Anyone else (possibly) getting a mandatory vacation come Tuesday?

[Sava]

over 80% of the US population now lives in cities...

The rural mopes are only still relevant because of the way the system is set up. It's designed to keep them relevant even if they are a much smaller group.

And no. We aren't more politically extreme than in the past. But people are more and more only paying attention to news sources that tells them what they want to hear... that is, if they even pay attention to politics at all. Most people are content watching sports and reality TV.

[regexcellent]

80% live in metropolitan areas, not cities. There's a huge difference. Suburban voters have gotten more conservative too. The census bureau's definition of metropolitan areas is also fairly expansive. The threshold is how many people from a particular county commute to work in one of the "core" counties of the metro area. So many rural exurban areas are considered metropolitan.

As an example, the town of Rush, New York, which is a farming community about 30 minutes south of Rochester, is still part of the Rochester metropolitan area even though it's about as urban as Tibet, because it's still in Monroe County.

[Sava]

Suburban voters have gotten more conservative too.

My suburban county went blue for the first time... ever.

Romney lost most of the suburbs.

Check your "facts".

[regexcellent]

You can't win the election without winning the suburbs since they're the swing component of the vote, by and large. Of course he won the suburbs. He also won the election as a whole by an unprecedentedly small margin for a re-election.

Your theories about the impending demise of the Republican party are retarded. It was just three years ago that they effected the largest swing of Congressional seats in history, then took over about 30 state governments, which means that they will have a huge advantage in the house at least until 2020. State legislative districts may give them the advantage for 10 years after that. Consider that the House of Representatives was held by Democrats for 40 straight years until 1994. The Republican Party is way, way stronger than it was back then.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

If the only desired input into the budget was the house, that's how the government would be set up. We have checks and balances for a reason.

Agreed, but in every recent memory previous government shut down, the approach was to piece meal bipartisan appropriations continuing to ensure more vital parts of government operated without interruption. This is not the case this time around, as the senate majority leader refuses to consider what was the normal precedent in the past 17 shutdowns. Seems Reg's point is still the appropriate view.

[Aeson]

Agreed ...

Seems Reg's point is still the appropriate view.

Pick one, you can't have both...

[Lorizael]

I'm pretty sure this is my most successful thread ever on Apolyton. That's depressing.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Pick one, you can't have both...

Why?

[Aeson]

Why?

My post was a euphemism for "Reg is a moron who doesn't understand how our government works".

[Aeson]

... but in every recent memory previous government shut down, the approach was to piece meal bipartisan appropriations continuing to ensure more vital parts of government operated without interruption. This is not the case this time around, as the senate majority leader refuses to consider what was the normal precedent in the past 17 shutdowns.

You're assuming the difference in outcomes is solely because of the Senate. The only sure thing is that currently there is a gulf between the two factions that is so wide that even past half-measures and stop-gap compromises aren't yet happening. Neither side can claim it's solely the other's fault.

The fault lies mostly with people who look at their own party as blameless. Which sadly happens to be about 80% of the electorate. Sheep get the government they deserve.

[Dinner]

Reg, no one is saying that the Republican Party is going to die just that it is going to keep shrinking and become less and less influential; becoming more and more of a regional rural party. Look at the demographics and tell me if you can find a demographic group which is growing which has seen an increase in support for Republicans? Young people? Nope. Hispanics? Nope, each election shows fewer and fewer Hispanics willing to vote R. Asians? Asians are also turning against Republicans in record numbers. Blacks? HA! Republicans are lucky if they get 2% of the black vote. Gays? Rs have made it completely clear they hate gays. Muslims? Don't make me laugh. Jews? Nope, they clearly understand how Evangelicals trying to institutionalize Christianity is bad for them. All Republicans do well with is whites and specifically highly religious evangelical whites and whites with incomes over $150,000 per year.

Sorry, but that's not enough to win elections. Romney got the highest percentage of the white vote of any Republican Presidential candidate in history (in the high 60% range) but he still lost. Just appealing to older whites won't cut it outside of rigged congressional districts yet Republicans are completely unwilling to moderate their positions to appeal to virtually any other group and that's what's killing them.

[Sava]

Consider that the House of Representatives was held by Democrats for 40 straight years until 1994. The Republican Party is way, way stronger than it was back then.

Not according to the numbers.

And if by "impending", you are referring to their power slowly dwindling over the course of decades, then yes.

[Dinner]

You're assuming the difference in outcomes is solely because of the Senate. The only sure thing is that currently there is a gulf between the two factions that is so wide that even past half-measures and stop-gap compromises aren't yet happening. Neither side can claim it's solely the other's fault.

The fault lies mostly with people who look at their own party as blameless. Which sadly happens to be about 80% of the electorate. Sheep get the government they deserve.

This is you attempting to be falsely bipartisan. If terrorists say "Give me everything you own or I will blow up the building and kill everyone!" then, no, it isn't a bipartisan problem where both sides are equally to blame. That's just false equivalency; not to mention mind bogglingly stupid.

[Dinner]

Oh, and Tom Tomorrow nailed Aeson's false equivalency argument. "Both sides are to blame"

[Captain ******* Kirk]

That cartoon is retarded, as most of Tom Tomorrow's cartoons are. The Tea Party didn't lose in the election; the House is still controlled by the Republicans and Tea Partiers gained more seats. Obama and the Tea Partiers all won their elections.