"Few have fought harder or have accomplished more in the pursuit of solutions-based polices to better the lives of Americans than Eric Cantor," added Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. "Every single member of this conference is indebted to Eric's graciousness and leadership."
McCarthy is expected to make a play for the majority leader's job. Speculation has also focused on Rules Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, as potential contenders.
Out of these three potential replacements, let's go with Kevin McCarthy.
Post by PinkSquirrel on Jun 11, 2014 13:50:44 GMT -5
This article is saying Brat is likely too conservative for the area based on polling on immigration and reproductive rights. At the very least it looks like it's not about immigration
What’s more, a couple of polls of the 7th indicate that on some issues, it may be well to the left of the Republican Brat. A PPP poll of registered voters released Tuesday found that 72 percent supported comprehensive immigration reform including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Even among self-identified Republicans, 70 percent back a path to citizenship and 58 percent consider reform “very important.” Brat’s primary campaign focused heavily on his opposition to “amnesty.”
Post by PinkSquirrel on Jun 11, 2014 13:57:16 GMT -5
I'm just going to keep focusing on the obviously biased Think Progress article I posted because this is the kind of thing that makes me want to run and hide
Capitalism is here to stay, and we need a church model that corresponds to that reality. Read Nietzsche. Nietzsche’s diagnosis of the weak modern Christian democratic man was spot on. Jesus was a great man. Jesus said he was the Son of God. Jesus made things happen. Jesus had faith. Jesus actually made people better. Then came the Christians. What happened? What went wrong? We appear to be a bit passive. Hitler came along, and he did not meet with unified resistance. I have the sinking feeling that it could all happen again, quite easily. The church should rise up higher than Nietzsche could see and prove him wrong. We should love our neighbor so much that we actually believe in right and wrong, and do something about it. If we all did the right thing and had the guts to spread the word, we would not need the government to backstop every action we take.
Any local 7th district VA-ns who can talk about the differences between Hanover County and Orange County?
Hanover is a mix of rural and suburban (213 persons/ sq. mi), 87% white (per 2012 census) of those aged 25+, 91% Are high school grads or higher, 34% hold bachelors degrees or higher. 5% live below poverty level.
Orange is largely rural (98 persons/sq. mi) 83% white, of those aged 25+, 22% have bachelors degrees or higher; 85% high school graduate or higher. 11% live below poverty level.
I'm just going to keep focusing on the obviously biased Think Progress article I posted because this is the kind of think that makes me want to run and hide
Capitalism is here to stay, and we need a church model that corresponds to that reality. Read Nietzsche. Nietzsche’s diagnosis of the weak modern Christian democratic man was spot on. Jesus was a great man. Jesus said he was the Son of God. Jesus made things happen. Jesus had faith. Jesus actually made people better. Then came the Christians. What happened? What went wrong? We appear to be a bit passive. Hitler came along, and he did not meet with unified resistance. I have the sinking feeling that it could all happen again, quite easily. The church should rise up higher than Nietzsche could see and prove him wrong. We should love our neighbor so much that we actually believe in right and wrong, and do something about it. If we all did the right thing and had the guts to spread the word, we would not need the government to backstop every action we take.
Well immigration reform as a topic is now dead. No republican will touch it after this whether this was about immigration or not. But...the republicans will cease being a national party if they don't step up to the plate and do something about immigration. Nice work tea party. If I didn't know better I'd say the tea party is just a bunch of dem trolls.
Post by secretlyevil on Jun 11, 2014 14:35:13 GMT -5
Are we actually going to have viable multiple parties? I don't think the moderates are going to stand for a viable tea party. Which means the Independents will be more than a coveted swing group.
Are we actually going to have viable multiple parties? I don't think the moderates are going to stand for a viable tea party. Which means the Independents will be more than a coveted swing group.
Once again, highly unlikely without electoral reform.
A digital politics editor on Fox News said that both David Brat and the Democrat candidate are professors at the same college. I will look up who the Dem is and get back to you.
Jack Trammell.
