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http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/01/vicki_kennedy_m.html?comments=all#readerComm

The widow of late Senator Edward M. Kennedy makes an impassioned plea for Martha Coakley in an advertisement released today, urging voters to allow the Democrat to complete her husband's unfinished work.

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Uh, since when is a Senate seat, "Kennedy's seat". I sure am glad I don't live in Massachusetts cause I'd be a democrate voting republican. It's kind of a shame-less tactic to claim that a Senate seat has a legacy to uphold.

Chazwozel said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/01/vicki_kennedy_m.html?comments=all#readerComm

The widow of late Senator Edward M. Kennedy makes an impassioned plea for Martha Coakley in an advertisement released today, urging voters to allow the Democrat to complete her husband's unfinished work.

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Uh, since when is a Senate seat, "Kennedy's seat". I sure am glad I don't live in Massachusetts cause I'd be a democrate voting republican. It's kind of a shame-less tactic to claim that a Senate seat has a legacy to uphold.

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I'd much rather the people voted in a Democrat to continue his legislative agenda - which would be likely considering the platform - than a husband or wife of a dead senator taking over the seat. This has happened several times and I've always given myself a huge when it did.

It's the PEOPLE'S seat idiots. Not the KENEDY'S seat.

I love that jack-ass who goes, "You are going to sit in Teddy Kenedy's seat..."

Watch out for this guy, even if he doesn't win he's on fire and he's going places.

Chazwozel said:

Uh, since when is a Senate seat, "Kennedy's seat".

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He was the most recent candidate elected to that seat, right? That makes it his seat. It's the same terminology used everywhere for everyone from every party, whether it's their first term or their 10th.

Yes that is normally the terminology Grue but it's being used in a different way here. It's being used in in a "how dare you take away what is rightfully X's" which is not in the way you are talking about.

But she's campaigning. Of course she's gonna appeal to emotions. None of this seems like it's "Thank god I don't live in Massachusetts" worthy.

Gruebeard said:

But she's campaigning. Of course she's gonna appeal to emotions. None of this seems like it's "Thank god I don't live in Massachusetts" worthy.

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Well, I think thats fine to have that opinion, just like Chaz is glad he doesn't live in what he considers a stupid political climate that has a group of people who feel entitled to the office rather than having to work for it, which according to the lengthy expose on this on NPR yesterday is pretty much the problem for the democrat. They thought they could pick a mediocre candidate and steamroll in because, hey, it's Mass! Republicans are barely in the race let alone in a position to win? Never! So they got caught off guard and honestly I think their entitled attitude is hurting them, possibly bad enough to lose the seat.

Espy;329293][QUOTE=Gruebeard said:

But she's campaigning. Of course she's gonna appeal to emotions. None of this seems like it's "Thank god I don't live in Massachusetts" worthy.

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Well, I think thats fine to have that opinion, just like Chaz is glad he doesn't live in what he considers a stupid political climate that has a group of people who feel entitled to the office rather than having to work for it, which according to the lengthy expose on this on NPR yesterday is pretty much the problem for the democrat. They thought they could pick a mediocre candidate and steamroll in because, hey, it's Mass! Republicans are barely in the race let alone in a position to win? Never! So they got caught off guard and honestly I think their entitled attitude is hurting them, possibly bad enough to lose the seat.[/QUOTE]
I'm trying to imagine any party thinking "Hey, we should pick a 'meh' candidate to run in the election".

I wasn't there in Massachusetts, but what the NPR analysts said is that the lady who won is not a "strong" candidate, she has a "cold" personality and felt she had little work to do to win the seat so she did very little advertising and very little campaigning and what campaigning she did primarily showed off that "cold" personality. Maybe "meh" isn't right but how about "a poor choice in hindsight when suddenly a charming and rousing candidate on the other side comes along and makes this thing a real fight"?

Krisken said:

I'm trying to imagine any party thinking "Hey, we should pick a 'meh' candidate to run in the election".

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In my life time. Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Dukakis, Bush I, Dole, Bush II, Kerry...

sixpackshaker;329304][QUOTE=Krisken said:

I'm trying to imagine any party thinking "Hey, we should pick a 'meh' candidate to run in the election".

