Extremist Senators

[retailguy]

Harlan, in spite of the fact that you insulted me, I'll be happy to participate in your little game. I will need to know what views you consider to be "extreme" right wing. Then I'll give you views that I consider "extreme" left wing and you can do likewise.

I can answer definitively that John McCain will NOT be on my list.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Joe Biden is not like Dennis Kusinich.

He's also not as centrist as Hillary Clinton.

Clinton gets 18,000,000 votes in the Primary.

More votes than Obama and Biden COMBINED.

So why is she kicked to the curb in favor of a someone who got 170,000 votes?

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/1077828/...Biden-Combined

Good question. Perhaps W or his father could explain it to you.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Wayne: NOt willing to fight for his country. Yep...just like a long line of conservatives.

I thought you said it wasn't Wayne, but a character in the movies. I'll go with that - the Character Wayne represents - that's what I was talking about. Just in case you're confused, Homer isn't a real guy either.

I said it wasn't, but you CLEARLY wrote WAYNE.

Nice try though.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Homer: He is a moron. I guess you haven't watched the show.

In case you didn't look at your own post, it was Wayne + Homer. Even a moron (IQ 70) knows that if you add IQ 70 + IQ of the John Wayne character (about 120) - you get 190 - a genius. You really ought to try to keep up.

You show an alarming lack of knowledge once again.

If the progeny of two people resulted in adding of their IQ the human race wouldn't be in the position we are in today.

You and your wife certainly didn't produce children with scores of 200 did you.

Try and keep up.

[Kiwon]

I tried the same thing for extreme repubs.

I totally agree with this. John Wayne: proud, faithful, confident in his ideals, tough-minded, smart, true and blue American and Homer Simpson, a basic, God-fearing, generally good-natured, middle American with foibles that all non-elitists have. Right on the money Ty.

It is no wonder you have such problems. That isn't john wayne, that is a character in a movie. A cowboy. LOL

Smart: How so? College degree? No. Actor. Yes.

Wayne: NOt willing to fight for his country. Yep...just like a long line of conservatives.

Values: Married 3 times..FAMILY VALUES!!!!

Wayne, "Ibelieve in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility." And, people wonder why conservatives are linked with racism.

Homer: He is a moron. I guess you haven't watched the show.

Homer's not the only moron. TB says that a cowboy character in a movie, whose name is not John Wayne, (what's his name, by the way?) has no college degree, does some acting, is not willing to fight for his country, is a bad husband and segregationalist.

How do you know all these things about this cowboy character in a movie?

[Harlan Huckleby]

Harlan, there are 100 Senators and 435 reps. Thus the Bell curve is taller with wider tails, allowing for even more fruit loops at the extremes.

That is not why House members are far more conservative/liberal, the distribution itself is much flatter.

Senators have to appeal to voters across an entire state. That forces them to the center.

Congress people are elected by district, and district lines are often drawn to create "safe" districts, consisting of reliably Democratic or Republican voters. Redistricting has greatly polarized the House in the last 20 years (I forget when exactly the redistricting was done.) Dennis Kusinich could NEVER be elected by the entire state of Ohio, but he appeals to a district of urban voters around Cleveland, I believe.

This is not a theory of mine, its fairly common knowledge.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Harlan, in spite of the fact that you insulted me, I'll be happy to participate in your little game. I will need to know what views you consider to be "extreme" right wing. Then I'll give you views that I consider "extreme" left wing and you can do likewise.

I can answer definitively that John McCain will NOT be on my list.

Sorry Retail, this is too much work and arguing for me, although it would be an interesting argument. I was just trying to make a narrow point about why Senators tend to the center.

If we go by issues, I'm sure half of the Senate is going to wind up in somebody's "extremist" bin.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I tried the same thing for extreme repubs.

I totally agree with this. John Wayne: proud, faithful, confident in his ideals, tough-minded, smart, true and blue American and Homer Simpson, a basic, God-fearing, generally good-natured, middle American with foibles that all non-elitists have. Right on the money Ty.

It is no wonder you have such problems. That isn't john wayne, that is a character in a movie. A cowboy. LOL

Smart: How so? College degree? No. Actor. Yes.

Wayne: NOt willing to fight for his country. Yep...just like a long line of conservatives.

Values: Married 3 times..FAMILY VALUES!!!!

Wayne, "Ibelieve in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility." And, people wonder why conservatives are linked with racism.

Homer: He is a moron. I guess you haven't watched the show.

Homer's not the only moron. TB says that a cowboy character in a movie, whose name is not John Wayne, (what's his name, by the way?) has no college degree, does some acting, is not willing to fight for his country, is a bad husband and segregationalist.

How do you know all these things about this cowboy character in a movie?

THe character: Could be any one of his iconic roles. The point of the addition was cowboy plus moron equals bush. Not Wayne.

Rand used the name wayne..not i. So, i just mentioned some pertinent facts about wayne.

Though i wouldn't say segregationist.

Try to follow along.

[HowardRoark]

By your definition, I tend to agree with you. The reasons stated by mraynrand below are sensible. However, your point that congressional districts are small while states are large is the diciding factor which leads to those holding more extreme views being elected.

All that being said, I don't think your defintion of extreme has anything to do with liberal vs conservative. I think it has more to do with nut case democrats vs nut case republicans. In other words, IMO your "extreme" = "nut case."

If we try to compare "doctrinaire" liberals to "doctrinaire" conservatives (doctrinaire meaning holding views closest to the liberal or conservative ideal) I think both ends of that spectrum can be found in the Senate.

