Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Vote!

—

by

James A. Bacon
in

What can I say? Kevin Bacon is way cooler than Jim Bacon (although, I’ve got to say, he’s looking a bit more ragged in this tweet than the young guy who starred in “Footloose.”) And if he tells you to get out and vote, you’re more likely listen to him than me. So… listen to him here:

 

Share this article

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

Comments

25 responses to “Vote!”

  1. Ben Slone Avatar
    Ben Slone

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thQ8rpkY3Ps

  2. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    I encourage all to vote. Elections are democracy. In the end our franchise is all we’ve got.

  3. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
    energyNOW_Fan

    I wonder how many are NOT voting for candidates anymore these days? You have a choice of Trump-supported Repubs, or group-think progressives demanding hatred of many elements of our society and dismantlement of our Country. If I did vote for someone non-progressive, I would have to get a divorce, because Liberals are so cancel-culture now. I do not really even have freedom to vote, in that sense. No common sense on either side. It’s weird the way our Democracy, actually favors extremists on both sides getting their way.

    1. James McCarthy Avatar
      James McCarthy

      A spoonful of sugar may help.

      1. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        It’s a sweet Jim McCarthy silly walk proving he can trivialize anything. Way to go Jimmy.

        1. Matt Adams Avatar
          Matt Adams

          Unless it’s parroting talking points in an echo chamber does he really produce anything but silly walks?

          1. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            I consulted my 8 ball and it says “Highly doubtful”.

    2. Rosie Avatar
      Rosie

      Republicans learned that Democrats are fairly spineless and can bully pulpit their way to victory by being obstinate whenever democrats have power.

      Instead of compromise, they just act obstinate on everything until they gain power. Coupled with a love for culture war fearmonger and it’s going to lead to a natural widening in the gap of the political spectrum.

      To Democrats’ crisis, they….don’t fight this and think it’s 1960 when the parties worked together on good faith. Which has angered the base and made them more proactive in the absence of actual leadership.

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        Democrats are spineless. But, more importantly, they are also clueless. Pouring government spending into an inflationary economy should be enough to prove the lack of sense that today’s Democrat Party exhibits.

        Oh for the days of the old Democratic Party …

        “The president finally decided that only a bold domestic program, including tax cuts, would restore his political momentum. Declaring that the absence of recession is not tantamount to economic growth, the president proposed in 1963 to cut income taxes from a range of 20-91% to 14-65% He also proposed a cut in the corporate tax rate from 52% to 47%. Ironically, economic growth expanded in 1963, and Republicans and conservative Democrats in Congress insisted that reducing taxes without corresponding spending cuts was unacceptable. Kennedy disagreed, arguing that “a rising tide lifts all boats” and that strong economic growth would not continue without lower taxes.”

        https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/john-f-kennedy-on-the-economy-and-taxes

        Good luck finding such thinking among today’s Democrats.

        1. Randy Huffman Avatar
          Randy Huffman

          Sadly, we don’t hear “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” anymore.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            There ARE millions of folks who volunteer everything from Food Banks to AARP Taxaide to Red Cross, and dozens, hundreds more.

            They’re the ones who do NOT do dumb stuff on social media or attack school boards, etc..

          2. DJRippert Avatar
            DJRippert

            I hear it every time a young American man or woman enlists in the US military.

        2. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          We had Trump tax cuts that were not paid for and exploded the deficit and debt, then Trump also did his stimulus that also was not paid for. Is this an example of clueless Dems?

          1. Tom B Avatar
            Tom B

            Are you claiming that deficits are bad, and both sides are guilty, or that deficits are good, and both sides are hypocrites when they blame the other side?

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            yes

          3. Randy Huffman Avatar
            Randy Huffman

            While the tax cuts did add to the deficits, everyone who follows the details know very well they did not “explode” them. They have been on a unsustainable pathway for a decade. The deficits are where they are because of out of control spending.

    3. Randy Huffman Avatar
      Randy Huffman

      I disagree. Like many candidates on the ballot (not never Trumpers), I voted for Trump in both general elections, but not in the Primary. I think Trump did a lot to help the country, but at the same time, divide the country AND the party. For those reasons, I wouldn’t plan to vote for him in the next Primary. I believe a lot of Republicans fall in the same category, so not cut and dry the way you present it.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Unfortunately, more than half the GOP does what Trump wants including the lying and conspiracy theories. In your tent!

        1. Randy Huffman Avatar
          Randy Huffman

          Your on fire today Larry. I responded to your other comment and will leave it alone with that.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            More than half of the GOP believes the election was stolen… right?

      2. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        I also voted for Trump in the generals but not the primaries. It really came down to Trump’s opponents more than Trump.

        The best thing to come out of last night’s election was the repudiation of Trump. The second best thing was the ascension of DeSantis.

        Trump is toast.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          That’s a bit of a sideways view, no?

          What about all the candidates who are election deniers that Trump supported which also represents about 1/2 of the GOP in general?

          Was that really about THEIR opponents?

          I have yet to understand why someone would vote for a guy who really had autocratic , even dictatorial designs on governance.

          Just following all the things he and his followers did to try to overturn the election ought to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. You’d want this guy to be POTUS AGAIN?

      3. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        Gerrymandering has to do with the growth of congressional extremism for the reasons I outlined. National candidates are different critters and obviously not affected by gerrymandering.

        Trump was a result of the Dems kicking their populist New Deal base to the curb and mainstream Repubs not having any use for it either.

        The question going forward is who, if anyone, embraces working class America. FDR and the Dems got 40 years out of New Deal populism before they lost their way.

    4. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      “It’s weird the way our Democracy, actually favors extremists on both sides getting their way.”

      Gerrymandering has a lot to do with that. There are more and more “safe” districts that elect ever more partisan representatives. That means they don’t have to compromise and we get ever widening divides. Competitive districts make better bed fellows.

      This year New York was a good example of partisan over reach that forced the court to draw the Congressional districts. As a result about half of them are competitive this year for the first time in a long time.

      Virginia was a mini version of that when the nominally bipartisan committee empowered to draw districts would not compromise to reach agreement. The results were not as dramatic as in New York, although the 7th was an interesting transformation. I’d have been happier if they had not gone out of their way to redistrict me into the 5th.

  4. Teddy007 Avatar
    Teddy007

    I always thought that a good data homework problem for graduate students in statistics and in political science would be to figure out what percentage of voters will not vote in a single competitive election in 2022. One can define competitive as 55-44% or close (single digits). Most Americans would be surprised at the percentage of Americans who do not get to vote in any competitive elections.

Leave a Reply

Read More