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Political math

Jan 12, 2022
Jan 12, 2022 Updated Apr 13, 2025
16

Editor,

As we await the next violent assault against our national Capitol, we wonder how we arrived here. Is it because four-fifths of our population, including the highly-educated, insist that one plus one doesn’t always equal two? That instead, the sum depends how one evaluates a situation? For example, if you believe the last presidential election was stolen, then a current president is nonexistent.

(16) comments

edkahl Jan 14, 2022 11:21am

Nazi Germany and the USSR emerged from one party authoritarian government enabled by socialism. Think it couldn’t happen here? Over 59% of Democrats approve of socialism. Democrats are closer that ever to gaining one party majorities through immigration and buying votes with entitlement promises. They oppose meritocracy. Democrat economist tell us there is no limit to government spending. England endured 20 years of socialism that ended when it’s government ran out of money and it's economy collapsed.

tarzantom Jan 13, 2022 10:01am

I learned about math when I worked at the Pentagon I was given an orientation. They showed a slide of the Pentagon with three facts. It opened in 1942, it had 19,000 people, and had five (5) sides. Underneath they had totaled the three numbers 17,947. The caption was, it does not add up.[rolleyes]

Rel Jan 12, 2022 1:13pm

Ray, you and the right asserting record numbers of undocumented persons flooding the country is simply not true. Doing a rudimentary search on Mexican inflows results in this study produced by Pew Research: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/2021-migration-us-mexico-border

This study produced this fact: 2021 had a record number of expulsions and returned people at the border while having a relatively normal demand for entry. The hyperbole from the right concerning immigration should stop and both sides should address the ongoing immigration problems which for too long have been kiked down the road. Biden is no more endangering our lives in this manner than any of his predecessors..

Ray Fowler Jan 12, 2022 3:30pm

C'mon, Rel

The link in your posting connects to a Migration Policy Institute (MPI) report... not Pew Research. MPI is an organization known for supporting liberal immigration policies. Gosh... what do you think their report will say about the situation at the border?

Pew Research documents that a record number of persons tried to cross the border in 2021... more than 1.6 million. One million+ of those crossing without documentation were NOT from Mexico. The word is out... Joe's in charge... caravan to the border! Remember all those marchers wearing the "Biden... Please Let Us In" tee shirts? The fact that our Border Patrol detained then expelled a record number of persons crossing the border does not mean everything is hunky dory on the Rio Grande. A record number of crossings and expelling somewhere in the 40% range persons crossing without documentation is not a crisis?

I described the border crisis in a posting to Jorg earlier today. Maybe you didn't see it... here it is: The Biden administration did not inherit the current border crisis... Joe created it. Kamala ignores it. Record high numbers of undocumented persons flooding into the country... how many are infected with COVID? Then, the Biden administration moving undocumented persons without means for support deep into the US. The cartels shooting at our border agents and dumping dangerous drugs across the border. Coyotes sexually assaulting women and children before abandoning them at the border. Biden's border crisis endangers American lives and the safety of border towns. Is any of this OK with you?

Jorg chose not to comment on these issues...

We do agree that the border situation has been kicked down the lane for far too long. However, this time... Joe booted a 60-yarder. BTW... Jen Psaki refusing to label conditions at the border a crisis for months doesn't mean there was not a crisis.. it just means the Biden administration was turning a deaf ear to those who were living the crisis.

Circling back... is there a border crisis? You can believe the Migration Policy Institute or you can believe Customs and Border agents on the scene. I'm going with the guys and gals at ground zero on this one... not a politicized think tank.

Ray Fowler Jan 12, 2022 6:49am

Good morning, Robert

Questioning the legitimacy of a presidential election runs on both sides of the political aisle... just ask Hillary. Or maybe ask the Hollywood lefties who said they would move out of the country if Trump got elected in 2016. He did, they didn't.

There have been three objections in Congress to the outcome of the Electoral College vote tallies. The most famous, of course, occurred early in January last year. The other two objections were introduced by Democrats in Congress following the election of a Republican to the presidency. In all three cases, Congress did the right thing and the objections fizzled out.

Old math still works...

Rel Jan 12, 2022 9:40am

Ray, not sure how your commentary on Hillary is relevant. The day after her election loss, she conceded which Trump has never shown the good grace to do.

For the past two days, you have cited the example of three occasions of trying to reverse the course of the electorate through contesting the certifications. One glaring omission is made however, in that the Democrats used acceptable protocol, whereas the mostly Republicans resorted to violence and insurrection.

The old math does not work and therein lies the problem. Minority rule has been a thorn in our democracy on an institutional basis for some time. The organization of the Senate already give geography an advantage to the minority, the archaic Electoral College exacerbates the advantage.

Ray Fowler Jan 12, 2022 10:54am

Rel

I wrote, "Questioning the legitimacy of a presidential election runs on both sides of the political aisle... " How is Hillary relevant? Yes, she did concede as a matter of protocol only after suffering what may have been a mental breakdown when she had to stare her 2016 defeat in the face. (I agree that Trump should move on from his 2020 defeat.) Then... it's years of Hillary bellyaching about her loss AND questioning the legitimacy of the Donald's presidency. That's how she is relevant.

