The Democrat Thread

[BigSqwert]

The deadline for petition filings is tomorrow.

Per Josh Marsall

[Balta1701]

Per Josh Marsall

The suggestion is out there in the ether that the end result will be the Indiana Democratic party choosing a candidate, just with no primary, so it might not be an upposed Republican in November. Not 100% sure on that so don't quote me.

[Balta1701]

NBC reporting that Bayh gave Reid a nice middle finger also, didn't bother calling him until well after the announcement.

[BigSqwert]

Classy

[mr_genius]

He's a big time corporate shill.

 

indeed. unfortunately far too many politicians are.

[BigSqwert]

I love Rachel Maddow. Her response on Tancredo's "literacy test" suggestion at the Tea Party Convention...

 

But I want you to know first, that this is what it was like. You would head down to the courthouse to register to vote, if you dared. In order to register, you‘d face an exam. It was sometimes called a literacy test, but it wasn‘t testing to determine necessarily if you could read or write. If you were black, the test was designed purely to afford a legalistic veneer of justification for denying you your constitutional right to vote.

 

The questions weren‘t about ABCs. They were—they were questions like this one, from Alabama‘s literacy test in 1965. If a person charged with treason denies his guilt, how many persons must testify against him before he can be convicted? Do you consider yourself qualified to vote in this country? Can you answer that question?

 

You want to hear it again? If a person is charged with treason—if a person charged with treason denies his guilt, how many persons must testify against him before he can be convicted?

 

Or how about this one from the same test: In what year did the Congress gain the right to prohibit the migration of persons to the states? Do you know the answer to that one?

 

Again, these are from Alabama‘s literacy test in 1965. It was applied selectively, of course, to black voters, to keep them from registering.

 

If you lived in Georgia in 1958, you would have faced questions like this one: Who is the solicitor general of the state judicial circuit in which you live and who is the judge of such circuit? If such circuit has more than one judge, name them all.

 

How did you do on that one? Or how about this one: What does the Constitution of Georgia provide regarding the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus?

If you wanted to vote in Georgia in 1958, those are the questions you would have to answer. But, of course, not everyone would face those questions. The board of registrars had the sole authority to determine who got asked which literacy test questions and whose answers to those questions rendered them ineligible to vote.

 

The idea was that black voters weren‘t being denied the right to vote based on race. That would be illegal. No, those voters just couldn‘t pass this literacy test.

 

This isn‘t the plot of some Kagzo (ph) Klansman gothic short story. This isn‘t a theoretical for first-year law students. This isn‘t some State Department report on some tin pot dictatorship halfway around the world that we can‘t pronounce.

 

This is American history. This is really, really recent American history—as in this lifetime for a lot of people American history.

 

And the opening night speech at the national tea party convention this weekend proposed bringing the literacy test for voting back. And that proposal got a warm round of applause.

Edited February 15, 2010 by BigSqwert

[BigSqwert]

Digby just made me chuckle...

 

In a final act of perfidy, Evan Bayh walks away from reelection at the last possible moment, thus ensuring that the voters will not have a chance to choose and allowing the party apparatus to pick a Blue Dog creep to replace him. It just doesn't get any better than this.

 

The good news is that we are separating the men from the boys. The Democrats have everything, but it's all so icky and hard that a whole bunch of them are just walking away. Good riddance. If they don't have the cojones to stick it out when their country needs them, then they shouldn't be in politics.

 

I'm glad these guys weren't in charge during the Depression and WWII. We'd all be dirt farming for the Greater Axis Empire today.

[southsider2k5]

HuffPo Twitter: Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) to retire... developing...

 

Awesome. Its been 20 years too long in coming.

[southsider2k5]

The deadline to file to run for the Senate in Indiana is this Friday.

 

Thanks Evan. Really gives us a lot of time to recruit a top tier contender.

 

Yeah, unless they import someone, there is no one that can compete on Bayh's level as a Democrat.

[southsider2k5]

This could also be Bayh's problem.

 

http://frugalhoosiers.com/?p=7023

[StrangeSox]

Utah Senator proposes eliminating the 12th grade to cure budget problems:

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-wor...,0,906102.story

[Balta1701]

This could also be Bayh's problem.

 

http://frugalhoosiers.com/?p=7023

I assume you also have a problem with corporations that exist as mailboxes in Bermuda? Or with Dan Coates?

