John Hodgman says what I feel

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Tuesday April 19, 2016 · 8:13 AM PDT

2016/04/19 · 08:13

I apologize in advance because this won’t be much of a post. John Hodgman posted a piece on his web site explaining why he is voting for Hillary Clinton, and it expresses how I feel in a way that I never could. It is short, so please go read the whole thing yourself. Here is a sample.

I think it is a moment to consolidate and continue our gains, enact new progressive policies; let existing progressive policies mature in place; offer independent and new voters the allure of continuity, professionalism, and effectiveness; and gradually regain the congress.

(This makes me sound pretty conservative for a liberal! And maybe that’s just who I am now in my 45th year as a human)

I will certainly vote for and work for Sen. Sanders should he gain the nomination.

But today I am voting for Hillary Clinton.

Yes, she has wanted this job for a long time. There is no crime in that. It’s in the constitution! I think she’s earned it. And while I cannot predict the future, I am curious and eager to see what she does once she gets it.

So that’s what I think.

I trust you think differently. We are different humans.

I don’t wish to discuss this online, but if you see me on the street, I’d be happy to talk to you about it.

In any case, please vote

Hilariously Idiotic Editorial from Steve Forbes

jhaw

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Wednesday July 02, 2014 · 9:44 AM PDT

2014/07/02 · 09:44

Steve Forbes, head of Forbes magazine and two-time candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, has published an editorial on the Forbes website that will also appear in the July 21 issue of Forbes. It is titled The Time Has Come: Defund the IRS. I highly recommend you read the whole thing. It is only three paragraphs long but every word is comedy gold. It begins with this riveting lead:

The current IRS scandals are now bigger than those of Watergate in the 1970s and Teapot Dome in the 1920s. The most powerful and feared government agency was turned loose on groups of citizens who the White House and congressional Democrats felt threatened their power.

I had no idea that the IRS scandal had surpassed Teapot Dome, but there you go. The rest of the editorial goes on like this for a couple of paragraphs, culminating is Steve Forbes' call to action:

There can be no more continuing resolutions that allow the tax-collection agency to operate business as usual, even though Congress hasn’t passed an appropriations bill. If a continuing resolution is necessary to avoid a government shutdown, then by all means pass one–but specifically do a near-zeroing-out of the IRS (the only exception would be a handful of clerks to process refunds) until these scandals are fully and credibly investigated. If the President vetoes such a budget resolution, the onus is on him, not Congress.

There you have it--insightful political analysis and advice from a former Republican presidential candidate. What could possibly go wrong?

Is This the Most Important Chart You Will See for 2014/2016 Elections?

jhaw

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Thursday June 26, 2014 · 7:55 AM PDT

2014/06/26 · 07:55

"It's the economy stupid". That was James Carville's quote regarding the 1992 presidential campaign, but it applies to every election. It was clearly a key factor in the 2010 "wave", when the Republicans recaptured control of the House of Representatives, and the economy will almost certainly be critical in 2014 and 2016 as well.

So how do we measure "the economy"? One commonly used measure of the public's perception of the economy is the Conference Board's consumer confidence index. The consumer confidence index for June came in at 85.2--the highest level since January 2008.

The chart above shows the long term trend in the consumer confidence index going back to 1987. In both 1992 and 2010, the percentage of consumers who considered economic conditions to be "bad" was over 30% higher than the percentage of consumers who considered economic conditions to be "good". And in both cases voters turned against the party that controlled the White House. But this month, the percentage of consumers who view economic conditions as "good" was greater than the percentage of consumers who view economic conditions as "bad" for the first time since 2008. More importantly, the clear trend in consumer confidence has been very positive since 2009.

If this trend of improving consumer optimism continues through the end of this year and then into 2015 and 2016, election prospects for the party in the White House should improve as well. In fact, this trend in consumer confidence could be among the most important data to track in evaluating Democratic prospects for the 2014 and 2016 elections.

(Sorry if this has already been posted. I am always happy to see economic data diaried on DailyKos. Also, this is my first diary.)

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