The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

As long time readers should know, I've long been an opponent of the electoral college. Votes in Wyoming shouldn't count for more than votes in California. It should be one person, one vote. Period. In saying that, however, while I'm a stark opponent of the electoral college, I've gotta say, if Democrats actually went out and voted, we'd be next to impossible to stop. Here's how party affiliation numbers break down state by state: Alabama (9 electoral votes): 52% Rep (Republican), 35% Dem (Democrat), 17% difference (Rep 9, Dem 0) Alaska (3 EVs): 39% Rep, 32% Dem, 7% diff (Rep 12, Dem 0) Arizona (11 EVs): 40% Rep, 39% Dem, 1% diff (Rep 23, Dem 0) Arkansas (6 EVs): 46% Rep, 38% Dem, 8% diff (Rep 29, Dem 0) California (55 EVs): Dem 49%, Rep 30%, 19% diff (Dem 55, Rep 29) Colorado (9 EVs): Dem 42%, Rep 41%, 1% diff (Dem 64, Rep 29) Connecticut (7 EVs): Dem 50%, Rep 32%, 18% diff (Dem 71, Rep 29) Delaware (3 EVs): Dem 55%, Rep 29%, 26% diff (Dem 74, Re...

Celebrating their 10-year anniversary, Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking site, Politifact.com , just released a list and breakdown of their ten most reviewed politicians. Here is said list and breakdown, starting with the politician who has been reviewed the most and moving in descending order: Barack Obama: 598 Total, 288 True/Mostly True (48.2%), 150 Mostly False/False/Pants on Fire (25.1%), Net +23.1% Donald Trump: 436 Total, 72 True/Mostly True (16.5%), 301 Mostly False/False/Pants on Fire (69.0%), Net -52.5% Hillary Clinton 294 Total, 148 True/Mostly True (50.3%), 77 Mostly False/False/Pants on Fire (26.2%), Net +24.1% Mitt Romney: 206 Total, 63 True/Mostly True (30.6%), 85 Mostly False/False/Pants on Fire (41.3%), Net -10.7% John McCain: 184 Total, 74 True/Mostly True (40.2%), 79 Mostly False/False/Pants on Fire (42.9%), Net -2.7% Scott Walker: 180 Total, 65 True/Mostly True (36.1%), 81 Mostly False/False/Pants on Fire (45.0%), Net -8.9% Rick Perry: 173 Total, 50...

The Pew Research Center just released the results to a poll they conducted with regard to voting. I found the results to be interesting for the simple fact all demographics agreed with each other, except for one. Pew asked participants whether they felt that citizens should register ahead of time in order to vote or if everything possible should be done to make it easy for citizens to vote. All of the following demographics agreed with the latter approach, and I'll list the numbers accordingly: Democrat: 84/15 (+69) Black: 79/19 (+60) 18-29: 71/27 (+44) Hispanic: 64/35 (+29) Coll grad+: 62/36 (+26) Women: 62/37 (+25) HS or less: 61/37 (+24) Total: 59/39 (+20) 30-49: 59/40 (+19) Independent: 57/41 (+16) Men: 56/41 (+15) 50-64: 54/43 (+11) 65+: 54/43 (+11) White: 54/44 (+10) Some coll: 53/44 (+9) Look at those numbers again. Here are 14 demographics, as well as the total, who all agree that we should do everything in our power to make voting easy for citizens on ele...

During the tenth Republican presidential debate on Thursday night, Florida Senator Marco Rubio made me laugh. Yes, this was unintentional on his part, but at the time, I sarcastically thought to myself, "If this whole presidential thing doesn't work out, I think Rubio's found a back-up plan - stand-up comedy." Here's the quote which garnered a chuckle out of me: "The media has a definition of Hispanics that you can only be Hispanic if you're a liberal. The Obama economy has done enormous damage to the Spanish community. On this stage tonight are two sons of Cuban immigrants and an African American. We are the party of diversity, not the Democrats." Yes, because the final two Democratic presidential hopefuls are both white and three of the five remaining Republican candidates aren't, this obviously means Republicans are the party of diversity, not Democrats. That is if we don't look at the bigger picture, of course. Let's look a bi...

In a move which surprised even God, the Republican Party has guaranteed a victory in the upcoming presidential election, as they declared that an African-American lesbian will be their lone candidate, and due to that, their nominee. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said this about the party's decision:  "We were getting a little fed up with all the talk about our party waging a war against women, being anti-gay, and being unappealing to minorities. So we thought Destiny Beaver would be the perfect nominee to help improve our image among women, African-Americans, and the LGQRWXYZ community, or whatever in the heck that is, and would guarantee us a victory come election day because of that. I mean, just look at it this way: We've always had the white men's vote; now we've also got the women's vote, the blacks' vote, the queers' vote, and maybe some other dark-skinned people's votes too. We can't lose!" McConnell was then aske...

The more I observe former neurosurgeon and Republican candidate Ben Carson, the more inclined I am to believe he's slyer than a fox named Sylvester. Prior to the two (varsity) Republican debates, I had heard some of Carson's extreme views. Here's just a snippet of those views: - "You know, Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. And it is, in a way, it is slavery in a way because it is making all of us subservient to the government." - "They've (ISIS) got the wrong philosophy, but they're willing to die for what they believe, while we're busily giving away every value and every belief for the sake of political correctness." - "Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight and when they come out, they're gay. So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question." - "You know, we live in a Gestapo age, people don't ...

When I'm out and about over the weekends, rarely do I discuss politics. This is mainly due to two reasons: 1) It's what I read and write about for the majority of my workweek and 2) I've learned that it's typically not a good idea to mix alcohol and political discussions. Like with most other people, when I'm away from the workplace, the last thing I want to do is think about or discuss my work. Reading and writing about current events, especially in the world of politics, for most of the workweek, the last thing I want to do when I'm out is talk about what I've read and written about for hours at a time leading up to that moment. Also, politics is a very touchy and divisive subject. There's an old rule which says states that one shouldn't talk about the four following subjects with another person (a stranger or person one doesn't know very well): 1) Money, 2) Sex, 3) Politics, and 4) Religion. On Saturday night, however, I did wind up discussi...

I really shouldn't be surprised by poll results anymore, but sadly, I still am at times. The most recent such case is a new Quinnipiac poll, where participants were asked, "Do you think going to war in Iraq in 2003 was the right thing for the United States or the wrong thing?" Here are the results to that very question: Overall: 32% right thing/59% wrong thing (net -27%) Democrats: 16% right thing/78% wrong thing (net -62%) Independents: 26% right thing/65% wrong thing (net -39%) Men: 32% right thing/61% wrong thing (net -29%) Women: 32% right thing/58% wrong thing (net -26%) Where is the surprise in these numbers? Oh, nothing. What came as surprising are these numbers: Republicans: 62% right thing/28% wrong thing (+34%) That's right; while roughly one-third of the public still believes the Iraq War was the right move, in contrast with three-fifths that don't, over three-fifths of Republicans believe the 2003 invasion of Iraq was the right move a...

For a number of years now, I've contended that Americans are more liberal than polls have showcased. In poll after poll, when asked whether they considered themselves to be "conservative," "moderate," or "liberal," the percentage of self-described conservatives and moderates far outweighed the self-described liberals, even though these same Americans supported liberal-leaning policies such as: Increasing taxes on the rich, more gun control regulations, legalizing medical marijuana, and perhaps most recently, equal marriage rights for the LGBT community. Regardless of how liberal people's opinions on issues were, however, many such individuals still shied away from labeling themselves as liberal due to the bastardization of the term. Especially after Fox News debuted in the mid-90s and talk radio started being dominated by conservative voices such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, to many, liberal came to mean: Tax and spend, baby-killer, communist...

With each and every election cycle, I begin to increasingly wonder if the Republican Party will change its name to the Oligarch Party. For as pro-freedom and liberty as their rhetoric typically is, it amazes me how anti-democratic the Republican Party has become. Allow me to compare the two parties on this front: Democratic Party - Wants to overturn Citizen's United so that corporations are limited in their campaign donations - Doesn't believe corporations are people - Wants to expand voting efforts to maximize voting on election day - Believes a strong economy is build from the base up - Doesn't believe in repressing certain demographics of voters Republican Party - Wants to maintain the Citizen's United ruling so corporations aren't limited in their campaign donations like people are - Believes corporations are people - Wants to restrict voting on election day - Believes in trickle-down economics - Believes in repressing certain demographic...

It's been quite a week in this country as far as racism towards African-Americans goes. First we had Cliven Bundy providing all of his wisdom on the "negroes," and then Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling let his views be known about blacks via a secret recording, where he basically told his mistress (of mixed races, ironically enough) that he doesn't want her promoting blacks via photos on Instagram or bringing them to games. Of course, one of the right-wing conspiracy kinds - Matt Drudge - decided to make this a partisan issue, and tweeted this message: "GOT GAME: NYT informed the unwashed how Bundy is a Republican. Leaves out NBA Sterling is a Democrat..." This information was then spread about right-wing websites like those lovely chain emails seem to do all too frequently. The problem with the claim? It's not true. It even earned a "Pants on Fire" grade from fact-checker Politifact , where the site concluded with this: "...

Since the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was signed by President Obama in 2010, the Republican Party has been on a mission to ultimately destroy it - through negative ad campaigns, talking points and promises leading up to election day, 50+ failed repeals, the government shutdown, etc. However, while these seemingly constant attacks on the new healthcare law had gained some traction when it came to public polling, it didn't impact the Supreme Court's decision to uphold it nor any component of the law itself. ...and not only that, unfortunately for the Republicans, since surpassing its goal of 7 million sign-ups by March 31st, Obamacare has been receiving much more positive press, and this can be seen in recent poll numbers. While the Republican Party may have been able to win over some voters during late last year with healthcare.gov's gliched site and botched roll-out, the tide appears to be turning, and GOP candidates may need to find something else to run on in the comi...

As seems to be typical anymore, I had an interesting bar discussion over the weekend - this time, with a self-described conservative Republican. I say "self-described," because after talking to him, it was difficult for me to see him as a member of the modern-day Republican Party. Here's a brief rundown of what this man believes: 1) Supports women's reproductive rights 2) Supports gays' rights 3) Supports taxing the rich a bit more 4) Supports conserving our environment 5) Is an NRA member, but supports what he calls "common sense gun-control laws" 6) Does not support the Citizens United ruling 7) Loathes the Tea Party 8) Doesn't believe Ronald Reagan would make it in today's Republican Party 9) Thinks lobbyists are the worst thing since the Antichrist 10) Voted for Bush (W.) twice, McCain, and Romney, in the elections ranging from 2000 to 2012 Reading the first nine points, most people would assume this man was either an ...

While the Republican Party, on the whole, disapproves of same-sex marriage, if things continue as they've been trending, it will only be a matter of time before same-sex marriage is legal across the country. This is because support for gay marriage is increasing on both sides of the political spectrum as age decreases. According to a recent Pew Research poll, while just 39% of Republicans approve of same-sex marriage, 61% of 18- to 29-year-old Republicans approve of it. That number decreases to 43% among 30- to 49-year-olds, 30% for those between the ages of 50 and 64, and just 22% of Republicans over the age of 65 approve of gay marriage. There's a similar trend with Democrats, although, the numbers are much higher among the older groups. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, 77% approve of same-sex marriage rights. This number decreases slightly to 71% support among 30- to 49-year-olds, 66% for those between the ages of 50 and 64, and 62% of Democrats over the age of 65 approve of g...

I've discussed this subject before, but in more of a general sense than I will be doing today. Why is it that Democrats have won 4 of the past 6 presidential elections (more like five), are expanding the blue area of the electoral map, and it appears as if the younger generations are becoming more and more liberal, yet when polled, many more Americans identify themselves as conservatives rather than liberals? A Gallup poll, which was released last year, showed that 40% of Americans consider themselves to be conservative, 35% consider themselves to be moderate, and 21% consider themselves to be liberal. How can this be? Many Republican politicians and conservative talking heads alike point to such polls and say, "This is a center-right country. These numbers show if either party should be compromising, it's the Democrats." I've held the belief that this country is actually more liberal than these polls lead us to believe, but that due to the bastardization of...

Public Policy Polling just released poll results regarding conspiracy theories. For the most part, it appears as if a very small minority of people believe most such theories. However, there were some rather surprising results. First off, 33% of Republicans still believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks, while 41% don't believe this, and 28% aren't sure. For the record, while Hussein was never going to win Best Man of the Year honors at any point in his life, he wasn't involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A fifth (20%) of Republicans also believe that President Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ and another 17% aren't sure. Democrats, meanwhile, strongly believe that then President George W. Bush misled this country on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, as 72% of Democrats think this, while only 14% do not, and another 15% aren't sure. The numbers are the direct opposite for Republicans - only 13% of whom believe Bush misled th...

There is a reason why when I write political satire, I typically focus on the Republican Party, and it's exactly the reason given by the centrist, bi-partisan, well-respected longtime political observers Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein in a recent article. As was outlined in the tandem's book, It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism , "...The Republicans are worse..." Before going into further detail about the two men's commentary, allow me to give readers some brief background on them. Thomas Mann is a centrist who has worked for about three decades as a congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution (also centrist). Norman Ornstein, who has worked at the American Enterprise Institute (conservative-leaning) and is also a congressional scholar - has worked with Mann on tracking Congress since 1978. So, no - these are not two left-wing ideologues looking to place the Republican Pa...

Initially, many liberals panicked at the sight of the Gallup presidential election tracking poll and many conservatives jumped with glee. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has held a steady lead in the Gallup poll and has been shown to lead President Barack Obama by as many as 7 points (52-45) within the past week or so. He's led the president by between roughly 3 and 7 points for quite some time. Of course the media has loved this poll for story, controversy, argument and ratings purposes - especially when Romney's lead was 7. However, as some began to wonder and then notice, it appeared as if, along with Rasmussen, Gallup's poll results didn't quite fit in with all the others, which have had the two candidates essentially tied. Numbers geeks such as Nate Silver began dismissing the Gallup poll as an outlier. This may have prompted Gallup to release more detailed information regarding their sample and they recently did just that. Pretty much all the numbe...