I feel sad for my American friends who are socially progressive because this is going to be a very tough four years for you.
"When did they pass a law that says the people who make my sandwich have to be wearing gloves? I'm not comfortable with this. I don't want glove residue all over my food; it's not sanitary. Who knows where these gloves have been?" - George Carlin
Personally I am happy that I got to vote but a little upset with myself. For all the attention that I have been paying towards the Presidential race I failed to look at all the other races in Pennsylvania except for the Senate battle. When I got in the voting booth it hit me how little I know about politics. I felt misinformed, stupid and down right out of place to cast a vote on anything but the Senate and Presidential race. I am glad that I didn't just vote for them anyway and I will see to it that I learn what an auditor general is so that I can form an opinion and pick one next time.
As for the races Joe Hoffel gave Specter a good fight here and I hope he runs again against Santorum in the future. I am a little worried that since Kerry is going to lose that this will turn off a lot of first time voters to the process since "I tried and it didn't work" will be the attitude of a number of people I know.
I for one was really happy with the way the networks covered the election (I had on NBC and FOX)even though Fox did over do it by not giving Kerry California when everyone else did. Am I the only one who just feels very comfortable listening to Tim Russert? He along with Brokaw made for a very pleasant night watching the results.
As for the President well I am glad that there will be a decisive winner no matter what but in the next for years the Democrats really have to come up with a game plan because they are just dead now. It's strange to me that Clinton a very popular President could not carry any momentum for his party. I look forward to see what the next four years will hold for this country and am happy that I was a part of the process to determine officials.
I'm not disappointed that Georgie is going to win, I'm disappointed my state is going to put him over, when the economy here is as bad as it gets in this country, I guess people here don't realize there just isn't going to be a damned thing left in Ohio in four years, and for that I'm really befuddled. I would go off on a tangent about Cincy/southern Ohio, but I'll keep it civil.
But none the less, congrats to republicans and Bush, and be ready for Queen Hillary is coming in 2008.
I think I would resist the urge to refer to the Democratic Party as dead, but perhaps that's the eternal optimist in me. And as for the first-time voters feeling as though "I tried and it didn't work" being a concern, I disagree there, too, as that may not give enough credit to the voters in America.
>In my opinion<, this may help to show that yes, we all tried to make a difference, but perhaps we didn't try hard enough. There weren't enough new voters. We didn't select a candidate that moved the core of the party properly. And we didn't get the word out to the uneducated areas of the country that perhaps were hampered by their fears.
The youth vote is being terribly misrepresented. It wasn't "one out of ten" 18-24 year olds voting. In fact, many, MANY more tried to vote, but could not due to improper registrations, re-districting, etc.
There is no denying that this race looks like it will go to the Republicans, so bravo to Grimis and everyone who voted for him. I think the struting and celebrating was earned on the basis of apparent victory. But I will say this: I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed that we, as a country, selected a candidate who sent us to war on false pretenses, killing our children and over 100,000 innocent others, divided our country and lost some of our allies. One who attempts to privatize public education and greatens the racial divide, and who does not embrace equal rights fully.
And ashamedly, I see no conceivable way the people in this country will elect Hilary Clinton (she's a woman) or Barack Obama (he's black) in 2008. That, of course, would be too socially progressive, and we can't have that.
"Maybe I'm getting off topic, but this thread already sucks, so I don't feel bad about it. " -LotusMegami
"The only way TV Gangrel could change is if Real Gangrel changed." -Filipino Elvis
Originally posted by DrOpI am uncomfortable with either party being in a position to attempt to railroad their platform through Congress and the White House (I know the GOP *technically* doesn't have all the seats needed to do that).
They do. The Senate is a solid Republican majority now, and filibusters in the face of this popular mandate will be much harder to sustain.
Presidency, House, Senate, Supreme Court. Game, set and match. Buckle up, America, and stock up on painkillers.
