Out of all topics that could possibly be discussed in political arguments, the 1 topic I've seen discussed the least, at least among people other than talk-show hosts looking to silence all dissenting opinions, has been 1-party rule emerging in some states more than others! When the topic is discussed, the states pointed to most often have been California (heavily Democratic), Florida (largely Republican), & Texas (heavily Republican)! Obviously, that topic hasn't been able to be discussed in any countries where the federal governments have been largely plagued by 1-party rule, something that has, thankfully, been curbed here, for the most part, in D.C.! The federal House & Senate have almost never leaned more than 70-75% for either party, so while 1-party rule has, fortunately, been avoided there, some states have tilted dangerously in favor of 1 party or the other, & here are some of the most dangerous (for lack of a better word) examples of 1-party rule states!
Before I do that, however, I'd like to give my opinions on each of the potential 2016 candidates:
There was a time when I thought Scott Brown was just another radical conservative, but now that he's moved into New Hampshire, I think he's moderated his views just enough to avoid carrying that "stigma" across state lines with him!
Do we srsly need another Bush in Washington?
The antithesis of Obamacare seems to be what Dr. Ben Carson has portrayed himself as, but just like Barbara Buono here in N.J. last November, he's too unknown aside from health care policy for me to cast him in any way, shape, or form...
For all the crap that Governor Christie has taken, I'm sure voters of all affiliations will appreciate his ability to embrace bipartisanship when necessary, such as after destructive natural disasters like Sandy, when conservative media was deliberately trying to sabotage the relief efforts to keep the "sheeple" pleased!
On the other hand, the master of singlehanded idiocy, Ted Cruz, is next... If it wasn't for his antics during the government shutdown last year, then I wouldn't find him so reckless, but, well...
Huckabee... failed Fox
Huntsman provides another example of conservative over influence, in my opinion... If he hadn't been pushed out in both '08 & '12, I'm sure he could've "pandered" just enough to the right wingers without compromising his relative moderation!
Jindal has also been known to bash extremism within his own party, so, just for that, I'd be willing to support that, even if all of his policies would make him seem like "1 of them"!
In a state known to elect Republican mayors & governors as recently as the beginning of the millennium (more on that later), King has seemed more conservative than I believe he is, but that might just be because of the Democratic-leaning composition of the N.Y. state government right now!
**** Nugent...
Randy! Srsly, tho... I appreciate his statements in recent days about pushing back against extremist elements & falsehoods (most recently, about voter I.D. laws), but that doesn't make him moderate enough for me just yet!
Just like his predecessor, Daniels has mostly kept his successes "under the radar", while making sure to not make any inflammatory statements made by any Indiana politicians public...
Since Texas is so heavily conservative (more on that later...), you'd think I'd be inclined to bash Rick Perry, but just as long as he doesn't take his "take no prisoners" attitude with him from Austin to D.C., then I'd gladly support him if it meant expanding his state's prosperity nationwide, à la Bill Clinton taking his "New Democrat" approach from Little Rock to D.C. back in the early 90s!
I've always thought foreign policy has been both under appreciated & underutilized by many previous administrations, so if you prefer true "peace through strength" politicians, then Mike Rogers is for you!
Unfortunately, I won't support any candidates on the losing end of previous electoral results... That & extremist budget plans that keep getting shot down are reasons enough for me not to support Ryan!
Same thing with extreme religious fundamentalism... You can't push that on people at every turn, as Santorum did, & expect to win over everybody else!
Just like Huckabee, Scarborough has been a failed talk show host, except Scarborough is (1) somehow still going, & (2) planted in some weekday morning slot where no ratings happen!
Trump, Trump, Trump... If it wasn't for his near-sabotage of Atlantic City, then I would support him, but that & his continued promotion of crackpot conspiracy theories are enough to keep me far away from him!
Among the "others", I would most likely support: Daniels, Kasich, Martinez, Portman, Rubio, & Sandoval... All of the other people among the "others" are either busy pushing extremism on us right now (especially "Colonel" West), or are part of previous administrations (Rice) or losing electoral campaigns (Cain, Palin)!
the Democratic candidates, in order:
Biden & Clinton are both (1) part of the current administration, (2) old as dirt, & (3) prone to verbal gaffes exposing their liberal beliefs for what they are: dangerously uncompromising, yet still vulnerable to being labeled "soft"!
Dean was unsuccessful in '04, but that doesn't preclude the turnaround that Vermont experienced under his leadership throughout the 90s!
O' Malley has been too far-left for me... I'm no fan of far-right politics, either, but when these people push harmful policy after harmful policy on an entire state without so much as consulting any constituents, then I just can't support them!
Sanders actually calls himself "big-S-Socialist"... 'nuff said!
Balancing out all the uncompromising liberalism, however, is former Montana governor Schweitzer... If you didn't catch that recent interview with some news outlet in which he openly promised to run as the "anti-Hillary" Democrat, then that to me is more than enough evidence of moderation!
Among the "others": Bullock, Hassan, Kucinich, Locke, Nixon (despite the negative connotations associated with that last name, I've found Jay to be incredibly different from Richard!), & Warner... Just as with the conservatives, I think the rest of these "others" are just too liberal for my liking!
Now that I've expressed my preliminary opinions on 2016, I'd like to remind you people of who was in charge of N.Y.C. & N.Y.S. just after the turn of the millennium!
former N.Y. governor George Pataki
(both conservative-leaning Republicans in what has otherwise routinely been 1 of the biggest "blue" states in the nation!)
the Florida Senate
No comments:
Post a Comment