Well holy crap, I'm just reading this thread after being offline since yesterday am--I "know" Jack Trammell. Not like good friends or anything, but he's in a writers group with my dad and I've had many a long conversation with him at parties/events over the last several years. I even have a couple of his books.
He is sane. He is intelligent. He actually cares about fixing things. I might have to volunteer even though I don't live in the VA7th.
Hey, you all that vote in the VA7th, Vote for Jack!
This is also something I don't understand. It would be like my district choosing to oust a rep over coal. That's why I don't know if this is really about immigration.
I buy into origami's post about it being more about Cantor neglecting his district in pursuit of the speakership.
BUT I still don't think that's a good excuse for nominating a xenophobe who thinks Cantor was weak on the debt ceiling deal. If you actually want to get things done in Congress, then find a state rep or hell, a member of the zoning commission, who had a track record of working with those with opposing views.
(Chuck) TODD: Where are you on the minimum wage? Do you believe in it, and would you raise it?
BRAT: Minimum wage, no, I'm a free market guy. Our labor markets right now are already distorted from too many regulations. I think CATO estimates there's $2 trillion of regulatory problems and then throw Obamacare on top of that, the work hours is 30 hours a week. You can only hire 50 people. There's just distortion after distortion after distortion and we wonder why our labor markets are broken.
TODD: So should there be a minimum wage in your opinion?
BRAT: Say it again.
TODD: Should there be a minimum wage in your opinion?
BRAT: I don't have a well-crafted response on that one. All I know is if you take the long-run graph over 200 years of the wage rate, it cannot differ from your nation's productivity. Right? So you can't make up wage rates. Right? I would love for everyone in sub-Saharan Africa, for example -- children of God -- to make $100 an hour. I would love to just assert that that would be the case. But you can't assert that unless you raise their productivity, and then the wage follows.
TODD: Sounds like you're making a case against a federally mandated minimum wage.
BRAT: I'm just making the case I just made that you can't artificially make up wage rates, they have to be related to productivity.
Between this and the Hitler commentary, this guy is going to be awesome to watch.
(Chuck) TODD: Where are you on the minimum wage? Do you believe in it, and would you raise it?
BRAT: Minimum wage, no, I'm a free market guy. Our labor markets right now are already distorted from too many regulations. I think CATO estimates there's $2 trillion of regulatory problems and then throw Obamacare on top of that, the work hours is 30 hours a week. You can only hire 50 people. There's just distortion after distortion after distortion and we wonder why our labor markets are broken.
TODD: So should there be a minimum wage in your opinion?
BRAT: Say it again.
TODD: Should there be a minimum wage in your opinion?
BRAT: I don't have a well-crafted response on that one. All I know is if you take the long-run graph over 200 years of the wage rate, it cannot differ from your nation's productivity. Right? So you can't make up wage rates. Right? I would love for everyone in sub-Saharan Africa, for example -- children of God -- to make $100 an hour. I would love to just assert that that would be the case. But you can't assert that unless you raise their productivity, and then the wage follows.
TODD: Sounds like you're making a case against a federally mandated minimum wage.
BRAT: I'm just making the case I just made that you can't artificially make up wage rates, they have to be related to productivity.
Between this and the Hitler commentary, this guy is going to be awesome to watch.
The WSJ agrees with origami's friends at Red State that Cantor shot himself in the foot by not representing the interests of, or even ignoring, his constituents. Immigration was used as an abortion-like wedge issue because it fired voters up, the district had been redrawn to incorporate voters favorable to Brat, and Cantor was overconfident, turning away help from groups like the Chamber of Commerce. Precinct data shows little evidence that Dems skewed the vote in an effort to give victory to the unelectable R.
Post by secretlyevil on Jun 12, 2014 8:13:18 GMT -5
The sound bits from the Chuck Todd's interview with Brat that the Today show played made me giggle snort this morning. Which caused me to nearly take my eye out with my mascara wand. It was a CEP twofer.
His 23 yo campaign manager was in the news about his idiotic FB posts. One was something about asking if you are prochoice how do you reconcile wanting George Zimmerman to be punished. All I could think while reading the story was, "Oh yes, this dude is indeed 23."
