Farleftside's Open Salon Blog

That Special Afterglow

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:11:07 -0500

Three Is A Tragic Number

There are clearly three different kinds of elections in this country now.

The Electoral, wherein we choose our president.

The Gerrymander, which decides our Congressmen.

The Popular, which determines our Senators.

We all know about the problems/benefits of the Electoral College but what you may not realize is that many voting districts are gerrymandered to the point where the election outcomes for the next eight years are locked in stone.

For example, President Obama took Pennsylvania by five points in the popular vote of 2012, that's a lot, but Democrats only got five of the 18 congressional seats. The same thing happened in Ohio and Virginia. That's because Republicans, who won heavily in the mid-terms, redrew the voting lines and condensed the Democrats into small areas of the state. For example, here's Pennsylvania's congressional districts:

Republicans can count on these results until 2020 when the lines can be redrawn, but as long as they're the majority in the state legislatures that's not going to happen. And since they draw the district lines they're deciding who wins in the future.

We accept gerrymandering because we like the idea that it protects minority populations, but that just gives unscrupulous politicians the tools they need to make the voting process a joke. I think it's no longer worth the trade-off.

As for Senators, it's harder to gerrymander a whole state into two parts so they're generally chosen by the popular vote. That's why Democrats currently own a 53-45 advantage in the Senate. (Throw in two blue-leaning Independents and it's a 55-45 advantage for the good guys.)

You're probably thinking that there has to a better way to draw congressional lines, and there IS! It's called the Shortest-Splitline Method and here's a video to show you how it works.

As for the Electoral College, it's becoming moot. The Hispanic population is growing so fast that Texas will soon become a Blue state, and when that happens it's game over for the GOP's White House aspirations for a LONG time to come.

Smile.

=Lefty=

Karl Rove's dream job.

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 10:11:13 -0500

Blue States, Purple Haze

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 13:11:34 -0500

The Max Bialystock Principle

Wed, 7 Nov 2012 12:11:44 -0500

Celebrate! Celebrate!

Congratulations, Mr. Obama, on your solid thrashing of whatever the hell that was running against you. I look forward to four more years of peace and prosperity.

Darn you, Ohio, for totally ruining an otherwise suspenseful evening with your thoughtful sensibility.

Thank you, Nate Silver, for telling the truth when no one else would. You deserve a big raise.

Way to go, GOP, for campaigning in the wrong states. You might try the ones that matter next time.

Much obliged, Karl Rove, for failing your party again. Even I could get 200 electoral votes for the GOP simply by running ads showing unicorns playing pinochle.

Tough luck, Sheldon Adelson and David & Charles Koch. Even though you wasted .00000001% of your vast fortunes on this election I'm sure you can easily recoup the loss by increasing the price of gruel in your company commissaries.

And, finally, thank you to The Fates for gifting me with one heck of an excellent birthday present.

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Addendum: Although Mr. Obama's victory was due in no small part to the peculiarities of the Electoral College it was most impressive when compared to what he was up against:

(1) All the billionaire money in the world. In 2008 Mr. Romney spent $45 million dollars of his own money on his campaign, and that was just for the Republican primaries. This he spent year $0 of his vast fortune. Thank you, Supreme Court, for unleashing Citizens United and forever putting our government into the hands of those who would gladly sell us for the gold in our teeth.

(2) A media that is firmly in the hands of men who oppose Mr. Obama. Specifically the Fox News network, which should quit fooling around and officially rebrand themselves as "The Propaganda Mouthpiece of the GOP".

(3) A Congress that did absolutely nothing to help the economy for the past two years and subsequently blamed the President for their indolence.

(4) The most ignorant electorate on the face of this Earth. Fifty million otherwise well-intentioned people watched the Republican candidate do a complete 180 on his principles less than two months before the election and thought nothing of it. A candidate whose only real skill was extracting money from the wallets of the working class.

(5) Good, old-fashioned racism.

If the Obama presidency was written as a work of fiction ten years ago no one would have believed it. It is truly a thing of mythic proportion.

A hearty salute to you, Mr. President. You are, indeed, an elite.

Forward.

=Lefty=

A Fool and His Vote Are Forever Parted

Mon, 5 Nov 2012 11:11:06 -0500

The Neverending Story

And so, at last, we've reached the end of a seemingly endless presidential campaign. Without doubt Mr. Obama will return for another four years but don't take it for granted. Get out there and vote, dagnabbit!

Just as importantly, make a point to vote for your local Democratic candidates in 2014... if you can. As long as Republicans run the state legislatures they will do everything in their power to diminish the right and ability of anyone except other conservatives to vote. They've been interfering with the voting process for the past two years and they'll keep right right on doing it until we vote their little butts out.

=Lefty=