Asymptosis: Always Approaching

Tag: republican

  • Extreme Thinking: Dangerous? Or Just Irrelevant?

    A recent Bryan Caplan post finally crystallized for me why I find so much libertarian thinking and commentary to be irrelevant: The philosophically insightful breakdown, rather, is the "statist-libertarian" spectrum. Here's the best way to sum up my outlook: The endpoints of the political spectrum are not the "far left" Michael Moore and the "far…

  • What’s With Arkansas (and Tennessee and Oklahoma)?

    I was looking again at the maps of which way voters swung from 2004 to 2008, and noticed an odd anomaly: a hard line at Arkansas' northern, southern, and eastern borders (and to a lesser extent at Tennessee and Oklahoma borders). At Arkansas' eastern border, well, there's a big river there. But elsewhere, wouldn't you…

  • The “Patriotic Pugnacity” Platform

    The most striking anomaly in the recent election, to my eyes, was the strong Red countermovement among Appalachians and Okies: These areas swung even harder right this year, while almost every other part of the country went left (excepting McCain’s home state). Steve Sailer (he of the quite convincing “affordable family formation” thesis), explains this…

  • “Pro-Growth” Republicans. Debunked. Again. Some More.

    A while back I posted some comparative numbers for postwar economic indicators, Dems versus Pubs. Clear results for the clear-eyed. Brad Delong has even more. Just one here, for your delectation: How dare these people call themselves conservatives? Related posts: Conservative “Intellectual” “Ascendancy” Conservatives Love to Point Out that Personal Incentives Matter Pubs Don’t Cut…

  • The Republican Energy “Plan”?

    Here's the best description I've seen of McCain's plan for American "energy independence": The image was produced by these guys, with data from the Energy Information Administration.  HT to Gristmill and Mark Thoma. Related posts: The Villain of Building Energy Efficiency: Triple-Net Leases. Not Picking the Low-Hanging Fruit The Efficiency of De Ebil Gubmint Man…

  • Yeah, The Economy Rocks Under Dems. But It’s Not Their Fault.

    Greg Mankiw pooh-poohs the data using one of his favorite tactics: Fun with Statistics Princeton economist Alan Blinder says Democratic Presidents are better for economic equality between rich and poor. Chicago economist Casey Mulligan says Republican Presidents are better for economic equality between men and women. My take: These articles are completely persuasive, as long…

  • Inequality is Bad Because it Hurts the Republican Brand

    I thought I'd pointed this out in a previous post, but apparently not. When you hear Republicans speaking negatively of America's extreme and growing inequality, it's only because it might hurt their brand and their electoral prospects. David Frum is the poster child. In this week's NYT Magazine, he's nice enough make my point for…

  • Pro-Growth Republicans? Get Real

    Republicans like to claim that they’re the party of growth and prosperity. Even though all the facts say otherwise. I’ve pointed out repeatedly that when you compare a lot of developed countries over decades, you see that lower taxes and smaller government don’t result in faster growth. Tax cuts are an effective vote-buying political pander…

  • White Married Christians: The Decline and Fall of the GOP

    The most compelling demographic analysis I've seen lately: Alan Abramowitz's "The Incredible Shrinking Republican Base" on Real Clear Politics. Short story: White Married Christians–the combined demographic–is and has been the base of Republicans' victories. Ignore income. Ignore gender. Ignore age. If you're white, married, and Christian, the odds are six or seven in ten that…

  • Pubs and Dems: Brands and Beliefs

    There's a pretty stunning new NPR poll out (PDF) (conducted by one Republican and one Democrat) showing that Pubs actually prefer Democratic policies by wide margins. This is Very Good News. But what's amazing is how brainwashed Pubs are by party affiliation, compared to Dems. If their beliefs aren't validated by Herr Comrade Party Leader,…

  • McCain on a Roll? Not.

    Since emerging as the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain's primary results have been tepid by any measure. 5/27-ID    70%5/20-OR    855/20-KY    725/13-WV    765/6-IN    785/6-NC    744/22-PA    734/11-MS    79 Compare George Bush's primary results after sealing the nomination–consistently in the high 90s. McCain has broken 80% exactly once, and his latest–70% in Idaho–is his lowest number yet. If…