A friendly wager
11/11/2008 - 6:44am
[UPDATE: How about a gentleman's bet and bragging rights on the offer below? My point is really to explore whether those who claim this election to have been a mandate really have the courage of conviction or whether they're just flapping their (virtual) gums.]
Plenty of liberals or "progressives" have said (mostly before the election, but some after as well) that this election represents a repudiation of capitalism, Reagan, etc., an acceptance of "progressive redistribution" and that Obama is honest in what he says he plans in terms of tax policy.
So, for those of you who truly believe such things rather than just write them, I'd like to offer two wagers:
First, I will bet that Republicans will pick up seats in the House of Representatives in 2010. For those of you who truly believe this election will represent a repudiation of capitalism, Reagan, etc., you should believe that Obama will simply prove that big-government progressivism is so great that Dems will sweep to even greater majorities in the next election. In fact, I'll give you a 5-seat head-start, so if the GOP picks up 5, it's a tie and if the pick up four or less (or there's no change or the Dems pick up seats) you win.
Second, I will bet that Barack Obama will in his first two years in office either propose or sign legislation that increases at least one important tax rate (income, capital gains, or payroll) on individuals or families making less than $250,000 per year. (He'll probably argue that the economy got worse, so government revenue got worse, so his "investments" need more people to "share the sacrifice".)
Anybody who wants any part of this bet..., please e-mail me or reply with a comment to this post.
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I fought the law...
What does it say about the judgment and intellect of a person that they would think it appropriate to use their very public platform with a major newspaper in order to solicit bets in clear and obvious violation of state and federal law?
Nothing like a little Federal Wire Fraud to get the juices flowing, eh Ross?
Too stupid for words really.
what does it say...
about those who were claiming this election to be a mandate that nobody even wants a gentleman's bet on these issues?
You have remarkably little sense of humor or sport, Steve.
Still, you have a point that I probably should have suggested a gentleman's bet or nothing bigger than a beer to begin with and I have modified my note to address your valid comment. I'm glad to see that you can have a valid point at least one out of every 20 comments.
It's not that I care about the amount of the bet; I was trying to get even one liberal to put up something other than just words...even it were just bragging rights...to back up their claims of a mandate. Again, I accept your assertion that I should have made my point a bit differently.
However, liberals like you still can't find any way to address an actual issue...the actual issue of the posting. In this case, I must bear some of the blame for that, though it remains remarkable that nobody is willing even to bet bragging rights.
Sigh
Ross:
"What does it say about those who were claiming this election mandate that nobody even wants a gentleman's bet on these issues?"
The answer is a lot less than it says about the person who proposed the bet.
The "mandate" issue was raised by a right-winger. Really, nobody cares about what margin of victory qualifies as a "mandate". I recall Pat Buchanan in 2000 saying that Bush shouldn't pay any attention to the fact that he was elected by accident and should proceed with the assumption that his agenda was what the voters wanted. Since Obama was elected by a majority, he has even more of a right to assume that his agenda is what the majority want.
The mandate was not "raised by a right winger"
You,
The concept of "mandate" regarding this election is not coming from the right.
I'm not hearing it as much from the left now as I did before the election because they realize what I've been saying: Yes, Obama's margin was enormous, but overall I believe Democrats did not do as well as they had hoped, in winning seats and issues.
Here's one example of an article I was specifically thinking of when suggesting a bet:
http://www.politicswest.com/32532/mandate_watch_bellweather_races_initiatives_watch
I'll take all comers. Ruse Kaminsky.
I'll take that bet and raise you a grand.
My name is: Roscoe Wombat. I live in the Kokamucha Animal Sanctuary in South Australia. My email is: rossputin@imbecile.jerk.
Even if...
Even if you did want to bet, I'd feel bad taking money from someone who clearly has mental issues and probably struggles to feed himself on his minimum wage job.
The small narrow mind of Ross Kaminsky.
What a pathetic response from an arrogant fool. I'm sorry for you Ross.
The pot speaks...
That's really amusing coming from you, Jim, a person who NEVER has anything other than juvenile insults to dispense and shows no inclination or ability to discuss or understand actual issues.
More wasted bandwidth
Just when you think that you've read the stupidest column ever, along comes Ross Kaminsky to set a new low for intellectual discourse.
1)I'm sure that there were people who voted for Obama who don't like capitalism. They were a very small percentage of voters and none of them were consequential members of his campaign. The point is meaningless.
2) The out of power party almost always gains congressional seats in the non-presidential election years. Ross is just predicting something that usually happens. This point is meaningless as well.
Why does The Denver Post carry a column from someone who has nothing to say.
Make a better offer
You,
How many GOP pickup seats would you want spotted to you to make a bet? I started with 5, but I might go higher.
And how about the second part of my wager? No comment on the likelihood of Obama's campaign promises being a lie?
I'm glad you're sure there were people who voted for Obama who don't like capitalism. I am, too. But that wasn't my point as much as the idea that some people, including one participant in this blog, have been saying this election is a mandate for the Obama-Pelosi-Reid-Frank far-left agenda.
I say it's not.
Let me know what bet you'd like to make and I'll consider it if you don't like my current offer.