Without a doubt Barack Obama is a doctrinaire liberal. His views or votes are rarely sullied by considerations other than political philosophy. At the other end of the spectrum, take Sen. Burr from NC.

I know Burr very well. He was my congressman in NC. His views are virtually always determined by his political philosophy of hard core conservatism.

Obviously, partisan politics always play a part in an organization like the Senate, but I would argue that the further to the top and bottom of the list the less partisan politics are at work.

The truth is the Democratic Party does not equal the ideal of liberal political philosophy and the Republican Party does not equal the ideal of conservative political philosophy. The political philosophy "ideals" of these respective political parties can probably be found in the center.

Excellent post.

I truly wonder what Obama’s deal is. Is he just a myopic kid who has set forth the goal of becoming President; once he gets there he will have no idea what to do.

Or, is he died in the wool Socialist who wants to dramatically change things to that idealism. When I read through his website, it certainly appears as though he is a true Socialist. But, he also changes his views/ideas so quick, I wonder if he even knows what he is….other than power hungry.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Liberals hate John Wayne. Elvis too. I know because P.E. told me so.

Crucification ain't no fiction. The so-called chosen frozen. Apologies made to whoever pleases. Still they got me like Jesus.

[mraynrand]

I said it wasn't, but you CLEARLY wrote WAYNE.

Nice try though.

So what? Next time I'll write down all his characters to be clear. Actually, no I won't - because if you're too stupid to figure it out, I'm not going to help you.

[mraynrand]

Homer: He is a moron. I guess you haven't watched the show.

In case you didn't look at your own post, it was Wayne + Homer. Even a moron (IQ 70) knows that if you add IQ 70 + IQ of the John Wayne character (about 120) - you get 190 - a genius. You really ought to try to keep up.

You show an alarming lack of knowledge once again.

If the progeny of two people resulted in adding of their IQ the human race wouldn't be in the position we are in today.

Are you suggesting that a union between a cartoon character and a fictional cowboy played by John Wayne (or John Wayne if you prefer) would result in progeny? Talk about an alarming lack of knowledge! And an alarming lack of a sense of humor.

[The Leaper]

The only thing more extreme than Joe Biden is this thread.

[Maxie the Taxi]

I truly wonder what Obama’s deal is. Is he just a myopic kid who has set forth the goal of becoming President; once he gets there he will have no idea what to do.

Or, is he died in the wool Socialist who wants to dramatically change things to that idealism. When I read through his website, it certainly appears as though he is a true Socialist. But, he also changes his views/ideas so quick, I wonder if he even knows what he is….other than power hungry.

I read Obama’s books: Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope. The first is extremely well-written and offers a very good insight into what makes him tick as a person. The second is an overview of his thoughts and beliefs on major issues. I highly recommend both.

My impression of Obama, for what it’s worth, is that he’s a genuine and sincere altruist. He’s not an ideologue. In fact, he’s more an extreme pragmatist, willing to consider any and all opinions on a particular issue. He is logical and relies on historical experience and his own personal experience to settle his opinion on a particular issue or policy. That his bottom-line opinions generally correspond with leftist ideology is more accidental than purposeful, at least that’s how I believe he sees it. He might say, for instance, that the left’s ideology happens to correspond to his outlook, but it is not the root cause of his outlook.

You know what I mean. We’re all naïve and altruistic when we’re young. We see poverty on the one hand and wealth on the other and say: “Damn, the solution is obvious. Just distribute the wealth more evenly. Take a little from the rich guy and give it to the poor guy!”

Fortunately, most of us get wiser as we grow older. We study economics, human behavior and moral, political and social philosophy. We come to understand that the Marxian prescription (From each according to his ability; to each according to his need.) is a medicine worse than the disease when applied to a society.

The problem is it requires an understanding of economic and social political theory to expose and debunk such social quackery. Unfortunately, Obama’s aversion to political theory and ideology extends to economic theory and social theory as well. The fact of reality he just cannot put aside is: redistribution works, i.e., taking a few thousand dollars from Warren Buffet and buying food for a hungry, single mother and baby solves the problem. From Buffet’s point of view the taking is insignificant and will not be missed, and from the single mom’s point of view the giving is a godsend: it keeps her baby from starving to death. Thus, no amount of economic theorizing will persuade Obama that income redistribution has unintended economic and social consequences that we all might come to regret later on.

To make a long story short, Obama reminds me of Rodney King, the guy who experienced the riots in LA after the OJ Simpson verdict and cried: “Why can’t we all just get along?”

Indeed, why can’t we? Why can’t we all just pony up and help those less fortunate who are in need of housing, food, clothing, a job, an education, health care, retirement income, etc. etc. etc.? Geez, probably 50% of us are willing to help each other out voluntarily! Maybe even 75% of us!

Hell, the answer is obvious! The remaining 50% or 25% who are not willing to help each other out voluntarily WILL help each other out if they are forced to help their neighbors out by a good, just, Christian, well-meaning and provident head-altruist in Washington, D.C. who just happens to be a little smarter and more determined than the rest of us, who has the audacity to hope, the gift of gab and an unshakeable belief in change.

Voila! Rodney King’s cry becomes reality. We all get along... and live happily ever after!

[bobblehead]

Fortunately, most of us get wiser as we grow older. We study economics, human behavior and moral, political and social philosophy. We come to understand that the Marxian prescription (From each according to his ability; to each according to his need.) is a medicine worse than the disease when applied to a society.

Actually less than half of us get wiser, but far less than 100% of us vote. I would guess if 100% of the population were forced to vote redistributionist democrats would win every election.