Honestly don't know, since I don't see it as a simple left-right axis. I'm willing to vote for someone who's far, far to the left (Kucinich, Nader, Sanders) simply because I respect their views on certain issues, but I may not be willing to vote for someone considered just as far to the 'left' if they're more like Elizabeth Warren instead. Same thing goes for the right. It also depends on who they are personally and who they're running against (I'd be willing to vote for, say, Rubio, if he were running against someone like Warren or Clinton, but if he were running against someone like Schweitzer I wouldn't vote for him).

Please stop trolling.  Pretty much all the research on the 2000 election shows that Bush would have won under any objective and legal recount standard.

This is objectively false.

I...yeah, perhaps I should crop the other people out of those pics last page. But hey, I'll cover my tracks when need be, and the pictures look nice.

The ever-important question...

Did any of y'all grind?

Lamm/Zschau, or if Perot gets votes Lamm/Perot or Perot/Lamm. Though I'd vote for Clinton.

NEVER. Simple as that. If SCOTUS rules stupid in the next few weeks Pence will refuse to honor the ruling (and would be right to not honor the ruling). In other words it would take military force. It will be permabanned next November if SCOTUS rules smartly. Kansas won't stand alone in its fight to honor traditional values.

Pence's treason trial will be interesting.

Broward (though Palm Beach and Dade are in the running as well).

Not in any way a fan.

Map's not up yet. Paurot alliance in the EC?

SJoyceland is a liberal democratic republic, with a constitution and a presidential system, that has been certified drone-free since 1974. The constitution contains a Bill of Rights that protects basic freedoms, with a heavy emphasis on civil liberties: it bans slavery and torture, provides for freedom of religion, expression, press, association, and speech, and provides for rights to equal treatment, due process, and a fair trial. In contrast to some other nations, it also contains a right to keep and bear arms, a right to self-defense, and a right to own property. The constitution cannot be suspended in a time of war or emergency and the amendment process is laborious - the most recent amendment passed a decade ago, and granted same-sex couples the right to engage in civil marriage. The constitution also establishes a federal model of several different states, with their own legislators and governors and such.

The 250-member Legislature is elected by proportional representation from multi-member districts, and major political parties include the current ruling coalition between the Liberal Party and the SJoyceland Freedom Party. The Liberal Party is presently the foremost defender of the numerous rights established in the Constitution and supports the economic status quo - they also support greater international involvement, though oppose intervention, and they're supported by urban professionals; the SFP wants to decrease the size of government economically and verge on isolationism, but supports social liberalism and is backed by the young and other groups (think of Paul supporters in the US). Other influential parties include the Social Democratic Party and Alliance of Conservatives - the former is leftist and democratic socialist and supports more international involvement and is supported by lower-income folks, while the latter is socially conservative but more economically and internationally moderate and is generally backed by people who are a little more wealthy and a pretty good bit more socially traditional than the SDP, as well as a standard Green Party that's ecosocialist and green and such and who draws support from academics, students, artists, and other such folks. Current makeup is: LP 118 seats, SDP 98 seats, AoC 22 seats, SFP 10 seats and Greens 2 seats. The Liberal Party has been the largest or second-largest party for decades, though until recently was typically in coalition with the SDP - the SFP is a relatively new party. Several other parties (such as the SJoyceland People's Party, a far-right group, and several regionalist parties) regularly contest elections but rarely elect officials.

Economic policies are relatively laissez-faire (for the Atlas Forum, at least) - taxes are kept as low as possible and are flatter than most other nations, the budget is balanced, the debt is kept low, regulations are kept to the minimum needed to ensure basic labor and environmental standards and to prevent catastrophe - no bailouts, no far-reaching regulations, etc. A major current debate is on the tax system - the SDP made taxation a major campaign plank when they were last in power, and managed to implement a carbon tax, container-deposit legislation, and a tax on unhealthy food to supplement the now-reduced value-added tax; the Liberals don't seem to want to touch it that much. Tariffs are kept low, and welfare payments exist largely to get unemployed people into paid work (more a safety trampoline than a safety net) - much of the welfare budget goes into government-funded vocational training - if someone is on welfare for a long time they must perform community service to continue to receive it. Working conditions, while there are protections for unions under the law (including a right to collectively bargain) and they are relatively prevalent in the lower-income sectors like construction, are perhaps not as luxurious as other nations - the workweek is 40 hours, and the minimum wage is currently around $7.48 US dollars.

