re: How I Would Have Won as a Democrat in Alabama

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I don't think he'll get the nomination, but he could influence who does get it, with the support he gets. I think he's a smart guy, but naïve in the field of politics. I think when he first made big news, he was sincere in what he said, but I think the popularity went to his head a bit. He's got to have some substance if he wants do be more than a spoiler for someone else.

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Certainly jives with my impression of him. He's going to be fighting with Cruz and to some large degree Paul for the same votes. I see the potential for him to bow out and consolidate support behind one of them.

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Agree about Jeb. And I hate it. Hate it, hate it, hate it with a passion. I'm so thoroughly sick and disgusted of establishment politicians on the R side. Today's regular joe Republican are what Dem's used to be in the 90's. Everything has shifted to the left and now what was once regular conservatives have been branded extremists.

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We certainly are looking at this from two different perspectives. Yes he will not satisfy your need for a more conservative candidate, but he's not a bad selection. He's going to get shocked and awed on his right from every other person in the field. I don't care what his warchest looks like, that's going to be tough to survive without too much damage.

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I'm really not excited about any of them. If I had my choice, I would merge Rand and Cruz into one person. I really like a lot of what Rand says, but I'm still not sold on his foreign policy and need to hear more. I like Cruz, but fear his public stances and twitter comments are too "extreme" for mainstream.

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I think you'd see a more libertarian Cruz if he didn't have to deal with Rand. He knows he won't get the staunch libertarians and thus is trying to gobble up the holy rollers and TP types to bolster his support imo. I don't believe for a second he's quite as "extreme" as the role he's playing right now. To me, he's a Republican Frank Underwood without the murdery bisexual stuff

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In the end, I guess I simply feel the country has shifted too far to the left for me to be satisfied or hopeful that things will be better in the future. I just keep seeing more entitlements, more taxes, spending and less responsibility in the future. I would gladly be wrong, but fear I'm not.

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How does it feel to be old?

From my perspective we've gone too far right and left. There's not enough pragmatic voices out there and we get pulled sharply one way or the other. There are unique challenges ahead with a rapidly changing economy from globalization and the fruits of the tech boom. Who knows where political philosophy will be 25 years from now?

One interesting Dem name I've seen mentioned a few times is Bernie Sanders. I think he has absolutely no shot, but it would be funny to see him follow Obama. Those that lambaste Obama for being a Socialist would lose their minds.


If it's another Bush vs. Clonton election, I'm moving to Canada.

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I'm also here to fight FOR YOU and NOT AGAINST Obama" if I previously supported Obama policies show how those policies benefited my constituency vs pretending they didn't exist

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What policies has he brought that have benefited anyone other than the Obama phone?

Name one.

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No doubt there is polarization out there from both sides. But comparatively, when Newt was able to work with Clinton and before that, Reagan with O'Neill... there were stark differences in parties. The problem now, as I see it.. is that the left will not compromise while the right capitulates and has no backbone. Overall, progressive agenda's have ruled the day for quite a number of years.

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Clinton and Reagan compared to Obama. Obama has been politically naive and too unwilling to work with the Republicans in congress. Tip O'Neill and Newt as compared to Boehner. I see two strong leaders who could keep their party in line and make things work. Our current speaker? Not exactly his strong suit. It's certainly a function of who's leading the respective parties at the negotiating table.

You couple that with highly partisan districts (blame everyone) and there's no win in working things out. Each side has to go home to an unreasonable electorate. The echo chamber feeds its self.

I do think there are obvious differences in the two parties, but I get how they can look the same from your perspective way out there in right field. Corporate Taxation. Individual tax rates. Social programs. Immigration. Obamacare. The two parties have a noticeable difference in approach to all of those issues. Neither want a workable solution though, better to keep us fighting and hide their corruption in boring bills.

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Ever see V for Vendetta?

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What I most appreciate about you is your optimism for the future.

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Byrne should be Gov now and would be if not for Bentley's covert alliance with AEA but his future's probably in DC now. Probably in the senate.

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This will sound silly, but Bentley wouldn't be governor if that Tim James/Nick Saban rumor wouldn't have surfaced. That cost James the primary. Byrne ran an absolutely terrible campaign for the runoff. It was mindblowing how he wasted his time & money.

Byrne-Davis would've been an interesting matchup.

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Byrne ran an absolutely terrible campaign for the runoff

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I've got to disagree. The "Conservative Coalition for Alabama" - which was a front for AEA is what got Bentley the nomination. Byrne was looking pretty good until they unleased a bunch of blatantly false ads.

Here's what al.com found out about the arrangement after the election was over.

Edited to add - I've met Artur Davis. I don't agree with him on a lot of political issues, but I think he is a decent and honest man - which may be why the (D) leadership at the time sought to run him off.

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Corey Booker

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Has not really stood out too me. Hillary has to run a more discipline primary campaign than she did in 2008. They looked like amateurs. She's going to have to bridge the gap between the young-old African-American dems. The old guard sticks with her out of loyalty to Bill but the young guard is not very receptive. They defected for Barrack in 2008 and the Clinton's have never been able to completely win them back. If she can do this she'll emerge from primary season with an excited base who'll go to bat for her. However, I have my doubts this will happen.

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That's far from a certainty. He's got the buzz right now, but Ted Cruz is looking to be a direct challenger for his votes in a primary. Make no mistake, Cruz is young and overplayed his hand in the shutdown but the dude is bright. He's a formidable challenge. Jeb Bush will be very very well funded and he's actually pretty good at this politics thing. Who knows who else will be in the field. Christie? Rubio? Huckabee? Carson?

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For some reason, I think Rand Paul would be the best opposition to Hillary. Imagine Hillary on standing at a debate next to Paul. You have a young, all-American boy type and then you have your mom/grandma? Of course it would take more than appearance but I think she would give him the toughest race out of the field.

The Clinton Machine (or what's left of it) would feast on Ted Cruz, Rubio, and God Bless Huckabee. Carson, I'm not that familiar with. Jeb Bush would be interesting but I think is it came down to a Clinton vs Bush. Clinton would win 9-10 times.

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Edited to add - I've met Artur Davis. I don't agree with him on a lot of political issues, but I think he is a decent and honest man - which may be why the (D) leadership at the time sought to run him off.

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No one like Artur and he alienated his base by voting against Obamacare. He's a prime example of Southern Dems attempting to appeal the opposition vs be mindful of the constituency that voted you in. His failed attempt to jump to the Republican Party and win in another state revealed his true nature.

Alabamians may not all be Rhodes Scholars but they're not complete idiots either. Southern Dems got passes for a long time being Republican light but 2012 changed that. They haven't been able to find an identity since

A Democrat was not winning a state wide office yesterday.

A dead cat could become governor in Alabama as long as it had an R by its name on the ballot. On the plus side, it would be equally as effective a leader as Bentley is while probably having an amusing name, like Governor Snugglekisses.