As both Jon and David have noted today, this election year has seen a drop in enthusiasm from normal Democratic voting groups such as youthful voters — and a corresponding drop in voter turnout. The exception? Minnesota.
Per the Strib, the turnout was almost 590,000 voters, or 15.5%. That’s the highest since 2000, and included more than 31,000 absentee ballots.
Why the eagerness in Minnesota, when it’s been absent elsewhere?
One reason could be this, as Spotty mentions in his discussion of how Mark Dayton won last night’s primary:
“Oh dear!” say some; he’s fomenting [spell checker helpfully offers fermenting] class warfare! The class warfare, however, has been mounted by the wealthy on the rest of us, and they’ve been winning it.
It surprises me not at all that the candidate who seems to understand that essential truth, and said so directly, won the primary.
Want people to vote? Give them choices.



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PW!
PW!
Don’t just give them “choices”, give them good choices, like this gentleman. Many of us are tired of all of our choices being between various degrees of DLC corporatist “centrists”.
Vanilla, strawberry or chocolate!?
And Hey PW!!!
pw!
Pistachio!
Class-warfare – the more, the better.
Hey, PW!
Howdy, everybody! Where did Thers stash the beer, anyway?
The choice is between a Single Malt 12 YO or Single Malt 18 YO. Watcha gonna choose?
If the choice is to remove your leg with a hammer or a pipe wrench, some may choose to keep the leg and stay home.
A-yep. :-)
Funny how it is only class warfare when we fight back.
Sorry, no Single Malt pistachio.
Irish.
Divites este.
look in the cabinet next to the brain bleach station pw…. he hides the good stuff in the back with the cheap stuff in front
Exactly. But if they’re offered a choice of keeping the leg and punishing the people pushing the hammer and pipe wrench options by voting for a guy pledged to go after those people, they just might vote.
Aha! Muy gracias, senorita.
Goody! That leaves the Oban for me.
Oh, and just to drive any lurking wingnuts berserk, may you all have a blessed Ramadan.
They would definitely vote if allowed to bludgeon the offending party with the removed leg. Better to run mad than run scared.
Protestant swill or Catholic water of life?
If you nominate or run candidates who represent the interests of the people, as opposed to the rich and corporations, they will vote. We absolutely have got to find a way to get money out of the system. As long as it is driven by private money, they are going to keep winning, because they have all the money.
Yes. 8-)
Is Rahmadumbass a switch hitter? I know he’s a trained ballerina, but…
Al-salaam aleikum!
I remember Ramadan while in Lamu, Kenya. I went there for the beach. So during the day it was off to the beach with a mango to munch on. Then back to town at sunset for dinner.
Thank you so much, Ramadan Mubarek to you as well.
The way Rahmalamadingdong dances with the truth, I assumed that he was trained in a mosh pit.
Ah, you mean Bushmills or Jamesons?
I know they are all ‘turnout elections’… but as Jane (Christ, she was good today) pointed out, that miserable CT Dem turnout was actually a thing of beauty.
Dems enthusiasm is directly proportional to the performance of this President, and the DNC knows it, but now they FEEL it.
Alaykum as-Salaam, Habibi
yes
Uh-huh.
The uninvites should start piling up very quickly now.
i look forward to returning all those dc based d solicitations for money with a note that they get not one dime until they are as professional as the professional left.
You would think this would be obvious. But nothing is obvious to the “people in charge.” They seemed to draw the wrong conclusions at every opportunity last year, so I expect completely wrong interpretations of Connecticut, too.
Personally, I send them back with a note that I will not donate a cent until they are a left as the professional left.
I’ve been thinking about how Team Obama’s hatred of the Left might just be the only genuine thing about them. The content of Gibbs’ recent statements was disingenuous, saying we wouldn’t be happy with anything less than Canadian style healthcare but his contempt was sincere.
It was a rare moment of (relative) honesty from a WH Press Secretary.
“Oh noes! Nobody showed up to vote in the Connecticut primary!”
“Better slide a little further to the right.”
I kept some Obama bumper stickers. When I get that piece of mail, I scissor-shred one into the envelope and return it promptly. At their expense.
I scratch my but when it itches. Want people to vote for you? Give them an itch.
It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.
-Upton Sinclair.
ooooooh i like that too
Exactly! Wait for it…
Yes. I think that is the rock bottom lesson of the last 15-20 years.
ass, butt, rear end, aerie what ever works.
Sorry about the sans t but.