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In my life time. Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Dukakis, Bush I, Dole, Bush II, Kerry...[/QUOTE]

Doh, yeah I suppose I could have just done this:
View attachment 247

So I assume the Democrats got their way and repealed the law allowing the governor to pick the replacement?

Those evil Demoncats always get their way. Cause the lazy Republicans are always too busy reopening places of drinkship.

Huh. y'know. I'd vote Republican if it meant being rebeered.

Espy;329305][QUOTE=sixpackshaker;329304][QUOTE=Krisken said:

I'm trying to imagine any party thinking "Hey, we should pick a 'meh' candidate to run in the election".

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In my life time. Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Dukakis, Bush I, Dole, Bush II, Kerry...[/QUOTE]

Doh, yeah I suppose I could have just done this:
View attachment 247[/QUOTE]
To be fair, we ended up with Kerry (who got the shit smeared out of him- there's a reason they call it swift boating) because Dean, who was in the lead, got lambasted by being excited and screaming out.

Espy;329305][QUOTE=sixpackshaker;329304][QUOTE=Krisken said:

I'm trying to imagine any party thinking "Hey, we should pick a 'meh' candidate to run in the election".

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In my life time. Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Dukakis, Bush I, Dole, Bush II, Kerry...[/QUOTE]

Doh, yeah I suppose I could have just done this:
View attachment 247[/QUOTE]

hahaha

Gruebeard said:

But she's campaigning. Of course she's gonna appeal to emotions. None of this seems like it's "Thank god I don't live in Massachusetts" worthy.

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Vicky Kennedy has nothing to do with the election other than being the widow of big Ted. She can endorse Coakley all she wants, but it's rather stupid to make claims that the vacant Senate seat was her 'husbands' seat and a democrat has some sort of divine right to it. Brown's campaign is correct in stating and restating that it's the 'people's seat'. The people choose the Senator to be their voice in Congress.

But the Kennedy's are royalty Chaz! They DESERVE to have their will done. Duh.

Democrate?

Heh.

wait, I don't get it. In the clip on the news site she used the same line the republican guy used.

In the 30-second spot titled "With Her," Vicki Kennedy looks straight at the camera and echoes a line Republican Scott Brown used in a debate when he referred to the post held for 47 years by Kennedy as "the people's seat."

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So really this just seems like an endorsement for the democratic runner. I'm not sure what all the hub-bub is about.

Brown won. Obamacare is dead. Long live Obamacare.

Cuyval Dar said:

Brown won. Obamacare is dead. Long live Obamacare.

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It is very hard for me to avoid calling anyone names who uses such a stupid word. Move beyond the talking points for a while and actually look at what may be lost here.

So much for even the lousy healthcare reform we were going to get with the bill that was eviscerated by the House and Senate. If you really find this to be a success for anyone, I am sad for you.

Krisken;331063][QUOTE=Cuyval Dar said:

Brown won. Obamacare is dead. Long live Obamacare.

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It is very hard for me to avoid calling anyone names who uses such a stupid word. Move beyond the talking points for a while and actually look at what may be lost here.

So much for even the lousy healthcare reform we were going to get with the bill that was eviscerated by the House and Senate. If you really find this to be a success for anyone, I am sad for you.[/QUOTE]

Which word is dumb? Brown? won? Obamacare? is? Dead? Long? Live?

Maybe if the health care bill wasn't an absolute nightmare, more people would have supported it?

Adammon;331066][QUOTE=Krisken;331063][QUOTE=Cuyval Dar said:

Brown won. Obamacare is dead. Long live Obamacare.

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It is very hard for me to avoid calling anyone names who uses such a stupid word. Move beyond the talking points for a while and actually look at what may be lost here.

So much for even the lousy healthcare reform we were going to get with the bill that was eviscerated by the House and Senate. If you really find this to be a success for anyone, I am sad for you.[/QUOTE]

Which word is dumb? Brown? won? Obamacare? is? Dead? Long? Live?

