Congrats Syd. Was Romney the last one before this Baker guy? Is he a moderate? I didn't pay much attention to races outside Illinois this cycle cuz real life is time-consuming.

Ah, ok, cool, didn't know that. Illinois had republican governors throughout my youth, until 2002 when George Ryan ruined it for us with his corruption, leading to twelve years of democrat governors running up our debt (even though the dem who replaced Ryan also got sent to jail), and the state becoming solidly blue. I'm hoping for a balanced budget within the next four years now that we've elected a republican again on Tuesday too. Not holding my breath, though.

Illinois has had a ton of video poker places pop up ever since we legalized it to help pay off our massive debt. Definitely seedy, and that's coming from an avid gambler like me. They're trying to get another casino built, this time in Chicago itself, but the market is already saturated with riverboats in the west and southwest burbs, as well as the ones near Hammond, Indiana. Hell, the Illinois ones do poor business now because of the anti-smoking laws. All the smokers go to Indiana to gamble, and a hell of a lot of gamblers are also smokers - unlike asthmatic me.

I've been called a libertarian by others since college because I don't believe in the government enforcing my social conservative beliefs. Can't vote for them though because third parties just split the electorate, and because libertarian isolationism for foreign policy doesn't work when we're so invested in international trade.

The young generation probably identifies with libertarian beliefs more than anyone, though. Hopefully that'll result in the libertarian party replacing the GOP one day.

International trade isn't a bad thing, it just precludes an isolationist foreign policy. We naturally get entangled in international disputes when our economy is so entwined with global trade. One of the many lessons of the world wars. Libertarians want us not so involved in international issues, yet are big supporters of free trade. Those two stances are incompatible in my view. When we are involved in so much trade, it's in our economic best interest to prevent and resolve international conflicts that interrupt the free exchange of goods (besides the moral implications). The only way to even consider making isolationism compatible with free trade is to become self-sufficient and then an exporter of surplus goods.

Yeah, I just feel that other people's social issue decisions are none of my business, just as long they don't directly affect my own life. That's what free will is all about. That said, it's a tough tight rope to walk.