[southsider2k5]

I assume you also have a problem with corporations that exist as mailboxes in Bermuda? Or with Dan Coates?

 

Nice projection there. Obviously since I posted it, I must not only believe it, but fully endorse it. Still turning everything into what you want I see.

[Rex Kickass]

Yeah, unless they import someone, there is no one that can compete on Bayh's level as a Democrat.

There's a few actually, the Indiana Dem bench is surprisingly deep. Wouldn't be surprised to see Donnelly named to that nod.

[Balta1701]

Nice projection there. Obviously since I posted it, I must not only believe it, but fully endorse it. Still turning everything into what you want I see.

So, you posted that and suggested it could be a reason why he'd retire, and yet you believe it's fully ok? (FWIW, I'd imagine there are probably worse stories out there somewhere in the Congress. Like it or not, those folks have to spend probably 2/3 of their time or more out of their home state, between fundraisers and actually being in Congress)

[Balta1701]

There's a few actually, the Indiana Dem bench is surprisingly deep. Wouldn't be surprised to see Donnelly named to that nod.

Either way though...this isn't going to be a good year to be running as a Democrat. I'm not even sure I'm motivated to vote for them right now.

[southsider2k5]

There's a few actually, the Indiana Dem bench is surprisingly deep. Wouldn't be surprised to see Donnelly named to that nod.

 

Even with knowing Donnelly personally even, I don't think he wins. He may get the nod, but I can't see him winning this time around.

[lostfan]

You'll love to see him join some lobbying group to make millions. Shows how much he truly cared about his constituents. How Palin-esque

At least he's going to finish the term he got elected to serve.

[lostfan]

Utah Senator proposes eliminating the 12th grade to cure budget problems:

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-wor...,0,906102.story

Americans are dumb enough already. I know I word that cynically, but I'm serious.

[lostfan]

I love Rachel Maddow. Her response on Tancredo's "literacy test" suggestion at the Tea Party Convention...

I wish certain people would bother to learn all of American history and not just the rah-rah parts (We fought a war for independence and won! Lincoln freed the slaves! We saved the world from Nazis and several decades later also from Communism!) so they can see there's some not-so-good and sometimes just plain bad stuff in there, and that pointing this out doesn't make someone a bad person or that the fact that these things happen makes us all bad people. And a lot of it is relevant today... that's why it's taught... it's not some liberal conspiracy to smear America or some dumb s***.

[Balta1701]

I wish certain people would bother to learn all of American history and not just the rah-rah parts (We fought a war for independence and won! Lincoln freed the slaves! We saved the world from Nazis and several decades later also from Communism!) so they can see there's some not-so-good and sometimes just plain bad stuff in there, and that pointing this out doesn't make someone a bad person or that the fact that these things happen makes us all bad people. And a lot of it is relevant today... that's why it's taught... it's not some liberal conspiracy to smear America or some dumb s***.

Don't worry, pretty soon the Texas Board of Education will make sure that everyone forgets everything but the rah-rah parts and the Contract with America.

[lostfan]

God descended to Earth and commanded our Founding Fathers to give freedom all men with the immortal and flawless Constitution. However, today we are not doing God's bidding because the Constitution was never intended apply to women (it specifically says "men" because women belong only in the kitchen and the bedroom, people who believe otherwise are responsible for our cultural and moral decline) or blacks (they aren't people). It also reminds us that the Bible tells us to hate gays.

[mr_genius]

Utah Senator proposes eliminating the 12th grade to cure budget problems:

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-wor...,0,906102.story

 

they might not be able to pass Tancredo's "literacy test" if that passes.

[mr_genius]

I wish certain people would bother to learn all of American history and not just the rah-rah parts

 

Amendment to Tancredo "literacy test": List 20 things you don't like, which happened in US history. Must be major events. Can't list like "I got a parking ticket".

[bmags]

God descended to Earth and commanded our Founding Fathers to give freedom all men with the immortal and flawless Constitution. However, today we are not doing God's bidding because the Constitution was never intended apply to women (it specifically says "men" because women belong only in the kitchen and the bedroom, people who believe otherwise are responsible for our cultural and moral decline) or blacks (they aren't people). It also reminds us that the Bible tells us to hate gays.

 

Hey dude, they are 3/5s of people.