Maybe if the health care bill wasn't an absolute nightmare, more people would have supported it?[/QUOTE]
What, you mean more than the 70 percent of the country that did support it before the moderates decided to turn it into the pile of crap we see now?

You're a smart fella. You know which word is the stupid, biased, totally sad, uninformed word. I don't have to spell it out for you.

Well, it's arguable that the 70% supported it before they knew what was actually in it. Or that the 70% supported it when responding to a poorly-worded poll question. Or, well... any of a number of things.

I think it was ill advised to try to make such sweeping changes all at once. With any legislation, there's bound to be unintended side-effects, and making such a sudden huge overhaul once could have gone horribly awry in ways no one could predict.

And while it does seem there is much in the healthcare industry that needs fixing, I, for one, am glad that I get to choose whether to purchase health insurance or not.

Health care aside, the loss of this seat lies solely on the laps of the democrats. They underestimated the opposition until it was too late. Bravo.

Shakey said:

Health care aside, the loss of this seat lies solely on the laps of the democrats. They underestimated the opposition until it was too late. Bravo.

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That they did.

I just hope that if the current health care bill dies, we at least get some good health care reforms passed. It doesn't always need to be all or nothing.

Krisken;331090][QUOTE=Shakey said:

Health care aside, the loss of this seat lies solely on the laps of the democrats. They underestimated the opposition until it was too late. Bravo.

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That they did.[/QUOTE]

Agreed.

And now we're either doomed, or saved. Depending on if you ask MSNBC or FOX.

Shakey said:

I just hope that if the current health care bill dies, we at least get some good health care reforms passed. It doesn't always need to be all or nothing.

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Yeah... they really should do something about the preexisting conditions thing, for one.

Soliloquy;331095][QUOTE=Shakey said:

I just hope that if the current health care bill dies, we at least get some good health care reforms passed. It doesn't always need to be all or nothing.

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Yeah... they really should do something about the preexisting conditions thing, for one.[/QUOTE]

Exactly, there is so much they could do without trying to get universal health care. I know a lot of people want it. It may be the right thing to do, but we're just not there yet. Don't push through crap legislation because you know it won't pass in a years time.

Yeah, they probably could even get a few republicans to vote for a number of individual, specific changes to the health care system.

Well, possibly. If they accidentally pressed the wrong voting button. And didn't feel like fixing it.

I like how everyone is making such a big deal about the filibuster proof majority, which the democrats haven't even used....

Welp, the result of this election is terrible.

The worst part is this gives dipshits like Rush Limbaugh fuel so he won't STFU.

So, Did Brown's nude photos hurt or help his campaign?

Dave said:

The worst part is this gives dipshits like Rush Limbaugh fuel so he won't STFU.

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Let's be fair, he didn't shut up during the 8 years of Bush either.

Dave said:

The worst part is this gives dipshits like Rush Limbaugh fuel so he won't STFU.

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The stupidity of Rush Limbaugh can be a thread all his own... I'm going to be candid and honest; I'd be a liar if I didn't cross my fingers when he had a heart attack in Hawaii. I know it's rotten.

Chazwozel;331194][QUOTE=Dave said:

The worst part is this gives dipshits like Rush Limbaugh fuel so he won't STFU.

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The stupidity of Rush Limbaugh can be a thread all his own... I'm going to be candid and honest; I'd be a liar if I didn't cross my fingers when he had a heart attack in Hawaii. I know it's rotten.[/QUOTE]

I didn't wish him death, but I would have loved to see him lose his ability to speak or work again.

His death solves both those issues. That fat piece of shit isn't going last long anyway, with his weight and the amount of Oxycontin he slugs down his slimy gullet everyday...

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1226797

Well... looks like Washington waste their majority.

Dave;331196][QUOTE=Chazwozel;331194][QUOTE=Dave said:

The worst part is this gives dipshits like Rush Limbaugh fuel so he won't STFU.

