Your friend Jim George thinks you'd be a great addition to Ricochet, so we'd like to offer you a special deal: You can become a member for no initial charge for one month!
Ricochet is a community of like-minded people who enjoy writing about and discussing politics (usually of the center-right nature), culture, sports, history, and just about every other topic under the sun in a fully moderated environment. We’re so sure you’ll like Ricochet, we’ll let you join and get your first month for free. Kick the tires: read the always eclectic member feed, write some posts, join discussions, participate in a live chat or two, and listen to a few of our over 50 (free) podcasts on every conceivable topic, hosted by some of the biggest names on the right, for 30 days on us. We’re confident you’re gonna love it.





If Republicans lose the House it will be a result of people like me. Maybe it is the misfortune that both this conversation and the election happen at open enrollment for Health Insurance. As I look at our insurance and thus our family finances, Obamacare has made me significantly less well off.
I have two choices, the Democrat who wants to keep Obamacare, if he/she wins Obamacare is more likely to stay. Or I could chose the Republican, he/she will say they don’t like Obamacare but will do nothing. If the Republican wins, Obamacare is likely to stay.
There is apparently no party that wants to earn my vote by fixing this mess. I don’t care that it is hard or that the republicans came close. None of that makes things better for my family. I may sit this one out for the first time since I turned 18. If there are enough people like me out there, and a significant portion of us really do stay home, the Dems will take the House.
@Jager I guess it boils down to slim chance or no chance. But there are other issues that weigh with me.
Michael, you and your guest both missed the mark with your complaint about gun vocabulary. Both of you inexplicably claimed “assault rifle” is a meaningless term. In fact, the assault rifle has been a well-defined class of firearms since the mid 20th century: magazine-fed, center-fire rifles of small to medium caliber with the capability to selectively fire semiautomatic or fully automatic. It includes the M-16, the fully automatic version of AK-47, and the Steyr AUG — all of which are considered machine guns under the NFA and are practically illegal for civilian ownership.
The “meaningless term” you both probably intended to say was “assault weapon” — a 1990s vintage made up legal category of semiautomatic rifles defined by a list of secondary or cosmetic features.
I am relieved that people like you won’t vote Democrat, since you recognize that there is a minor difference: if the Democrats win, Obamacare is more likely to stay. But I don’t understand why people like you believe that surrender is preferable to voting.
Why not become an activist, and hold your local Republican candidate’s feet to the fire?
Hey @michaelgraham Michael, this is the second time you’ve guaranteed that the Republicans will get killed in the House, and you’re basing that guarantee largely on Trump approval numbers. That raises a couple of questions: