Motley Moose – Archive

This is the last part of a series of articles examining the swing state Ohio. The previous parts can be found here.

Republican Ohio

What parts of Ohio vote Republican?

All of it, of course, except for the parts that vote Democratic.

That is a pretty facetious answer to a fairly serious question, but there is something to it. Blue Ohio has a set of defined, separate characteristics. Red Ohio does too, but not to the same degree. It is far easier to describe Democratic Ohio than Republican Ohio.

The following map is a good beginning in exploring Republican Ohio.



Continued below the fold.

This is the third part of a series of posts analyzing the swing state Ohio. The last part can be found here.

Swing Ohio

Like most states, Ohio contains several swing areas. Some lean Democratic; others lean Republican. A good politician will usually pick up most of these regions on his or her way to victory.

The following map provides a sense of swing Ohio.

Continued below the fold.

This is the second part of a series of posts analyzing the swing state Ohio. Part three can be found here.

Unlike Florida and Pennsylvania, Ohio cannot be easily divided into geographically distinct regions (although they do exist). Instead, I will be examining it through the lens of both partys’ strongholds in the state.

History

During the late eighteenth century Ohio was a consistently Republican state, the equivalent today of North Dakota or Arizona. Democrats often came close behind – four or five points – but never quite won the state until 1912. Their stronghold lay in a ring of rural counties populated by German immigrants (a pattern that has completely disappeared today). But this was never enough to overcome Republican strength everywhere else.

It was Franklin Roosevelt who changed this pattern forever.

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By: Inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

Democratic candidates in Utah must feel as if they’re facing an impossible task. The state is often considered the most far-right Republican stronghold in the United States. Winning Utah is akin to slaying a mighty dragon with only a bow as one’s chosen weapon.

Like all dragons, however, Utah has a weak spot. The year 2012 may be a ripe time for Obama to shoot an arrow through it.

Continued below the fold.

One thing I’ve recently observed is the degree to which America self-corrects when selecting its leaders. It’s very interesting to compare successive presidents; the new president nearly always lacks the weakness the previous president had. Though of course he comes with his own flaws.

I’ll start with Jimmy Carter. Carter was known for being honest and a bit naive, in stark contrast to his predecessor Richard Nixon.

Carter, however, had a negative reputation for being an obsessive micromanager. He was replaced by Ronald Reagan – who was famous for leaving the details (and sometimes the whole plan itself) to his aides.

Reagan and the elder Bush were criticized as too old for the job. So along came Bill Clinton and Al Gore, the youngest presidential team in history, as the next presidential group.

Of course, Bill Clinton is remembered for his sexual indiscretion and the Monica Lewinsky affair. His replacement – George W. Bush – was widely characterized as morally upright and religious.

He was also characterized as stupid. Which is a criticism nobody would level at his successor Barack Obama – one of the most intellectual persons who has ever graced the high office.

And so the cycle continues onwards.

–Inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

By: Inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

In the past few months and years, media coverage of Israel has had subtle but distinct change in tone. The mainstream media is taking a harder look at Israel’s policies, and has found not everything is to its liking.

There are several reasons why coverage of Israel has previously been so positive, and why recently a slight change has occurred. In the first place, Israel is a country culturally very attuned to us. Israel is part of the West; it shares Western norms and values. Many Jews would be comfortable living in the West and do so to this very day. Some of them work in the media and are sympathetic to the struggles their peers face.

Moreover, many in the media (and the vast majority of our country) believed that Israel had been in the right before 2006. Israel had – has – a democracy and a free press and all the things we like a country to have; the Palestine cause and their Arab supporters by and large do not. Israelis such as Yitzhak Rabin were calling for peace; meanwhile, Palestinian terrorist organizations such as Hamas were sending suicide bombers to kill Israelis civilians day after day.

Then came the 9-11 attacks by Muslim terrorists. In its aftermath media coverage of Israel was probably the most positive it had ever been.

There were three events, however, which changed things. At the very least, they have damaged Israeli prestige.

More below.

By: Inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

Some of you may recognize this map.



For those who don’t, this is Ronald Reagan’s landslide election over his hapless opponent Walter Mondale.

Unfortunately, for those who look for political trends, this map hides more than it reveals. For example, Reagan wins Massachusetts, but reasonable people would agree that Massachusetts is normally a Democratic state.

Here is a more revealing map.



You probably don’t recognize this map. There’s a good reason for that – there’s never been a presidential election with the above results.

More below the fold.

This is the first part of a series of posts analyzing the swing state Ohio. Part two can be found here.

Ohio

Is Ohio a liberal place? Or is it a conservative place?

I suspect far more people would say the latter rather than the former.

In many respects, Ohio is politically similar to Florida. Both are well-known swing states that hold a bountiful electoral prize. Both lean Republican. Both have large cites that function as pools of Democratic votes. Both also have considerable rural, Republican regions.

But in other ways they could not be more different. Sunny Florida is diverse, growing, and service-oriented. While Florida often votes Republican, it is not exactly conservative. Cold, northern Ohio is a rust-belt giant. It is not very diverse. It is definitely not growing. Florida is new. Ohio is old and conservative.

More below.

By: Inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

Since the end of July, there have been two massive bombings in Iraq. On July 31st, 29 were killed when a several bombs exploded outside Shiite mosques. On Friday, a truck bomb in another Shiite mosque detonated, killing another 37.

Regular days are also violent affairs. Take August 3rd. In the restive city of Mosul, five Iraqis were killed by separate attacks. Two bombs in Baghdad exploded, killing up to six Iraqis and wounding 26. Near Falluja, another bomb killed two and wounded seven.

More below.

By: Inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

Conservatives often moan about the inefficiency and waste that comes with big government. A lot of times they have a point; government can sometimes be mindnumbingly bureaucratic (or far worse). Anybody who’s had a bad experience with the DMV can probably attest to this.

Nevertheless, this does not mean that every single government program is evil. The “Cash-for-Clunkers” rebate program was a prime example of an effective, helpful government program.

More below.