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The stupidity of Rush Limbaugh can be a thread all his own... I'm going to be candid and honest; I'd be a liar if I didn't cross my fingers when he had a heart attack in Hawaii. I know it's rotten.[/QUOTE]

I didn't wish him death, but I would have loved to see him lose his ability to speak or work again.[/QUOTE]

That is when I got happy 10 years ago, back when he bragged about his "God given talent," then lost his hearing. My first thought was God took it back. Then he got the implants so he could hear again and went back to work. :sad:

sixpackshaker;331235][QUOTE=Dave;331196][QUOTE=Chazwozel;331194][QUOTE=Dave said:

The worst part is this gives dipshits like Rush Limbaugh fuel so he won't STFU.

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The stupidity of Rush Limbaugh can be a thread all his own... I'm going to be candid and honest; I'd be a liar if I didn't cross my fingers when he had a heart attack in Hawaii. I know it's rotten.[/QUOTE]

I didn't wish him death, but I would have loved to see him lose his ability to speak or work again.[/QUOTE]

That is when I got happy 10 years ago, back when he bragged about his "God given talent," then lost his hearing. My first thought was God took it back. Then he got the implants so he could hear again and went back to work. :sad:[/QUOTE]
With someone like Limbaugh, there are plenty of people who would take his place. People listen to it and execs know it.

Wow, John Stewart savaged the dems over this Monday night.

It's not that the Democrats are playing checkers and the Republicans are playing chess. It's that the Republicans are playing chess and the Democrats are in the nurse's office because once again they glued their balls to their thighs

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Seriously. A republican just took a former Kennedy stronghold seat. Dude's got balls of steel.

Espy said:

Wow, John Stewart savaged the dems over this Monday night.

It's not that the Democrats are playing checkers and the Republicans are playing chess. It's that the Republicans are playing chess and the Democrats are in the nurse's office because once again they glued their balls to their thighs

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Here's the link to the video for those who can get stuff from the Comedy Central website.

Why is it that Democrats can't seem to accomplish anything?

Soliloquy;331328][QUOTE=Espy said:

Wow, John Stewart savaged the dems over this Monday night.

It's not that the Democrats are playing checkers and the Republicans are playing chess. It's that the Republicans are playing chess and the Democrats are in the nurse's office because once again they glued their balls to their thighs

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Here's the link to the video for those who can get stuff from the Comedy Central website.

Why is it that Democrats can't seem to accomplish anything?[/QUOTE]

This time around is because they tried to compromise with a group that is treating politics like an insurgency.

I'm still getting my back broke at work, but I had to come by to comment about the Massachusetts election.


So, defying even my expectations, Scott Brown has won in Massachusetts. The bluest of blue states, firmly in Obama's corner in 08, stronghold of the Kennedy clan, which also gave us John Kerry, Michael Dukakis and others... has voted in a republican over a democrat just a year later.

Let's just take a moment to consider the earth-shaking implications here. When Virginia and New Jersey, two other blue states, switched and installed republicans in recent elections, many have expressed disinterest, dismissing the elections as meaningless. But now, is there enough smoke now for these people to admit there is a fire? To further drop jaws, the republican who won the Mass election did NOT run as a moderate - he ran on an openly aggressive right-wing platform. He pledged to vote against ObamaCare. He extols the virtue of "spending money on weapons to fight terrorists, not lawyers to represent them."

Now, let's look at this objectively. I don't for a moment believe that Massachusetts had a sudden demographic shift to "redneck." Plus, Brown won by a 5 point margin (I think it was 52-47, right?). It was pretty close. What happened was "just enough" habitual democrat voters decided to vote the other way... this time.

Here's an important snippet from a Washington Post editorial -

But voters also are nervous about one-party rule, especially when it tends toward arrogance or taking them, the voters, for granted. When state Democrats rewrite and then re-rewrite their special election law in the space of five years to suit their party interests, people notice. When the federal tax code is stretched in the health-care bill to give advantages to union workers that non-union workers won't share, people notice that, too.

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What's happened here is not anything that represents any kind of groundswell of support for republicans - it's still far too soon for people to have forgotten the free-spending, unpopular-war-prosecuting, Meiers-nominating, lobbyist-fellating, gaffe-filled years that lead to the GOP's crippling losses in the midterm elections of 06 and general elections of 08. Rather, it simply indicates that enough people - not everybody, just enough - did not like how democrats have spent the last year and wanted to make sure they didn't have carte blanche. So, enough "moderates" held their nose and voted for Brown, just enough to revoke Spoiled Daughtercrat's credit card.

