I traditionally have a thread heading to the election, here we go.
Get out the popcorn for this one.
Quote
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to formally announce next week he is running for president in 2024, NBC News reported Thursday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
The governor's official entry into the Republican primary field will put him head-to-head with former President Donald Trump, the party's current frontrunner for the nomination. Trump has already spent months treating DeSantis as his primary campaign rival, thrashing him with torrents of criticism over his gubernatorial record, his political skills and his personality.
I don't agree with these laws. If one isn't motivated enough to complete a few easy steps on their own, why should the rest of us want them to vote?
I can't answer that because I can't think of a reason why wouldn't I want an eligible person to vote?
I wonder what the percentage of those that get registered to vote at the DMV actually vote and what impact it has. But for me the easy answer is that it causes no harm to me to make easier on someone else. Kind of like registering to be an organ donor at the DMV. It's the decent thing. Process improvement might upset people who did it the more difficult way but it's still the decent thing to do. Like the old fashioned nurses saying "you guys have it so easy, I had to take my boards over two days, hand answering 400 questions and then wait 8 weeks for the results."
In my opinion.
Call it what it is. Trump says it will hurt him because he fears they will vote democrat. That's the real issue. He and other Republicans want to make it more difficult for Democrats to vote like early mail in (not a successful campaign but he convinced people it was fraudulant), removing drop in voting boxes in minority neighborhoods, and convicted felons.
On the other hand if Pennsylvania is doing this because there's information that it will increase people that vote democrat (young people?) then their motivation probably isn't to help people Many of the states already doing this aren't red states, but are they blue because of automatic registration? Alaska has it. Maybe TMB can talk more on that aspect.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
Beerman said:
You answer my question first, then I'll consider this one.
Your "question" makes an assumption about the person presenting documentation at the DMV. I don't agree with your assumptions about the individual's motivation so I can't answer that specific question.
However, my question in response provides a clue as to my general thinking. I think that when people present to a government agency like DMV with documentation necessary for voter registration they should be registered to vote, not given additional steps to complete in order to exercise their right to vote. Creating additional but unnecessary steps for voter registration is more related to voter suppression that it is to election security.
One subject that is sure to get tested, given that the debate is being hosted at the Reagan library, is whether the party even still has room for Reagan's vision of the Republican Party.
The Reagan-era GOP base was made up of fiscal conservatives who wanted to slash government spending while cutting taxes and barriers to free trade, social conservatives who fought to limit abortion rights, and defense hawks who advocated for foreign intervention and steep military spending.
All three parts of Reagan's "three-legged stool" are caught in a tug of war — one that kicked off as Trump remade the party in his image. Much of the party now wants to impose steep tariffs to limit global trade, while Trump and others have shown they have no issue with harnessing state power to achieve culture war goals. Recently, Trump himself has taken to criticizing the anti-abortion rights movement on his Truth Social platform while criticizing six-week abortion bans as "terrible." And the war in Ukraine has deeply divided the party, particularly over how much the U.S. should spend supporting its Ukrainian ally.
It is an interesting exercise. I wonder if the majority of the candidates will continue to pander to Trump and his voters rather than express patriotic and democratic ideals.
The article states that graphite prices increase when just one of the mining regions in China is forced to pause production because of cold. Will they be using a different mining process in Alaska that is not affected by cold?
Alaska has a tortured relationship with mining. The planning for this needs to accommodate the loss of subsistence hunting and fishing for the natives living in this area. The fish and wildlife will migrate away from the mine.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
Quote
"This is not a nomination that's going to fall in your lap. You have to go and beat the other candidates and one of those happens to be Donald Trump,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist and veteran of Mitt Romney's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. "This debate, it'll be interesting to see whether or not folks realize that the sand is going through the hourglass pretty quickly right now.”
I'm looking forward to watching this debate with a slightly different line up. New voices will test the front runners in the runner up category. I expect Nikki Haley to show us what she learned from the first debate.
I feel like some of these candidates are campaigning as if something might disqualify Trump from being the GOP nominee.
I don't agree with these laws. If one isn't motivated enough to complete a few easy steps on their own, why should the rest of us want them to vote?
I agree partially. Folks should have the opportunity to sign up easily while they are transacting with the DMV but should not have to opt out. This is a big headache for managing the voter roles and imposing a large burden on local clerks. I never encourage an idiot to vote.
I can't answer that because I can't think of a reason why wouldn't I want an eligible person to vote?
