If the election of 1988 were held today...

[nini2287]

...what would a map look like?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Hard to tell; as always so much of it could only have happend when it happend... the farm crisis, Arch Moore and all that

[minionofmidas]

The Horton ad wouldn't be as effective today as it was then.

[Virginian87]

Hey, Lee Atwater would be dead.  I guess Karl Rove would take over.

[minionofmidas]

All the cold war phrases would ring a wee bit hollow with Gorbachev no longer in power. If the campaign were fought exactly the same way that is.

[ATFFL]

The rape question would be replaced by a question about Dukakis' wife and daughter being killed in a terrorist attack.

The answer, probably, would not change.

[dazzleman]

It would probably look a lot like the 2004 map.

[A18]

It would probably look a lot like the 2004 map.

I don't know. Dukakis was a lot more conservative than Kerry...

[Virginian87]

Wonder if Dukakis would still drive a tank?

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

...what would a map look like?

Dukakis picks up CA, MD, DE, CT, IL and VT.

Bush picks up IA, MN, WI, and WV (4 of the "Dukakis Five").

[MaC]

Ron Paul for Prez!!!!

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Ron Paul for Prez!!!!

EstA loco.

[WalterMitty]

beef, didnt you used to be  a libertarian?  or do i have you confused with someone else?

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

beef, didnt you used to be  a libertarian?  or do i have you confused with someone else?

I have some moderate libertarian views - the theory that government exists solely to protect our rights is fundamentally correct in my mind.  And for a while I thought about voting for Badnarik until I heard him on NPR and decided he was too extreme to support.  I also have some populist leanings. 

I just think the idea that Ron Paul could have done any better now than he did in 1988 is loco.

[A18]

So what are you doing in the socialist party?

[Virginian87]

So what are you doing in the socialist party?

Hey now, that was uncalled for.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

So what are you doing in the socialist party?

Hey now, that was uncalled for.

It's Philip, what do you expect? Pretty mild for him actually

[A18]

Almost all the Democrats on this board seem to support socializing health care, turning Social Security into a welfare program by eliminating the payroll tax cap (thus putting the top marginal rate at over 50%), putting price controls on perscription drugs, and repealing all the progress that's been made on de-regulation.

I'm sure some of these people even support the "Fairness Doctrine" (i.e. censorship).

This country is headed down the path of communism if your party ever gets back in power.

[Virginian87]

This country is headed down the path of communism if your party ever gets back in power.

That was also uncalled for. 

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

So what are you doing in the socialist party?

Heh.

I believe that government exists to protect our rights.  Well, one of the rights we have is the pursuit of happiness - we have the right to make a decent living from honest work, and not become the chattle of huge multinational corporations, to be discarded when we no longer fit into the bottom line.

Wake up and look around.  The forces of unbridaled capitalism are taking away the livelihoods of millions of Americans.  Manufacturing in the US is almost dead, because we have to compete with cheap overseas labor, itself abused with attrocious living conditions and miniscule wages.  Our nation is so far in debt that we're being bought up with foreign capital.  So our slavemasters aren't even Americans!  And those of us who can make a decent living live in constant fear of bankruptcy due to lack of or inadequate health insurance.  I make a very nice wage, have no debt, and save about 25% of my income.  But I am one bad illness away from being wiped out financially.

Do you want to go back to the late-19th century?  Do you know what life was like for the common American back then?

You can't escape socialism.  Our schools are socialized.  Our highways are socialized.  Some things just make sense to run collectively.  It's time to re-evaluate our economic ideals and join the rest of the civilized world.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

So what are you doing in the socialist party?

Heh.

I believe that government exists to protect our rights.  Well, one of the rights we have is the pursuit of happiness - we have the right to make a decent living from honest work, and not become the chattle of huge multinational corporations, to be discarded when we no longer fit into the bottom line.

Wake up and look around.  The forces of unbridaled capitalism are taking away the livelihoods of millions of Americans.  Manufacturing in the US is almost dead, because we have to compete with cheap overseas labor, itself abused with attrocious living conditions and miniscule wages.  Our nation is so far in debt that we're being bought up with foreign capital.  So our slavemasters aren't even Americans!  And those of us who can make a decent living live in constant fear of bankruptcy due to lack of or inadequate health insurance.  I make a very nice wage, have no debt, and save about 25% of my income.  But I am one bad illness away from being wiped out financially.

Do you want to go back to the late-19th century?  Do you know what life was like for the common American back then?

You can't escape socialism.  Our schools are socialized.  Our highways are socialized.  Some things just make sense to run collectively.  It's time to re-evaluate our economic ideals and join the rest of the civilized world.

Hey, what do you think about Feingold running for President?

[A18]

So, you're not a "libertarian" of any kind then. You're a communist. Definitely in the right party, in that case.

Unbridled capitalism? We are socialist-lite.

Creating things more and more cheaply isn't called slavery. It's called progress, and it means those that were tied up in manufacturing can now do something else, which in turn increases our standard of living.

Life for the average American in the late 19th century was far better than almost anywhere else in the world.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Hey, what do you think about Feingold running for President?

He's twice-divorced and voted against banning partial-birth abortion.  There are Democrats to bring the message of economic revival to the heartland.  Feingold is not one of them.

I really like him, I've always liked him, but there is zero chance of him being elected President.  And his vote on partial-birth abortion really pissed me off.

[Emsworth]

Well, one of the rights we have is the pursuit of happiness

Perhaps, but only as long as other, more fundamental rights are not infringed.

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Why should you be able to pursue happiness, but not the corporation? Surely, the people who run the corporation have the right to pursue happiness by firing you, under your argument?

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Unbridled capitalism? Hardly.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Hey, what do you think about Feingold running for President?

He's twice-divorced and voted against banning partial-birth abortion.  There are Democrats to bring the message of economic revival to the heartland.  Feingold is not one of them.

I really like him, I've always liked him, but there is zero chance of him being elected President.  And his vote on partial-birth abortion really pissed me off.

I didn't realize it was his 2nd divorce. As for partial-birth abortion, it's an ambigious term that include a lot of 2nd trimester abortions, and does not include exceptions for when the women's life was in danger. Anyone who advocates "state's rights" should have been against the ban.