Is it possible that Trump has never voted?

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Sunday August 14, 2016 · 12:04 PM PDT

2016/08/14 · 12:04

For the past week or so, Donald Trump has made the claim that without voter ID laws that a single person could vote 5, 10, or 15 times. The media has generally done a good job of dismissing this claim as ridiculous. In fact, anyone who has actually voted would know that this is silly With the caveat that trying to analyze statements from Donald Trump is a fool’s errand, when I hear him make these claims it makes me wonder if it is possible that he has never voted.

Here in NC where I live you can look up anyone’s voter record as to whether they voted or not in a particular election. I assume this would be true where Donald Trump lives as well. So the questions on the table are:” Has Donald Trump ever voted before?” and “If not, would his supporters care?”

Milestones in the Demise of the Republican Party

jbd66

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Monday March 21, 2016 · 8:03 AM PDT

2016/03/21 · 08:03

As I was driving to work today, I was pondering the long slow demise of the Republican Party. Below is what I came up with. The list is non-comprehensive and anecdotal. After all, it was just a commute filling muse. For reference, I was born in 1966, grew up in PA, and consider the Republican Party of the mid-1970s as the reference point for a functioning Republican Party.

Ronald Regan proposes trickle-down economics.Everyone knew this was not going to work including George H.W. Bush who called it VooDoo Economics.Now 36 years later, it’s become an entrenched lie in the Republican Party, like a lie from a cheating spouse who can figure his/her way out.Their stuck with it and it continues to do damage to the country.
Fall of the Soviet Union.This event had two negative impacts on the Republican Party. It created the enduring myth of an outsized level of influence by Reagan which supports a go-it-alone interventionist philosophy in the Republican Party to this day.Secondly, there is something in the Republican/Conservative mindset that seeks a bifurcated world of us and them, good guys and bad guys rather than recognizing that he world is a complex, multipolar entity.Looking back, we were all better off when the “them” that the Republicans were fixated on was foreign country compared to the current demonization of Muslims.
The appointment of Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court. His odd brand of “originalism” helped to create the myth that precedent-following jurists were somehow “legislating from the bench” and was the point of origin for the battle line over which the Republican-controlled Senate is not refusing to fulfill its constitutional duty to meet with and hold hearings on Judge Garland.
The rise of Lee Atwater and his corrosive campaign tactics in the 1980s, which brought us the Willie Horton ad and was the foreshadowing for Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
Arlen Spector destroys his career and reputation attacking Anita Hill. This one is a bit personal for me.Growing up in PA, we had Spector and John Heinz for Senator.They were, at least at the time I thought, reasonable Republican.Heck, I even voted for Spector in the 1980s. I am still at a loss to understand what motivated him.
Clinton derangement syndrome.To me the consistent and increasingly bizarre attacks on Bill and Hillary Clinton represented a concerted effort to create the impression/illusion that there was something fundamentally illegitimate about there being a Democrat in the White House.The Republicans tried to imbed the ideas that somehow Clinton must have cheated and/or the people who voted for him were un-American or somehow foreign. This culminated in the unfounded impeachment process.Even now I find it hard to believe that they tried to impeach President Clinton for having an affair. The moment I remember best was when then Representative Lindsey Graham was asked if reasonable men could disagree and he said yes.To this day I write him an occasional email to remind him that he once peered into the abyss and stepped back and suggest that he do so again. (Most recently I encouraged him to endorse a Democratic presidential candidate over Trump.)
Bush v. Gore.Rather than letting the political process play out in Florida, the Republican-controlled Supreme Court chose to intervene.This handed us perhaps the worst president in U.S. History and did incredible damage to the reputation of the court.
Dick Cheney.No further explanation required.
The utilization of the tragedy of 9/11 to invade Iraq.Like the Clinton impeachment, it’s hard for me to believe that this really happened. This could be a long explanation, but I’ll keep it short.I was strongly opposed to the concept that the U.S. should consider and had the right to invade a country because we suspected that they might someday do us harm, but I did try to keep an open mind on WMDs.Not that I thought we should invade, but that at least Bush believe that they might actually exist.My personal low point came during a speech that President Bush gave in June of 2003.At this point our military was largely in control in Iraq and it was abundantly clear that there were no WMDs.President Bush could have said that he stood by his decision to invade Iraq even though there were no WMDs because he felt it was his duty to protect us.I would have disagreed but at least respective his point of view and recognized it as internally self-consistent. Instead he went with “we’re still going to find them”.It was the last time I listened to any of his speeches.
John McCain 2008.During his campaign for president in 2000, John McCain was a reasonable guy with whom I disagreed.In 2008, he decided that he had to abandon his career and principles and embrace the crazy in his effort to become President. He through the last of his credibility away when he picked Sarah Palin for VP.During some of his campaign events, with the secret-Kenyan-Muslim statements, harbingers of today’s Trump rallies.In an unguarded moment of public decency, McCain did pull back from the abyss when a particularly crazy woman went on an anti-Obama rant and corrected here by telling her that Obama was a decent family man.As with Graham, I occasionally contact Senator McCain, remind him of this, and ask for another act of courage and decency.Neither Graham nor McCain have ever responded.
Mitch McConnell’s pledge in 2008 to oppose everything President Obama would do.This position led to the biggest farce of the last 8 years.Upon taking office, President Obama decided to address the health insurance crisis in the U.S. by implemented the center right solution of creating health care exchanges as developed by the Heritage Foundation and implemented by Republican Governor Romney in Massachusetts. The Republicans then doubled down by portraying this as some sort of socialist government takeover of health care.Since then we’ve seen scores of these silly “repeal and replace” rituals.But since Obama implanted their plan, if they repeal it then there’s nothing left to replace it with. Then we followed up with the bizarre Romney presidential campaign during which he was forced to claim that as president he would repeal the program that was his greatest accomplishment as governor.
Donald Trump.