I wonder what the percentage of those that get registered to vote at the DMV actually vote and what impact it has. But for me the easy answer is that it causes no harm to me to make easier on someone else. Kind of like registering to be an organ donor at the DMV. It's the decent thing. Process improvement might upset people who did it the more difficult way but it's still the decent thing to do. Like the old fashioned nurses saying "you guys have it so easy, I had to take my boards over two days, hand answering 400 questions and then wait 8 weeks for the results."
In my opinion.
Call it what it is. Trump says it will hurt him because he fears they will vote democrat. That's the real issue. He and other Republicans want to make it more difficult for Democrats to vote like early mail in (not a successful campaign but he convinced people it was fraudulant), removing drop in voting boxes in minority neighborhoods, and convicted felons.
On the other hand if Pennsylvania is doing this because there's information that it will increase people that vote democrat (young people?) then their motivation probably isn't to help people Many of the states already doing this aren't red states, but are they blue because of automatic registration? Alaska has it. Maybe TMB can talk more on that aspect.
Compared to the illegal and unethical acts of the Republicans, this sounds like the Democrats are fighting back by throwing out a softball comparing to tying up courts around the country with their loser cases to attempt to change the election results.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, at the bottom of the pack in current polls and the last to qualify to appear in the debate, tried to elbow his way into more airtime, jumping in to answer a question about child care out of turn before moderator Dana Perino of Fox News cut him off.
The debate wrapped up with a surprising moment of decorum, when the candidates refused to answer a question posed by Perino, who asked each candidate to single out one rival: "Who should be voted off the island?"
Quote
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who's been gaining ground, particularly in New Hampshire, and outpacing DeSantis in some key polls, showed up with gloves off.
She sparred with both DeSantis and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott over energy policy. During a heated exchange about how to regulate social media use by teens, Haley told entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy what will perhaps be the single most memorable line: "Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber."
Ramaswamy responded by complaining about the fruitlessness of "personal attacks" as the discussion descended into yet another shouting match between the moderators and candidates.
I wondered if Ramaswamy forgot that he personally attacked the other candidates in the first debate before he whined about attacks. He's definitely a trumpish candidate.
Here's an unusual exchange;
Quote
During a conversation about the power of teachers unions, Christie attacked President Biden by saying, "When you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away." First Lady Jill Biden has spent her career as an educator, including teaching English at a community college in Virginia.
Several minutes later, Pence followed up by joking that he has been "sleeping with a teacher for 38 years." But he did make the distinction that his wife, former Second Lady Karen Pence, is not a union educator.
It seems odd that the important part to Pence seemed to be the fact that his wife was a non union educator. This struck me as a theme. Or is it a crazy coincidence that Trump seeks to counter Biden standing with union workers on a picket line by going to speak to non union workers at the request of management.
The second GOP debate last night was an even bigger s*** show than the first. Talking over each other, and the moderators, and avoiding the questions. I thought the moderators asked good questions, but some how the debate evolved into Pence sleeping with a teacher and an argument about curtains. I have to agree with what Haley said to Ramaswamy," I feel dumber every time I hear you talk. "
These are not serious people. Not a single one mentioned Ronald Reagan, who library they were in.
Your "question" makes an assumption about the person presenting documentation at the DMV. I don't agree with your assumptions about the individual's motivation so I can't answer that specific question.
However, my question in response provides a clue as to my general thinking. I think that when people present to a government agency like DMV with documentation necessary for voter registration they should be registered to vote, not given additional steps to complete in order to exercise their right to vote. Creating additional but unnecessary steps for voter registration is more related to voter suppression that it is to election security.
Hmm, assumptions. That's interesting.
It seems those supporting automatic voter registration are making the assumption that everyone wants to be registered to vote and wants another govt entity to have their personal information.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
Beerman said:
Hmm, assumptions. That's interesting.
It seems those supporting automatic voter registration are making the assumption that everyone wants to be registered to vote and wants another govt entity to have their personal information.
Not assuming anything. They've already provided their necessary information to the scary government and they can opt out. It's nothing at all like assuming that someone isn't registered to vote because they just aren't adequately motivated. And it's nothing at all like trying to create additional steps and inconvenience to register to vote when the government already had the needed documentations in hand. That seems to be what you are advocating and defending.
Beerman, BSN
4,427 Posts
You answer my question first, then I'll consider this one.