Random Political Discussion

Scott Horowitz | June 6, 2011
I got very active in TC during the 2004 Presidential Election and I remember some of the debates on there being very interesting. So, i think it's time for a good political discussion on here. With the recent announcements of Romney, Gingrich, and now Santorum for President, regardless of what your political preference is, who do you think has the best chance against President Obama?

Erik Bates | June 6, 2011
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Erik Bates | June 6, 2011
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Scott Hardie | June 6, 2011
I can't tell you how much I miss those old days of TC. Anna rubbed some people the wrong way, but she got us to do a lot of talking, and her departure turned TC into a ghost town. If I could spur the kind of activity that she did, I would. Thanks for starting this conversation, Scott.

Lately, I've been trying to avoid political news, with limited success. Lying and hypocrisy have always been part of politics, but for me it reached an unacceptable low this past spring when teachers were vilified for being "overpaid" and "lazy." WTF? The first two adjectives that come to mind when I think of teachers are underpaid and dedicated. Someone made a good analogy that when war goes badly, we provide better supplies and we fire the commanders, but we don't hold the troops in the field accountable for forces beyond their control. Insulting the noble profession of teaching with such scorn was beyond the pale, even for an ignoble profession like politics.

That said, political news is hard to ignore. It's everywhere. Any candidate who brings clicks/ratings with a mere mention of their name (Palin and Trump) gets a ridiculous amount of coverage, almost none of it substantial. We're still in an unserious phase of the election, and will be for some time, probably until Palin finally admits that she's not really running. Just today, I debated with a friend whether she's obviously running or obviously not running, with me taking the latter position. She owes millions in legal fees from defending herself against corruption charges and other nonsense in Alaska, which is why she quit the governor's office to write books and star in TV shows and make so many public appearances. The longer she can keep the media discussing her potential candidacy, the more she can earn, but she'll lose quite a lot if she actually enters the race. The moment she finally admits that no, she won't run in 2012, let the irritating speculation about 2016 begin. Disagree? I guess we'll find out in a few months.

The fracturing of news media has created such different perceptions of reality on the left and the right that this is going to be a strange election. I wanted to like Dorothy Rabinowitz's assessment of the GOP's options, but she lost my trust in the second paragraph by saying that "the Obama health-care plan [is] now nearly universally acknowledged as a disaster." Really? Because I think it was pretty good, and a lot of other people do too -- 42% of the electorate, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll in mid-May. That's slightly less than the 44% who disapprove of it, but nowhere close to universal opinion. Our nation will only hasten its decline if this media trend towards exclusivity instead of inclusivity continues to keep us disorganized and fighting against our own best interests.

Tony Peters | June 7, 2011
what about Weiner????

if by some freaking accident a Moderate non-social conservative wins the republican primary process then the GOP will roll up the election in a more dominant manner than Obama did. That said I think Palin is going to be playing Kingmaker for the GOP which means that they will lose....

Scott Hardie | June 7, 2011
I don't know how in the hell Weiner thought in this day or age that he could get away with denying it. Silly politician; sexting is for kids.

Samir Mehta | June 7, 2011
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Scott Horowitz | June 7, 2011
I agree Samir.. I think the minority vote will swing in Obama's way. Though, I want Palin to get the Republican Nod because I think the debates will be hilarious.

Scott Horowitz | June 7, 2011
These discussions were what got me into the site Scott... however heated they were, there were some good debates

Tony Peters | June 7, 2011
"Dems Turn up the heat on (the) Weiner"...sounds like a hotdog cart reference

Steve West | June 8, 2011
Aside from a major tragedy that involves serious loss of life, the major factor that influences voting is the economy. With the economy in only a so-so state, especially for the forseeable future, I find it no surprise that a no-name candidate like Mitt Romney can show evenness in the polls with the standing president. We're still a long way from the election but I don't see the democrats winning this thing withot some major accomplishments from the President. It looks like his campaign strategy will be to bad-mouth any Republican candidate to death because of so little to show for his time in office. "Hey, I inherited this mess," is only going to go so far.

Anna Gregoline | June 8, 2011
Thanks, Scott! That was sweet of you. First of all, I got another job where I can't spend all day on the internet on Tragic Comedy. =) Second, I guess I kind of turned my energy to things where I didn't end up arguing with people. I think I rubbed many the wrong way because I'm somewhat of a devil's advocate in discussion, and, well, I guess I only talk about things I care deeply about.

Miss those days too though, it's hard to find good discussion corners on the web.

Tony Peters | June 8, 2011
Steve I agree that the economy is the issue, the problem is the republicans who make the choice don't have an economic policy that the rest of the country can get behind

Steve West | June 8, 2011
I agree with that also. Somebody come up with a plan that makes sense! My comment was only to say that the Republicans, despite not having a clear visionary, stand a chance in the election.

Tony Peters | June 8, 2011
Honestly if it weren't for Palin that would be true....kinda like Obama, he was the unknown (relatively) running against Bush...McCain was doomed

Scott Hardie | June 15, 2011
David Brooks is totally right about why this is going to be such a disappointing election, because neither party is capable of or even interested in solving the actual problems. It's no wonder the media is making as much hay out of fantasy candidates like Trump and Palin now as they can.

Tony Peters | June 15, 2011
that's a great piece Scott thanks........

Jackie Mason | June 16, 2011
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Scott Hardie | June 16, 2011
Obama's contortions to get around legal obstacles disappoint me once again. Most presidents have little regard for laws that limit their authority, even after they campaigned on promises to the contrary. I wanted to believe that Obama would be the rare principled leader who wouldn't pull this crap after he made such well-articulated protests over habeas corpus, Guantanamo Bay, and the Patriot Act, but I shouldn't have bothered having faith. He has long since lost my vote.

Jon Berry | June 16, 2011
It is disappointing as hell. Patriot act, Guantanamo, his turning on whistleblowers, corporate RIAA influence as well as overly dramatic stance on piracy (for a guy with 3 wars costing in trillions), and his failure to simply stand up for his side. Allowing Bush tax cuts to continue? Being a non-existant presence in the Wisconsin issue?

He's a brilliant speaker, I just wish there was a bit more to him than that.

Jon Berry | June 16, 2011
It is disappointing as hell. Patriot act, Guantanamo, his turning on whistleblowers, corporate RIAA influence as well as overly dramatic stance on piracy (for a guy with 3 wars costing in trillions), and his failure to simply stand up for his side. Allowing Bush tax cuts to continue? Being a non-existant presence in the Wisconsin issue?

He's a brilliant speaker, I just wish there was a bit more to him than that.

Scott Hardie | June 21, 2011
Meet the new boss...

Scott Hardie | June 26, 2011
Jon Huntsman talks a good game. He's not just running further center than most of his Republican opponents; he seems to be aiming higher intellectually than most of them, too. I can't imagine Sarah Palin talking about the effects of "a reconfigured asymmetric posture [on] defense spending."

Scott Hardie | July 12, 2011
Good opinion piece on the hypocrisy over incandescent light bulbs, one of the sillier political movements of the last year.