I sincerely hope that we are currently watching the end of this story unfold in which the Republican Party implodes and is forced to rebuild. Because, despite being a life-long Democrat, I recognize that we need a functioning Republican/Conservative party. We need robust political debate. We need to relearn how to compromise. We need the ~40% of the people in the country who identify as conservative to feel and be represented. I hope that’s the path we’re on.

Condoleezza Rice Phone Survey in NC

jbd66

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Friday March 11, 2016 · 7:33 AM PST

2016/03/11 · 07:33

I live in Chapel Hill, NC and we received a rather odd phone call the other evening. It was an automated telephone survey about our preferences for the general election in November. It began with the standard demographic questions, gender, age, party affiliation, etc. Next it asked our opinions about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as general election candidates. (An easier question I have never encountered.) Then completely out of left field came a question about how I felt about Condoleezza Rice as an independent candidate for president. I froze up for a moment. I would be very disappointed to ever see Secretary Rice as president, but would be thrilled to see a “moderate” republican run as an independent to thwart Trump. So I replied that I would support her running as an independent. Did I give the right answer? Has anyone else received a similar call?

Poll

77 votes Show Results

If a "moderate" Republican does mount and independent run for President to thwart Trump. It will be:

77 votes Vote Now!

If a "moderate" Republican does mount and independent run for President to thwart Trump. It will be:

a. Condoleezza Rice

8 votes

b. Mitt Romney

7 votes

c. John McCain

1 vote

d. Marco Rubio

0 votes

e. Rick Perry

0 votes

f. Scott Walker

0 votes

g. Not Going to Happen

61 votes

What Trump Might Say Next

jbd66

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Thursday September 03, 2015 · 5:56 AM PDT

2015/09/03 · 05:56

First let me acknowledge that I have been sucked into the Trump vortex. I can't seem to look away which, I suppose, is his intent. As has been noted by many others, his statements ricochet back and forth between vile statements about immigrants and women to more interesting statements like the absurdly low tax rates paid by hedge fund managers which lay bare some of the weak underbelly of the Republican party. As I was driving below I had a little day dream of what he might say next that I would like to share. So head below the break where I try to channel the Donald.

jbd66

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Friday May 29, 2015 · 6:38 AM PDT

2015/05/29 · 06:38

Count me among those optimistic that president Clinton #2 will be far more progressive and successful than some of the skeptics here believe. I too am inspired when Senator Sanders speaks and wish everything he supports could be implemented by lunch time today, but I don’t think that is very likely. So even though it can be frustrating at time, it can be more effective at times to have a president attuned to the politics of the possible. See below the squiggly thing for examples and predictions.

Poll

44 votes Show Results

President Hillary Clinton will govern like:

44 votes Vote Now!

President Hillary Clinton will govern like:

A moderate republican

17 votes

A centrist democrat

6 votes

A median democrat

6 votes

A progressive democrat

15 votes

Not Sure Boys are Learning Anyting

jbd66

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Thursday April 16, 2015 · 6:08 AM PDT

2015/04/16 · 06:08

Need a little therapy this morning. I have a boy and a girl currently in high school and am increasingly convinced that my son and most of the other boys are learning almost nothing at all. There's not reading books like To Kill a Mockingbird or Tale of Two Cities, they aren't learning to write a persuasive essay, their passing their Spanish classes but not learning any Spanish, and math class, a topic in which boys of my generation allegedly excelled, has been transformed beyond recognition. Math used to be about getting the right answer. Now it seems to be about, I don't know what. But whatever it is, the boys aren't getting it. Now they are frustrated and demotivated. It's breaking my heart.