Objecting to the Electoral College... you are conflating the 20th Amendment's provisions for Congress to object to an Electoral College tally with knuckleheads on the Capitol steps on Jan. 6. Republicans in Congress invoked the same procedure used by Democrats twice before. There is no way the knuckleheads can legally contest the Electoral College vote. None.

Finally... yeah... the minority challenging the progressive left is a thorn in the left's side. If the left's opponents just role over, we will have single party rule. That will lead to the disaster known as"California. The Electoral College is not archaic... your idea of "first past the pole" will upset our democratic institutions.

Rel Jan 12, 2022 11:26am

Ray, the Electoral College is archaic. The Senate, by giving every state 2 representatives, regardless of size, already gives ample minority power. The Electoral College doubles down on the minority advantage, which goes against the tenet of democracy of majority rule. Today, 32% of the population has 52% of the representation in Congress and effectively stops much of the progress desired. Disaster of CA? Yeah, let's not duplicate the success of the economic model of being the 5th largest country if measured alone.

Jorg Jan 12, 2022 11:38am

Very well put, Rel! But will math challenged Republicans get it? I have my doubts.

Ray Fowler Jan 12, 2022 12:18pm

Rel

Doing away with the Electoral College will negate the minority representation you claim exists because each state has two senators. No Electoral College means a one party in a handful of states... a minority of states... will control every aspect of our government. Single party rule will destroy our democratic institutions. Remember, it was only 14 years ago that the Democratic Party held the White House and controlled Congress. Six years ago, it was the Republicans' turn. Each party getting the chance to deliver a message that resonates with the American people and a chance to deliver on that message goes away if the Electoral College goes away. .

Jorg Jan 12, 2022 12:59pm

Ray: And what has the EC given us over the last 20-some years, besides unnecessary, unwinnable wars and a preventable 9/11 under Bush jr., and an internal attack on the Capitol and international shame and embarrassment under Trump? Don’t you see what could have been avoided if the majority had prevailed, like continued building on the progress President Obama had achieved after the disastrous Bush reign, - despite compact Republican obstruction?

Ray Fowler Jan 12, 2022 5:41pm

Rel...

I'm not a numbers guy and have said so in these pages (too) many times, So can you explain how you arrived at the following numbers posted by you earlier? You wrote, "Today, 32% of the population has 52% of the representation in Congress... "

For Jorg... Hey, buddy... can you explain these numbers to math challenged Republicans?

Gallup's numbers show that almost 29% of registered voters are Republicans and almost 40% are Democrats. Presently, Republicans control 262 seats in Congress (212 in the House and 50 in the Senate), and Democrats control 271 seats. That means Republican representation is 49% and Democrats are at the 51% mark.

So wouldn't your statement more accurately read... Today, 29% of the population has 49% of the representation in Congress?

In ten months we'll see those numbers shift... in favor of Republicans. Maybe the party with 29% of registered voters will occupy 55% of the seats in Congress. Apparently, the party you believe represents the majority of Americans... the Democratic Party... only makes up a shade under 40% of the electorate. That's not a majority.

However, in November, a majority of American voters will install a Republican majority in Congress, and they'll do so without Democrat caterwauling about the Electoral College.

Don't worry... when either Ron, Nikki or Tim wins the Electoral College in 2024... I'll put in a good word for you.

Tommy Tee Jan 12, 2022 9:52am

I don't remember Hillary and her followers going on about a rigged election 14 months after she lost. Nor did they storm the capitol.

On another note, did you hear the NPR interview with Trump yesterday? Hilarious that the baby hung up.

"Former president Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview with NPR on Tuesday after he was pressed on his baseless claims of election fraud and repeated contention that the 2020 election was "rigged" against him."

In short, Trump’s skin hasn’t gotten any thicker in the past year and he hasn’t gotten any more interested in telling the truth. He is a small, weak man huddled in a comforting cocoon of lies he’s constructed for himself. Most days he doesn’t risk talking to anyone who might disrupt his fantasy world. And when he does, as here, we see just how weak and unable to cope with reality he is.

Ray Fowler Jan 12, 2022 10:42am

Congratulations, Tommy

Thanks for committing some of your thoughts to writing. The posting is a positive step, in my view, toward exchanging ideas and perspectives. It seems like a lot of your compatriots cannot keep Trump in the rear view mirror. Perhaps we can have a conversation about something like the border situation and keep the discussion in the here and now.

Oh, yes... re: Hillary. I'll answer that in my response to Rel.

Jorg Jan 12, 2022 11:03am

Ray: Why keep a national threat like Trump “in the rear window”, while he still insists on being in the forefront? And, don’t keep harping on the old border issue! Not a new problem, - and if anything, President Biden inherited a bigger problem thanks to his predecessor.

Ray Fowler Jan 12, 2022 12:11pm

Jorg... a lot of the left leaning readers in the DJ cannot get Trump's name out of their mouths. TDS.

The Biden administration did not inherit the current border crisis... Joe created it. Kamala ignores it. Record high numbers of undocumented persons flooding into the country... how many are infected with COVID? Then, the Biden administration moving undocumented persons without means for support deep into the US. The cartels shooting at our border agents and dumping dangerous drugs across the border. Coyotes sexually assaulting women and children before abandoning them at the border. Biden's border crisis endangers American lives and the safety of border towns. Is any of this OK with you?

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