As the Republican Party moved ever further right, the center right moved into the Democratic Party (aided and abetted by those already in the party who began trying to lure corporate money away from the Republicans in the late 70s) and have now taken it over. While the bulk of the party membership remain center left to left liberal, the leadership and power structure is solidly center right.
I think you may be right. Thin-skinned bunch.
And why not Canadian-style health care? It works, it’s practical, it saves money, it covers everyone. It’s something to aim for, anyway.
No kidding!
No offense, but I’m really tired of people blaming Rham or whomever…they are employed by whom?
Worked great for the VA until the Rethugs started cutting back funding. Still works better than most medical care in this country.
Absolutely but Gibbs suggesting the Left would not have been reasonably satisfied with the compromise of a robust public option is just a damned lie. Sadly, it seems the PO was never really on the table either.
Just today, in my temporary assignment, I was talking with a Canadian woman, we were discussing a price she’d paid for our product, and she mentioned that there was also the “new HST.” “What is that?” I asked. “A new tax?”
“Yes, of course a tax, we’re Canadian!” replied she.
Well, I couldn’t help myself, I responded with, “But you can go to the doctor whenever you need to.”
She laughed, and said, “there is that!”
Efficiency = communism … get it right, sister !
PW !
Communism = efficiency+equality!
Canucks changing the course of a stone with a broom is efficient? Nice try, Curly Joe… “g”
Equality is as unAmerican as liberty & justice !
While not true in theory, I fear that in reality you are absolutely correct.
Now we’ve gone and said nice things about both Muslims and Commies. Can’t you just hear those wingnut lurkers’ heads exploding?
By the way, I know a lot of potentially very good parents who are gay.
It’s all in the wrist, my friend …
It’s amazing how far we’ve gone … backward !
It is true, as well as many loving and faithful couples who have been together for decades. Speaking of which, one of the English faculty, who is openly gay, has sued the state of Montana for unequal treatment for him and his partner. He might even win. For as conservative as the state is now, we have a remarkably progressive constitution.
It has been a long downhill slide since 1800.
I haven’t had a single call since last fall — a very ugly one at that, insisting that MrCE had promised to renew his $$$ dollar 2008 pledge. I really let them have it, I couldn’t believe they were so rude. And the emails I sent after, crickets…
I’ll cause a few wingnut heads to explode by inviting them up to Toronto, or any major city in Canada, to observe gay parents care for their children.
Spoiler alert … teh gay are fantastic parents !
I was thinking earlier today that the writers of the Constitution and certain amendments undoubtedly had no idea what the implications of their embrace of equality would turn out to be. They actually churned out a document bigger than their own petty prejudices…and with some luck, it will survive the gay marriage and immigration issues bigger than ours.
I will grant you that simply slicing ham and calling it bacon IS pretty efficient. :)
Even better. Send them down to Mexico, where the Supreme Court just ruled that all of the states have to allow and recognize same sex marriage.
Oh, that’s begging for a snappy comeback. But the coffee’s already wearing off…hrm…ummm….zzzz…
Bacon?
Did somebody mention bacon?
I left it hanging out there for ratfood … maybe Kelly will come along soon. *g*
G’nite PW !
Before Sarah McGrift got rich and famous she reportedly shlepped the kids to Canada to take advantage of their superior, affordable health care. Now that she is rolling in ill-gotten loot socialized medicine is the Great Satan, natch.
bacon beer
I saw that and thought Beckerhead would demand that Murkah close both borders …
Ah, bacon, The food that makes other food worth eating.
I should think your thumb and pinky finger would suffice. “g”
bacon chocolate! Someone brought it to work and I was too chicken to try it…
Sarah being Sarah, “take advantage” is the operative phrase.
The perfect food. Recommended by 4 out of 5 cardiologists (and their accountants).
Time for me to toddle off. Take care all and don’t eat too much bacon (bad for your cholesterol).
g’nite pw
G’nite Sir !
g’nite dr dick
Evidently it only smells like bacon, it does not have chunks floating in it like pork ‘n’ beans. Whew, that’s a relief!
Good night.
gnite PW (thanks for hosting LN) and DrDick
Evening doggies!
Here in Colorado we had a bigger midterm turnout than ever before. Of course, it wasn’t a “turnout”, we had an almost entirely mail-in ballot this year. Which allowed lots of knee-jerks to vote in their primary…
I’m still puzzling over how Romanoff wins the State caucus with 60%, and yet loses to Bennet by 9 points.
Just a side rant…if the pols in Conn. contains a message, and between now and November, more messages manifest themselves, will it really make a f__kin diff? These cats have been getting plenty of messages, but they continue to act like Teflon Dons, and on top of it, smear it in our faces. I think when they go down, and I mean hard, like a bungie cord too long for the fall, then they might wake up and wipe their noses…Nah!…by then the RepuboTards will have both houses and be taking a shite in the Rose Garden!
