GOP Reality Show

[Rod.H]

From what I understand traditionally both parties do it in order to find out where their voters are, and from that manipulate the electoral district to keep/elect the Senator/Congresscritter/President in/to office. The fact that this collection of information may be used for other purposes is often ignored. Then again has anyone run a study on what the effect would be if voting was made compulsory in the US?

[Dartz]

Right, right. Not as outright sinister as I expected then.

I like our elections. They're usually quite simple. Polling hours got extended and everyone agreed it was a good thing as it gave people more time to vote. There's a sign on the wall warning people that violating the secrecy of the ballot is a crime and a Garda at the door. Ballots are paper and marked in pencil, then stuck in a box and counted by hand. Record is kept of who voted by requiring one of multiple common forms of ID, then crossing your name off the register of electors. And that's it.

Mandatory voting would just do what the majority of US law does.... put more people in prison and disenfranchise more of your 'opponents'. (Which is funny, because over here prisoners are entitled to postal votes)
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[ordnance11]

Dartz, a mandatory right is an obligation to the state. Not going to work very well in the U.S. It's already hard enough to make them pay taxes. You want to make them vote too? Ain't gonna happen.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Labster]

I think in places where they have mandatory voting, it's simply a fine if you don't vote in an election. If I were to set it up in the U.S., it would just be a small amount, like US$20 -- it would be a minor inconvenience, but just enough for the state to bother to collect. That way the state has a financial incentive to keep accurate and inclusive voter rolls, and people have an incentive to vote. I'm not seeing a lot of downsides to a program like that, other than the whole coercion aspect.

Of course, one could say that not voting is a form of political expression. I suppose instead of a fine, we could call it a "democracy fee". Calling random things fees is what California does best (for example, state residents pay no tuition to state universities -- just thousands of dollars in "fees" annually).
-- ∇×V

[Dartz]

My biggest fear would be that there would be some who would take the 'use it or lose it' mentality. Either through felony disenfranchisment or similar. The individual is otherwise removed from the register of electors until they undertake a complex and onerous process to get back on. It's something that would make voter suppression far easier, because all you have to do is change polling times/dates to ensure that your choice demographic is the one most likely to turn up to the polls, and at the same time effectively permanently remove demographics that would normally oppose you.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Jorlem]

Of course, one could say that not voting is a form of political expression. I suppose instead of a fine, we could call it a "democracy fee". Calling random things fees is what California does best (for example, state residents pay no tuition to state universities -- just thousands of dollars in "fees" annually).

Fun fact:  State universities generally don't actually keep tuition paid to them, it goes to the state, which then gives the university the amount of funding that had been budgeted.  The universities do however keep money paid as fees for themselves, so...
(in MA, at least, but I imagine it is similar based on what you stated.)
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Labster]

Not in my case. The University of California is independent from the state, as stated in the state constitution, so it keeps everything it collects. I'm not sure about the situation with the California State University system, or the California Community Colleges. Yes, we have three separate college systems, ? bureaucracy.

Dartz, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but voter suppression tactics are pretty frequently employed already. Not universally, of course. In the same election, some states will allow a person to register and vote on the same day in a matter of minutes, while other states will purposefully have fewer polling places in poor areas so that voters have to wait in line for hours. There are already plenty of tactics for voter suppression, so I doubt changing the system would increase suppression that much.
-- ∇×V

[ordnance11]

Instant Hit
What is worse is that he didn't answer the question of pay equality for women.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[ordnance11]

No we see..
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Morganite]

What the hell is this?

[ordnance11]

Well, CNN projects the President as being re-elected.
Does GOP decide to do some soul searching or decide to continue the civil war?
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Morganite]

Looks like some states are close enough that I'll be very surprised if they aren't contested.

-Morgan.

[ordnance11]

So wraps up Season 1 of the GOP reality show.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[robkelk]

So, what does this do for both guys' standings in the polls?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Labster]

Don't even joke about these things Rob. On one station I was watching
last night, CBS, by 11PM Pacific Time they listed potential Republican
candidates for President in 2016. Three hours after polls closed -- the
same day as the election -- the news is speculating on who will be
running four years from now.

Of course, my opinion on the end of the election cycle was something like this: http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2012/11/07
-- ∇×V

[Jorlem]

So, what does this do for both guys' standings in the polls?

-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Morganite]

I actually heard a discussion on some show tonight that really did sound like it was pre-election coverage. It was in the other room and I wasn't really paying too much attention though, so I'm not sure exactly what was going on there.

-Morgan.

[Bob Schroeck]

I stumbled across this yesterday -- a collection of clips from late-night comedians on the various Republicans and their melt-downs over the election results, including Karl Rove trying to insist to Fox TV that Ohio can't possibly be going to Obama even with 3/4s of the vote going that way, and Bill O'Reilly bemoaning the fact that this is is not the "Traditional America" anymore but one filled with non-white people who want "things" and "stuff" that the government will now give them: 
http://www.politico.com/multimedia/vide ... -8-12.html
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/12/opinion/f ... ?hpt=hp_c2]Here's what I think might be one of the best, and most reasonable, conservative analyses of the election and its impact on the future of the Republican party. It's cogent, well-reasoned and not at all hysterical about the impending destruction of America at the hands of a non-white majority, and (based on some of the comments made by readers) for that reason will probably be ignored or even ridiculed by most other conservatives.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[robkelk]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/12/opinion/f ... ?hpt=hp_c2]Here's what I think might be one of the best, and most reasonable, conservative analyses of the election and its impact on the future of the Republican party. It's cogent, well-reasoned and not at all hysterical about the impending destruction of America at the hands of a non-white majority, and (based on some of the comments made by readers) for that reason will probably be ignored or even ridiculed by most other conservatives.

Ah - it's written by David Frum. That new book of his that's mentioned in the byline, "Why Romney Lost" -- he started writing that in August (according to today's column by Peter Worthington, first editor of the Toronto Sun and Frum's father-in-law). So, yeah, he knows what he's talking about and he's already being dismissed by the rest of the Republican Party.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[khagler]

I don't think Romney was ever supposed to win. He's a complete nonentity who was nominated because the sport they're playing doesn't have a rule to say "we pass." He's just like the nonentities who ran against Bush II and Clinton during their reelection campaigns.

[ordnance11]

Boehmer was 2 votes shy of not being elected speaker. That would had been humiliating if was not voted in. It's still humiliating as a matter of fact.
I think part of the reason for the Tea Party intransigence is that Boehmer has no carrots and not enough sticks to keep these guys in line.
I am interested in what is happening in California right now. All 3 branches of government belong to the Democrats. Let's see what they do in the next 2 years.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[ECSNorway]

I am interested in what is happening in California right now. All 3 branches of government belong to the Democrats. Let's see what they do in the next 2 years.

The term you're looking for is "economic meltdown".
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Morganite]

Sigh. Why did anyone want to keep that guy?

Iowa had that status for a while, but isn't having an economic meltdown. *shrug*

(One thing I'll definitely give California Democrats credit for is that they actually tried to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriages. They didn't succeed, but that's still better than Iowa's, who as far as I can tell never even made the attempt.)

-Morgan.

[ordnance11]

Sigh. Why did anyone want to keep that guy?

Iowa had that status for a while, but isn't having an economic meltdown. *shrug*

(One thing I'll definitely give California Democrats credit for is that they actually tried to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriages. They didn't succeed, but that's still better than Iowa's, who as far as I can tell never even made the attempt.)

-Morgan.

Better the devil you know.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell