tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post4884827731252814900..comments2023-10-24T09:06:30.200-04:00Comments on No More Mister Nice Blog: Steve M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11963290427258439242noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-87539358844105020922013-08-12T10:22:42.670-04:002013-08-12T10:22:42.670-04:00True, Leslie; your comment reminds me of the time,...True, Leslie; your comment reminds me of the time, way back during the Iran hostage crisis under Carter, when I was holding a sign outside a Boston polling place and got into a discussion with a nice middle-aged white suburban type woman passing by about the crisis; she wondered plaintively "Why can't they just let them go and get along with us?"<br /><br />My brain whirred as I tried to frame a brief explanation, then shorted out on the realization that the gulf between her worldview and the Iranians' was simply unbridgeable, not least because she truly couldn't conceive of any other way to view the world.Never Ben Betterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17814767173601107270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-81350174724821652352013-08-11T18:21:53.883-04:002013-08-11T18:21:53.883-04:00You're assuming that democrats (that is, the p...You're assuming that democrats (that is, the party) understand the problem in the first place. Middle- and upper-class whites cannot imagine how anyone can get through life without a birth certificate, driver's license, passport, etc. it seems like an easy solution; just show your driver's license. What's the big deal?<br /><br />To educate these people on the difficulties faced by the underclasses would be, well, distasteful, and possibly too uncomfortable for many to tolerate.<br /><br />OTOH, this administration sucks at messaging.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06713116346278908986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-1622109800896264432013-08-11T18:15:11.819-04:002013-08-11T18:15:11.819-04:00Why would MSNBC splain it? They sold out to the ma...Why would MSNBC splain it? They sold out to the man long ago.<br /><br />No fear.Ten Bearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06594307610015584119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-80977619445238952582013-08-11T15:47:21.006-04:002013-08-11T15:47:21.006-04:00Also, "major problem" is a terribly chos...Also, "major problem" is a terribly chosen phrase to poll, because some people might understand it to mean "widespread problem" and others to mean "conceptually serious problem." For instance, terrorism can be considered a "major" problem even if your chances of being personally affected by it are infinitesimal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-9573506889499158402013-08-11T15:41:52.843-04:002013-08-11T15:41:52.843-04:00It seems like the split-the-difference good-govern...It seems like the split-the-difference good-government-technowonk thing to do would be to say that every initiative to require people to produce an ID to vote has to be accompanied by an initiative to distribute ID to those who lack it. The requirement to produce an ID doesn't sound onerous in itself. Where it becomes more contentious is precisely when you consider who might lack it, or who might be harassed by the demand to produce it. I don't think the "it's not a problem!" response quite cuts it, even though it has the virtue of being true, because it _seems_ like fraud _could_ be a problem, and it _seems_ like it couldn't possibly hurt to add more layers of testing and checking. <br /><br />So my instinct is to rhetorically concede that fraud is a hypothetical concern (even though I actually don't think it's much of one) but to immediately ju-jitsu it into "What's your plan for how to handle people who don't have ID and have never needed to produce it? Because there are millions of them out there, [cite stories like those in the post] and you're unfairly disenfranchising them too."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-4966716417170277422013-08-11T13:29:52.481-04:002013-08-11T13:29:52.481-04:00As I've said before, we are one horrific terro...As I've said before, we are one horrific terrorist attack, and/or a major economic downturn, ala 2008, away from a Ted Cruz Presidency - or, a Paul/Walker/Christie/Ryan/etc, one.<br /><br />And then, "Mission Accomplished!"<br /><br />The Republicans will finish off the job started by Nixon, continued under Reagan/Bush I, and nearly completed by Bush II - who, but for their gross incompetence, could have had their much longed-for Republican Majority for several generations.<br /><br />Victorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06609452382111686086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-13206688985575173752013-08-11T12:21:27.789-04:002013-08-11T12:21:27.789-04:00Do Democrats even want the general (i.e., white-ma...<i>Do Democrats even want the general (i.e., white-majority) public to understand this issue?</i><br /><br /><br /><br />It goes for a lot of other issues as well. You're not a dumb man. Don't you remember what Upton Sinclair said? "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" That quote not only explains the "stupidity" of the TradMed, it also explains the apparent stupidity of the Democratic political class. What would happen if Democrats, as a party, campaigned on expanding Social Security? Or campaigned on a guaranteed minimum income? Paid for by taxing Wall Street(basically) a lot higher? Why would establishment Democrats want to empower voters? See what I'm getting at?Phil Perspectivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13540815981930702517noreply@blogger.com