In U.S. Marine jargon, comparative for something worthless when you can’t say “isn’t worth shit” or “isn’t worth a rat’s ass”
This equipment isn’t worth a hill of beans, sir.
The Washington Post has a long article this morning on attitudes toward Hillary, complete with an accompanying graphic laying out some dramatic poll numbers, such as the fact that only 19% of all voters, and only 37% of Democratic voters, said they would “definitely” vote for her.
I don’t follow polls very closely, but I do have some doubts about how much they’re worth at this stage. What really got my attention in this article, however, was not the numbers but the following comment:
“I was just talking to my friends about this,” said Jeny Guy, 55, a registered independent from Falls Church, who expressed a “favorable” view of Clinton but said she would not vote for her. “I find her too stiff and packaged.”
Unless the Commonwealth of Virginia snuck one by me when I wasn’t looking, there is no party registration here. There is no place on the voter registration form to list one’s party affiliation.
Does my doubt that Jeny Guy is a “registered” independent raise any questions about the poll’s findings, or the article’s report of them? I don’t know. Maybe somebody does.
We have the same situation in Georgia – no party registration for voting. I early voted this week in the Democratic primary, but I could have just as easily voted in the Republican one. I am wary of self-described “independents.” I have generally found them in fact to be liberal Democrats who want to see themselves as progressive and open-minded, but who rarely vote for anyone who is not a Democrat. I am a libertarian who has never voted a straight party ticket in a general election, but my “progressive” sisters see me as the close-minded one.
Hilary’s misfortune is that she is charmless. This is not a comment on her real personality. There are people who may be very nice and kind and loving (i’m not saying she is or is not) and bright, but they don’t have what it takes to appeal to millions. Also, when you listen to her husband and the bushes you get a sense of what they are like, what it would be like to hang out with them, to have a talk with them. the sense may be wrong, but you get it. Even the older waspy Bush, I can imagine what he is like. But Hilary, either you can’t imagine it or you feel that it is completely different from what she presents. Also, you feel that she is not nice. I know that sounds silly, but you feel that she would be impatient and contemptuous, like a fashion editor! that she does not suffer fools lightly (which means being rude to people you think are fools). I don’t say this because I don’t like her politics. Even people who like her politics say the same
In Tennessee, your party affiliation is determined by the last primary you voted in. You can select either or no primary at any time.
The main reason I wouldn’t vote for Hillary is that I don’t share her vision of America and of the government’s proper role, e.g., nationalized health care. The second reason is that I can’t get a feel for her convictions on other matters, but even if I did, I have no confidence that she would even act on them.
John, I grew up hearing that something doesn’t matter “a hill of beans” – didn’t you?