Fred Thompson ran for elected office?

Enough with the Minnesota senate recount! Clearly, the voting system is sufficiently flawed to render any decision based on it suspect.

I demand a duel. And I want the duel to be with swords. Pistols are for pussies.

I want hacking and whacking, and I want it on pay-per-view. We can use half the proceeds to be used for federally funded abortions and the other half to buy assault weapons for school gun clubs.

I had toyed with a wrestling match, but this is Minnesota. Jesse Ventura: Been there, done that. Plus, we all know wrestling matches are rigged.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Better Andrew Cuomo than Caroline Kennedy, if a New York Senate seat has to be awarded a prominent family VIP (quota or something?).

Anyway, no New York state resident (aside from a few Ivy-educated Manhattanites who control the publishing industry) wants to have as a senator the lady who inspired Neil Diamond's godawful song that's now used as a rally cry for the hated Red Sox.

That big sucking sound you hear?

Fred-mentum!

20 million people in NYS and they can't come up with someone who actually, you know, represents *the people*, instead of being part of a famous family?? I can't believe that there aren't worthy New York civil servants that don't deserve the spot. Has Caroline Kennedy ever done anything for public service besides being a well-commected insider by virtue of being a Kennedy??

Jefferson will face a Republican, a Libertarian, and a Green Party candidate. Peter Burns, a political science professor at Loyola University New Orleans, said, "If [Jefferson] lost at this stage, it would be a colossal upset."

Have we heard a more cogent argument in support of IRV?

This, of course, means another Senate vacancy for the NRSC to worry about.

I'm betting the NRSC is not terribly worried about keeping this seat in Republican hands.

Have we heard a more cogent argument in support of IRV?

Its certainly, IMO, an argument for a sensible single-winner preference voting system, if you are going to have single-member legislative districts.

Whether IRV meets that description, and whether single-member legislative districts are a good idea to start with are, of course, both open to debate.

for all the money they spent on Palin, she *still* looked cheap. blusher in stripes across her cheeks, for crimeny...

"Fred Thompson said yesterday that he will not run for elected office again. Try to contain your disappointment."

Now, now, be nice. Just because the guy doesn't want to work for your vote.

Sort of like Newt Gingrich, who expected to be named President by acclamation. Hell, considering the wingnut attempts to overturn Obama's electability, maybe Newt still expects the Electorial College to name him President ;-)

"Fred Thompson said yesterday that he will not run for elected office again."

When Thompson got elected to the Senate from Tennessee last century, did he run for the office?

If he did, then that would be the only time he has run for office. His presidential 'ambitions' this year could only be viewed as a walk or a slow stroll!

When Thompson got elected to the Senate from Tennessee last century, did he run for the office?

No. He drove a much ballyhooed "regular guy" pickup truck across the state.

His version of Lamar Alexander's flannel shirts.

Speaking as a former longtime resident of Tennessee, I can say the great unwashed masses in the volunteer state fall for aristocrats masquerading as good ol' boys every time.

Bill Frist was probably a count, perhaps of the undead variety.

At least Al Gore never denied he was a son of privilege.

CM, it's an argument for IRV, multi-member districts, a German-style national list or something. (That said, using a national list to elect part of Congress would be the best and quickest way to get third-party representation here, and ergo, the one I favor.)

And, thanks to Steve for listening to nagging from me, or somebody, to finally mention Rahim and the Green angle on LA-2.

Shouldn't 12 years of Bushes taught us to yell ENOUGH with the God Damn political dynasties in either party!!!

I, for one, am deeply disappointed in Fred's announcement. I'd like nothing better than a Rethug gang for 2012 consisting of Fred, Sarah, Newt, Rudy, Steve Forbes, and Alan Keyes.
Mittens and Huckabee are the ones who scare me; I think they might have a real chance at winning, depending on how the world is going in 2-3 years. I don't yet know how scared we should be of Jeb.

Severalcomments:

• Caroline Kennedy may be qualified, but I'm not at all happy with the nepotism involved here. Too many people in this "democracy" now hold office because of the family name, wealth and fame already.
  
• OK. Obama scored $750 million. Sure the Internet transformed things a lot, but how much of that was simply a vote against Bush?
  
• The McCain Campaign spent $110,000 on Palin's stylists? And that was the best they could get? That woman is aging fast. The number of her flattering camera angles is declining rapidly.
  
• Did someone wake Fred Thompson up to get a response to a question, or what that something he said in a lethargic dream?
  

CM, it's an argument for IRV, multi-member districts, a German-style national list or something. (That said, using a national list to elect part of Congress would be the best and quickest way to get third-party representation here, and ergo, the one I favor.)

Using smaller multi-member districts (my personal preference is for ~5 member districts for the House) with a sane, proportionalish, candidate-centered preference voting system (STV is close, but shares IRVs quirks that result from loser-elimination, but its easy enough to adapt it to eliminate loser-elimination, which makes it more sane, IMO) would be my preference, and would lack the problems with a lack of personal accountability to the voters that come with a party list system. (It would give, using reasonable assumptions about the election threshold, a ~17% in any given district minimum for a party to get a seat, but since it would eliminate the disincentive for putting a third-party candidate at the top of the ballot, I think that would allow plenty of wins outside of the two big parties.)

This would increase the proportion of the population that had a member of Congress representing at least approximately their political views and their geographic district, e.g., someone they could reasonably see as "their" member of Congress.

Any system in which candidates are not directly accountable to voters should, IMO, be rejected out of hand as a reform.

Agreeing with cmdicely, but pointing out this is the 21st century. Give every voter an electronic voter card and let them walk up to a ATM like machine and change their vote to a different representative. If you fall below the 17% you are OUT, OUT damnit and another person fills your office as soon as they get 17%. Now that is representation!

Well, honestly, I think Obama's huge fundraising efforts have to be taken in the context of the lax controls on his website for donors, allowing overseas donors, multiple donations exceeding personal limits, etc. There were many ways in which the campaign could've exercised more transparency. Unfortunately attempts to address the issue were snubbed by the leftist illuminati, who apparently felt that questions into the ethical dimension of the matter were offensive.

Caroline Kennedy may be qualified, but I'm not at all happy with the nepotism involved here. Too many people in this "democracy" now hold office because of the family name, wealth and fame already.

We like "royalty." It's easier than thinking.