“Back in 2000 a Republican friend warned me that if I voted for Al Gore and he won, the stock market would tank, we'd lose millions of jobs, and our military would be totally overstretched. You know what? I did vote for Gore, he did win, and I'll be damned if all those things didn't come true!" -- James Carville
I personally think that the Democrats are going to see an awful lot of bloodletting here in the next couple of weeks and months, and maybe even years.
I think that the Democrats time in the desert may be extended. The party is going to have to search for its soul again. I'm not sure what that is, but the party is eventaully going to stand for something. It took 16 years after Goldwater for the conservative Republicans nationwide to really get their stuff together. I don't know if it will take the Democrats that long given the fact that the electorate is still, esentaially, divided. But this is going to hurt the Dems no question for at least the end of the decade.
Originally posted by GRLI think I would resist the urge to refer to the Democratic Party as dead, but perhaps that's the eternal optimist in me.
No, of course it isn't. That's right-wing posturing. Even if Bush wins this election - and it's, sadly, overwhelmingly likely that he will, it was once again exceedingly close. A dead party doesn't win 49% of the popular vote and at least 252 electoral votes. Imagine what we could do if we could finally run a candidate with something resembling charisma.
Originally posted by OlFuzzyBastardImagine what we could do if we could finally run a candidate with something resembling charisma.
The Dems had that in Howard Dean and, for whatever reason, he lost. And then he went nuts. Which led to him losing some more.
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." -Dwight D. Eisenhower
I just remember looking around my apartment at about 2 am...watching a gay friend basically be told "the problem in this country isn't millions of people in poverty, tens of millions of people without health care, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead in a dubious war...No, the problem is YOU KISS BOYS! YOU'RE KILLING AMERICA!" Watching my roommate, a 21 yr old girl who like between 1 in 5 and 1 in 3 women in this country suffered through a sexual assault, knowing that should it happen again, the odds are by the time the next election rolls around that if she should be impregnated during the process, she gets to be a mommy. Watching a friend who teaches high school, dealing with the cutbacks caused by No Child Left Behind, wondering if the creative writing and theatre classes she teaches will be cut for not being useful enough. And then I looked at myself...thinking about the endless war, the sea of despots waiting in the middle east for the firm hand of American democracy to come wash them away, and wondering how long it will be before someone politely requests I serve my country with a gun in my hand.
At this point the Democrats only hope is basically abandoning any pretense of social concerns. Work with the GOP over the next four years to pass amendments to the US Constitution banning gay marriage, flag burning, abortion, sex education, protecting school prayer, money to faith-based organizations. The only hope for the Democrats now is to pretty much let the GOP win on every single social issue, and hope like hell that once the Xian right gets everything they want, that they can start to make the elections about the economy instead of the always ambiguous "moral issues". Because the GOP has just kicked the crap out of them all around the country. As supporting a woman's right to choose and a child's right not to be indoctrinated into Christianity in the public schools has for apparently a majority of the country become tantamount to heresy, the Dems are pretty well fucked to where I can't imagine them winning another national election in the next 20-32 years.
Think there's any chance Canada would offer disgrunted Kerry voters amnesty to come live there? I think it would be kind of funny to see 40 million of us just leave en masse :)
Well, I think it still too close to call in Ohio, but by 2:00pm it will be decided. I am hearing conflicting reports that there are as many as 200,000 to only 100,000 votes. I will say that Kerry is playing it right. He'll wait till 2:00pm and if there is at least 200,000 votes, he should wait it out. there is a 136,000 difference, but I feel both parties talk about how every vote counts, so lets count them. I think it was wreckless of NBC and Fox to put them up, but their scenerioes require Bush to carry another state as well or at least another point.
I do agree the Democratic Party is in real trouble. They needed a big win tonight either in the Senate or Presidential. They didn't get it. They pointed fingers after 2000 and will continue to do so after this. They need a strong leader like a Karl Rove that gets their shit together. If they don't it will another 12 years of Republican rule. I do fear that without the checks and balances system and the apparent death of gay marriage, the country is headed for some serious right wing agenda policies. It will be interesting to live through a country that will start embracing the Christian Evangiliacs more and less on trying to find the middle.
