ND-Mason Dixon: Romney up 13

[anvi]

Fargo and Grand Forks have always been pretty big Dem strongholds, while center and west have been pretty solid Republican, statists and sometimes even Libertarian leaning areas.  The eastern side of the state has traditionally elected lots of Dem senators and congresspeople.  But now, with the oil boom, there are lots of people in the state who have recently moved there from Michigan.  As the generation turns, it might be interesting to see what happens in the state, but I expect it to continue to belong to the GOP in presidential races at least in my lifetime.

[anvi]

The oil patch over time is going to put the Dems out of business in ND.

North Dakota Dems are against oil production?  Even when it makes the state budget, which is now able to fund more and more of their priorities, balloon?  News to me.  Especially with the following points on its party platform:

"ENERGY INDUSTRY

--RefineryThe Dem/NPL Party supports programs which would facilitate the construction of a refinery in the state and urges the legislature to investigate the possibility of state/private partnerships to assist in the development of refining capacity.
--Pipelines, transmission lines and refinery Dem-NPL supports the State continue to assist in expanding and modernization of pipelines, transmission lines, and additional oil refining capacity in an environmentally responsible manner.
Investment in energy transmission The Dem-NPL supports the State to invest in and develop the infrastructure necessary to have our own natural gas and crude oil refining facilities.
--Energy Transmission The Dem-NPL supports policies that will lead to the expansion of North Dakota’s energy transmission capabilities."

http://www.demnpl.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={4833FFC1-6E82-4B15-9876-D87BFF531F5A}

[anvi]

Ok, stronghold is too strong a word.  But there are more Democrats in North Dakota's large cities, particularly on the western side of the state, and that's generally been true for a while, no?  I'm not talking about national elections (as I noted above, I expect North Dakota to vote GOP in presidential races in the foreseeable future).  Where did Quentin Burdick build his political base during and after he successfully got the North Dakota NPL allied with the Democratic party?  Fargo, no?  Wasn't that also basically George Sinner's base of operations in doing so much work at NDSU?  Of the "whopping" 12 members of the North Dakota state Senate, aren't 7 of them representing western counties?  And, while he won't come close to winning the state, where is Obama polling better in North Dakota again?  And, yeah, all Dems everywhere are against oil production, which explains very nicely why oil production has spiraled upward during the tenure of a Democratic president, whose Department of the Interior is leasing out all that land and approving all those offshore drilling projects.  And North Dakota Democrats will take a united stand against oil production even if it costs them their very existence in statewide politics?  It must be "Stereotype Monday."

[anvi]

What about offshore drilling permits, shallow and deep water, that have to be approved by the Department of Interior?  I suppose none of those count since the pace slowed down since Deep Water Horizon...God forbid we have any regulatory controls whatsoever after that.  And Keystone...ok, so the only standards on the table are immediate jobs and increased piping?  Never mind how many times TransCanada has been sued for jacked-up tolls, and how much cost overruns have increased the price of shipping, we should just all trust the company at face value of course.  Also, of course, Cardno Etrix, a big business partner of TransCanada, should be trusted to do the lone environmental impact study on the pipeline, and the Perryman group which was hired by TransCanada to do an economic impact study should be our only source of information too.  And forget about how Keystone's pipeline will effect the production of other American pipelines also.  And what's the percentage of oil we will get from the pipeline compared to the percentage that is being exported?  'Tis all so beautifully simple.

But, be of good cheer, all.  Governor Romney will certainly win North Dakota, and by a healthy margin.  And so will every other GOP candidate for president as long as I continue to draw breath.     

[anvi]

Does sound like a plan, Torie.    But I don't live a long way from Canada at the moment; in fact I'm writing from Halifax, where I'm spending the summer with said gf.  And I grew up less than a day's drive from the International Peace Gardens, and watched as wave after wave of Canadian shoppers wafted down to North Dakota stores, of all places, to stock up on purchases to take back home every weekend.  So, Canadian shenanigans are no less distant from me than good ol' American ones.    I'm already starting to say "eh?" very naturally at the end of questions too.  So...maybe some good porno is not such a bad idea after all.  I'd rather stare at that than into Obama's soul anyway.