(09-21-2016 08:02 AM)200yrs2late Wrote:  

(09-20-2016 08:58 PM)solohawks Wrote:  

(09-20-2016 08:45 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(09-20-2016 08:25 PM)AdoptedMonarch Wrote:  Sorry for the ignorant question: has Virginia moved back into the "swing state" category?

I personally think it is solidly blue, but my wife keeps insisting that it will be close. Is she right?

By the way ... drove up to Baltimore a few months ago. My first time north of North Carolina on the east coast. The South ends at Richmond. From there on up it looks more like a big sprawling Mid-Atlantic/Northeast metro suburbia. What got me most wasn't the huge seemingly endless sprawl of enormous government buildings ... it was the even bigger endless sprawl of the corporations that suck up to and feed off it. Lithicum, MD seems to be little more than Northrop Grumman's playground, sprinkled heavily with CIA/NSA installations for good measure, for example. Also, the toll lanes on I-95 are particularly annoying. You wanna create an expressway that's toll? Fine. Keep that **** off the interstates. That goes for you too, 8th Borough of Miami. I've *NEVER* seen so many police cars running speeding traps either. Even when they run Operation Rolling Thunder in the Upstate and bring dozens of agencies in for super aggressive traffic and drug interdiction enforcement ... it's not as bad as NoVA. And a felony for doing 20 over? I might actually lose my **** if that ever happened to me. Thankfully I gave zero f***s about their radar detector ban, and could see them all coming a mile away (literally) with my Valentine V-1. So yeah ... NoVA is right up there with the biggest bipolar states I've ever seen. NoVA has very little in common with the rest of Virginia in much the same way that everything ~20 miles south of I-4 has very little in common with the rest of Florida.

Wife has family in upstate NY. Love the I86 route instead.

Once you get past Richmond on I95 its just awful. And those tolls are a scam.

Best travel route for the NE is to avoid 95 as much as possible. I used to drive to Southern NJ, NYC, Long Island, CT, and MA for work quite a bit. Always jumped off 95 no further north than DC.

DC - Annapolis, Eastern Shore of MD, cut across DE, 295 through NJ, then out on the island or 287 around the backside of NYC, 87 up to 84 and on up to MA.

It's virtually the same time from DC to the bottom of NJ and that route completely avoids Baltimore and the DE tolls - just one toll on the Lane Bridge. 295 in Jersey is in roughly the same shape as the turnpike but without the tolls. 287 around NYC adds 45 miles, but is actually much faster than the GW and cross-Bronx. 87-84 adds miles going to Boston, but completely avoids the disaster that is the first 60 miles of CT.


My best time from the NYC side of the Lincoln Tunnel to Greenville NC was 7 hours 5 minutes.

Is there anyway to avoid DC heading north once you get passed Richmond?

(09-21-2016 08:28 AM)solohawks Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 08:02 AM)200yrs2late Wrote:  Best travel route for the NE is to avoid 95 as much as possible. I used to drive to Southern NJ, NYC, Long Island, CT, and MA for work quite a bit. Always jumped off 95 no further north than DC.

DC - Annapolis, Eastern Shore of MD, cut across DE, 295 through NJ, then out on the island or 287 around the backside of NYC, 87 up to 84 and on up to MA.

It's virtually the same time from DC to the bottom of NJ and that route completely avoids Baltimore and the DE tolls - just one toll on the Lane Bridge. 295 in Jersey is in roughly the same shape as the turnpike but without the tolls. 287 around NYC adds 45 miles, but is actually much faster than the GW and cross-Bronx. 87-84 adds miles going to Boston, but completely avoids the disaster that is the first 60 miles of CT.


My best time from the NYC side of the Lincoln Tunnel to Greenville NC was 7 hours 5 minutes.

Is there anyway to avoid DC heading north once you get passed Richmond?

That decision has to be made at Fredericksburg, take 218 to jump on 301 to head to NE, or 17-66-81 for upstate NY. LOTS of stoplights on 301. I would not recommend. If Norfolk isn't out of the way, you can take 13 up the coast. It's slower, but if you aren't in a hurry it's a pretty decent drive and nice change of scenery from 4 lane interstate.

Unfortunately, the best way to handle DC is to time it against the predominant traffic or after 8 pm.