Not trying to be the big downer, but where do we really think this is all heading? I’m open for an honest evaluation of it!
My, how time flies. I think I’d better join the exodus, folks. Be excellent to each other!
g’nite edp
Hiya Suzanne! I’m back!
Ever notice how it’s always “our” fault for not turning out, and never “their” fault for not doing anything to make us want to turn out?
how’s mr ce’s mac working out for ya — you gonna get one for yourself?
Niters. Suppose I will succumb to peer pressure. Nighty-night snooky-ookums to all.
All done…I’m a MacBook Pro. Logged on, registered, and madly in love. And to think that I agonised about a Mac.
g’nite rat
Welcome to the club … wait’ll you see how cool the trackpad is !
With a brush of my hand … top to bottom! I’m in love. The backlit keyboard is wonderful!
Their consistent MO, blame everybody else, not us, caus we always got the citizens best interests in mine ya know!
LOL … and editing video is a breeze, if you like making home movies.
Dr. Dick–yes, VA is a great pattern to follow.
ratfood @52 Agree, we would have been happy with public option to start with.
Tejanausa @53 so HST = Health Services Tax?
Sorry you all I have a cursor that keeps freezing and can’t scroll well.
What? You mean, you just got it and you’ve already figured out how to use it?/s(aimed at pc’s, not you)
No, well, I don’t know. Some new tax – it was way off the subject of the call, so I didn’t pursue it and we chuckled a bit and got back on the subject.
Christine…
I think you will find that MBP to be a fine tool…and good lookin also!
OMG it was so easy. Opening the box, reading the booklet was cake. In ten minutes I was on gmail and FDL.
HST [Harmonized Sales Tax] is a new tax implemented on July 1st on goods and services, it is not a health tax. It’s seen mainly as a tax grab, but it will fund a lot of great programs.
Mostly, it is designed to force businesses to pay taxes, rather than hide it in their pockets.
I’d go for Midleton myself. Best stuff Jameson makes.
Ah, I forgot we had our very own Canuck present. Thanks. Forcing businesses to actually pay taxes…sounds like a great idea to me!
And with that, I gotta go to bed. Being a working person, however short-term, means I gotta fight the night-owl nature. Bonne nuit, all!
I’m a newbie — MBP please?
I think it would take me longer than that to master using a trackpad…I still have mouse and mousepad.
night tejana!
G’nite tejanarusa !
MacBook Pro…congrats, and happy computing!
g’nite tejan
The Trackpad is intuitive … it’s amazing how slow and cumbersome a mouse feels, after using the trackpad for a few days.
CE … MBP = Mac Book Pro ;-)
Actually Margot, I have a ten dollar mini mouse from Walgreens, but this new Mac lets me use both mouse and brush away with fingers. I was crying on Monday, tonight, well done! And MrCE made me do it.
G’night, all! Be good to Suz, now!
Oh! Of course, sorry.
sleep well pw
But of course…! It’s one of those funny French thingies…! ;-)
Liberté, égalité, fraternité…
By the way, if you have some extra scratch, don’t forget to get yourself another harddrive, even an external…and use Time Machine or some other backup software to make sure you don’t lose nothing. Photos, music, family videos, writings, client work and such are way too precious to let go missing. It is just good computing maintenance regardless of what platform you use, PC or Mac!
Just friendly advice…
Niters, PW
Many thanks!
LOL … CT !
You can get a Flash Drive for a reasonable price, for backups. And the Apple 3 year warranty is money well spent … even covers damage to the Power Cord.
Good advice, Petro…
MrCe did get me a very expensive tech support program. I’m very happy. And, as I always tell you, I”m old.
Speaking from advice … their extended warranty covers evvurthang !
Gnite FDL pups, sleep well and pleasant dreams!
Exactly…don’t compute without it…repairs are way too much moolah!
g’nite edve
I was convinced to buy a Mac, after seeing two seniors edit video on theirs …
G’nite edve, I hope Steve Jobs sends me a nice gift for promoting his wares … *g*
Oh, that was so nice!
KQED is the Public televsion in SF:
MrCE said yes. My children, MrCEJack and MSCE voted no for their old mom. Heh, too late. Did I say how much I love the back lit keyboard?
oh goodie.. i’m sure we will have a post up as soon as the order is published…
This dudn’t look good for teh H8ers …
I hope it is rotten news for them.
Fixed it for ya.
LOL … egregious !