After this election, if anyone ever refers to Canada as America's '51st State', they're plainly talking out of their ass and haven't looked at the real social differences in our countries.
I'm looking directly at Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn. Single unwed mothers are unfit to be teachers according to DeMint.
"When did they pass a law that says the people who make my sandwich have to be wearing gloves? I'm not comfortable with this. I don't want glove residue all over my food; it's not sanitary. Who knows where these gloves have been?" - George Carlin
Originally posted by fuelinjectedI feel sad for my American friends who are socially progressive because this is going to be a very tough four years for you.
(laughs) Compared to us, with a minority Liberal government? hahah!
Getting back to American politics...can anyone recommend a decent, semi-non-partisan websites that continue to update their listings? I'm depending on CNN right now, but is there something better?
Originally posted by spfThink there's any chance Canada would offer disgrunted Kerry voters amnesty to come live there? I think it would be kind of funny to see 40 million of us just leave en masse :)
Originally posted by A FanWell, I think it still too close to call in Ohio, but by 2:00pm it will be decided. I am hearing conflicting reports that there are as many as 200,000 to only 100,000 votes. I will say that Kerry is playing it right. He'll wait till 2:00pm and if there is at least 200,000 votes, he should wait it out. there is a 136,000 difference, but I feel both parties talk about how every vote counts, so lets count them. I think it was wreckless of NBC and Fox to put them up, but their scenerioes require Bush to carry another state as well or at least another point.
I do agree the Democratic Party is in real trouble. They needed a big win tonight either in the Senate or Presidential. They didn't get it. They pointed fingers after 2000 and will continue to do so after this. They need a strong leader like a Karl Rove that gets their shit together. If they don't it will another 12 years of Republican rule. I do fear that without the checks and balances system and the apparent death of gay marriage, the country is headed for some serious right wing agenda policies. It will be interesting to live through a country that will start embracing the Christian Evangiliacs more and less on trying to find the middle.
Sooner than that. I don't have a link yet, but Air America Radio is reporting that John Kerry just conceeded the election. Hate being the one to report this, hate having to report this. Way too early. Way too early. Count the fucking votes.
I don't think there is one non-paritsan party considering CNN has the huge: Bush Confident in Victory as their headline. I would say though, they are keeping the electoral college vote closer than Fox or NBC which until 2:00pm its still anyone's game. I might suggest CBS or ABC's site or the BBC website.
Sooner than that. I don't have a link yet, but Air America Radio is reporting that John Kerry just conceeded the election. Hate being the one to report this, hate having to report this. Way too early. Way too early. Count the fucking votes.
Kerry will speak in Boston at noon local time. His advisors feel there are not enough uncounted ballots, and enough presumed to go his way, to drag this out.
A big shock to me was how little of influence Ralph Nader ended up having in this election. I knew he would get less votes than last year, but he was almost non-existant this time around. Even Nader seemed really upset about it when he was interviewed on CNN last night.
Overall, the election went about the same way I expected. They still say it's too close to call. But with Bush having such a healthy lead in Ohio, I can't think this is anything but a Bush victory, as Kerry would have to pull in just about all of the provisional ballots.
While I'm upset that Kerry lost, I can't say I'm particularly suprised (although I thought the popular vote would be closer than 3.5 million). I guess it's time for the democrats to go back to the drawing board and try and regroup. The solid-Republican south is killing the party, and they need to figure out a way to take (some of) that back.
The answer to WWE's financial problems...
Never 'Wiener of the Day', and is actually quite bitter about it.
The Democratic source said Bush called Kerry a worthy, tough and honorable opponent. Kerry told Bush the country was too divided, the source said, and Bush agreed. "We really have to do something about it," Kerry said according to the Democratic official.
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Meanwhile, Obama has raised over seven million bucks since Tuesday night. He is raising money hand over fist when it comes to small donations, which shows a better connection to the average joe. Question...