The Final US Election Thread

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Limbaugh is capable of incisive analysis. However, he has a vested interest in "stirring the pot."

In this latest kefluffle, he has conflated two trial balloons: the current one floated by a single Dem economist about 401ks and the other the 1993 Clinton Admin balloon about a one-time tax on 401ks to assist social security. Neither trial balloon met with a lot of support -- even within the Democrat party.

Limbaugh is carefully "spinning" this so that his listeners construe these actions along the lines of:
"This is what we really want to do when we have the power to do so." There are, no doubt, some few Dems who would love to do just that. However, there are also a few GOP types who want us to first strike Iran and NK using nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. Neither leadership cadre is that far removed from reality so as to support the REALLY whackoid fringers on their own team.

Limbaugh is still less of a GOP rubber stamp than Hannity, but he is an ENTERTAINER and not responsible for governing. When and if he runs, THEN he can do more than stir the pot. At his best, he brings an incisive edge to conservatism and energizes people in their beliefs.

[ICantSpellDawg]

Limbaugh is capable of incisive analysis. However, he has a vested interest in "stirring the pot."

In this latest kefluffle, he has conflated two trial balloons: the current one floated by a single Dem economist about 401ks and the other the 1993 Clinton Admin balloon about a one-time tax on 401ks to assist social security. Neither trial balloon met with a lot of support -- even within the Democrat party.

Limbaugh is carefully "spinning" this so that his listeners construe these actions along the lines of:
"This is what we really want to do when we have the power to do so." There are, no doubt, some few Dems who would love to do just that. However, there are also a few GOP types who want us to first strike Iran and NK using nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. Neither leadership cadre is that far removed from reality so as to support the REALLY whackoid fringers on their own team.

Limbaugh is still less of a GOP rubber stamp than Hannity, but he is an ENTERTAINER and not responsible for governing. When and if he runs, THEN he can do more than stir the pot. At his best, he brings an incisive edge to conservatism and energizes people in their beliefs.

Hannity has always struck me as an aggressive rubber stamp, too. Limbaugh is bright enough and has interesting ideas, but incendiary. Coulter is funny but embodies a similar flippancy that I find revolting in Democratic leaning political comedians. - why would I accept it from the right?

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Hannity has always struck me as an aggressive rubber stamp, too. Limbaugh is bright enough and has interesting ideas, but incendiary. Coulter is funny but embodies a similar flippancy that I find revolting in Democratic leaning political comedians. - why would I accept it from the right?

Because you are right?

I feel like people generally tolerate pundits smearing the opposition more they they tolerate their foes smearing people they agree with.

I think we're all probably guilty of that to some degree, but I try to keep that to a minimum.

[Hooahguy]

now we know how obama won pennsylvania....
man votes twice

[naut]

I love Leunig.

[CountArach]

I love Leunig.

Genius!

[Louis VI the Fat]

Maps? I love maps!

We are all familiar with the state-by-state result. Here's the result map at county level. With the exception of New England, the central and upper Midwest and areas in the Southwest, the two America's are, it seems, for all the theories that are devoted to it, on the most basic level simply the difference between rural and urban America.

[Louis VI the Fat]

'Maps? I love maps!' Part II

One for the connaisseur. Lovely Amazon feature.

Tell us what you order on Amazon and we tell you what you vote! Great tool. The whole of America's political divides on a concise map.

One can even tell the difference between the different kinds of Democrats and Republicans:
California - Naomi Klein.
New York - Dreams from my Father by Obama

Talk Radio Republicanism
Alabama - Bill O'Reilly
Mississippi - Bill O'Reilly

More highbrow Republicanism
Virginia - Boykin. Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom
North Carolina - Boykin. Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom

Texas, Texas. Oh dear.
Blue Texas - Alinsky, Rules for Radicals.
Red Texas - Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, the Do-Nothing Congress, Companies That Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Are Scamming Us ... and What to Do About It.



And the favourite political literature of Palinland is...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

'Megarockstar, Deerslayer, Patriot, and Bestselling Author'

Yep. Really. Alaska's best selling political work.

[Lemur]

Oh, so you wanna play with maps? I gotcher maps right here.

The most interesting one, by my count:

[Strike For The South]

'
Texas, Texas. Oh dear.
Blue Texas - Alinsky, Rules for Radicals.
Red Texas - Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, the Do-Nothing Congress, Companies That Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Are Scamming Us ... and What to Do About It.

We're thinking outside the box!

[Yoyoma1910]

Oh, so you wanna play with maps? I gotcher maps right here.

The most interesting one, by my count:

It would seem by this map, that Obama is most popular with people who live along rivers.

[Louis VI the Fat]

It would seem by this map, that Obama is most popular with people who live along rivers.

Where there's water, there is an influx of strangers, of new goods, of new ideas. Cities and empires on waters are more open, more liberal, more progressive than land based cities. You see the same pattern in Europe.
Compare Athens with Sparta. The Greek island states with Persia. Russia and England. Catalonia and Castillia. It is a universal pattern, as old as civilization.

