The 2022 Midterm Elections

[Motown Bombers]

1 hour ago, romad1 said:

welp...its sad for the GOP but maybe the country (or at a minimum the county) is through with the GOP

Been reading on Twitter Democrats in the district who voted for Meijer but intend on voting for Scholten in the general. Scholten was unapposed, as was Whitmer, so nothing for Democrats to vote for. I bet a lot of Democrats voted for Gibbs. 

[romad1]

9 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Been reading on Twitter Democrats in the district who voted for Meijer but intend on voting for Scholten in the general. Scholten was unapposed, as was Whitmer, so nothing for Democrats to vote for. I bet a lot of Democrats voted for Gibbs. 

Meijer deserves respect for the impeachment vote.   I would have been happier if he survived to bolster the fading GOP "Respect for the Rule of Law caucus" but if his loss becomes another vote for a moderate governing Dem party, good. 

[Hongbit]

7 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Been reading on Twitter Democrats in the district who voted for Meijer but intend on voting for Scholten in the general. Scholten was unapposed, as was Whitmer, so nothing for Democrats to vote for. I bet a lot of Democrats voted for Gibbs. 

The GOP gets what they deserve since are total scum but this is the problem with an open primary system.  It allows for an opposition party to legally manipulate the voting process. It does go against the principals of a fair election.   You really should only be allowed to vote in the primary of the party that you register under.   

[Motown Bombers]

3 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

The GOP gets what they deserve since are total scum but this is the problem with an open primary system.  It allows for an opposition party to legally manipulate the voting process. It does go against the principals of a fair election.   You really should only be allowed to vote in the primary of the party that you register under.   

I think it works in states like Michigan, but if I lived in Wyoming, I would register as a Republican and vote for Cheney but then vote for the Democrat in the general. 

[oblong]

14 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

The GOP gets what they deserve since are total scum but this is the problem with an open primary system.  It allows for an opposition party to legally manipulate the voting process. It does go against the principals of a fair election.   You really should only be allowed to vote in the primary of the party that you register under.   

But what if you are an independent?  Do you not get to vote in the primary?

To me it's up to the parties to decide how they nominate their candidate.  If they want to take the chance for that then that's a risk they willingly take.  A closed primary puts you in position to not get a true reflection of the electorate.

I don't see anything unfair about it.  My job yesterday was to pick who I wanted the nominee to be for a particular party.  That was the choice.  It wasn't about who I wanted to be governor.  

 

[Hongbit]

32 minutes ago, oblong said:

But what if you are an independent?  Do you not get to vote in the primary?

To me it's up to the parties to decide how they nominate their candidate.  If they want to take the chance for that then that's a risk they willingly take.  A closed primary puts you in position to not get a true reflection of the electorate.

I don't see anything unfair about it.  My job yesterday was to pick who I wanted the nominee to be for a particular party.  That was the choice.  It wasn't about who I wanted to be governor.  

 

I don’t think either system works particularly well.  An open system doesn’t allow a true reflection of the electorate either.  

The goal of a primary should be to allow the party to canvass their members to determine who they would like to represent them in a general election.   Having the opposition able to vote for an inferior candidate with the sole purpose of undermining the process sure feels like exploiting a glitch to create an advantage that wasn’t intended.

There are ways for people to still do this in a closed primary system as MB pointed out but it takes more effort.  The open system makes it so easy for people to purposely try to game the process.  

 

[ewsieg]

I hate the idea of one party putting up their best and that same party helping ensure the other party puts up their worst.  Right now, this looks good for Dems, looks like they will switch a seat.  That said, if we head further into a recession that 'Lean D' can turn back to toss up again. 

On twitter the left wing response I saw that liked this move pointed out that in the end, regardless of Gibbs or Meijer, they both will vote for McCarthy, they both will caucus with republicans.   The problem is, only one has proved he would stand up to illegal activity by the president.  If dems really feel 1/6 was a constitutional crisis, they aren't acting like they really care by supporting and increasing the chances of being elected those that would side with Trump.

[Motown Bombers]

Democrats getting blamed for Republicans nominating a Republican. 

[Motown Bombers]

Liz Cheney is asking Democrats in Wyoming to switch party registration and vote for her. Are the same people upset at Democrats voting in the Republican primary in Michigan going to be upset? 