Thanks

Mr. Potter is Winning

jbd66

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Tuesday January 06, 2015 · 7:41 AM PST

2015/01/06 · 07:41

Everyone, well at least everyone I know, loves the movie It’s a Wonderful Life and understands that Mr. Potter is the villain. Unfortunately, off of the silver screen and out here in the real world, Mr. Potter is winning. Below are two sadly compelling examples which are in the process of devastating many of my friends and family.

jbd66

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Tuesday August 27, 2013 · 11:52 AM PDT

2013/08/27 · 11:52

Earlier today I encountered yet another insipid comment from Paul Ryan, and it occurred to me that one of the many, many ways that the Democratic party is better than the Republican party is in our selection of qualified VP candiates. Consider first the Republicans. I'll start at 1980 and give some thoughts on each:

Republicans:
1980, 1984: George H.W. Bush a qualified and experienced candidate
1998, 1992: Dan Quayle, the first of the unqualified candidates forced on to the ticket to appeal to the conservative fringe.
1996: Jack Kemp. A qualified candidate to support an honorable man, Senator Dole
2000, 2004: Dick Cheney, smart and experienced but, well, evil
2008: Sarah Palin, descent into farce driven by desparation
2012: Paul Ryan, trying to finish 10th grade Atlas Shrugged book report and pretending to wash dishes for photo ops

Democrats below the squiggle

Poll

31 votes Show Results

Who will Hillary Clinton Select as a Running Mate in 2016

31 votes Vote Now!

Who will Hillary Clinton Select as a Running Mate in 2016

Deval Patrick

12 votes

Tom Harkin

4 votes

Elizabeth Warren

3 votes

Sherrod Brown

5 votes

Kristen Gillibrand

1 vote

Colin Powell

6 votes

A Summary of the Issues in NC

jbd66

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Monday June 17, 2013 · 9:55 AM PDT

2013/06/17 · 09:55

For Kossacks around the country who may not have all of the details about the sad and tragic actions being taken since the Republicans took over state government in January, this article in the Raleigh News and Observer covers it all.

http://www.newsobserver.com/...

I have to warn you that it is a depressing read. I, along with thousands of other concerned North Carolinians will be in Raleigh again this afternoon as part of the Moral Monday movement, to protest this travesty. Last week the Governor and others tried to dismiss us as "outside agitators". I suspect that move will back fire.

The McCrory Blues in NC

jbd66

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Friday February 01, 2013 · 7:45 AM PST

2013/02/01 · 07:45

For those not familiar with the political situation in NC, prior to November we were already saddle with republican control of our legislature, but at least we could keep most of the crazy at bay with an occassional gubenatorial veto. With former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory taking office in January the republicans have full control of the state government.

The book on McCrory was supposed to be rationale, moderate republican. The reality has been quite different. Since taking office several weeks ago our new governor has appointed a global warming denier to be the Secretary or the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, asked the legislature to draft a voter ID law, and is trying to transform our state university system to a vocational training program.

So much for moderation. Sad in NC.

Question for Kossack Economists

jbd66

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Monday December 03, 2012 · 7:40 AM PST

2012/12/03 · 07:40

While I am quite enjoying seeing my president negotiate from a position of strength, there is a part of the fiscal puzzle I don't understand. Personally, I believe that increased governmental spending on aging infracture is overdue and vital to our long-term economic health. Given this point of view, I would prefer to see all of the Bush Tax cuts expire, including those for income brackets below $250 K. Things seemed fine in the 90s from my point of view. However, the increase in taxes on middle class families is widely predicted to cause a recession. Here's what I don't get. While I would enjoy keeping $2000 more of my salary to spend on things I like, it's not like the government wouldn't spend it after collecting it. So why is my own consumer spending more "stimulative" than government spending? Thanks in advance for an explanation I understand.

Using Data Based Tax Policy to Undermine the Republicans

jbd66

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Thursday November 08, 2012 · 7:47 AM PST

2012/11/08 · 07:47

Before getting into the heart of my argument, permit me to celebrate for a moment. Consider what is about to happen. The economy is about to flourish under President Obama, totally undermining the republican argument that Democrats are poor stewards of the economy. This performance will complement the experience under President Clinton and stand for a generation. Further, as long has President Obama and Harry Reid stay strong, taxes on the rich are about to rise which, coupled with the impending economic growth, will bring about meaningful deficit reduction. Here again demonstrating the superior economic stewardship by the Democrats.

I think the broader influence by Nate Silver of data and math based analysis of national issues gives us the opportunity to drive another stake in the heart of the republicans. Look below the squiggle for details.

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Is it possible that Trump has never voted?

Milestones in the Demise of the Republican Party

Condoleezza Rice Phone Survey in NC

What Trump Might Say Next

Hillary and the Politics of the Possible

Not Sure Boys are Learning Anyting

Mr. Potter is Winning

Our VP Candidates are Just Better

A Summary of the Issues in NC

The McCrory Blues in NC

Question for Kossack Economists

Using Data Based Tax Policy to Undermine the Republicans