His 23 yo campaign manager was in the news about his idiotic FB posts. One was something about asking if you are prochoice how do you reconcile wanting George Zimmerman to be punished. All I could think while reading the story was, "Oh yes, this dude is indeed 23."
His 23 yo campaign manager was in the news about his idiotic FB posts. One was something about asking if you are prochoice how do you reconcile wanting George Zimmerman to be punished. All I could think while reading the story was, "Oh yes, this dude is indeed 23."
I read it several times this morning, since I thought it was just my lack of coffee not making sense of it. But no, it really was that nonsensical.
Full quote: “Can someone who was outraged that George Zimmerman was found not guilty of ‘SOMETHING ANYTHING’ and who is simultaneously pro-choice explain the logical dissonance there? Ie. Why its not ok to kill someone who is banging your head into concrete but its ok to kill someone for simply existing who, through your conscious actions, you brought into the world?” Werrell had written in an Oct. 24, 2013, posting.
I read it several times this morning, since I thought it was just my lack of coffee not making sense of it. But no, it really was that nonsensical.
Full quote: “Can someone who was outraged that George Zimmerman was found not guilty of ‘SOMETHING ANYTHING’ and who is simultaneously pro-choice explain the logical dissonance there? Ie. Why its not ok to kill someone who is banging your head into concrete but its ok to kill someone for simply existing who, through your conscious actions, you brought into the world?” Werrell had written in an Oct. 24, 2013, posting.
Post by secretlyevil on Jun 12, 2014 9:44:03 GMT -5
There is not enough caffeine nor reading comprehension skills to make sense of that nonsense in regards to both Brat's commentary about his minimum wage belief (from an Economics professors?!?!?!) and his 23 y.o campaign manager comparing George Zimmer and abortion rights. There are just not enough WTF gifs.
Fresh off his stunning primary win over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) this week, David Brat spoke with msnbc’s Chuck Todd about the road ahead. The interview didn’t go well – the economic professor and political novice avoided substantive questions and when asked for his position on a minimum-wage increase, Brat said, “Um, I don’t have a well-crafted response on that one.”
Perhaps the Virginia Republican was a little rusty after a late night? Probably so, though now that Dave Brat is likely to become a congressman, his unusual vision and philosophy, few noticed when it was assumed he’d lose, are generating attention.
Take his Benghazi conspiracy theory, for example.
In an interview with POLITICO in April, Brat sounded conspiratorial about the Benghazi attacks, saying at one point, “My guess is Republican leadership did something related to Benghazi that they don’t want coming out. That’s the best of what I’ve heard. There’s something a little fishy there.”
Got that? While most of the unhinged conspiracy theorists have come up with weird ideas about President Obama, this Republican congressional candidate thinks his own party may be involved in a cover-up.
Brat also wrote a paper in which he explored the impact of a weak church on society, writing that “we appear to be a bit passive. Hitler came along, and he did not meet with unified resistance. I have the sinking feeling that it could all happen again, quite easily.”
Perhaps even more striking are the professor’s beliefs related to Christianity and taxation – and the degree to which he apparently believes they’re incompatible.
Religious ethics rarely enter into mainstream economic theory, but they are topics that Mr. Brat, who describes himself in his writing as a Calvinist, has turned to repeatedly. In a 2011 article, “God and Advanced Mammon — Can Theological Types Handle Usury and Capitalism?” published in a journal of religion, Mr. Brat questioned whether Christianity could be reconciled with government programs.
“Are you willing to force someone you know to pay for the benefits for one of your neighbors?” he asked. “Very few Christians I know are willing to say ‘yes’ to this question.”
In the same essay, he argued: “If we make all of the people good, markets will be good. If markets are bad, which they are, that means people are bad, which they are. Want good markets? Change the people.”
Brookings’ Justin Wolfers told the **Times, “This dude just really wants us all to go to church, and that appears to be his economic policy conclusion.”
...Brookings’ Justin Wolfers told the **Times, “This dude just really wants us all to go to church, and that appears to be his economic policy conclusion.”