We're thinking outside the box!

Hah! I bet you've actually read my new all-time favourite book: 'Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, the Do-Nothing Congress, Companies That Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Are Scamming Us ... and What to Do About It.'

[CountArach]

Oh, so you wanna play with maps? I gotcher maps right here.

I love cartograms

[ICantSpellDawg]

Oh, so you wanna play with maps? I gotcher maps right here.

The most interesting one, by my count:

I was looking for this map.

[Ironside]

Oh, so you wanna play with maps? I gotcher maps right here.

The most interesting one, by my count:

I it just me, or is the weakest blue states feeling red when looking on that map?

[Lemur]

I it just me, or is the weakest blue states feeling red when looking on that map?

Could you re-phrase that sentence? 'Cause I've read it five times now, and I can't figure out what you mean ...

[Ronin]

Could you re-phrase that sentence? 'Cause I've read it five times now, and I can't figure out what you mean ...

I think he means that states that were won by slim margins by the democrats show up as mostly red on the map.

that is because the democrats won many states by winning the urban counties that are more heavily populated against the rural counties carried by the GOP.....so in some states by just winning 2 or 3 major cities you can win the state.....even if most of the state shows up as "RED"

[Ironside]

Could you re-phrase that sentence? 'Cause I've read it five times now, and I can't figure out what you mean ...

The purple that's a weak blue state makes it look like a red state, even when it's blue. Compare this map to the simple red-blue one in the link. This one feels way more red.

Edit:

Gah, I'm not about rural vs cities (I got that part a long time ago, last election or something), it's about them choosing a poor colour to represent counties (I've been sloppy there, calling them states), that went something like 51% blue. They still look like they're red by looking on that map.

[CountArach]

The purple that's a weak blue state makes it look like a red state, even when it's blue. Compare this map to the simple red-blue one in the link. This one feels way more red.

Rural counties vote overwhelmingly Republican and they make up the majority of the country. The Purple counties are more likely to be either ones with large towns and some rural areas, or some usually Republican Suburban areas where McCain couldn't quite connect. The deepest blue areas are almost entirely Urban, often inner-city counties.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

The best "map" would be adjusted to depict counties not only by color (percentage of vote) but by relevant population of county (size). It would be much more blued then.

[Marshal Murat]

[QUOTE]
Rural counties vote overwhelmingly Republican and they make up the majority of the country. The Purple counties are more likely to be either ones with large towns and some rural areas, or some usually Republican Suburban areas where McCain couldn't quite connect. The deepest blue areas are almost entirely Urban, often inner-city counties. [/QUOTE

Except in the South, where the majority of some counties are black, which voted almost overwhelmingly for Obama.

[CountArach]

The best "map" would be adjusted to depict counties not only by color (percentage of vote) but by relevant population of county (size). It would be much more blued then.

If you look at the Cartograms in Lemur's post, that is what they are. The more votes a region has the larger it is, and hence the map is distorted. The Mountain West in particular looks hilarious.

EDIT: Here's the one you want:

[Banquo's Ghost]

Now that is art.

[Askthepizzaguy]

EDIT: Here's the one you want:

If you ask me, Florida is so large because all the male seniors there are taking so much Viagra. It does make the United States look more virile and manly though.

Check out the size of that state! It's hung like a peninsula.

[CountArach]

Great, now I have the image of a really old united States with his Florida hanging out...




In actual Election news: Senator Stevens is going down the Tubes. He is down by 814 votes with the remaining votes being from districts Begich won.

[Askthepizzaguy]

You're welcome.

[Martok]

In actual Election news: Senator Stevens is going down the Tubes. He is down by 814 votes with the remaining votes being from districts Begich won.

Excellent news. While it's disturbing that so many Alaskans would vote for a convicted felon, at least they're not (quite) the majority.


Now if only I knew what the outcome was going to be in my Senate election. The recount for the Coleman-Franken race hasn't even started yet, and we won't know the results until next month sometime.

[CountArach]

Excellent news. While it's disturbing that so many Alaskans would vote for a convicted felon, at least they're not (quite) the majority).


Now if only I knew what the outcome was going to be in my Senate election. The recount for the Coleman-Franken race hasn't even started yet, and we won't know the results until next month sometime.

Nate is optimistic about Franken's chances. Basically the theory is (Using data from other recounts, especially in independent recounts of Florida) that the people who are most likely to make ballot errors (And hence not have their votes counted initially) are most often:
1) Working class
2) Minority
3) Elderly

Franken won the first 2 categories and tied in the third. The votes are more likely to be counted this time because often it is clearly marked who the person wanted to vote for, but they did not fill the ballot in correctly.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Great, now I have the image of a really old united States with his Florida hanging out...

....which would make Key West a ..... never mind.

[Strike For The South]

....which would make Key West a ..... never mind.

Thats two dirty jokes today!