(09-20-2016 08:45 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  NoVA has very little in common with the rest of Virginia in much the same way that everything ~20 miles south of I-4 has very little in common with the rest of Florida.

I live in Tampa and that's 100% accurate. As the saying goes, the farther north you go in Florida, the further south you are. Culturally speaking St. Pete has as much in common with the panhandle as New York does with Siberia.

I hate both Trump and Hillary, but personally I think she's going to win Florida and the general election as a whole. Demographically I don't see enough white voters turning out to cancel out whatever he loses in minorities and women, in addition to independents creeper out by him.

JDTulane,

I was hoping Hillary was going to cruise to an easy win, so I could vote for Stein.

Like the media was going to let that happen. They built Trump back up and tore Clinton down in a hurry, to keep people tuned into/clicking on the theater.

So, my question is for these people:

Quote:I'm not in a swing state, I'm voting Hillary
BobcatEngineer, Fort Bend Owl, Max Power, MplsBison

I'm not in a swing state, I'm voting Trump
CardFan1, GoldenWarrior11, HeartOfDixie, Kaplony, Lord Stanley, shiftyeagle, UofMstateU, usmbacker, UTSAMarineVet09

I'm not in a swing state, I'm leaning Hillary
JDTulane

I'm not in a swing state, I'm leaning Trump
BatonRougeEscapee

We've already established your vote doesn't matter since you're not in a swing state. That being the case ... why don't you vote tactically and vote for a third party? That would yield the largest impact of your vote. Simply getting a few percentage points in the state can qualify that party for automatic ballot access, saving future candidates a ton of money. And your protest will show up clearly in a countable and tangible column.

While I suspect some of you indeed agree with the major party candidate more than the others (looking at you kaplony), I have a difficult time imaging that most of you are in that boat.

Too important to keep Trump out.

If I could be convinced to vote for Stein over Hillary in a close race, then others could too. I'd love to vote for Stein, but we can't risk apocalypse with a race this close.


Therefore, I can't be convinced to vote for Stein -- as is right now.

Trump wasn't my choice but I live in Pennsylvania and The Butcher of Benghazi is the alternative. Thus, I vote Trump, otherwise a criminal takes the White House.

Quote:We've already established your vote doesn't matter since you're not in a swing state.

My vote always matters.

I live in a particular area with high geographic diversity. By planting my flag for my (begrudingly...) candidate I can influence friends/family/colleagues I discuss politics with that. It's harder for me to convince a swing state voter one way if I myself go another.

TLDR; many friends vote absentee where I live and work and my vote can influence those in swing states more if I vote how I'd want those states to "swing".

(09-20-2016 06:40 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  I didn't include the Constitution Party or Write-In or Staying Home or Undecided because there simply wasn't any room. So if that applies you, reply saying if you're in a swing state or not and if you'll be voting or leaning towards that choice.

I had to put I'm leaning Trump, although I still MIGHT vote Constitution Party (although that's less likely after I heard him on the radio)... Johnson blew his last chance with his "at least no one got hurt" statement with me

(09-22-2016 12:31 PM)DaSaintFan Wrote:  

(09-20-2016 06:40 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  I didn't include the Constitution Party or Write-In or Staying Home or Undecided because there simply wasn't any room. So if that applies you, reply saying if you're in a swing state or not and if you'll be voting or leaning towards that choice.

I had to put I'm leaning Trump, although I still MIGHT vote Constitution Party (although that's less likely after I heard him on the radio)... Johnson blew his last chance with his "at least no one got hurt" statement with me

Statements like that get you but none of Trumps DO?!!!?!?!

I'm definitely voting Libertarian. I put Georgia as a "swing state" although that could be debated.

(09-22-2016 03:03 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  

(09-22-2016 12:31 PM)DaSaintFan Wrote:  

(09-20-2016 06:40 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  I didn't include the Constitution Party or Write-In or Staying Home or Undecided because there simply wasn't any room. So if that applies you, reply saying if you're in a swing state or not and if you'll be voting or leaning towards that choice.

I had to put I'm leaning Trump, although I still MIGHT vote Constitution Party (although that's less likely after I heard him on the radio)... Johnson blew his last chance with his "at least no one got hurt" statement with me

Statements like that get you but none of Trumps DO?!!!?!?!

I didn't say that Trump's didn't hurt my opinion of him JD... but when you publically miss an entire news story completely it proves you're not paying attention to anything.