Don't get me wrong, I still foresee massive democrat losses in the midterms come this November. But that also has less to do with republicans than it does have to do with democrats and the election patterns of living memory. Truly, if ever there were two parties that deserved eternal minority status, they are the Republican and Democrat parties. It's a shame that the current system foists an entrenched, enforced 2-party dichotomy upon voters.

As for health care, blue dog dems are smelling Coakley's blood in the water (and Obama's, after all, Coakley's polls actually DROPPED six points when Obama and Clinton showed up to stump for her), and with elections staring them in the face this year, I'm not sure enough of them will be willing to throw themselves on their swords on behalf of the party platform. The health care bill, as it stands, doesn't have much chance to proceed... but the problems that lent urgency to the attempt to reform health care finance still loom large in the minds of Americans. Perhaps this time around, such ideas as eliminating state mandates (such as vermont's insistence that any health care policy issued in vermont must cover hair plugs, for example) and the ability to sell health insurance across state lines to increase competition could help drive insurance premiums down. Also, a closer look could be taken at the inherent problems of the health insurance paradigm - that because people already feel like it's somebody else's responsibility to pay for their health care ("I pay my premiums every month, I want an EKG and MRI every time!"), they are inured to the actual cost of procedures, allowing practitioners to raise prices because they know patients won't object to their gouging insurance companies. In addition, there's also tort reform that needs to be considered, since the cost of malpractice insurance ranges from merely raising medical care costs exorbitantly at best, to driving doctors straight out of business at worst... but I won't hold my breath on that front, as the trial lawyer lobby still grips the democrat party firmly by the throat, and there's too much money to be made suing doctors.

All in all, politics is getting interesting again. I'm astounded at how little of their professed platform the democrats were able to accomplish during their year of an unassailable, filibuster-proof supermajority. Remember, it wasn't republicans that prevented ObamaCare from passing thus far, it was vascillating democrats.

Oh, and Barney Frank is already calling for the banning of the filibuster. Odd how he didn't seem to want that in 05.


See you all again soon, I hope.

Not surprising Franks change in position. Hell, Lieberman also said the filibuster should be removed when he was running for Vice President. Look where that is now.

Interesting analysis of Scott Brown here. Apparently, his state legislator career, while certainly to the right of MA politics, rates as rather severely to the left of national GOP politics, as the analyst measures it.

Now, normally, this wouldn't mean much, but in the new, litmus-test-based national GOP, this could get him in trouble in the long run if he doesn't switch to the approved national position on various issues. Naturally, this assumes he won't do it himself, as politicians do, but either way, interesting to see.

GasBandit said:

Now, let's look at this objectively. I don't for a moment believe that Massachusetts had a sudden demographic shift to "redneck." Plus, Brown won by a 5 point margin (I think it was 52-47, right?). It was pretty close. What happened was "just enough" habitual democrat voters decided to vote the other way... this time.

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Every analysis of this should probably start with "There was no incumbent, so a good portion of disinterested voters now have to choose a side, probably with no better reasoning than alphabetic order."

Soliloquy;331328][QUOTE=Espy said:

Wow, John Stewart savaged the dems over this Monday night.

It's not that the Democrats are playing checkers and the Republicans are playing chess. It's that the Republicans are playing chess and the Democrats are in the nurse's office because once again they glued their balls to their thighs

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Here's the link to the video for those who can get stuff from the Comedy Central website.

Why is it that Democrats can't seem to accomplish anything?[/QUOTE]

As i recall it's only the full episodes that are blocked in other countries, so everyone should be able to see it.

Also, Martha Coakley sounds like she doesn't understand what populism is...

And his hot daughters are available!

Good Dave, hopefully they will pose nude too.

sixpackshaker said:

Good Dave, hopefully they will pose nude too.

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They are both college age so it's cool with me.

Now there's a platform I can get behind!