious? Then we could all roll around in the fields and play with puppies.

 

[fast]

I wish you were president because I know you could be in charge of and take care of the nation's security without ever having to use military force.

The U.S. has 21 aircraft carriers. The next country on the list having aircraft carriers is Italy (not Russia) with 2. You don't seem to understand the meaning of the word PORK. This PORK is unnecessary and a gross waste of tax payer money. Who bought the fucking balloons? The people making the aircraft carriers we don't need, and the F-35s we don't need.

21? That's ridiculously low. Anything less than 300 is the antithesis of overkill, and anything resembling something meek and reasonable (cough) as 21 (or even 300) does not equate to pork. Balloons may be unnecessary, and we should all hope 300 aircraft carriers is unnecessary, but the problem isn't that it's unnecessary. What's potentially necessary is what's key. Balloons no; aircraft carriers, perhaps so.