Trolling in a Voter's Pamphlet

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 20, 2018 · 5:13 PM PDT

2018/10/20 · 17:13

Here is one of the arguments against Measure 26-200, which is a charter amendment to limit campaign contributions in the city of Portland, OR.

You can find it in the Multnomah County November, 2018 Voter’s Pamphlet (page M-48, about 2/3 of the way down):

https://multco.us/file/75625/download

ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION

OREGON ELECTIONS ARE RIGGED BY BIG MONEY LET'S KEEP IT THAT WAY!

VOTE NO ON 26-200

With Oregon’s unlimited political campaign contributions and spending (unlike 44 other states), candidate who raise and spend the most money wins over 91% of the time (almost always the incumbent).

Portland city races now cost upwards of $1 million, sometimes almost $2 million.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE -- THE BEST PEOPLE

Most of that money comes in huge contributions from property developers, landlords, executives of multinational corporations, construction companies, financial moguls, timber companies, rail contractors, hedge fund operators, and corporations wanting government to pay more of the $1 billion+ tab for the Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup (PHS).

These funders are truly the elite leaders of America. They have the best educations, the nicest houses, and the biggest yachts. They know best who should serve in public office. Elected officials should indeed listen to them do what they say.

The next best thing to having a rich person in public office is a public officer beholden to rich people.

THE BEST PEOPLE ARE THE ONES WITH THE MOST MONEY

As our President, Donald Trump, said:
"As a businessman and a very substantial donor to very important people, when you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do." (July 29, 2015)

"I gave to many people, before this, before two months ago, I was a businessman. I give to everybody. When they call, I give. And do you know what? When I need something from them two years later, three years later, I call them, they are there for me." (August 6, 2015)

"When I call, they kiss my ass." (January 9, 2016) Talking Points Memo, September 6, 2016

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/trump-bondi-contributions.

MONEY IS SPEECH - THE BEST SPEECH DON’T LET VOTERS SPOIL OUR RIGGED SYSTEM!

All of the statements in favor of Measure 26-200 are fake news. Committee of the Best People with the Best Words best-words.com

(This information furnished by Dan Meek.)

Lol. “Money is speech” is one of the lamest decisions to come out of the Roberts court. Even when it is speech, it is usually pretty lame speech. I am happy to see someone using the “fake news” meme to play it back against them, and happy to see it make it into a county voter’s pamphlet.

Clown Car Preview: Top 10 for GOP 2016

AICoder

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday January 12, 2014 · 11:41 AM PST

2014/01/12 · 11:41

It is still two years away, but we can always speculate. The Washington Post has this article from Chris Cillizza of the Fix: Chris Christie has problems, but he’s still atop the 2016 GOP field for now.

And the top ten? In reverse order, we have
10. Rick Santorum
9. Rick Perry
8. John Kasich
7. Marco Rubio
6. Bobby Jindal
5. Jeb Bush
4. Ted Cruz
3. Scott Walker
2. Rand Paul
1. Chris Christie

Is it time for another Bush family member to be president? If I were in the monied class, I would be pushing for Jeb as the least bad choice. A Bush/Kasich ticket could work. Maybe Paul Ryan should be on the list. I don't see anyone else that stands a chance, how about you?

The Campaign Morphed By Money

AICoder

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday November 04, 2012 · 6:54 PM PST

2012/11/04 · 18:54

NPR has a video and a set of slides titled:

A Campaign Map, Morphed By Money

You have probably seen those maps where the states are resized to reflect their population and electoral count. Here is one with the states resized to reflect how much advertising money was spent:

We looked at ad spending on the presidential race from April 10 to Oct. 10, based on data from Kantar Media. The millions of dollars spent by superPACs and other outside groups send a clear message: There are really only 12 states in this presidential election. It's no surprise that they are all pretty purple.

They also calculate the spending per voting-aged adult, and come up with values ranging from $1.12 per adult in Minnesota, to $5.35 per adult in New Hampshire. Despite the huge amount of money spent in the campaigns, the per-adult figures seem like chicken feed to me. Are votes really that cheap?

I got the feeling that the campaign, especially at the end, was mostly about union workers in Ohio and people on Medicare in Florida, while the rest of the nation just stood by, impatiently waiting for election day. Is it just me, or did the presidential campaigns used to have a national feel to them?

Sometimes I wonder if we will end up with campaigns that don't even bother with a whole state, and start targeting specific counties. The spreadsheets are great and everything, but it seems like the technology is driving toward such optimized use of campaign money that a handful of counties will soon be deciding all the elections.

They Were Against Him Before They Were Against Him

AICoder

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 25, 2012 · 12:16 AM PDT

2012/09/25 · 00:16

With all the under-the-bus throwing going on these days in the GOP, it is worth a brief trip down memory lane to see how "Prominent Republicans" viewed Romney over the past year. It is also good material for those of your friends who will listen only to Republicans.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) has a nice take on it:

If you're not sure about wanting to support Mitt Romney, whether you're liberal, or whether you're very conservative, you ought to be excited, because he's been on your side at one time or another.

(video posted on YouTube by The Reasonists)

Sigh. Oh, how I would like to see 61 Senators and 218 Representatives from the Democratic Party joining Obama for a great second term.

Who is Entitled to Health Care, Food, and Housing?

AICoder

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 18, 2012 · 12:32 AM PDT

2012/09/18 · 00:32

Mitt Romney spoke disparagingly of the 47% "...who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing..."

Who amongst us is entitled to these things? Surely there can be only one requirement: that you be a human being. Nothing else matters. How can we not care for the sick? How can we not feed the hungry? How can we not shelter the cold?

He did not name televisions, or cell phones, or cars; he did not list indulgences in beer, or cigarettes, or shoes; what came to his mind were the most fundamental things that all human beings, in every culture, and in every time period of our history, have always been willing to share with others in times of need: food, and shelter, and medicine.

Apparently not all people recognize such a basic and universal aspect of our human nature. When first things come first, these three should always be at the top of the list. How sad that a candidate for president has forgotten that.

RSS