The areas of exception are education (where a Finnish model is in place; education includes research programs and libraries as well, and private schools are rare (excluding religious schools) and homeschooling is banned - private schools still must confirm to national standards) and healthcare (where a Bismarck system is in place), as well as large-scale infrastructure investments, particularly in the energy and transportation sectors. Although the government does have a public broadcasting network, it is news-focused; other, private networks provide entertainment, sports, and other programming. The government invests heavily in low-carbon power sources, and has recently begun construction on a nationwide high-speed rail network, complemented by bus and light rail within cities. The government has recently begun to take more action to protect the environment as well, expanding national parks and implementing stricter pollution standards. Legal immigration is relatively easy as well, although affirmative action along racial lines (though not economic ones) is strictly prohibited.

The nation is relatively wealthy, and most are employed in fields such as  financial services (including banking and insurance), healthcare (including pharmaceuticals), communications/media, information technology, education, real estate, consulting, although lower-paying jobs in fields like hospitality, construction, waste management, retail sales, food processing, or production of inexpensive non-durable goods (paper, soft drinks, cleaning supplies, toiletries, or inexpensive consumer electronics) are also available. The nation as a whole is very urban, although cities are separated by large patches of rural areas. Cars, although somewhat rare in the cities, are very common in the countryside. The cities are generally made up of smallish single-family homes, though townhouses and apartments are becoming more common.

Socially, abortion is legal up to the point of viability, birth control is widely available, and same-sex marriage and divorce are fully legal. Soft drugs are legal and hard drugs are decriminalized, and the death penalty/life imprisonment is banned - prisons are based on rehabilitation as well. The voting system uses IRV to elect its president and representatives, and the franchise is universal to all over 16. The press, speech, and many other freedoms are guaranteed under the constitution, and these extend to the Internet. There are few restrictions on private firearm ownership or carry, nor on foods. Pornography and prostitution are both legal. Surveillance in public places is discouraged. Science is respected, and both evolution and climate change are taught in schools.

Culturally, while there is a constitutional separation of church and state, this is not interpreted as strictly as it could be - churches are tax-exempt and such. Church attendance is fairly moderate, and the largest religious groups include the UCC, the Presbyterians, the Quakers, the Episcopalians, the ELCA, the Disciples of Christ, and some Catholics - there are also significant minorities of Jews (rarely Orthodox though), Muslims, Unitarian Universalists, and Wiccans. The national sport is football, although sports such as basketball, baseball, and stock car racing are traditional as well, and golf, soccer, hockey, fishing, and hunting (particularly the latter two) maintain some level of popularity. English is spoken by the vast majority of the populace, although French and Spanish are taught in almost all schools.

Internationally, SJoyceland is non-interventionist; although it typically sides with the western powers in international affairs, it has recently drawn the ire of the United States for publicly criticizing the invasion of Iraq and offering to shelter individuals believed to be involved with Wikileaks. The military is relatively small, though technologically advanced, and focused on national defense. The nation became a UN member relatively recently and participates in some of them, although to prevent the present coalition from collapsing the nation does not participate in UN peacekeeping missions.

Yeah, a police state and (minimal) eugenics are pretty bad, but there's no contest compared to uberplutocracy, gender oppression or state-sponsored racial lynching.

But the racial lynching, as awful as it sounds, doesn't harm me - the police state does. It is, after all, which one you prefer to live in, and my personal quality of life would be highest in Racismland.

Well, you're also not likely to be targeted by eugenics in Bloombergland, and as long as you don't commit crimes you shouldn't be in trouble either. And the standards of living of a Bloomberglander are clearly much higher than those of a white Racistlander.

I don't think you understand how I calculate standards of living (specifically, how much being allowed to eat what I want factors in). To be fair, if I were wealthy I would prefer Freedomland, but otherwise...

Yeah, a police state and (minimal) eugenics are pretty bad, but there's no contest compared to uberplutocracy, gender oppression or state-sponsored racial lynching.

But the racial lynching, as awful as it sounds, doesn't harm me - the police state does. It is, after all, which one you prefer to live in, and my personal quality of life would be highest in Racismland.

The issue of vacancies came to my mind several times. Even if a Gubernatorial appointment is more practical than calling for a by-election, don't you think that in this case the appointed  Legislator should be approved by the Legislature? What are your feelings about it?

I dunno how much sense it makes to have the Legislature determine who the next Legislator is - just IMO, if it's an awful appointee the Legislature already has the Constitutional power to judge the qualifications of its members and can give them the boot if they're inactive.

To the two people picking Racismland, why exactly? From my reading, it seems that even whites there aren't exactly doing great...

It seems to be the country where I (a straight white male) am least likely to end up in prison, a ghetto, or generally oppressed.

Meh, Racismland I guess. Lesser of four evils. Freedomland would be my second choice.