[CMRivdogs]

This is another argument in favor of ranked choice voting. No party labels, especially in a state where voters don't have to officially register their party preference. (Even though past voting habits does get you on call and mailing lists)

Rank you voting preference first to worst. Top two vote getters face off in the general. It levels the playing field somewhat. Every voting system can be gamed to a certain extent.

[mtutiger]

5 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Democrats getting blamed for Republicans nominating a Republican. 

And getting blamed for running an ad that trashes John Gibbs at that.

I don't know that I love the strategy, but it feels like these complaints act a bit as a crutch for mainstream Rs to let R voters off the hook for the decisions they choose to make.

[Motown Bombers]

1 minute ago, CMRivdogs said:

This is another argument in favor of ranked choice voting. No party labels, especially in a state where voters don't have to officially register their party preference. (Even though past voting habits does get you on call and mailing lists)

Rank you voting preference first to worst. Top two vote getters face off in the general. It levels the playing field somewhat. Every voting system can be gamed to a certain extent.

I guess in this system I would just vote for my favorite candidate and the candidate I feel would be the easiest to defeat. 

[mtutiger]

No kidding... this thing doesn't pass with 60% of the vote in Kansas just on the KC Suburbs and Wichita alone.

[CMRivdogs]

1 minute ago, Motown Bombers said:

I guess in this system I would just vote for my favorite candidate and the candidate I feel would be the easiest to defeat. 

Whatever floats your boat. It's a free country, for now. The founders were not fond of party labels, until TJ and A-Ham screwed things up.

[Motown Bombers]

5 minutes ago, CMRivdogs said:

Whatever floats your boat. It's a free country, for now. The founders were not fond of party labels, until TJ and A-Ham screwed things up.

California has that system and in the Los Angeles mayoral race you have a Republican masquerading as a Democrat. It allows him to make it to the general so that system can easily be gamed. If I have a favorite candidate, I don't see why I would also vote for another candidate who has an equal chance of defeating that candidate. I suppose I could just vote for one candidate. 

Edited August 3, 2022 by Motown Bombers

[Stanley70]

1 hour ago, Hongbit said:

The GOP gets what they deserve since are total scum but this is the problem with an open primary system.  It allows for an opposition party to legally manipulate the voting process. It does go against the principals of a fair election.   You really should only be allowed to vote in the primary of the party that you register under.   

I voted R just to vote for Meijer yesterday. First time i have done that, but the entire Dem ballot was unopposed.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Stanley70

[CMRivdogs]

 

[ewsieg]

13 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Liz Cheney is asking Democrats in Wyoming to switch party registration and vote for her. Are the same people upset at Democrats voting in the Republican primary in Michigan going to be upset? 

I guess it comes down to are you voting, even across party lines, to try and put the best candidates in place, or are you doing it knowing you're playing with fire in order to increase the chances of your preferred outcome.

I guess i'll put it like this.  As a citizen, would you prefer to have a choice between two people that believe in the rule of law and will follow the constitution, even at the risk that you won't agree with the policies of one of them, or is it better to make the choice between someone that will follow the constitution, and another that will follow the constitution when it suits them.

[oblong]

I understand the pros and cons of each system for the parties but I wouldn't use the word "unfair" to describe the MI process.  That makes it sound like there's ethical issues and I don't see that at all.  The Republican party let me vote in their primary to nominate their candidate and I picked the worst candidate.  That's not an issue of unfairness.  It's not optimal for them as I am not going to vote for their November candidate no matter who it is but that's not what they asked of me in August.  It's their ballgame and I'm playing by their rules.  Casting a ballot is not a legal document declaring who you like the most.

 

 

 

[CMRivdogs]

Per Tim Miller in today's Bullwerk. Pro Impeachment Republicans Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse survived Washington state's Jungle Primary.California's David Valadao also advanced in a similar system.

They are probably the only Pro Impeachment Republicans to survive.

[CMRivdogs]

 

[romad1]

34 minutes ago, mtutiger said:

No kidding... this thing doesn't pass with 60% of the vote in Kansas just on the KC Suburbs and Wichita alone.

There was considerable vote for No in the rural areas that went against the tide of the districts.   Even where it was +90 R vote for this election it was closer to +50 for Yes. 

[Motown Bombers]

Shri Thanedar won. That's a disappointment. 

[CMRivdogs]

 

[gehringer_2]

15 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Shri Thanedar won. That's a disappointment. 

LOL 28% isn't much a "win" is it? I know runoffs are expensive but in an ideal world you would have to get 50% to win any election. What is your main knock on Thanedar?