If Madigan runs, what do you think more determined Republican candidates like Dillard/Rutherford will do?

I hadn't realized that Vander has been inactive for more than a year now...

Social Security fraud, which is quite a serious crime

A serious crime, really?

Eh...it depends on the format. But the second half of that sentence was worded too strongly anti-illegal-immigrant. I support amnesty

I'm voting Wildrose, obviously.

The USA is a giant country, and one where politics, in general, is much more individualistic and parties are more 'vague coalitions' than other countries where parties have tighter controls over members' rhetoric and actions. So, some politicians will soon drop it, others will adopt it. Perhaps it will get less common, though as it's still very effective in many places I doubt it will disappear entirely anytime in the near future.

I wouldn't have been born if the USSR didn't collapse, so...

Biology 8e AP* Edition, no doubt about it.

Oh, you have your own list? I've never read the Great Gatsby, so I can't really judge. Huck Finn and the Crucible are both books I haven't read for a while, but I enjoyed them back when I did read them. The high school's Drama Club did a performance of the Crucible when I was in the 8th grade (so I wasn't in it, but some close friends were), and I remember it as quite good and enthralling. So, Crucible, I suppose.

We should liberalize immigration law, to make it generally easier for people to immigrate to live permanently in the US. What to do with present illegals I'm not sure; many of them are also guilty of Social Security fraud, which is quite a serious crime. I'm in favor, generally speaking, of amnesty, but the logistics of it give me a headache.

I doubt Rogers runs, there hasn't been much chatter about Land beyond 'name-dropping' speculation, which makes me think she's unlikely, and I rather hope Amash doesn't run; I don't agree with him consistently but he's a positive influence on the House and a Senate run against Peters almost certainly would not be successful. In all honesty, this race is probably only good for a decoy...who's that fellow who lost to Stabenow in '06? Bouchard? He could do.

[and he certainly ran an FF foreign policy.]

I know I do. Bush's economic governance, while not great, was at least OK, and he certainly ran an FF foreign policy. I'd rather have him than the current President.

Ignoring whatever delusions you have about the recession, I'll offer you the chance to elaborate on this.

Bush ran reasonable and extremely successful policies with regards to conflicts in the Caucasus, in regards to epidemics and war in Africa, and in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His one mistake, launching the 2003 war in Iraq, is only really apparent in hindsight and without hindsight was clearly the correct decision to have made. Both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were carried out quite well; had McCain won the election in 2008, I'm confident today Iraq would be a solid American ally. (McCain compared it to South Korea after the Korean War, which I think is a good comparison). Obama reflexively pulled out, which was one of his greatest mistakes. (Not that going in wasn't a mistake, but pulling back once you're already there is also rarely a good move).

Makes a lot of sense, as we get farther away from 9/11 and as the country continues to trend in a general libertarianish direction (see the trends for gay rights and gun rights, among other things).

I know I do. Bush's economic governance, while not great, was at least OK, and he certainly ran an FF foreign policy. I'd rather have him than the current President.

Who would be a Republican candidate in a second open election in the 4th? Darr himself?

Schweitzer will certainly be a more powerful voice in the Democratic caucus against gun control than Baucus ever was (though in the long run, this is an issue that mainstream Democrats will soon be avoiding giving answers on, like Republicans are with gay rights).

Howard Dean, who has an A rating from the NRA himself, said last week that Schweizter would have likely supported Manchin-Toomey.

Running for office in Montana, but depending for money on national Democrats, I doubt Schweitzer will be taking a position on it. If something like it were to come up I agree he would vote for it, but I think, however slightly, replacing Baucus with Schweitzer shifts the rhetoric on gun rights right just a teeny bit. (Which, of course, is the long term trend as well).

I can't recall if Northey's taken himself out. Matt Whitaker has said he will run if/when King declines, and he's certainly no pushover, but Schultz has more electoral experience and Mark Jacobs would be able to self-fund (Jacobs reminds me a lot of Ron Johnson -- I think he'd be quite a strong candidate).

Treadwell self-financed his campaign for Lieutenant Governor in 2010, I believe. There's no reason to think he wouldn't do so again. (Also, RRH has a link to a source that says Miller is leaning towards running, has met and had a "frank" discussion with Senator Moran, but is waiting to meet with Sarah Palin!!! before he decides whether or not to run). First off, it's kinda bizarre to see Palin still has real influence anywhere, but I really do wonder what she would say to him.

Schweitzer will certainly be a more powerful voice in the Democratic caucus against gun control than Baucus ever was (though in the long run, this is an issue that mainstream Democrats will soon be avoiding giving answers on, like Republicans are with gay rights). Whoever said Schweitzer will be further left than Baucus is...very mistaken. Electorally, this seat seems pretty clear-cut: easy Democratic hold with Schweitzer, Republican gain without him. Either way, I think, the seat will move right.

Because Tsarnaev is not actually affiliated with any foreign government, there is little doubt in my mind that Tsarnaev is to be tried as a U.S. citizen. In any case, it seems this will occur anyway.

I honestly think Santorum would've broken 2/3. If in this alternate reality some scandal/crisis broke out and Obama lost decisively, Santorum could probably have cleared 70% with room to spare (ie, 72-73%).

The answer is definitely 'yes', but with different circumstances Romney himself could've done much better WV.

Two-fingered, but much faster than most of my touch typing friends and apparently with significantly greater force -- I've heard numerous people describe my typing technique as "attacking the keyboard", and I've actually been asked to type quieter at libraries. Occasionally, I might hit backspace or enter with the middle finger if the hand is in approximately the right area, but generally I use almost exclusively index fingers. I attempted to take a touch typing class in the 4th grade at our public school (ours was the last class to have learned cursive along with touch typing, incidentally), but the principal allowed me to be exempt from the class, because I never followed the "rules" but still managed to consistently type much faster than anyone in the class (I am basically a self-taught typist, dating back to my days in early elementary school when I was still actually learning English).

Advocated for Operation Sledgehammer. FF.

I read about AfD on Wikipedia -- it seems like their big schtick is being anti-Euro, but that otherwise their positions align nicely with the CDU. Could CDU/CSU/FDP/AFD be a potential coalition? The YouGov poll shows this would be a very narrow but still viable majority (48-47).

So far, I've seen this used as an argument against immigration reform and as an argument against gun control (apparently in the aftermath of the lockdown there was a huge spike of gun sales in the Boston area, though I can't remember where I read that so take it with a grain of salt). Obviously, gun control is dead in the water anyway, but it'll be quite a shame if this manages to derail immigration reform, which is clearly desperately necessary.

Lake and Peninsula Borough in Alaska intrigues me. Why is it so overwhelmingly Orthodox? It's Wikipedia article says nothing on the topic. (And I thought there might be parts of, say, rural Saskatchewan which might be quite Orthodox as well).

[AT-LARGE SENATE]

AT-LARGE SENATE

[ 6 ] Alfred F. Jones of Puerto Rico
^{Labor Party}

[ 2 ] HagridoftheDeep of South Carolina
^{Federalist Party}

[ 5 ] Kalwejt of Vermont
^{Liberal Party}

[ 3 ] Matt from VT of Massachusetts
^{Federalist Party}

[ 7 ] MaxQue of Colorado
^{Labor Party}

[ 1 ] Mr. X of Ohio
^Independent

[ 4 ] Napoleon of Connecticut
^{Liberal Party}

[ 8 ] Poirot of New York
^Independent

[ 9 ] Write-in: Lots of excellent candidates running, vote was difficult to make


[  ] None of the above