Ben Carson.

I'll say 2020, probably later though.

"Radicals".

Let's keep it to those within the realm of possibility.

Schweitzer is anti-gun control.

Which makes him a FF. Democrats need to realize they can't pretend to support the Bill of Rights and just ignore one of them.

Clinton: Ew no. Iraq et al.
Biden: Ew no. Patriot Act, anybody?
Cuomo: If I wanted what Cuomo was selling I'd just vote for a Republican.
Gillibrand: PIPA support was disappointing. Unsure on her position on guns - it was promising in the House, but her Senate tenure hasn't been as great. Pro-NDAA & pro-Patriot Act and pro-FISA AMendments and pro-DP too. Pretty bad on Iraq too, and very pro-Israel. Might vote for her if the R is really bad, but certainly not a good choice.
Hickenlooper: I like his green-ness, though his gun control stuff is irritating. He also opposed the marijuana initiative, though he gets points for being willing to implement it at least.
Schweitzer: What the Dems should be. Yes.
Brown: Pro-NDAA and pro-PIPA, but pretty solid other than that.
O'Malley: Pretty FF guy. Can't really find much to criticize.


Rubio: Too rightwing. Anti-gay, anti-Roe, pro-PATRIOT Act, etc. At least he's pro-gun.
Christie: Eurgh, awful on education. Pro-medical marijuana at least, and at least supports civil unions. However - he has a brain. That's more than can be said for several other Rs. Maybe.
Paul: What the Rs should be. Yes.
Ryan: Bleh? Pretty awful on education. Anti-gay too and wants to ban flagburning. Anti-SOPA though - there's some hope there. Pretty pro-war too.
Santorum: No.
Jindal: One of my litmus tests is don't be a stupid. Jindal fails. Sorry creationists.
Walker: Bleh-ish position on education. Not my favorite option.

See, this is why it's hard to be a good sport about the Benghazi hearings.

If things worked out perfectly for the vast right-wing conspiracy Benghazi would destroy both President Obama and Hillary Clinton in one fell swoop.  How convenient, to get rid of both top Democrats at once.

Indeed. It's that fiscally conservative efficiency-in-government.

Chafee.

To be honest, it would be pretty funny if Ron Paul defeats Vice-President Mario Cuomo at what was thought to be the height of the "Democratic hegemony" (especially given how weak the Republican field was).  I am also kind of curious who Paul would appoint to the two Supreme Court vacancies that I would assume come up during this term (paging SJoyce ).

Richard Epstein, Alex Kozinski, and Andrew Napolitano all come to mind.

[2015]

2015

JACKSONVILLE



In Jacksonville, incumbent Mayor Alvin Brown defeated City Councilman Matt Schellenberg in the runoff election, 53% to 47%, after first triumphing over a crowded field including Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland, among others. Brown, the incumbent, won largely on African-American support, but also had an advantage as an incumbent and as a relatively conservative Democrat.

TAMPA



Incumbent Mayor Bob Buckhorn had a pretty easy time of it in this reliably Democratic city, winning re-election over State Rep. Dana Young by a 10-point margin - closer than his previous electoral victory, but still a strong majority in favor of his leadership.

SOUTH FLORIDA

Incumbent Mayor Carlos Hernandez won re-election in Hialeah, while City Commissioner Kimberly Mitchell won in West Palm Beach. Former State Senate candidate John Couriel won the race in Miami Beach, and incumbent Carlos Giménez won the Miami-Dade County mayoral election.

Elsewhere

Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson and his running mate, Auditor Adam Edelen, are being inaugerated as the new governing duo of Kentucky. Phil Bryant held Mississippi for the Republicans, but neighboring Louisiana flipped - former Governor Edwin Edwards, pardoned by President Obama, is the Governor once again.


Wanting to jump ahead to 2016, and not wanting to spend a month on a couple mayor's races, so here ya go. 2016 coverage will begin shortly and is guaranteed to be interesting.

[1]Schweitzer
[2]Hickenlooper
[3]Paul
[4]Third party I guess, or generic R.

These Dems are pretty awful.

I agree with Tony's definition. To add on: A moderate hero is a person who takes centrist or moderate political views (usually with little coherent logical reasoning for them) - typically to increase people's respect or opinion of their views. It often couples itself with attention-seeking tendencies, as moderate heroes want to be the deciding vote on legislation. Sometimes this includes having diverse left and right views, sometimes it's placing one's self in the middle of a debate (an almost religious devotion to moderate compromise, even when a compromise would accomplish the goals of nobody). Other times it's merely taking the position of the majority, whatever it may be.

A forum example is HPJ.